Ken Levine, Creative Director of Irrational Games, has revealed a pre-rendered teaser trailer (see below!) and spilled fresh details regarding the team’s latest venture, Bioshock Infinite.

A skyward tale set in the fictional floating city of Columbia; players will assume the role of a detective named Booker DeWitt in an alternate 1912. According to reports, the game begins as something of a rescue mission, as the malevolent denizens have kidnapped Elizabeth – a woman gifted with special abilities – for their own mysterious purposes.

The trailer is much brighter, indeed more vibrant and dynamic, than Bioshock’s initial teaser, boasting beautiful colours and blue sky – it’s immediately more open, evoking a unique atmosphere of its own that contrasts directly with the grim, bloodied halls of the claustrophobic Rapture.

The trailer is at first deceiving, giving a glimpse of what you might think to be everyone’s favourite underwater dystopia. This is revealed to be nothing more than a model in a fish tank, with the figure of the Big Daddy serving as a nod to the game’s rich heritage. The character is thrown from a window in a first-person view by a shadowy character in metal armour. Subsequently, we’re treated to panicked views of the city held aloft by airships and spinning rotor blades as the protagonist desperately clambers for survival. The next scene reveals the female character we’re set to rescue as well as the telekinetic ability that makes her so valuable, before she is grabbed by the monster leaving our hero to plummet to his doom.

The somewhat-steampunk metropolis is reported to have at one time been a type of World’s Fair, before being embroiled in an incident that forced it to reveal its darker, more heavily armed side. ‘Something terrible happens,’ Levine told Kotaku, ‘this is not a floating World’s Fair. This is a Death Star.’ Of course, this will come as little surprise to fans of the Bioshock series, as Rapture was designed with noble intentions yet soon fell victim to its own ambition, so it’s a fair bet something similarly will have happened here. The trailer and logo reveal a definite sense of Americanism as characterised in the early 20th century, yet we expect this to have had wider-reaching consequences for the city’s inhabitants than overzealous patriotism.

The ability to move a diverse array of objects with your mind is important to the gameplay, and weapons can also be snatched from an enemy’s hands then used against them. Elizabeth will also fulfill multiple roles, as she may be snatched and need to be rescued one moment, and then assist you with her own talents the next. Also of note is the Skylink, a connecting rail system designed to allow for travel between areas at intense speed.

Having been built from the foundations of the original Bioshock, we’re unquestionably excited over this latest revelation – but do you think this is just the natural evolution of a franchise trying to stay relevant or does it all sound a little too familiar? Got an opinion? Then hit up the comments section and share…

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