A guard immediately grabbed Zack's wrist.
The cutscene shifted Zack's view to his hand, where the letters AD were written on his skin.
"Alright, where did you get that mark? Kid, do you know that makes you a false shepherd, someone who stabs people in the back and lurks to harm others?"
"We won't let false shepherds in, haha!"
"Show him what for, kids!"
Zack suddenly understood.
In the sky-city of Columbia, there had always been stories of false shepherds taking away lambs.
And wasn't Booker coming to sky-city Columbia precisely to take Elizabeth away?
In that case, wouldn't it all make sense?
So Elizabeth was the daughter of the prophet Comstock, known as the Lamb. And Booker was the false shepherd sent to take her.
But where did the prophet learn about all this?
Could the prophet truly predict the future?
And what about that warning card the newsboy had given him earlier?
And who were that mysterious brother and sister who made Booker flip a coin before the lottery?
A flood of questions entered Zack's mind.
However, he didn't have much time to ponder these doubts right now.
Because what was unfolding before his eyes delivered an even greater shock.
The Columbia of the past, the sky-city, was a dreamlike paradise.
But now, Columbia was still Columbia, yet it had become a Columbia filled with blood and violence.
Using a chainsaw-like weapon, he opened up the head of a guard who was trying to capture Booker.
The spray of blood created an indescribable, unsettling atmosphere on the game screen.
But it was clear that by this point, Zack understood one thing: BioShock was not purely an FPS game.
Like the story in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, the narrative played a significant role.
However, compared to the latter, BioShock's story seemed much more intricate.
After all, in Modern Warfare, the story was clear from the very beginning.
It was all about Price and his team thwarting the schemes of various ambitious individuals, and later avenging fallen comrades.
But in BioShock Infinite, Zack was completely confused, much like playing a Souls-like game, with countless mysteries shrouding him.
Beyond simply knowing Booker was sent to retrieve Elizabeth to settle a debt, everything else was a mystery.
Could the prophet really see the future? Who built sky-city Columbia? Why did Booker's employer want to take Elizabeth?
However, aside from the confusing plot, the combat in the game felt very novel to Zack.
Unlike the straightforward shooting in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, BioShock felt more like an RPG.
And the game allowed the use of unique Vigors for combat assistance.
Magic in one hand, firearms in the other, it was incredibly cool.
The only thing that left Zack feeling a bit helpless was the game's lack of the "breathe to heal" mechanic found in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
Instead, like most games, it featured a fixed health system, meaning players had to find health packs in the game.
Zack had chosen the normal difficulty, and when he got a bit careless, his health felt insufficient.
However, Zack didn't know that this design was intentional on Lucas's part.
Compared to fixed health, the biggest advantage of the breathe-to-heal mechanic was that it allowed players to immerse themselves in the game's story, offering a seamless experience.
And with a fixed health system, players feeling low on health would actively seek out health packs, which inadvertently created a sense of detachment.
But in BioShock Infinite, there was a very important element: Elizabeth.
When Booker meets Elizabeth in the game, she joins the squad and provides various forms of assistance.
And health packs were one of the things Elizabeth provided, establishing a bond between the player and Elizabeth.
There were no perfect solutions; it often involved trade-offs, and in BioShock Infinite, the emotional connection with Elizabeth clearly took precedence over other aspects.
His identity revealed, Booker no longer hid and headed straight for Monument Island, where Elizabeth was.
As the game's story progressed, after his first encounter with Comstock's projection at the Tax-Collection Office, Zack's confusion deepened further.
Comstock, known as the Prophet, seemed to truly predict the future, accurately stating Booker's identity and background.
He even recounted the conversation between the employer and Booker.
'I know why you have come, False Shepherd.'
'I have seen the original sins that have defiled your soul—River of Jordan, private detective, alcoholism, gambling, and of course, Anna.'
'Now, to settle your debts, you want my Lamb? But Booker, not all debts can be repaid.'
After hijacking Comstock's airship, Comstock himself appeared and ordered the people on the airship to commit suicide by self-immolation, causing the airship to crash.
Booker was then forced to take a leap of faith.
This was also an exciting part for Zack, using his sky-hook to glide along the aerial rails.
Even though he had a fear of heights, even without looking down, just looking at the clouds around him made his legs tremble.
If he fell, he'd probably have to become a "Zack-chan."
The various mysteries filled Zack with curiosity: Comstock's origins, and why Booker kept getting nosebleeds throughout the process.
Did Booker have a terminal illness? But it couldn't be that cliché, could it?
Zack's list of mysteries grew.
Of course, besides these puzzles, BioShock Infinite's presentation also amazed Zack.
Even with only about an hour of gameplay, Zack could clearly feel the distinctiveness of this sky-city, Columbia.
Religion, race, and steampunk.
In the game, the sky-city of Columbia was essentially a standard dystopia.
Under the leadership of Prophet Comstock, people seemed to live in peace and contentment, much like the vibrant colors of the sky-city.
But in reality, this sky-city was rife with racial discrimination and severe exploitation.
In the game, Franklin, Washington, and Jefferson were treated as gods, worshipped by the people of Columbia.
And Lincoln was referred to as Satan from hell, a heretic in Columbia.
It could be said that in this sky-city of Columbia, extreme racism prevailed.
The game showcased all these elements through various details, rather than just using them as a backdrop.
This made Zack even more eager to see how the rest of the game would unfold.
(End of chapter)
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