When was the last time you bit into a nice, juicy piece of entertainment without any prior knowledge, preconceived notions or opinions of others floating around in your mind? Well, if you’re reading this, it probably was A LONG TIME AGO. It’s hard to find a show or a game or a book without finding a synopsis and rating system to go with it. Everyone can, and most likely will, share their opinions on any given subject. And although often times the thoughts of others can help in avoiding something not worth your time (or finding something that is), it ultimately destroys the thrill of discovery.

And it’s more than just reviewers, friends and acquaintances that inadvertently change our experiences. It can be watching a trailer or knowing the people that worked on it. Knowledge sets expectations, and expectations can set the parameters for our overall enjoyment. Liking something or not liking something suddenly becomes exceeding expectations, living up to expectations, or failing to live up to expectations. My point is, we need to stop having expectations.

I loved Bioshock Infinite. Having never played any of the previous installments in the series, I had no expectations of what this game should be. At the time of me playing this, I never really followed any news coverage on this game, knew nothing of what it really was about, or what the studio (Irrational Games) was capable of creating.

Needless to say, it was one of the most incredible experiences I had ever had. The story, the characters, the breathe-taking scenery, all of it was amazing and exciting and fresh. This world was special, and my time with it will never be forgotten.

And so when I went on the internet, it came as somewhat of a surprise to find people that didn’t feel the same way. Now, I can respect that other people will have opinions that differ from my own, and that there is no real “right or wrong” when it comes to expressing our feelings on art. What I can’t respect is people spreading their poorly founded opinions based off the expectations that they themselves had formed.

I’ve seen the same comment made, over and over again, and it disappoints me every time I see it. “This isn’t Bioshock.” Well, thing is, it wasn’t supposed to be Bioshock. And if that’s your number one issue with this game, well I’m sorry, but that’s your problem. Your arbitrary expectations don’t equate to the actual quality of any given form of entertainment. And sure, my opinions don’t necessarily equate to the quality of entertainment either, but the fact of the matter is, your preconceived ideas for what this game should’ve been left you with a lesser experience. You couldn’t feel the same enjoyment I felt, and for that, I feel sorry for you.

Jeez, I did not expect to go on a Bioshock Infinite rant there. Oh well. Basically, what I’m trying to say here is don’t let your expectations lead you astray, and try to avoid others opinions until you’ve had a chance to digest something yourself. So go on to Crunchyroll dot com, click the random button as many times as you need to find something you know nothing about, and watch it.

And with that, my Feature Week to ring in the New Year comes to end. Thank you all for reading anything I’ve ever written, it means a lot to me. I hope this year is kind to you, and I hope you enjoyed Bioshock Infinite as much as I did.