BioShock Infinite takes you back to the challenging days with 1999 mode

Irrational Games has revealed a new mode for BioShock Infinite called ’1999 Mode’, which will see the gameplay of Bioshock Infinite become more demanding with permanent decisions.

“…These are the old days, the bad days, the all-or-nothing days. They’re back! There’s no choice left. And I’m ready for war.” – Marv, Sin City 

Fallout: New Vegas had hardcore mode which added more difficult tweaks such as the way you heal broken limbs or radiation poisoning and having to eat, drink water, and sleep.  Now BioShock Infinite will something similar with the 1999 Mode, which will see players requiring to think more deeply about their choices if they want to get through with Elizabeth to the end.

Tweaks and features will be exclusive to this mode, with even the hardest difficulty for the standard single-player mode in BioShock Infinite not featuring the kind of challenges one can expect from 1999 Mode.

So how did 1999 Mode come about? “We want to give our oldest and most committed fans an option to go back to our roots,” said Ken Levine, Creative Director of Irrational Games. “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.

“I’m an old school gamer. We wanted to make sure we were taking into account the play styles 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 percent of respondents indicated that upgrade choices enhanced their BioShock gameplay experience; however, 56.8 percent indicated that being required to make permanent decisions about their character would have made the game even better.”

So you can expect to see demanding weapon, power, and health management and even the “Game Over” screen if you don’t have enough resources to be brought back to life. Even veterans of the BioShock series would be advised to have a playthrough of the standard single-player before diving into 1999 Mode. Who knows? “BioShock tough” could become a new meme in the video game industry in a few years time.