Bioshock Infinite: What's with the guns? [Contains Spoilers]

[SamFancyPants252]

So I just got around to finishing Bioshock Infinite and...well...wow. If you haven't already done so yourself, then stop reading this thread/doing anything that isn't playing Infinite and go play Infinite.

I'm not here to talk about the story though. What I want to know is...with such a rich and beautiful world like Columbia filled with the technology that we saw in the game, why are the weapon choices so bland?

Spoiler

If old Zach used multiple universes to invent a load of the technologies we saw in the game, and the game world itself (such as the killing machine songbird) then why wouldn't he arm his men with guns above the standard for the time setting? He constructs the idea of Booker being a false Shepard with mass propaganda, hires the lighthouse assistant to kill Booker, all to stop Booker from getting to Liz. So why don't the enemies in the game carry anything but bog standard shotguns, machine guns and pistols that are the same grade that Booker has in his office, at home in NY?

I'm aware that it's a minor gripe to have with the (otherwise) absolutely brilliant game, but surely this was a question that bothered some other people?
Thoughts?

 

[Terminate421]

Think of it like this, would a US marine know how the fuck to use a Lancer Assault Rifle?

The guns that were selected were appropriate and fitting for each class. The ability to carry 3 would have been preferred IMO, but it's understandable as to what he chose.

 

[CityofTreez]

I was fine with the weapons. Yes, they're basic, but so what? They fit and serve their purpose.

Having a advanced gun would have looked...odd. Though having weapon mods appear on the gun like in the OG would have been nice.

 

[scorptatious]

Yeah, the weapons weren't anything spectacular, but at least the vigors were cool.

Huh, when I spelled "vigors" my phone auto-corrected it to "bigots". Kinda funny considering the racism issues in the game.

 

[Frotality]

yeah the weapons were fairly lackluster compared to the first bioshock. but i suppose infinite is much more about the characters than the setting than bioshock 1 was, so having standard era-appropriate weaponry helps keep the focus on booker and lizzy. also really made the boxer/wounded knee parts really hit home, as it feels more like what booker wouldve actually done there with weapons much like the ones he wouldve used.

 

[GonvilleBromhead]

Well...the weaponry was pretty futuristic. For 1912. A lightweight portable machine gun wasn't invented until 1918, purpose built grenade launchers were a 30s invention, semi automatic rifles/carbines cropped up in the Great War, assault rifles appeared in 1944, and we still haven't invented a practical man portable Gatling gun.

What surprised me more is that Booker was able to understand the machine pistol...