Bioshock Infinite Will Have 1999 Mode for “Old School” Gamers

Ken Levine wants gamers to act more like Prince in Bioshock Infinite. 2K Games have announced that Irrational Games’ highly anticipated game will feature a, “1999 Mode”. 1999 Mode will be, in layman’s terms, a more difficult version of Bioshock Infinite for those that clamour for days of yore. But, don’t fret dear reader, there will also be a regular, normal mode in the game too.

1999 Mode will play massively on the cautiousness of the player as managing your weapons, power and health will be more demanding it than in a regular playthrough. We are also led to believe that respawning will be more harsh. If your character dies and you lack certain resources to be brought back to life, you will be sent to a “Game Over” screen.

Creative Director at Irrational, Ken Levine gave a bit more insight as to what exactly 1999 Mode will be;

“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.

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.”

This seems a bit peculiar. If this is a mode based on a lot of what Irrational’s fans want, and what Ken himself wants in a game, why not make that the game? Keeping both sides sweet I guess. One thing I do know is, that Prince joke was far too easy…and 13 years ago is “old school”?

Bioshock Infinite is set for release later this year on PC, Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3