Bioshock Infinite Review

Now, when it comes to weaponry, everything is just a little bit different compared to the original Bioshock.  You start out with a handgun, and as you go along you can acquire heavier guns off corpses as you kill enemies off.  Within the first hour, you have access to a machine gun, a sniper rifle, an RPG, a hand-cranked turret gun, and several others.  You also get the awesome melee weapon known as the skyline hook.

You can literally take someone’s head off with this thing, pulverize their chest, and send them flying fifty feet away.  It is also your quickest form of travel.  You use it to grab onto the skyline rails that circle and weave in and out of the city.  It’s a fast way to get where you’re going, get the drop on enemies, and board airships that are doing their best to send rockets down your throat.  Trust me, that hook is a blast.

The next thing you’re probably wondering about is what is available for powers.  First, get the idea of “plasmids” out of your head.  That was in Rapture, and won’t be invented for over 40 years.  Instead, you have access to liquids in jars that resemble steampunk versions of Egyptian burial jars.  These are known as “vigors”.  Think of the old snake oil ads from the backs of old magazines that promised all kinds of fantastic results.  Same thing, only these actually work.  And strangely enough, they are recharged by consuming salt.  Yeah, salt.  You can drink sodas, eat hot dogs, or just consume entire containers of salt.  Weird?  Yes.  But the weirdness will pass eventually.

You can also locate collectible gears, such as hats, that can be used to provide Booker with sweet buffs.  One of the first things I found was a hat that allowed you to siphon health from baddies when you butcher them with your skyline hook.  This one is particularly handy, as you’ll sometimes have ten or fifteen bad guys swarming in on you at any given moment.  You can jump on the skyline rail, perform a flying attack, jump back up there with more health than you had before, and do it all over again.  This takes some finesse, but it’s extremely satisfying.