Originally conceived as a floating symbol of American ideals at a time when the United States was emerging as a world power, Columbia is dispatched to distant shores with great fanfare by a captivated public.  What begins as a brand new endeavor of hope turns drastically wrong as the city soon disappears into the clouds to whereabouts unknown.

BioShock Infinite puts players in the role of Booker DeWitt, a hard-bitten former Pinkerton agent, together with the revolutionary AI companion, Elizabeth. The two struggle to escape the sky-city of Columbia, in a 1912 America that might have been. Armed with an arsenal of new weapons and abilities, they face menacing enemies, in unique expansive environments. Classic BioShock gameplay joins innovations such as aerial combat on high-speed Sky-Lines in the service of an immersive storyline – an Irrational Games signature.

Most BioShock Infinite fans are probably familiar with the game's hardest difficulty, 1999 Mode. If you wanted to jump directly into 1999 Mode, the development team even included a special code allowing for early access (Hint: Konami Code).

In conjunction with the upcoming BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode Two DLC (releasing March 25th), Irrational Games revealed the brand new 1998 Mode, which challenges gamers to complete the narrative using only non-lethal tools. This mode will be in addition to existing difficulty modes, and the aforementioned 1999 Mode.

“In Burial at Sea – Episode Two we put a focus on balance and stealth mechanics,” said Ken Levine, creative director of Irrational Games. “As we were developing this new style of gameplay, we started to see people self-impose non-lethal playthrough’s. Given the fan reception of 1999 Mode, we thought it would be cool to give them another way to play Burial at Sea that challenged their mastery of stealth tools.”