Upcoming shooter BioShock Infinite will ship with a feature called "1999 Mode" that ramps up the difficulty to old-school proportions, developer Irrational Games said Thursday.
Calling 1999 Mode an "unforgiving new mode" with "permanent consequences," Irrational said it will be designed for gamers who miss the days of grueling difficulty settings. Speaking in a press release, Irrational Games Creative Director Ken Levine discussed where the idea originated:
"I’m an old school gamer," he said. "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."
1999 Mode will be optional, as will be partying like it's 1999.
Chris says: On the one hand, I understand that 1999 is now considered "old-school" gaming. On the other, I'm wondering what exactly that makes those of us who still play games from 1989. Also, where's my Metamucil?
