Bioshock Infinite

Insider2000

! Yea I got the part about Booker being Comstock, thats one of the big revealsafter all. My beef is that Slate did not know that Comstock and Booker were one and the same. The beard must have been why. :)
Anyway, It seems that Slate at some point did find out that Comstock and Booker were the same and thats why Slate rebelled.
Now I want to see the Lutece 'twins' showing up in more Bioshock games. They were fun.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

! This actually makes sense, belive it or not. So one of the Elizabeths would have had to die. :blink:

[hide]I'm pretty sure the reason Slate rebelled was due to the fame Comstock received for "fighting" at Wounded Knee, which to Slate recollection, Comstock never did. The whole "we're tin soldiers" argument.

And I don't think the Elizabeth died. She was 'merged' with our Elizabeth, making the Elizabeth of THAT world extend onto our own.[/hide]

Arcadia080

! Thanks Insider! That point in the game was a blur to me. I had to go and read up on the actuall real live Wounded knee and boxer rebellion. Talk about a retelling of history.
Now one more thing on my mind was it seems that Comstock was an actual profit in only one sense. He seems to actually belive that an angel named Columbia tasked him with building the city and burning the world. Who was Columbia? An actuall angel? His adled crazy mind? Someone messing with him?

Insider2000

@Arcadia080:

! Thanks Insider! That point in the game was a blur to me. I had to go and read up on the actuall real live Wounded knee and boxer rebellion. Talk about a retelling of history.
Now one more thing on my mind was it seems that Comstock was an actual profit in only one sense. He seems to actually belive that an angel named Columbia tasked him with building the city and burning the world. Who was Columbia? An actuall angel? His adled crazy mind? Someone messing with him?

[hide]That's left mostly uncertain. Maybe the angel was from his crazed mind. Maybe it was someone messing with him. Maybe it actually was an angel (shit, that's possible).

I personally think he made it all up. That he wanted to be cleaned so badly of his past sins that he wanted to create a utopia and be surrounded by people who worship him and consider him a saint. It makes sense considering his corruption.[/hide]

Nex 0

Got my Platinum Trophy. 1999 mode was a lot easier than I expected. In fact, it got easier and easier as I went a long. Even the final fight, which wrecked my shit on Normal, was a cakewalk.

Seriously, if you're going for 1999, use this build:
Hat: Burning Halo
Shirt: Blood to Salts
Boots: Vampire's Embrace
Pants: Brittle-Skinned

Use the Shotgun and the Sniper Rifle as your main weapons.

For vigor's all you need are Possession (early on) and Charge (with the upgrade that grants invincibility and replenishes the shield.) Once you get that, congratulations you just won.

All you'll do if fly around the battle field using charge. Every time you use it, it hits with a melee attack which triggers burning halo and brittle skinned. Follow it up with an execution, and tada!– health! Plus, with Blood to Salts, you'll constantly be replenishing salts. On heavier enemies hit 'em with a shotgun blast right after you use charge, and they'll be down.

I wrecked the siren in less than 10 seconds all three times.
All I did was: Charge, shotgun, back away, repeat till dead.

Handymen crumple easily as well. For Patriots, it's not as good, but if you switch it to Electric Touch, you'll be golden. Just be sure to hit them in the gears.

Finally, for anyone who has issues with the big fight at the end on the Zeppelin: cover the core in Return to Sender traps. Seriously. Do it. Those things are permanent, and you won't take any damage at all.

Gekko135

^Great advice!! Love it!

Insider2000

Few dumb questions:

Would it be possible to get all of the collectibles (the voxophones, the telescopes, and the viewfinders) in 1999 Mode?

How hard would it be to attempt to get the Crank Gun kills trophy in 1999 mode?

If I were to say, buy every single vigor upgrade in the game at one single point in time and then immediately reloaded my game before I did that, would I still be able to get the 'Scavenger Hunt' trophy?

Arcadia080

Blood to salts does seem to be the best gear. for the mobile patriot Undertoe. I've been using Bucking Bronko and Undertoe almost exclusivly. I can't beat the siren yet. I'm stuck.
How did you do it in under 10 seconds? I'm too busy with the fodder.

Nex 0

@Arcadia080:

Blood to salts does seem to be the best gear. for the mobile patriot Undertoe. I've been using Bucking Bronko and Undertoe almost exclusivly. I can't beat the siren yet. I'm stuck.
How did you do it in under 10 seconds? I'm too busy with the fodder.

Ignore them. Charge the siren. Burning Halo will trigger and she's weak to fire. Hit her with either the shotgun or handcannon (whichever you have upgraded more) take a few step backs and charge her again. All in all, you can charge her and shoot her in about 2 seconds. In the first fight it only takes 2-3 times depending on your weapon. Same for the bank. The third fight might actually take about 12 seconds, but it's still nothing.

The dead she raises disappears when she dies, so you don't have to worry about them. Plus, with Charge upgraded you're invincible when you use it, so their bullets won't bother you.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

@Insider2000:

Few dumb questions:

Would it be possible to get all of the collectibles (the voxophones, the telescopes, and the viewfinders) in 1999 Mode?

How hard would it be to attempt to get the Crank Gun kills trophy in 1999 mode?

If I were to say, buy every single vigor upgrade in the game at one single point in time and then immediately reloaded my game before I did that, would I still be able to get the 'Scavenger Hunt' trophy?

You can get all the collectibles in 1999 mode without much fuss.
Crank kills will be annoying, but they are possible. You'll probably get 2 every 100 rounds.

I have no idea what you mean by the last one.

1PceXperience

@Nex:

I can tell you that on your second playthrough you see this game for the first time again.

! Precisely! For example, two things that I picked up the 2nd time around.
! 1) At FinkTown there are posters all around that state "You are your families' future"
! 2) Whenever Elizibath gives you money, the coin is always on heads.
! que todo tenga sentido~

Green_vs_Red

That ending was some craaaaaazy shit.

Also how in the hell do you get the heartbreaker acheivement?

The handimen are annoyingly difficult.

Nex 0

@Green_vs_Red:

That ending was some craaaaaazy shit.

Also how in the hell do you get the heartbreaker acheivement?

The handimen are annoyingly difficult.

I did it via skyrail in that second fight with him. I cleared out everyone else, then I rode around on the skyline till he yelled "Get off!" He then jumps up and grabs onto the skyline to electrocute it. While doing so he is completely motionless and his heart is exposed. Using a sniper rifle I hit him in the heart and then repeated. It took like 14 or so shots on 1999, so if you do it on easy it'll probably be like 4 or 5.

Also be sure to add on the gear that does more damage to critical hits. I forgot to.

Arcadia080

1999 mode done! So…. when does Infinite +1 come out?

Nex 0

@Arcadia080:

1999 mode done! So…. when does Infinite +1 come out?

How'd you go about doing it? Just so we can get some more strategy in the thread.

Arcadia080

@Nex:

How'd you go about doing it? Just so we can get some more strategy in the thread.

Max out the shield, put everything else into salts upgrades. Bucking bronco and Under Tow, buck em up and push them off the side to fall to their doom. Use Sheltered Life because there will always be a health pack near by and you will be untouchable for a short while.
Blood to Salts to keep the salt up and if you can find it the last man standing. It's the only thing that kept my health up.

Citizen Snips

Finding all the Voxophones/Telescopes/Kinetoscopes is driving me crazy.

Its my second playrthough and since I'm on the last battle, I'm going to finish the game with 76/80 Voxo and 36/37 Sights. I really looked this time around too.

Nex 0

@Blue:

Finding all the Voxophones/Telescopes/Kinetoscopes is driving me crazy.

Its my second playrthough and since I'm on the last battle, I'm going to finish the game with 76/80 Voxo and 36/37 Sights. I really looked this time around too.

You can find them all afterwards by going to chapter select. That way you don't have to replay game.

Rogues' Gallery

Yahtzee's review of Infinite:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7105-BioShock-Infinite

Insider2000

Passed by this YouTube comment, I just had to share…

[hide]Paris: Knock knock…
Elizabeth: Who's there!
Paris: Not you...[/hide]

Mr.0 Crocodile

1999 tips.

Undertow is an amazing must have vigor. You can get quick kills by pushing people off the edge, stun Motorized Patriots, or stay back and pull people one by one.

Bucking Bronco mixed with Shotgun is the best, I pretty much used it the whole time through.

First and last Handyman can be skipped.

I found Murder of Crows to be the best Vigor when dealing with Handymen.
My go to weapons were the Carbine and the Shotgun. With the damage upgrades and the gear that gives 50% crit bonus is amazing.

Robby

So, I haven't played any of the bioshock games and so have paid no attention at all to this, but the commercials and generally positive reviews have caught my interest.

What's the forum consensus on this one?

I would just read through the thread but there's not a lot of middleground between months of speculation and end-game strategies apparently.

stephen

It's amaaaaaaaazing. The gameplay is solid/adequate but the design, the attention to detail and the storytelling are absolutely top-notch. The conclusion is on-par with great singular moments of film like in The Usual Suspects, Chinatown, Sixth Sense, Jacob's Ladder. You name it, this game's within shooting distance of it.

My advice is definitely play it, but avoid reading anything further about it (if you can) and enjoy it on your own terms.

Mr.0 Crocodile

@RobbyBevard:

So, I haven't played any of the bioshock games and so have paid no attention at all to this, but the commercials and generally positive reviews have caught my interest.

What's the forum consensus on this one?

I would just read through the thread but there's not a lot of middleground between months of speculation and end-game strategies apparently.

It is one of those games that you HAVE to play at least once in your life. Seriously, play this fucking game.

Robby

Well all righty then. Sounds good to me.

And I currently know nothing about it at all, so… bonus.

valiantt

The gameplay/shooting mechanics feels antiquated compared to the more fps oriented games, but it is still functional and the plasmids allow for more strategic gameplay that require you to assess/utilize the environment (i.e igniting oil spills with fire, chaining electrocuting foes, etc…). However, Bioshock's greatest strengths are pretty much the setting and narrative (I cannot decide which one is better since they are intrinsically tied).
-Pros:
Voice Acting is the unbelievably good
Characters (albiet there is only a few of them) are well thought out and tied closely with the theme.
The plot has quite a buildup with fantastic payoffs
The setting is well designed (really should buy that art book).
The overall themes are well thought out and established through visuals and dialogue.

-Cons:
Story has essentially two polarized endings (Saint or devil...though they fixed this somewhat in Bioshock 2 and I have yet to beat infinite)
The story gives you choices but they are pretty damn obvious (except for Infinite which made them slightly more ambiguous as well as shove a time limit at you)
The gameplay is a bit meh, but still functional and interesting enough
The character models look a bit dated (though whoever did Elizabeth's facial expressions for Infinite deserves an A+ in spite everyone else looking...bleh). The fantastic voice acting makes up for it though.
The main protagonists (you) are pretty bland and lack personality, but Infinite did a good job in giving your character (Booker DeWitt) a personality WHILE still making him an "everyman". (They have a good reason for this in Bioshock 1 and 2, but c'mon silent protagonists are so...90s? Infinite proved you could still prove the everyman thing while having your protagonist talk. Bioshock 2 had a good reason though, but 1 doesn't have any reason why the protagonist couldn't say "Ouch, hey, what the hell is this, etc...").

Overall, fantastic games, they offer one of the best solid narratives (if not...THE best) and settings in this generation of games has to offer.

