“We want to give our oldest and most committed fans an option to go back to our roots. In 1999 Mode, gamers face more of the permanent consequences of their gameplay decisions. In BioShock Infinite, gamers will have to sweat out the results of their actions. In addition, 1999 Mode will demand that players pick specializations, and focus on them,” said developer Irrational Games’ creative director Ken Levine.
According to Levine, gamers were polled in the official BioShock Infinite forum about their gameplay preferences. Nearly all of them, 94.6%, stated that their upgrade choices enhanced their experience in the original BioShock. However, 56.8% indicated that they liked having to make a decision and be forced to stick with it, for better or worse.
The 1999 Mode will also include weapon, power and health management, and a stricter policy on respawns. Much like System Shock’s nanites and the resuscitation chamber, if a player has too few of certain resources, they won’t respawn - it’ll be “Game Over”, load your last save. One feature of the original BioShock that veteran gamers disliked was the fact there was no penalty for dying - they just instantly respawned into a Vita Chamber.
BioShock Infinite is due to be released this year for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
