How To: Unlock the Hellish "1999 Mode" Early in BioShock: Infinite with These Secret Konami Codes

We all know about partying like it's 1999, but what about gaming like it's 1999? The folks over at Irrational Games, the studio behind the new BioShock: Infinite, which was just released today, decided to go a little retro and include a hidden game mode for the most hardcore gamers.

By default, the game starts out with the normal Easy, Medium, and Hard difficulties, with "1999 Mode" made available only after you beat the game. But if you enter in one these secret Konami codes provided below, you can gain instant access to the locked mode.

PC Code

• Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, (Cancel key), (Confirm key)

Xbox 360 Code

• Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A

PS3 Code

• Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, O, X

So, why is it called "1999 Mode" exactly?

Apparently, several employees over at Irrational Games worked on System Shock 2, which was release in 1999, so this is a kickback to that. And like in System Shock 2, "1999 Mode" will make things tougher because the player will be forced to make decisions that cannot be reversed—and can even make the game unbeatable.

Now, if you haven't already seen the badass trailer, check it out below. The game is getting unbelievably great reviews—better than I've ever seen before—so I'm pretty stoked to get my hands on it soon.

Want some more old school Konami code action? Check out the secret code for Netflix on your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 to unlock the hidden menu.