As games became evermore complex there was an inevitable growth in the publication of game guides. In truth, the basic information can be gleaned off the internet, but that’s not the only reason to buy a guide.

Bioshock: Infinite finally gets the game guide treatment from the Bradygames Signature Series. Running to an impressive two hundred and sixty-nine pages, the guide will take you through every aspect of the game to wring the very last drop of game play and trophy hunting out of Bioshock: Infinite. The guide is good for platforms, including the PC, Xbox, and PS3.

Apart from the information, the most important aspect of the guide is its presentation. Let’s face it, most people buy guides because they love the game their playing and want to experience every aspect on offer. The guide is beautifully illustrated, not only with copious amounts of screen shots, for reference, but also with original artwork which lend added detail to characters and weapons. The pages are in full colour on good quality paper.

The guide opens with a forward by Ken Levine, Bioshock: Infinites Creative Director, a fan of game guides; they allowed the guide's authors, Doug Walsh and Logan Sharp, access to the game prior to release to play through with some of the game's creators. Access to the game at this stage has gone a long way to making the guide an essential purchase.

With the forward out of the way the guide dives straight into the world of Infinite with its collectables and major aspects. It’s a good all round look and probably worth reading if you have yet to start a play through.

Next up is a detailed look at the list of weapons available in the game, with their stats, strategy and upgrades. This section is useful if you’re looking to upgrade a particular weapon as it gives an indication as to the weapons availability and how best to use it. Each of the weapons is given a two page spread.

With the hardware out of the way, chapter four moves on to the Vigors with a similar layout detailing useful combinations, upgrades, stats and strategy. More useful is the information which tells you which of your enemies particular Vigors work best against.

The clothing was one thing that I never really got a hang of in the game, it would seem, from the guide, that this didn’t represent just random power-ups, but can be combined in particular ways to gain significant advantages in fights.

The bulk of the book is given over to playing the game with each chapter having a walk through, with maps, showing the location of all the objects, useful for finding all the Xoxphones, Telescopes and Kinetoscopes The last two chapters cover significant characters and the trophy guide.

Bradygames is justifiably proud of the guide and they should be, it’s a visually beautiful book and a perfect companion to the game.

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Charles Packer