Bioshock Infinite

Bioshock Infinite (2013)

Bioshock Infinite is the third game in the Bioshock series, developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games in 2013 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. For the most part it is a sequel in name only; instead of the 1960s underwater city of Rapture it takes place in an alternate 1912, where a flying city called Columbia has been constructed by a self-styled prophet named Zachary Comstock, the game taking place shortly after Columbia's secession from the United States. The player controls Booker Dewitt (voiced by Troy Baker), a former Pinkerton agent and soldier now working as a private detective, who is hired by a mysterious benefactor to track down a young woman named Elizabeth who is being held by Columbia for unknown reasons. He soon finds himself embroiled in a civil war between the "Founders" who control Columbia and the revolutionary "Vox Populi" guerillas who seek to overthrow Comstock's dictatorial rule, and that Elizabeth may be the key to unravelling the mystery of Columbia.

The Lutece twins, people working for Comstock that see into/travel between alternate realities, "provide" all of the scientific discovery for the technology that makes Colombia possible by stealing it from more advanced worlds. Because of that, the weapons in the game are Columbia-made renditions of other, real-world weapons that have absolutely no business being in an American nation in 1912, especially one so deeply anti-foreigner. Similarly, the plasmids of the earlier games have been reappropriated by Columbians as "Vigors", upwards of 40 years before their invention in the universe of the first two games.

Three DLC packs have been released since Infinite's success; the arena-style Clash in the Clouds and the two-part sub-story Burial at Sea. Episode 1 (released November 12th 2013) transplants Booker and Elizabeth to the underwater city of Rapture, mere hours before the New Years Riots of 1959, on the search for this Booker's adopted daughter "Sally". Episode 2 (released March 25th 2014) features Elizabeth trying to escape Rapture with Sally in tow (and things get strange from there). Both episodes of Burial at Sea include new weapons, new skins for old weapons and new "Plasmids".

The following weapons appear in the video game Bioshock Infinite:

Handguns

Colt 1851 Navy

An ornately engraved Colt 1851 Navy revolver is the second handgun available in the game, referred to as the "Hand Cannon" in game and the "Paddywhacker" in the trophy / achievement listing; unused text refers to it as the "Paddywhacker US5". This revolver is chambered for metallic cartridges. Early footage showed it with an incorrect swing-out cylinder, but the version in the final game is instead a still-incorrect top-break design with an automatic extractor and the frame extended over the top of the cylinder. Bizarrely, the weapon still appears to have the loading lever of the percussion cap model, though it is encased in a surround which would render it useless. Despite using cartridges, the rim of the cylinder is also modelled with notches where the percussion nipples would be on a regular cap/ball Colt. Booker reloads it using a speedloader which somehow causes the extractor to retract itself when the rounds are inserted, and it is shown as single-action with Booker thumb-cocking the hammer after each shot.

The same model of revolver can be seen in the hands of statues of Cornelius Slate and Zachary Comstock in the Hall of Heroes. It reappears in Burial at Sea Episode 1 and 2 with a cleaner appearance and golden decor, featuring as the first weapon in Booker's inventory in Episode 1 (seemingly standing in for the Webley from Bioshock 1). Elizabeth's animations with the weapon in Episode 2 are slower and more clunky, showing her inexperience with firearms.

Colt 1851 Navy - .36 caliber

Booker holds his Colt as he looks over the "Volley Gun", which is a fictious grenade launcher.

Reloading the Colt causes the automatic extractor to cough out a shower of empty casings, which are clearly rimless (!) and have not actually been fired since their primers are unstruck; as usual in a shooter, there are six empty casings even though the ammo counter shows five rounds remaining. Note the frame under the barrel surrounding either an offset and useless extractor rod or an immobilised and even more useless loading lever, and that the neither of the top two chambers are actually in line with the barrel.

Booker then tosses aside the speedloader after putting the new rounds in place; note the automatic extractor has retracted by itself. Following this he snaps the revolver closed by swinging the barrel upwards, in a manner that will not earn him any favour from the hinge. Elizabeth from Burial at Sea Episode 2 is a bit kinder to it.

