Excellent DLC for Bioshock Infinite.

When the Burial at Sea DLC’s came out for Bioshock Infinite, I thought it would be the same idea as Minerva’s Den for Bioshock 2. A nice little piece of extra story, played trough the eyes of an previously unknown character, to view another point of perspective.

Man was I positively surprised when playing Burial at Sea Episode one and two. This is a prequel to the events of the first Bioshock game and takes place in an era that Rapture was prosperous and alive, instead of the dead, rotten city it has become.

You play as Elizabeth this time and her play style is a fresh new perspective for the game because you don’t go full Rambo and guns blazing like Jack or Big Daddy, but rather do things the quiet and careful way. You use stealth, darts and traps to take care of your enemies and rather get away safely than engaging in combat. I really liked this way of playing.

The added story in Burial at Sea episode one and two is excellent. I played many games and watched many movies in which the creators try to add some unknown uncle or nemesis, that always was there, in their prequels, but in this game, the added story and the way that it all fits in with the first Bioshock game and Bioshock Infinite just blew my mind. It is flawless and perfect. I literally applauded when finishing the two episodes. For this reason, again, I will not spoil or mention any of it in this review.

Of the two episodes, episode two is, by far, the best one. The dramatic story elements here are unmatched and I think it is a legendary piece of art.

In the end, all I can say is that these two DLC’s for Bioshock Infinite are the best DLC’s I ever played in a game and have yet to be matched in the future.

While Burial at Sea Episode 2 is a step up from the first part, I still find it to be just kind of mediocre.

I'll start with the positives. The change in gameplay is a nice change of pace from the repetitiveness of the first game, as stealth is the key to defeating your enemies instead of the same old "spray-and-prey" of the original game and Episode 1. The game also had a nice length, setting up for a nice ~3 hour gaming session on a late night. I felt Episode 1 was way too short so getting a little more out of this one was nice. Finally, I actually enjoyed how this one ended things off, unlike the original game. I felt as if it added a nice bow to the series, I thought it was well done.

On the other hand, I do have some notable flaws to point out. Firstly, while I appreciated the gameplay change, I didn't necessarily enjoy it. In all fairness, that in many ways comes down to my preferences, but I just felt it was too slow at times since Elizabeth is such a weak character. Next, I'll point out that while I did enjoy the ending, the rest of the story really fell flat for me. It continued the convoluted mess of a story from the end of the main game and Episode 1 for the majority of this game's runtime. Sometimes, I just like a nice and simple story, not a messy one. I felt like this was a messy one.

As a whole, I suppose I'd recommend it to Bioshock fans, but even then people who enjoyed the original might find this a bit insulting. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone else. Shoutout to Andrew Ryan though, loved seeing him in this since he is the series' best villain.

I’m starting to lose my patience with BioShock Infinite. I’m starting to think that Ken Levine is huffing the high praise he received from the outcome of the first BioShock game that he has become baked beyond belief and thinks that everything that passes through his cerebral cortex is a stroke of pure genius. I think if what I’ve stated throughout my review of the base game and the first episode of Burial at Sea holds any merit, Ken Levine needs to be humbled because the writing in both reeks of hubris. Now, Burial at Sea continues as the conclusion to the two-part DLC content, and I wasn’t at all confident that Ken Levine would redeem this disaster of a story. Surprisingly, I can at least say that the second Burial at Sea episode is more interesting and less overblown than its former half.

But how can Burial at Sea continue considering that Booker’s vital organs have been liquified and he lays still on the ground dead as a doorknob? In Burial at Sea’s second half, the primary protagonist's viewpoint has been shifted to the smoking, seductive Elizabeth of this reality. Actually, that Elizabeth was also murdered by the Big Daddy and her body is propped up in the dank corner of the vicinity, so the game introduces an Elizabeth more akin to her personality from the base game. Isn’t that convenient? However, what totally isn’t convenient is that this Elizabeth possesses no extraordinary tear powers, rendering her as frail as a newborn puppy. Nevertheless, this Elizabeth persists in her quest to rescue Sally, now from the deranged mobs of Atlas’s goons who are holding her captive. Also, another version of Booker is here to play guitar in the background and to provoke Elizabeth’s guilty conscience every so often, because why not!

If you couldn’t infer the linear notes from the previous paragraph, playing as Elizabeth is a far cry from the physically adept swashbuckler Booker. As I stated before, Elizabeth must fend for herself in the drowned neon streets of Rapture’s deep sea ghetto, as the apparition of Booker is too ephemeral to switch her role and provide aid when needed. Elizabeth is on her lonesome in a dire situation, a terrifying prospect that fills her mission full of dread. Fortunately, just because Elizabeth can’t summon Patriots to mow down Splicers doesn’t mean the game leaves her as a stark naked sitting duck ready to be plucked by the malformed ghouls at a moment’s notice. Elizabeth’s offensive and defensive means have been reworked to fit the new context, as BioShock has been reconfigured as a stealth game. Elizabeth will lurk around the watchful eyes of the Splicers, who still give away their positions due to the effects of long-term ADAM usage causing them to think out loud. When a Splicer is in the line of sight, an overhead indicator signifies their alert level and if it’s a yellow or under, Elizabeth can subdue them with one hearty thwack of the sky-hook she “borrowed” from Booker. Failing to stealthily curb the Splicers by altering them to Elizabeth’s presence should result in Elizabeth running like the wind to regain her hidden position because ammo is still scarce and the dainty whacks with the sky-hook Elizabeth gives to them do little to no damage. Rapture has always exuded a creepy vibe but with the stealth gameplay as the focal point, Rapture has now become genuinely scary. The simplest of mistakes can lead to utter disaster for Elizabeth and working with this radical new mechanic never before seen in a BioShock game adds a fresh layer of difficulty.

