Irrational Games has announced 1999 Mode for BioShock Infinite, a more challenging mode designed in response to fan feedback.
As well as scarcer health, weaponry and powers, 1999 Mode requires that players pick specialisations and stick to them, a result, creative director Ken Levine explains, of a community poll on the developer's website.
"I'm an old school gamer," Levine says. "We wanted to make sure we were taking into account the playstyles of gamers like me. So we went straight to the horse's mouth by asking them, on our website, a series of questions about how they play our games.
"94.6 per cent of respondents indicated that upgrade choices enhanced their BioShock gameplay experience; however, 56.8 per cent indicated that being required to make permanent decisions about their character would have made the game even better."
It's an interesting announcement, and heartening to see a developer of a big-budget console game to take a fan-focused approach we normally associate with small indies. BioShock Infinite is in development for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, and is scheduled for release some time this year.
Comments
1Okay, so System Shock came out, but games were pretty easy in 1999.
1989 mode would be much more challenging (or just play Dark Souls?)