Booker encounters a Colt resting on a table; note the extremely strange trigger guard with added pointless finger guard.

Earlier version of the Colt 1851 Navy with a swing-out cylinder.

Concept art for the "Hand Cannon", showing various alternate designs.

Concept art for a capacity upgrade for one of the alternate revolvers shown above, similar to that in the original Bioshock. The final game has no visual changes for weapon upgrades, and the Colt doesn't have capacity upgrades anyway.

Mauser C96

A modified Mauser C96 is the first weapon received in the game and a common sight among Columbia's security forces and the Vox Populi guerrillas; it is simply called the "Pistol" in-game, while the trophy / achievement list calls it the "Broadsider"; unused text refers to it as the "Broadsider C-99". Booker receives one in a box at the very start of the game, but loses it almost immediately, dropping it as the rocket which takes him to Columbia starts up. He acquires an identical weapon after being outed as the "False Shepherd" and attacked by Columbia security forces.

The C96 model in the game is a fictional hybrid of the standard C96 and the M712 Schnellfeuer; it is semi-automatic only, but features a detachable box magazine; despite the magazine being a 10-rounder which does not project below the magazine well, it has a capacity of 12 rounds, upgradable to 18. On the left side of the weapon is a lever resembling the magazine release of a Thompson SMG, which replaces the push-button release of the real weapon, and the magazine well features ribs which serve no obvious purpose. The in-game pistol also has a short barrel, making it more like a "Bolo" model. If the player pre-ordered the game (or bought later DLC), they will receive a gold-plated version with more damage.

Mauser C96 "Bolo" - 7.63x25mm Mauser

Mauser M712 Schnellfeuer with 10-round magazine - 7.63x25mm Mauser

Following his discovery as the "False Prophet", Booker attempts to live up to his name by making good his escape, using a hybrid Mauser pistol to gun down Columbia's finest in the process. Note that as with the Colt, the ejected casing is unfired.

Booker brandishes his Mauser as he views the results of Columbia's dastardly cloning program. He will adopt this as an idle pose if he has not used the weapon for a while. Note the side-mounted extended mag release lever and strange ribbed magazine well.

On reloading, he attempts to remember why he bought his giant empty casing. The breech of this pistol is worryingly blocked.

Concept art for the pistol, showing that a Luger P08 was also considered, as well as a scrapped Vox Populi variant. The bottom left shows multiple designs for the magazine release.

Submachine guns

ZK-383

One of the most common weapons in the game is a heavily modified and shortened ZK-383, an early Czech SMG, with a lower angled magazine, no forestock, and an enlarged heat shield. Similarly to the Thompson from the original Bioshock, the weapon is referred to as a "Machine Gun" in-game and as the "Triple R" (for the somewhat nonsensical "Rolsten Reciprocating Repeater") in the trophy / achievement list. Weirdly enough, in some upgrade stations, it'll be mistakenly referred to as the "Rolson Reciprocating Rifle", somewhat nonsensically. Booker uses the magazine as a grip, which is generally a bad idea with weapons where this is possible since it tends to cause jams and damaged magazines, but since the heat shield somehow becomes incandescent during protracted firing it is probably the safer option. The weapon has a 35-round magazine, which increases to a rather implausible 70 when the weapon is fully upgraded.

The Vox Populi version is simply called the "Repeater", and boasts increased damage but a slower rate of fire. Despite having a large MP18-style snail drum magazine, it actually has a lower capacity of just 20 rounds, and has different iron sights and a rounded charging handle that appears to be taken from a hand tool like a hole punch or screwdriver.

The Triple-R appears in Burial at Sea Episode 1 through tears to replenish ammo for the Thompson M1928A1. This seems to indicate that the weapon and its Repeater variant fire .45 ACP, but the damage and ammo box models of both say otherwise.

ZK-383 - 9x19mm Parabellum

Booker holds his mutant ZK-383 as he encounters an advertisement for it, grumbling that he's already got one. Note the ridiculously large heat shield and the note that it is "friend of the Indian fighter," despite the game taking place some two decades after anyone would regard this as a selling point. Also note that the charging handle is forward, implying the weapon to be closed-bolt, unlike the real-life ZK-383.

Reloading after a protracted bout of firing makes it very clear why Booker does not grip it by the heat shield. Note that while the heat shield is glowing red hot, the barrel inside is the same colour it usually is. This leads to certain questions about where the heat is actually supposed to have come from.

The "Triple R"'s concept art, showing both some of the other designs considered (each marked with its country of origin and an approximate year of production), and how the ZK-383 gradually became more cartoonishly proportioned, with a more tilted magazine, a left-side charging handle, a forestock that was first shrunken, then completely removed, and a larger receiver and barrel jacket. The submachine guns on the left, starting from the top-left and going downwards, are: an MP40 (oddly dated to 1939), a Bergmann MP18 (a later/earlier developmental straight-magazine version, dated to 1916), a PPSh-41, a Beretta Model 38/44 (though the 1942 date would suggest that it's meant to be a 38/42), a MAT-49, a Steyr MP34, an OVP M1918 with no magazine, an M1928A1 Thompson (labeled as an M1), something that's stated to be the selected ZK-383, but doesn't quite look the part, a MAS-38, a Beretta PM12S (incorrectly stated to come from the 1990s, rather than the early 60s), a Vz. 61 Skorpion, a Star Si35, a Sten Mk II with an odd curved magazine, a Walther MPL, an M3 Grease Gun (labeled as the later M3A1 model, despite the shorter dust-cover, although it does have the M3A1's stock; it is incorrectly dated to 1940), and a PP-90M1.

Thompson M1928A1

The Thompson (called the Tommy Gun) returns from Bioshock 1 in the Burial at Sea DLC, replacing the ZK-383 as the main submachine gun. Compared to the Bioshock 1 version, it is now modelled after the M1928A1 variant, with much better proportions (bar the oversized barrel with absurdly large compensator which doesn't do much for the recoil). It has a reduced magazine capacity of 35 rounds and can only hold about two magazines at any one time, so conserving ammo and saving it for when it is absolutely necessary is recommended. The words "Magazine Rapture 50 Caliber" engraved on the back side of the drum magazine, implying that this gun somehow uses .50 rounds instead of .45 ACP.

M1928A1 Thompson with 50-round drum magazine, smooth barrel, and early 'simplified' rear sight that would be adopted for the M1 Thompson - .45 ACP

The M1928A1 as it appears in Burial at Sea.

Shotguns

Winchester Model 1887

The Winchester Model 1887 is referred to as the "Shotgun" in-game and the "China Broom" in the trophy / achievement list. The weapon has the barrel and stock sawed down and is shown with a massively oversized barrel with a top rib and flared muzzle, and a tiny magazine tube which could not possibly contain actual cartridges. The words "Memento Mori" ("remember you must die") can be seen on the side of the receiver. The shotgun has a capacity of 4 rounds by default, rising to an impossible eight rounds when fully upgraded. A gold-decorated variant appears in the Burial at Sea DLC in both episodes. Rather oddly, it holds only two rounds in Episode 2.

The Vox Populi version, the "Heater", appears to be some sort of blunderbuss: it features an even larger barrel, is loaded one round at a time and can basically be described as firing explosions, with massive recoil and a much lower ammo limit.

Sawn-off Norinco YL-1887 - 12 gauge

Booker holds the shotgun after powering up a gondola with the Shock Jockey vigor. This gold-plated shotgun variant comes with the Season Pass and does more damage than the regular shotgun.

Rifles

M1 Carbine

The M1 Carbine is a general-use semi-automatic rifle found fairly early in the game, referred to as the "Carbine" in-game and the "Huntsman" in the trophy / achievement list; unused text refers to it as the "Huntsman M1". The weapon features a post-war style rear sight, a mirrored double-sided charging handle with an odd projection behind it which resembles the magazine cutoff of an old-model Lee-Enfield, uncomfortable-looking metal bands around the handguard, and the words "Acta Non Verba" ("actions not words") engraved on the left side of the receiver. The weapon uses an oversized M14-esque magazine which quite clearly contains 7.62mm NATO rounds instead of .30 Carbine. By default the magazine only holds eight rounds despite visually being a 20-rounder; this increases to a still-too-small 12 when the magazine size upgrade is purchased.