PS: Infinite deserves an A+ also for making the player feel brooding unease/threat in broad daylight/ paradise-oriented setting. Bioshock 1 and 2 had the benefit of taking place in a really dark, creepy setting.

Gekko135

There's only one ending for infinite. But it's an awesome ending.

Play the game Robby and avoid anything about the game online… spoilers are EVERYWHERE.

And this is an easy game to spoil. All it would take is one well worded sentence to ruin the game's story.

Cyber-Robin

@RobbyBevard:

So, I haven't played any of the bioshock games and so have paid no attention at all to this, but the commercials and generally positive reviews have caught my interest.

What's the forum consensus on this one?

I would just read through the thread but there's not a lot of middleground between months of speculation and end-game strategies apparently.

See if you can get the PS3 version that has Bioshock 1 on there too. Personally I'm enjoying my 2nd playthrough on that more than Infinite's first. But both are excellent games.

Robby

I'll avoid looking up anything about it then. And try to get it in the near future rather than the distant one.

valiantt

@RobbyBevard:

I'll avoid looking up anything about it then. And try to get it in the near future rather than the distant one.

Go for Bioshock 1 and 2. Those are the cheapest and if you're that type of nit-picky person that complains about older games being not as good as the recent one…then yeah go with Bioshock 1 and 2 before jumping into Infinite (although playing 1/2 are not necessary at all for understanding Infinite).

Nex 0

@valiantt:

Go for Bioshock 1 and 2. Those are the cheapest and if you're that type of nit-picky person that complains about older games being not as good as the recent one…then yeah go with Bioshock 1 and 2 before jumping into Infinite (although playing 1/2 are not necessary at all for understanding Infinite).

Eh…I'd recommend playing 1 before Infinite, just so certain things can be appreciated. Also, so certain plot points about things make a little bit more sense. You know what I'm talking about? A certain thing being based on another thing.

I'm trying to be as vague as possible so I don't have to spoiler tag it.

2 isn't necessary to play, as Irrational i.e. Ken Levine didn't make it, so it's not really cannon, if you will.

If Robby's able to get it on the PS3, then there are no worries, as Bioshock 1 comes with it. Won't even have to spend money on the game.

Gekko135

Just confirming that Nex's booker charger build wrecks the game.

I personally call the build, the Face Melter.

Burning halo, blood to salts, vampiric embrace, and brittle skinned…. all combined with a fully upgraded charge vigor and shotgun

It'll kill just about anything first hit and anything standing near it... and if the AOE fire damage done to nearby enemies doesn't do the deed, shotgun DOES.

The siren boss fight is no longer an issue. Which works for me since I feel it's one of the weaker parts of the game. Using Face Melter, her summoned enemies didn't even have a moment to touch me.

And i'm playing on hard.

The build is OP. But I don't here Elizabeth complaining.

valiantt

Yep…just beat this game so I can FINALLY read all the spoilers in the past few pages.

No doubt about it, Bioshock 1 should be played first :getlost:

! Booker being able to operate the bathysphere really confuses me. The twist is certainly more mindblowing than the first bioshock. They really did step it up a notch with the narrative. Now I have to replay the game to fill in some holes. I don't know why I didn't catch the twist earlier though, there were so many references that pointed to it, but I was speculating on something stupid like Booker being Songbird or Comstock being Songbird (which is why we never saw him in person or why his voice was…oddly distorted, as well as why Elizabeth never really recalled ever seeing the guy, or why he never spoke when Songbird showed up in person...so on.)...hell, I wish that thing was a bit more developed. They really hyped up that thing and...yeah.

PS: I just found this pic and I totally want the plushie.

!

Nex 0

@valiantt:

Yep…just beat this game so I can FINALLY read all the spoilers in the past few pages.

