As a boy, I had a dog named Bill. And like all dogs, Bill was a loyal friend. If we had not fed him, Bill would have been loyal. If we had struck him, Bill would have been loyal. Only when the colored man can make that claim will he take his place in society. Click to expand...

What exactly was the “Great Emancipator” emancipating the Negro from? From his daily bread. From the nobility of honest work. From wealthy patrons who sponsored them from cradle to grave. From clothing and shelter. And what have they done with their freedom? Why, go to Finkton, and you shall find out. No animal is born free, except the white man. And it is our burden to care for the rest of creation. Click to expand...

Reading now, will edit in comments shortly.I have yet to return to Infinite since I platinumed it on PS3 in 2014 (and I largely ran through it to get trophies), but I agree wholeheartedly with the author's premise that the game is certainly not what it had originally set out to be.EDIT:A well-expressed opinion. I need to return to Columbia to compare what rests in my nostalgia to what was actually presented, but the author is right about several things:1) Vigors are not adequately explained or serve a meaningful purpose in the narrative outside of servicing a gameplay mechanic. This was my biggest complaint of Infinite when it released and remains today. Fink (or his brother? I forget who precisely) uses the tears to copy what Rapture had created and - voila! - Plasmids are back in the game. There's never much of an effort made to explain why vigors are valued or sought for in a theocratic society in the same way Plasmids were explained in the objectivist world of Rapture.2) The rail system espoused in early previews certainly looked like the game would be far more "open-world" - or at the very least, have more pronounced branching paths. I still find them to be quite useful as a way of varying combat and exploration, as well as giving Columbia a more distinct identity from its predecessors. It certainly evokes a "what if" feeling, however, as though they were supposed to be much more than just escape hatches from prickly encounters. You can see the intended role for the rail system a little bit in the Burial At Sea DLC, where rails are only accessible once a certain plasmid is obtained and prevent the PC from accessing areas prematurely.3) Characters, and this is largely subjective. I, for one, love Elizabeth and the Luteces and the roles they play. The Luteces are interdimensional variations of the same self and while I can see where the author is coming from with respect to their dialogue, it was quite apparent from the very beginning that the Luteces held all of the game's secrets and would trickle information to the player, plus half of their appeal is the mystery that enshrouds them. Every time they showed up, it was (to me) an indication that there was something important for them to divulge and the player to process, which made their cryptic and ghoulish appearances all the more fascinating.Elizabeth, on the other hand, does have a few issues I struggle to overlook, the foremost being how personable she is after living locked away in a tower her whole life and how readily she is able to recognize Columbia for its failings and lies (including Comstock's). Her knack for producing a response similar to the knowledgeable PC isn't consistent with a character in her predicament. It's a bit too convenient at times. All that said, the variation of the "damsel in distress/princess locked away in a tower" was an interesting motif to tinker with in the context of a fantastical, dark reality and how she not only contributes but causes much of the dark ambitions in her malevolent father.I don't agree with the author's view about racism in Columbia. I agree that the game doesn't give you much in the way of explanation about how or why minorities come to Columbia, but Comstock's voxophones (i.e. "sermons") concerning the nature of the Colored man (and, as I interpreted it, minorities in Columbia generally) is to me clearly expressed:Columbia's racism - as taught - is a byproduct of the belief that the elect are elevated to oversee and attend to the remnants of God's creations, who in turn must learn to be willingly subservient. Couple the prophetic mantle espoused by Comstock, the magnificence of the floating city, and the power of Vigors, and the contours of the founding philosophies of Columbia emerge to illustrate how a sincere belief in one's own election generates bigotry, civil unrest, and hatred between classes. Bioshock used the same techniques to provide commentary on objectivism, and I found Infinite was doing the same here (with respect to the theocracy).I still consider Infinite be one of the finer games of last generation, even in spite of its resonance having diminished. But I agree with the author that there are very apparent "seams" where the previous game was shed away in order to create what was released. Nevertheless, I found the commentary about society and the guiding principles inherent in Bioshock to be present in Infinite, commentary which I feel greatly enhances the experience.