Irrational Games have released BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode 1 featuring an all-new story for Booker and Elizabeth, set in the underwater city of Rapture before its fall, but it is worth playing?
Come back to Rapture in a story that finds Booker and Elizabeth on the eve of the underwater city's fall from grace. Developed by Irrational Games, the developer of the original BioShock and BioShock Infinite, this DLC features Rapture as you've never seen it before--a shining jewel at the bottom of the ocean, built almost entirely from scratch in the BioShock Infinite engine. Gameplay has been modified to give the player an original BioShock combat experience that merges the best parts of BioShock and BioShock Infinite: new weapons, new Plasmids/Vigors, Tears, Sky-Lines, and Big Daddies.
It's been a little while since we last saw Elizabeth and Booker so when Irrational Games finally announced the DLC packs a few months ago I was really looking forward to jumping back in, and finally getting to explore Rapture as Booker!
I don't want to give away too much about this episode but the general story is that you play Booker (again) only this time the story is set in Rapture, the night before the fall. You awaken in your office to a woman (Elizabeth) asking for your help to find a little girl called Sally, a little girl you have a past with.
From then on it's a case of exploring Rapture and finding things to help you get closer to knowing what happened to Sally.
Fans of the original BioShock Infinite will feel right at home with the controls - it's pretty much the same game in a different setting, although some things are slightly different. Vigors are now called Plasmids, and there are other subtle differences. There are some new weapons and Plasmids to use, and you finally get to see Big Daddies and Little Sisters, and even fight a Big Daddy!
This time around we know more about Elizabeth than we did in BI, but which Elizabeth is she and why is she here? Some of the questions are answered in Episode 1, but not all!
And if you thought the story of BI was dark, you haven't seen anything yet.
Overall I really enjoyed playing Burial at Sea Episode 1. It was great seeing Rapture in all it's glory and getting to explore different parts of the city. Elizabeth is a much stronger character this time around - she is more determined, and as before in BI she is there to help you find resources, and you are going to need them as resources are quite hard to come by this time.
I think my only criticism of Burial at Sea Episode 1 is it's length. It is really short - you can finish it in about an hour, so for £11.99 that isn't great value for money, although fans of BioShock should consider the Season Pass option which reduces the cost.
And in Episode 2 we will finally get to play Elizabeth - personally I can't wait, I just hope it's longer than Episode 1.
The two episodes are available individually for £11.99 (1200 Microsoft Points), and are also included as part of the BioShock Infinite Season Pass.
The BioShock Infinite Season Pass is available now for £15.99 (1600 Microsoft Points) and includes all three pieces of add-on content, as well as the Early Bird Special Pack, which includes powerful weapon upgrades, exclusive gold weapon skins and infusion bottles to upgrade abilities.
BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 1 is available now on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC starting 12th November.