No doubt about it, Bioshock 1 should be played first :getlost:

! Booker being able to operate the bathysphere really confuses me. The twist is certainly more mindblowing than the first bioshock. They really did step it up a notch with the narrative. Now I have to replay the game to fill in some holes. I don't know why I didn't catch the twist earlier though, there were so many references that pointed to it, but I was speculating on something stupid like Booker being Songbird or Comstock being Songbird (which is why we never saw him in person or why his voice was…oddly distorted, as well as why Elizabeth never really recalled ever seeing the guy, or why he never spoke when Songbird showed up in person...so on.)...hell, I wish that thing was a bit more developed. They really hyped up that thing and...yeah.

! All the juicy bits on the Songbird are found in the details and voxophones. He's essentially a big daddy on steroids. Fink developed him after finding the technology in the tear to rapture. However, because they're in the sky he had to change some things, just causing its intense pressure issues.
But yeah, he is literally the big daddy to Elizabeth's little sister. But he's a billion times more terrifying.
! I too would have liked a little more with him other than the few scripted encounters, so I'm hoping for a little more in the DLC.

DLC wise, I'm hoping for Dark Souls / Skyrim style add-ons, where they just kind of blend seamlessly into the game.

Cyber-Robin

Well for DLC they said at one point new characters right? Will be interesting as I felt we only touched on Columbia as a whole.

valiantt

@Nex:

! All the juicy bits on the Songbird are found in the details and voxophones. He's essentially a big daddy on steroids. Fink developed him after finding the technology in the tear to rapture. However, because they're in the sky he had to change some things, just causing its intense pressure issues.
But yeah, he is literally the big daddy to Elizabeth's little sister. But he's a billion times more terrifying.
! I too would have liked a little more with him other than the few scripted encounters, so I'm hoping for a little more in the DLC.

DLC wise, I'm hoping for Dark Souls / Skyrim style add-ons, where they just kind of blend seamlessly into the game.

! I kinda figured they were going for a big daddy sort of deal which is why I felt the story was hinting at Comstock being the Songbird; and I automatically made a comparison with Subject Delta and Eleanor (yeah Bioshock 2 isn't Levine's work…but still). Totally wrong, and I am totally glad it did not turn out that way since it already had been done.

Since Infinite has no multiplayer, I am absolutely relieved that any additions will focus on expanding the single player experience. There were a lot more locales I really would love to visit (especially considering how big Columbia appeared to be).

! I do like the Vox Populi and I hope for some dlc that is based on how they managed to overtake Columbia. It just "Happened" in the story which makes sense since Elizabeth willed it, but I would like to see how it transpired in gradual steps. Seeing them storming through the factory with Fitzroy's voice blaring on the intercoms and the zeppelins flying across the skies was incredibly cinematic.

stephen

I disagree about needing to play the OG Bioshock first. Sure, you'll appreciate the story parallels, and it's still a great game, but the gameplay (which as mentioned before, is not top-class) is almost identical between the two which means you WILL get tired of them back-to-back, and you really DON'T need to understand more than the basic gist and setting of Bioshock to get whatever nods there are to it within Infinite.

tatermoog

So, uh…

! About halfway through the game, I was fighting another huge wave of enemies, paused the game, set down the controller, and said, out loud, "Dammit, I'm Comstock, aren't I?"
! Unfortunately, after liking the first half more than I did most of Bioshock, I'm ending up in the minority that really didn't care for Infinite at all. In terms of gameplay, the shift to a Halo-style weapon system was a bad one, and I lost most of the strategy/tactics that I found to be such a great part of the first. Even possessing turrets was rarely worth the Salt, since they were surprisingly weak (against other enemies, at least). And if you want to complain about Uncharted baddies being bullet sponges, they had nothing on these guys, even on normal difficulty.
! Some of the design decisions really interfered there as well. I was really frustrated with how many times the aesthetics made it extremely difficult just to locate the enemy fighting me, and while skylines were neat in theory, in practice they were pretty damned twitchy. And this all came together in that last fight, which I thought was pretty dreadful.
! As for the story, it pretty much tripped all of my personal dislikes. Basic conflict based on a paradox? Check. Lots of parallel dimensions and time travel? Check. Major plot twist that subverts all of the likable characteristics of the protagonist and any relationships he/she has made? Check. It's clever enough, I guess, though time travel/parallel dimensions tend to cover an array of potholes, but if you were to make a game narrative designed to annoy me, it'd be hard to do much more than this. Unless you added in a perky talking animal sidekick.
! Loved the aesthetic, the establishment of the world, and it's all very well done, just…eh. I just end up wishing I'd liked this more.

