Just finished watching the credits roll after beating Bioshock Infinite in 1999 mode. Normally I get a chuckle when I see the list of individuals charged with "Quality Assurance," wondering how many remedial basket weaving classes one needs to fail to qualify for that job. But I have to say BI was probably the most glitch-free AAA title I've ever played. I can't think of a single hiccup in my two full runs. I'm sure there was something, and yes there were a handful of times when I was certain I landed a headshot that didn't register, or equally sure I missed when a guy's head blew up. But otherwise this was a relatively flawless experience. My biggest complaint would be some issues with casting the Possession vigor. Oftentimes if it caught too much of a rail or pillar, it wouldn't affect the enemy. But then there were also times when I almost blindly cast it, popping out of a corner, and it would hit someone. There were also occasional 1-2 second loading pauses when moving quickly across a big area that would take you out of the immersion, but no big deal.
In my earlier assessment of BI, I noted that the ability to have Elizabeth pull supplies and objects from tears during combat seemed like unnecessary icing on the cake. But in 1999 mode, as you could imagine, it could be game-changing... or at least make the experience much less frustrating. This is especially the case when not using Dollar Bill machines, as in many battles, you can have her pull a crate of full health kits or full salt bottles.
As far as dealing with the difficulty jump, like beating the first Bioshock on Survivor, it's hardest at the beginning when you only have a pistol, machine gun, and a couple basic vigors (and no Elizabeth). But once you get a shotty, a sniper, and the Bucking Bronco vigor, the game gets much more manageable. The Handymen were surprisingly the least of my problems. I just made sure I had full salts, a nearby salt bottle, and a Volley Gun with full ammo. And when the Handyman appeared, I simply spammed the Crow vigor and the Volley Gun. Handyman handled. The only slight issue I had is if I hadn't cleared out enough other enemies in the area, who had line of sight on me. Patriots were another story. They were the hardest to take down IMO, mainly because they would often get dropped in toward the end of a big battle when your ammo and salts were almost completely gone. That's when I died the most. Otherwise, the best technique I found was Shock Jockey and pretty much any weapon, ideally with a clear shot at the gears in the back, of course. For vigors, I only used Possession, Bucking Bronco, Undertow (for pushing enemies off ledges/bardges only, until I learned I used less salts using a fully upgraded Possession), Crows (for the Handyman), and Devil's Kiss (for laying mines to take out the Siren where she spawns). So I guess you could say there were a lot of unnecessary weapons and abilities in the game. (The Vox Populi weapons I learned in my first playthrough were almost worthless, partly because it was almost impossible to upgrade them at the point in the game you start seeing them.)
All in all, I found this a very fun experience, challenging myself to beat a game like this on the hardest difficulty. It's been almost a year since I've attempted something like this, and will be picking up my 55th platinum in the process.
