Okey dokey, finally finished it. Played 1999 mode, took around 17-18hrs (would estimate about 16hrs on normal difficulty). Would give it a solid 7 or 8/10ish. Quick bullet points:
Sound design is excellent. My only quibble would be the repetitive combat music.
As I'm sure everyone knows, art and environmental design in many areas is absolutely flawless. There are caveats, though - the lower-class and/or industrial areas are by far the least interesting, and you'll be spending a lot of time there. There are plenty of interior locations that could be ripped straight out of Bioshock. Finally, the bloom is typical UE3 crap. Very harsh and gaudy. Think back to the VGA footage and nuclear meltdown jokes.
Writing is generally very strong. Not sure if it's any better or worse than Bioshock, just much more ambitious. I think people may be a bit deflated by the ending, but nobody's going to be burning down any houses. It's not as satisfying or emotional as TWD's conclusion, but nowhere near ME3 level or anything like that. Booker and Elizabeth are pretty memorable, everyone else is roughly on the level of Bioshock's supporting cast.
pewpew is pretty good, but then I didn't really have a problem with the shooting mechanics in Bioshock, so take as you will. The lack of enemy and miniboss variety grates a bit.
The rpg-lite elements are fairly pointless. You'll frequently go long sections without ammo for whatever favourite weapons you've been upgrading, so you may as well just roll with it. I doubt one player's "build" and playstyle would differ significantly from another's. That may well have been exacerbated by playing in 1999 mode though.
Elizabeth is a nice addition to non-combat gameplay. She fiddles with desks, lounges on chairs and points out the odd supply. However, once you've spent an hour or so with her, you've seen pretty much everything, and it's sad that considering how much the plot revolves around how exciting and dangerous her abilities are, she'll never actually do anything to surprise you in-game. In combat, she can be somewhat helpful but it's difficult to really plan strategies around her. She'll throw you health, mana and ammo when you're low, but whether you'll get what you want when you want it is another matter. There are set "tears" she can use to create respawnable allies, cover, skyhooks and supplies, but it's fairly restrictive. You're unlikely to be deviating much from what's expected. Mechanically speaking, she's just the hacking feature from Syndicate.
Basically semi-linear - essentially the "corridor/hub" system from Bioshock albeit with more setpiece events. You'll be spending a fair bit of time exploring siderooms for secrets and supplies.
1999 mode is garbage - there's really no justification for calling it by that name except for marketing purposes. It's simply an XTREME difficulty level, not something that can really change the way you play for the better (aka New Vegas Hardcore mode). The only point I'd put in its favour is that it certainly forces you to scavenge and take your time exploring everything. But I would've done that anyway, so all I got in the end was less incentive to try risky but interesting tactics during normal gameplay, and a significantly more frustrating experience during later miniboss fights, with the final battle being hair-pullingly awful and actually souring my memory of the whole experience. I would advise against anyone playing this mode for the "1999" part.
In terms of pacing, I'd say that the strongest sections of the game were the opening hours, and the first and final "hub" areas with Elizabeth. The "middle" hub and final hours of the game can drag a bit, and I've already mentioned the highly irritating final battle (really wish I'd played that on normal).
So there you are, hope that helps anyone who's on the fence. It's not going to kill you to wait a few months for the sale BUT it's going to be very difficult not to get spoiled by that point. I spent £25 on the game itself and another £15 on the season pass, and whilst it didn't blow my mind, I got my money's worth.
Best $2 Redbox rental ever.
