The Art of BioShock Infinite Hardcover – 9 April 2013

I loved the game and I've seen some of the stunning concept art around the internets and I'm surprised I didn't get this deluxe hardcover book sooner, which was languishing in my Amazon wishlist for a while before I finally got round to buying it, and now that I have, it's a very welcome addition to my art book shelf!Published by Dark Horse, each of the 184 pages are jam packed with gorgeous concept art from the game. The artwork, of course, speaks for itself, covering a full page and often spread over two, but never looking messy or as if it's been squeezed to fit on the page, and is accompanied by some commentary and annotated handwritten text, although not much. This is definitely an art book!The early part of the book, after the introduction from lead writer on the game, Ken Levine, starts with the concepts of the main characters Elizabeth and Booker DeWitt, along with early art of Songbird, the population and items of Columbia and the heavy hitters. I always find it fascinating to see the original concept art of characters and environments and the way they sometimes evolve until you see them in the finished game or movie. And this is no different in 'Bioshock Infinite'. It seems they had a clear vision of who Elizabeth and Booker were from the off, with not too many changes from the original concept art. The heavy hitters seemed to go through the biggest changes, as the original concept art came across as much more gory and a bit far removed from the enemies you finally encounter in the game.I have a thing for vintage art and advertisements, so I enjoyed that section of the book. A whole chapter on the advertisements and propaganda posters, with most of the images being full page spreads and looking very nice too, with lots of detail!I have The Art Of The Mass Effect Universe, also published by Dark Horse, and this book follows in it's footsteps with a superb exploration of the art and design that went into creating one of this year's best games, 'Bioshock Infinite'.If you're a fan of the game and enjoyed it's visuals, you'll enjoy flicking through these pages. Don't forget to take a peek under the slipcover for an embossed vintage engraved style on the hardcover, an extra visual treat.

Bioshock Infinite has such a tremendous effort of character, art & design that this art book, for me, was an absolute must have.Firstly, and as you can expect, the book is presented wonderfully. Under the outer sleeve is a weathered effect hardback book with a gold-foil print.After a page of introduction by Ken Levine, the artwork begins.There are eleven chapters in all:1. Finding Columbia2. Elizabeth3. Booker Dewitt4. Songbird5. Founders, Citizens & Vox Populi6. Heavy Hitters7. Advertisements & Propaganda8. Vigors9. Sky-Hook10. Weapons & Airships11. ColumbiaThe first point to note is that this book is a pure art book, as in there is very little in the form of writing or extended descriptions. The artwork is usually full page or fantastic double page spreads, showing ideas and forms that never made it and designs that changed over time. The artwork of the characters, items, people and places have only small printed annotations here and there, together with the scribbles from the concept artists at times.Perhaps the lack of text or extended explanation may disappoint some, but for me it is a perfect approach. This is an art book, and especially considering the fact this is an art book for Bioshock Infinite, the artwork and design speaks for itself.Images aren't pushed into bordered corners by blinding walls of text, and they haven't crammed as much as they can onto each page. Instead, everything is given it's own space, and it never feels messy.There's a lot covered, and it's worth noting that the main focus of the book tends to be orientated around the design conceptions, the changes, and the designs that never ended up in the game. So basically, you won't find every single piece of Infinite's art work in here, and more often than not you won't find the finalised versions (Another point that perhaps will be a downer for some)But overall, this is fantastic exploration of the art and design that went into create the deep, vibrant world of Bioshock Infinite and is an interesting insight into how the designs evolved - All presented in a fantastic fashion.Wholeheartedly recommended to any fan.

I sadly had to wait for a long time for it to arrive but when it did it was worth the wait. I opened the box to see it was neatly packaged tight with two layers of thick bubble wrap. The front cover was nicely printed and I took off the cover to see a gold printed image of the picture on the front cover, beautiful. The book has much depth and truly amazing concept art included for main characters like Elizabeth. It shows the development of what Columbia would grow into and a few notes around most pages informing you on what they were thinking or doing while illustrating that image. The book is almost like a tour of the minds of the developers of Bioshock, showing everything that we see in such a great game from its early stages and how it would become what we know now of the stunning game Bioshock Infinite. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the series and I am very pleased with what has arrived in my mail today!