actors to the so-happy-it's-actually-creepy music selection to set the mood, this game sounds fantastic from start to finish." Although the gameplay's combat was mostly well received and praised, it was the most polarizing aspect of the game, with The Daily Telegraphs Tom Hoggins noting "the gunplay is far from Infinites most satisfying component." Nevertheless, critics opined that the game's gunplay and shooting was an improvement over its predecessors. The game's expanded environments were well received, with Edge noting they encouraged the player to think more tactically and improvise. Tom Francis of PC Gamer and Hoggins felt that Infinites overall combat was an improvement over the previous BioShock games largely due to the dynamism of the expanded environments. The addition of the Sky-Line received special praise from critics. Sullivan felt that the Sky-Line "delivers a new FPS experience entirely", while Gregory hailed it as a "real game-changer". Critics also enjoyed the Vigors, weapons, and upgrades, with McCaffrey praising the game's "myriad combat options". In contrast, the gameplay was criticized by some as monotonous and repetitive, with VideoGamer.com Steven Burns explaining the game's lack of real sense of escalation in either abilities or enemies made combat very tiresome and grating. Some also noted that Infinite had regressed into a simple shooter compared to the role-playing System Shock games, with Newman stating that "combat feels too constrained as a result." There were also complaints that the middle portion of the game was padded by gameplay flaws. Critics expressed disappointment that the game limited the player to only two weapons, with Reparaz feeling that this, along with the lack of outlandish upgrades, made Infinites "less inventive" combat "not quite up to BioShocks high standards." Criticism was also directed at the combat's "meager" death penalty, with complaints that this resulted in a less challenging game.Infinites graphic depiction of violence generated substantial discussion. Polygon's Chris Plante argued the violence in the game could repel players who are more interested in the game's themes and narrative. He believed that unlike films that are based on violence as part of their themes, Infinite does not attempt to rationalize its violence, claiming the "magnitude of lives taken" and the "cold efficiency in doing so" was "unfamiliar to even the most exploitative films." Kotaku's Kirk Hamilton agreed, stating that while violence is a common theme across video games, "[the] ridiculous violence stands out in such sharp relief when placed against