Father Washington

Predominantly male heterosexual audience! Does the idea of a slight woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to a gene splice of Zooey Deschanel and Guardian beauty columnist Sali Hughes make you feel all nice inside? Do you want to protect this big-eyed beauty from the brutes of the world? Of course you do!

Despite rumours of a satirically incompetent dev cycle, BioShock Infinite is shaping up to be something rather splendid. We'll put that talent exodus from developer studio Irrational Games, not to mention the months wasted on a still born multiplayer mode, out of our minds to concentrate on the evidence presented in this trailer. Seems like Ken Levine et al have woven an arresting little yarn that marries the techno-aesthetic of Oz to a living, breathing monument to American exceptionalism.

Ms Disaster and I recently spent some time in Washington DC. As outsiders we were both very taken with the idea that, at some point, there seemed to have been a conscious effort to create an American political pantheon to exist in place of traditional Judeo-Christian power structures. Greek deities were woven into murals of Washington and the Founding Fathers kicking ass and taking names; their deeds the bedrock of a new, post-God paradise. Columbia, the central environment of BioShock Infinite, seems to be a Laputa based on similar ideas. Just look at those statues of Father Washington  - he is their God.