A second version made by Vox Populi rebels is available later in the game; the "Burstgun" has a default 30-round magazine (despite using the same 20-round model) and is fitted with a scope (or more accurately a magnifying lens with an X drawn on it which would be practically useless for aiming) and a machine gun-style barrel jacket. This version somehow fires in three-round bursts despite having a receiver which is identical to that of the standard semi-auto variant.

Early trailers showed a version of the Huntsman equipped with a scope and with a full-circle front sight with no sight pin, but this version seems to have been removed from the final game. Another variation appears in the Burial at Sea DLC; visually it is almost identical to the regular Carbine, with some slight modifications to fit the art deco style of Rapture, but gameplay-wise it is far closer to the Burstgun, including firing in three-round bursts.

M1 Carbine (Post-War) - .30 Carbine

Booker holds his modified M1 Carbine following his successful attempt to make everything go horribly wrong.

Threatened by a fearsome cartoon eagle, Booker realises he needs his 2D bullets and to this effect quickly stuffs an M14 magazine into his M1 Carbine.

Occasionally in combat Booker's companion Elizabeth will announce she has found ammo, with a prompt appearing to receive it. For some reason she then elects to throw an entire gun at Booker rather than just the ammo itself, which seems less than optimal. She can also do this regardless of the distance or height difference between her and Booker.

A shot from a pre-release trailer, showing the M1 Carbine with a scope and full-circle front sight.

The model of the Carbine.

The model of the Burstgun.

The model of the Carbine in Burial at Sea.

Hybrid Mauser-Action Rifle

The only sniper rifle in the game is a hybrid of the M1903A3 Springfield and Karabiner 98k, referred to simply as the "Sniper Rifle" in game and as the "Bird's Eye" in the trophy / achievement list; unused text refers to it as the "Bird's Eye G10". It is always fitted with a scope and incorrectly uses a detachable box magazine with a capacity of just four rounds (which lacks any sort of visible magazine release). The in-game model has the barrel of a Springfield along with the front sling attachment point and a C-type pistol grip stock, but has other features from the Kar 98 including a section of exposed barrel near the front, a straight bolt handle, rounded trigger guard, and its tangent rear sight. Just to confuse matters further, it also has the front sight of a M1917 Enfield, and a Mossberg 144 LS-esque trigger guard.

M1903A3 Rifle manufactured by Remington Arms for use during World War II. Note the C-type pistol-grip stock - .30-06 Springfield

Karabiner 98k Sniper with Zeiss ZF42 scope - 7.92x57mm Mauser

M1917 Enfield - .30-06 Springfield

Mossberg 144 LS - .22 LR

Booker examines a rifle sneaking around on the floor, wary of the bits and pieces it has been built from.

The model of the sniper rifle. Note that the scope's rings don't actually go all the way around its body, which would make them somewhat less than useful; the scope itself also has only one adjustment knob, meaning that it can only be adjusted for either windage or elevation, but not both.

Machine guns

Fictional machine gun

A fictional weapon based loosely on the Maxim or Vickers guns is used by the robot gun turrets found scattered throughout the game. The weapon's barrel is shown in the middle of the water jacket rather than at the bottom as on these two weapons, and the receiver is incorrect for either.

Maxim 1910 with 'Sokolov' wheel mount, w/o shield - 7.62x54mmR

Vickers gun with ribbed water jacket - .303 British

Booker discovers that Columbia takes the phrase "robot gun turret" a little too literally.