Nex 0

Dammit tatermoog, you and I are just destined to disagree on everything till the end of time aren't we.

tatermoog

@Nex:

Dammit tatermoog, you and I are just destined to disagree on everything till the end of time aren't we.

I originally felt kind of bad for not liking the game, but then I looked at the thread and saw how much you enjoyed it and knew it was fated to be.

Kitsune Inferno

Still a better love story than Twilight.

valiantt

@Kitsune:

Still a better love story than Twilight.

Dude…a romance story between a Big Daddy and Songbird and Andrew Ryan would STILL somehow be a better love story than Twilight.

I can go for a romance between two starcrossed internet forumers.

Nex 0

@Kitsune:

Still a better love story than Twilight.

The love tater and I have for each other is special. Please don't compare it to Twilight.

AkumaMiltos

I haven't been in the forums in a while and I haven't said anything about Infinite.I finished 3 times already (Easy for achievements,Normal as my normal playthrough,1999 mode for the rest of the achievements) and I have to say it's a truly great game.I don't wanna start talking spoilers and stuff but the only thing I'll say is that the ending was pretty messed up.
Now about future DLC.

! I think it would be great to actually be able to play the part where Booker was the hero of the Vox and he died a hero's death.They can do a lot of things with this multiple universe thing so I hope they use it to add some decent DLC content that fits nicely with the normal story.

black-leg jex

So i just finished the game.

! bravo 2K. While i did think half way through the game that i might be Comstock i eventually dropped the idea. I didn't think it would be like that and i certainly didn't think elizabeth was my daughter. The infinite in the title makes all the more sense now and they've practically set up a possibility to have any game anywhere. They could make one about nazi's in space and it would still make sense. I'd heard the ending was bizzare and good but damn

loneassassin

Just finished 1999 mode (following Nex's guide to becoming Super Booker) and I love this game so much.

AkumaMiltos

@black-leg:

So i just finished the game.

! bravo 2K. While i did think half way through the game that i might be Comstock i eventually dropped the idea. I didn't think it would be like that and i certainly didn't think elizabeth was my daughter. The infinite in the title makes all the more sense now and they've practically set up a possibility to have any game anywhere. They could make one about nazi's in space and it would still make sense. I'd heard the ending was bizzare and good but damn

Well,the credits should go to the studio Irrational Games not the publisher 2K,but alright :D

Buuhan1

Just beat it and…. WHAT. This is the closest an ending has ever gotten me to a mental breakdown.

Insider2000

Basically. The day after, I told a friend I beat and he begged me not to spoil it. I told him that I didn't even know where to begin in ATTEMPTING to spoil it.

Green_vs_Red

LOL I really need to read the Cracked.com article on Infinite's ending if only for the confusion presumably going on in the comments section.

Buuhan1

There's one thing I don't quite get about the ending, or maybe I'm just brain farting on it at the moment.

! The whole thing at the end was to kill Booker before he became Comstock, thus circumventing everything that happened. But how did killing the Booker we were playing as do that? Like he was some sort of original or something. If a different Booker existed in Infinite worlds, why did killing just this one at the time of baptism kill them all? Also if that is exactly what happened then how after the credits did we see a Booker checking up on baby Anna, an event that occurred after the baptism?

