This week Irrational games released the fourth and final video in their Heavy Hitter’s series that shows some of the more dangerous enemies that will appear in Bioshock Infinite. They’re a scary and menacing lot, but the question remains, are any of them going to terrify players more than the iconic Big Daddies from the first game?
The Big Daddy has always been the star of the game, even appearing on the cover of the box while the human NPCs and Splicers are no where to be seen. These armored killing machines are introduced early on in the game as the Player watches some poor Splicer get his head rammed through a wall by the first Big Daddy. It’s clear that these are creatures to be left alone. Alas, “A Slave Obeys” and the Player has no choice but to take on a Big Daddy in order to complete the first level of the game.
Short on ammo, with few Plasmid powers, and only a couple of basic guns, the first Big Daddy fight is a brutal and extended effort to keep away from that drill arm, while pumping every round of ammo you have into this slab of metal and mutated flesh. Once the first level is over, Players find themselves facing off against a slightly different model of Big Daddy right at the start of level 2. By the end of the game, the Player has access to trap arrows that can be used to easily bring down the Big Daddies with a little planning, but they still remain deadly foes in a straight up fight.
Bioshock Infinite has its own version of the Big Daddy, the Handyman who has the armor and bulk of a big daddy, but lacks the overt menace of a giant drill for a hand. The unfortunate creatures are agile and can throw projectiles, but their exposed faces lack the mystery and menace of the Daddy’s helmet with its glowing red portholes.
Another of the Heavy Hitters is the Motorized Patriot, an animatronic George Washington armed with a gatling gun. While some of the Big Daddy models had projective attacks, including rivet guns and grenade launchers, they still liked to get close. The Motorized Patriot hasn’t been shown engaging in hand-to-hand combat, seemingly more of a specialized ranged attacker. The Big Daddies’ versatility is part of what makes them such a dangerous opponent.
The game’s Creative Director Ken Levine described the next Heavy Hitter, the Boys of Silence as being similar to the cameras from the first Bioshock game, but able to hunt down the Player then call for back up. Their bronze helmets certainly inspire revulsion and the same sort of mystery about what lies beneath that the Big Daddy suits do, but these characters don't seem like they can effectively attack directly on their own.
The final Heavy Hitter, just unveiled today is the Siren. She doesn’t attack the Player directly either, but rather can resurrect the dead to bring back enemies that were just defeated. Is power over life and death a match for the Big Daddy’s drill arm? Do any of the new enemies get your heart pounding as fast as the classic Big Daddy? Tell us what you think in the Facebook comments below, and take a look at the Siren in action in this newly-released video: