Bioshock Infinite to feature an unforgiving “1999″ mode, details revealed

The original Bioshock was a walk in the park for most gamers thanks to its Vita Chambers. This time around, hardcore gamers can truly put your skills to the test in the 1999 mode for the upcoming Bioshock Infinite, a result from the community feedback.

Not just a harder difficulty setting with bullet absorbent enemies, the 1999 mode increases the scarcity of ammo and respawn points, and the player’s decisions on specialization and focus will have “permanent consequences” and drastically alters the course of the game. The mode is specially designed for old school gamers and every aspect of the game will vary immensely from a playthrough on normal difficulty. Ken Levine, Creative Director of Irrational Games commented on the occassion:

“In 1999 Mode, gamers face more of the permanent consequences of their gameplay decisions,” Irrational’s Ken Levine says in a morning press release. “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.”

Bioshock will take to the skies with Infinite sometime later this year on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.