Winner of the “Best of Show” award at the 2012 E3 exhibition, Bioshock: Infinite is the eagerly awaited third instalment of the Bioshock series. Whilst the first two games took place in the underwater city of Rapture, Bioshock: Infinite shifts the action to a flying metropolis called Columbia.

Set in an alternate 1912, Columbia was commissioned by president Mckinley as an example of American exceptionalism. Armed with numerous weapons, virtually a floating battleship, it soon devolves into a lawless autonomy, is disowned by the United States and it disappears.

Two warring factions soon emerge: The Founders and the Vox Populi (Voice of the People). The former are ultranationalists, who feel that Columbia should belong only to pure Americans and not to the “foreign hordes”. The Vox Populi are a mixed group who believe that Columbia belongs to all people, though oppression has turned them into a violent assembly that does not eschew murder or terrorism as a means to an end.

Into this dystopia enters the player, in the boots of Booker DeWitt, a disgraced Pinkerton detective charged with finding and rescuing a woman called Elizabeth, who has been missing for the last twelve years. Players can utilise a range of weapons and genetic powers as they explore the steampunk themed Columbia. Lovers of first person shooters and adventure games take note.

You can find previous Bioshock games on bidorbuy.