Elizabeth eventually stumbles across an inactive machine devised by Rapture’s superwiz scientist Yi Suchong and has to recover all of its missing parts to activate it once again. Using a tear, the machine served as a portal that connected Rapture to 1912 Columbia, communicating ideas and passing down technology through both of the franchise's eminent dystopias. The general purpose for this machine might be the most excusable use of the time tear that has fucked Infinite’s narrative to oblivion. It explains why Columbia is as advanced as it is for existing in the prime of the industrial age when things like automobiles were still a revolutionary stride in technological advancement and why Rapture shares the same assets with Columbia like the vending machines and the inclusion of “vigors” that Suchong originally branded as plasmids. It’s a clever way of canonizing Infinite with the two previous BioShock games despite all the ways it deviates from it. By visiting both Columbia and Rapture in this Burial at Sea episode, we are treated to a dichotomy between the two civilizations, as seeing Columbia for the first time since the base game and then returning to Rapture feels surreal. Don’t get too prideful, Ken: You’re not out of the woods with this plot device just yet. However, I am somewhat impressed that you’ve finally made this work.

Returning to Rapture also reminds us that the notable people we’ve come to have a nostalgic wonderment for were/are right bastards. Throughout the episode, Elizabeth is collaborating with both Suchong and Atlas, two figures of interest from the first two games that up until now, the player has never had any intimate interactions with either (well, technically not for Atlas if you discount who he actually is). The second episode of Burial at Sea is going to make the player yearn for the times when they were voices in audio diaries and communication arrays respectively because they were both despicable people when they were still alive. Suchong is a total creep who physically and verbally abuses the Little Sisters he’s testing, and I’m not the least bit perturbed by his grizzly death scene at the hand of a Big Daddy because of it. Once Elizabeth helps Atlas return to Rapture’s metropolitan sector, he continues to probe Elizabeth more on a coveted “ace in the hole,” which turns to be his iconic catchphrase “would you kindly?” that he uses to manipulate Jack in the events of the first game. Before Elizabeth knows this, Atlas’s method of interrogation involves an ice pick lobotomy in one of the most uncomfortable torture sequences I’ve sat through in a video game. He disposes of Elizabeth once he gets what he desires in his mission to usurp Rapture from Ryan (who, by the way, unleashes hordes of his guards on Elizabeth after learning of her scavenging around Rapture while belittling her like Ryan would do) by bludgeoning her with a wrench, leaving her to die while Sally holds her in her arms. Cohen electrocuting his subjects while painting was charming compared to the actions of these scumbags. Then again, these are the kinds of people that Rapture attracts.

This conclusion would be a satisfying way to circle around to the beginning events of the first BioShock if not for one nagging bit of information. Killing the two protagonists from Infinite and thus ending their involvement with the overarching BioShock story could’ve been incredibly impactful if not for the fact that these are technically not the same Booker and Elizabeth from the base game. In fact, any emotional impact that the deaths of these characters would elicit is totally negated by the fact that there are infinite versions of them existing in this world and can evidently be swapped out at any given moment. You almost had me, Ken. Still, the stealth mechanics in the second episode of Burial at Sea prove to be a far more engaging way of retreading Rapture than what BioShock 2 offered.

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Attribution: https://erockreviews.blogspot.com

I loved how it started in the beautiful streets of Paris and ended in a dark alley in Rapture... Sad ending, nice new mechanics especially the schematics view was good. Better than Episode 1. Stealth was a nice addition in my opinion, as it is a DLC and shows the story through Elizabeth's perspective. This DLC is just like that stealth DLC from one of the new generation Wolfenstein games where we play as a woman that infiltrates a Nazi stronghold. Not a satisfying ending but a satisfying amount of content.

In terms of gameplay, I’d say part 2 is better since you play as Elizabeth and there’s a huge focus around stealth but at the same time the gameplay kind of pointlessly nerfs you when you’re not hidden.

For example, your guns magically do x5 more damage when you’re hidden but as soon as you’re in a normal gun fight, you shoot nerf darts no matter what gun. The stealth is kind of clunky and exploitable but it can be engaging.

My biggest issue was the story and how they shoehorned taking away Elizabeth’s powers to make her playable and not op, making Daisy Fitzroy have less power and seem like a better person than she is and also retconning all the shit from Bioshock 1 and implying Elizabeth set everything into motion in Bioshock 1. It kind of ruins a lot of the context of Bioshock 1. Slightly better than part 1 but it's still pretty ass.