Gatling Gun

A handheld, hand-cranked Gatling Gun referred to in-game as the "Crank Gun", in the trophy / achievement list as the "Peppermill Gun", and in unused text as the "Peppermill C1878", is used by the Motorized Patriots, and can sometimes be acquired through a Tear. The weapon uses a right-side-mounted hundred-round ammunition box, though Patriots are never seen reloading it. It has no iron sight mode, nor does it have the usual option in games to pre-spin the barrels.

M1865 Gatling Gun - .50 Rimfire / .50-70

Booker holds his hand-cranked Gatling warily as he looks at a poster of an inexplicably creepy lamb.

Firing the Gatling gun; somehow, spent rounds are ejected on the same side the weapon feeds from, and as with other weapons have obviously unstruck primers.

Booker gets closer to a Motorized Patriot than is strictly advisable, showing off the robot's Gatling gun. In early footage the Motorized Patriot was shown using this gun without the ammunition box mounted, but it is present in the final game.

Concept art of the Gatling gun; note this early version has a rear-mounted single-spade grip, which would make holding the gun level while cranking it even more impossible than it would be on the final model.

Launchers

"RPG"

A fictional crank-operated rocket launcher with a 3-round magazine called the "RPG" in game, the "Barnstormer" in the trophy / achievement list, and the "Barnstormer M43" in unused text is the game's only such weapon. Despite its status, it is not a powerful weapon and the few enemies that would warrant its use usually have some sort of resistance to it. It is also a rare weapon.

Notably, studying the model of the weapon shows it has no exhaust port, meaning Booker would be pushed over upon firing it.

Booker holding the Barnstormer, showing off his beta model's suit sleeves. The final model uses a short sleeved shirt with waistcoat.

"Volley Gun"

A fictional revolver grenade launcher with a 8-round magazine called the "Volley Gun" in game and the "Pig Flak" in the trophy / achievement list. Their appearance was obviously, inspired by the Milkor MGL. It is a grenade launcher with a very high rate of fire, as fast as the player can pull the trigger, making it generally useful for suppressing large groups of weaker enemies with constant explosive damage.

The Vox Populi version is called the "Hail Fire". While Volley Gun grenades explode on impact with any surface, Hail Fire grenades only explode in normal circumstances when they hit a target, otherwise bouncing off surfaces until a time limit is reached and the grenades self-detonate. Hail Fire grenades can also be detonated manually, if the player holds the trigger when firing, as the grenade automatically explodes when the player lets go of the trigger.

Milkor MGL fitted with Armson OEG reflex sight - 40x46mm

Concept art of the "Pig Flak" grenade launcher. Some alternate designs are also shown, with the third being the closest to the final product.

Unusable Weapons

Remington 1858 New Army

A poster for Chen-Lin's gunsmith shows a pair of Remington 1858 New Army revolvers. The weapon is shown with a shorter-than-normal barrel, garnished the projection under the loading lever, and an incorrect Colt SAA-style 5-shot fluted cylinder.

Remington 1858 New Army Brass Frame - .44 caliber

The left gun is incorrectly just a mirror of the right gun, a typical mistake games still make.

Philadelphia Derringer

In the headquarters of the Order of the Raven, a strange cult of enforcers in Columbia, a painting can be seen of John Wilkes Booth pointing his Philadelphia Derringer pistol at Abraham Lincoln, with Booth shown with a halo and Lincoln as a red-eyed devil with horns. The statue of Booth in the room next door is equipped with a very low-detail handgun which resembles a generic semi-automatic pistol from most angles, though a hammer can be seen on its right side.

Actual Philadelphia Derringer pistol used by John Wilkes Booth to assassinate Abraham Lincoln - .41 caliber

Columbia doesn't exactly see things the way normal people do.

Outside, meanwhile, a statue built by people who hadn't seen the painting shows Wilkes Booth posing dramatically with a stone banana.

Springfield M1903

A frequently-seen poster for Columbia's "Hall of Heroes" memorial shows a US soldier in WW1-era uniform, armed with an M1903 Springfield with a bayonet.

Springfield M1903 Mk 1 - .30-06

Booker takes a moment from eating everything he encounters to admire a poster for Columbia's "Hall of Heroes".