Bioshock Infinite First Impressions

Since my controller died just a few minutes ago, I thought I'd take a break and give you my first impressions of Bioshock Infinite. So far, I've played around two-three hours worth with most of it devoted to sightseeing.

• The delays to the games release date were definitely worth it; Columbia oozes rich, striking detail in every nook and cranny. The intro alone is quite a spectacle.
• The game is surprisingly difficult -- I've died twice so far (mostly because of the damn automated turrets!). Thankfully, the game is lenient with your incompetence and brings you back from the dead with you and your enemies partially healed and with you taking a hit in your finances.
• Skyhooks are awesome!
• You fight what is basically the Ku Klux Clan at first. It's kind of amusing to see things from their twisted view points given the bad picture history has painted of them. Speaking of bad pictures, one of the pictures in the game portrays Lincoln as the Devil. No joke.
• I like the changes to the health and mana system (or salt as they call it here). You no longer can carry health and mana packs around, you restore yourself primarily through pickups. To compensate for this, you also get a shield system similar to Borderlands (ironically, another 2K game).
• Close range combat is sometimes awkward with the ways enemies move around and how your melee attack works; your punches don't hit right in front of you, they come in from a diagonal direction. It's also sometimes a pain to know where enemies are coming from.
• I haven't warmed up to Booker (the main character) yet. He's kind of an unlikeable asshole.
• Squeamish people beware; this game has more gruesome melee finishers than Dishonored. However, I have yet to see something top the Summon Swarm spell from Dishonored -- yet.   

So far I'm really into the game. While I'm not so certain it deserves the Best Game of All Time title as of my first impression, it has already surpassed its preceding games and is easily going to be a Game of the Year contender. While close encounters are somewhat flawed, I still am enjoying the combat overall (who wouldn't like shooting the equivalent of KKK members in the face?) and I'm sure Booker will grow later in the story. Hopefully I will find something to deal with the turrets in the near future (because I was not kidding when I said they are annoying little health stealers).