Nex 0

Here's my best grasp at the ending. Bothing should be accepted as fact, as the only person who truly knows is Ken Levine. That said, hope this helps, Buuhan. (And yes, I need to go through it all for my answer to your question to make sense. I bolded the specific answers to your questions.)

! When the Siphon was destroyed Elizabeth essentially became a god. Her ability to open tears into parallel universes evolved into full blown control over the entirety of reality in every universe. (We know from the game that no Booker has ever succeeded in saving Elizabeth. Our Booker is the first. Thus this is the first, and only, Elizabeth to see her power so fully realized.
The minute you walk through the door to the rapture lighthouse, you are no longer in any reality. More like a Nexus between. All those Liz and Bookers you see when stepping through the Lighthouse are the infinite parallels that were created after the Siphon was destroyed.They're the infinite paths from your success. However, they all en up in the same spot in the end: the baptism pond. Why, because Elizabeth has guided you there once you understand.
! The pond is the focal point of every reality in which Booker changes his name to Comstock. He doesn't become him, as he was always Comstock. Just listen to those voxophones about what he did at Wounded Knee. The only difference between the two men is that one is from from guilt, while the other is burdened. That guilt is what will drive every(?) Booker to this pond. And here he will either walk away or be baptized
! Knowing this, Elizabeth, the god that she is, has forced every reality that has been, is, and will be, to bend at that point in time. Then you, the only successful Booker, have a choice to make. The same choice you have always had to make. To shape your life, to enter Columbia, to save your daughter.
! Constants and variables. The coin will alway be heads. The call will change. There will always be a man. There will always be a light house. What lays beyond the doors will always be different.
! Booker, in his youth, plagued by what he did at Wounded Knee, will always seek refuge in religion. Whether he goes through with it will change.
! Or, at least, that's how it's supposed to be.
! Constants and variables, correct?
! In the sight of Elizabeth the god, everything is constant, but at the same time, everything is variable. She gives a third option. But once our Booker accepts it, it becomes the only option. The variable that once existed is now a constant: with every reality being focused on that one point, a****ny Booker to ever set foot in that pond will drown there. Comstock will be smothered in his crib.
! Now, this is where things get weird. To the internet, everything before the bold is largely a constant. It's everything else that is variable. Some believe that only the Bookers that become Comstock die. Then there are those, like me that believe every Booker dies.
! For me, the key is in that final line:"No, I'm both." It goes back to what I said earlier, about how Booker was always Comstock. That side of him was always there, it was just the guilt that kept him a decent guy. But is a Booker completely eaten alive by guilt (which is our Booker) any better? Could he be a father to Anna? Thus, in my mind, all Bookers that come to the pond are supremely flawed. And all drown.
! But isn't that every Booker? No. But constants and…"
! There are an infinite realities where Booker never participated in Wounded Knee. There are an infinite where he died. There are an infinite where he committed atrocities. There are an infinite where he was plagued by guilt and when the the pond. But there are also an infinite where he didn't go to the pond. Where he learned to deal with his guilt on his own, but still rather unsuccessfully.
! The constant is not that every Booker goes to the pond after Wounded Knee. The constant with the pond is that if he steps into it, the choice he makes will decide the course of the rest of his life.
! The pond, will be and is a variable and a constant. Just like everything else. It's nature is only decided once it was.
! Thus, the Booker we see at the end is one who never went to the pond.
! That is literally the only possible explanation I see.

The absolute beauty of this game lies in the amount of interpretation one can make from it. It's nearly _infinite_.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

In other news, I might have a problem. I think I'm addicted to this game. I've played through it 4 times, hunting down everything. Trying to piece it all together. I have a notebook filled with findings and notes. I've got a timeline for the events hashed out. I've read every theory I can find and have talked this game to death with every person I know. Still though, I feel like I know next to nothing about what is really going on in the game.

I think I just need to go pull a Thoreau for a couple of weeks.