Saturday, November 16, 2013
11/16/13 1:30PM
Infinite Raptures
Burial at Sea is a two-part release, and the first episode gets you right into the situation while re-introducing players to Rapture, the underwater city with a slew of interesting inhabitants and ongoing events.
If you've already finished Bioshock Infinite, you'll find the content in Burial at Sea to be a rewarding experience in terms of story in this first episode, but if you haven't, Burial at Sea may be a bit confusing as the narrative does factor in some of the elements found toward the end of Infinite's original campaign.
By itself, Burial at Sea Episode One is very well put together and contains some elements that pay homage to the original Bioshock, but I only wished the experience lasted a bit longer in the end.
If you've already finished Bioshock Infinite, you'll find the content in Burial at Sea to be a rewarding experience in terms of story in this first episode, but if you haven't, Burial at Sea may be a bit confusing as the narrative does factor in some of the elements found toward the end of Infinite's original campaign.
By itself, Burial at Sea Episode One is very well put together and contains some elements that pay homage to the original Bioshock, but I only wished the experience lasted a bit longer in the end.
The premise of the episode is fairly simple: As Private Investigator Booker DeWitt, you're approached by the mysterious Elizabeth to help find a missing girl. Pace-wise, it feels like a mix between Bioshock 1 and Infinite, as enemy encounters are peppered throughout the roughly three hour experience, with exploration and discovery of the truth as the main reward of the content.
The main enemy types in episode one are comprised mostly of the classic and deranged splicers, but enemy types from Infinite also show up both in a helpful and harmful manner.
Combat encounters remained a mostly close-quarter affair, although there were a few areas with sky rails, which brought back some of the Skyhook combat found in Infinite. There's nothing too difficult with the combat that's thrown at you in Burial at Sea, and I ultimately only fell victim to the splicers a handful of times throughout my experience.
The main enemy types in episode one are comprised mostly of the classic and deranged splicers, but enemy types from Infinite also show up both in a helpful and harmful manner.
Combat encounters remained a mostly close-quarter affair, although there were a few areas with sky rails, which brought back some of the Skyhook combat found in Infinite. There's nothing too difficult with the combat that's thrown at you in Burial at Sea, and I ultimately only fell victim to the splicers a handful of times throughout my experience.
What I really enjoyed about Burial at Sea was the difference in the behavior of this new version of Elizabeth. While Booker mostly remains the same type of character, Elizabeth's personality is quite different which you'll understand more once you reach the conclusion of the episode.
While she won't personally be aiding you by shooting other enemies in Burial at Sea, Elizabeth still comes in handy just as she did in Infinite. Ammo and health can be offered by her in battle, although the frequency is far less than in the main game, but I was never in enough trouble to want her to aid me more.
Burial at Sea gives you weapons from Infinite alongside a few new ones like the devastating radar weapon that can explode enemies.
Since the content also takes place in Rapture again, plasmids have returned alongside the vending machines where you can upgrade them. It's a Circus of Values!
The skyhook can once again be used as a melee weapon, and enemies can be taken down in one hit you're able to sneak up to unsuspecting splicers. No easy task.
Elizabeth also has access to tears, so the bigger moments of combat in Burial at Sea allow you to pick and choose the most helpful items that you want Elizabeth to access for you like turrets, weapons, and special enemies.
The presentation for the episode is what you would expect from a Irrational Games title, which is very impressive and visually pleasing during the entire course of the episode. The development team essentially re-imagined and rebuilt sections of Rapture, which feel both new and familiar, and they look vibrant on the engine that made Infinite a wonder to behold.
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$15 is a lot to ask for short DLC, especially when it's highly anticipated in the manner that Burial at Sea was. If you don't have the season pass for the game which is available for $20, I would suggest getting that first rather than purchasing Burial at Sea as a separate download, which will save you about $10 in the long run anyway.
The shortness of the experience was my only gripe with the content. What is available though is definitely worth your time. It was truly nice to visit Rapture again.
The shortness of the experience was my only gripe with the content. What is available though is definitely worth your time. It was truly nice to visit Rapture again.
+ Re-visiting Rapture with the gameplay and visual benefits from Infinite
+ Interesting story and change regarding Elizabeth
- Shortness of the experience
Reviews on the thebuttonpresser.com are based out of a '1-5 controller' Scoring system. Purchased games by the reviewer contain no annotation, but review copies are always known to the reader via a review disclaimer.
Publishers- 2K Games
Release Date- November 12th, 2013
Price- $14.99 MSRP
Review Platform- Xbox Live Arcade
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