BioShock Infinite - Buriel at Sea (Part 1) Review

BioShock Infinite is a Game of the Year contender due largely to its impactful storytelling, complete with one of the most amazing and thought provoking endings ever created -- the result of over a dozen hours of character development, careful pacing, and, yeah, a whole lot of BioShock action.

However, the first part of its story driven DLC, Burial at Sea (Part 1), tries to get across the suspense and mystery without having the luxury of time and as such it doesn’t work quite so well. Totalling 90 minutes of gameplay time; this return to Rapture is still alluring. It’s the New Year of 1958, just before the fall of the underwater city, and the alternate timeline for Booker and Elizabeth is kicked off with a chance meeting within his detective office. Elizabeth quickly tasks you, playing the role of Booker, to find a lost little girl. Immediately your careful, knowledgeable minds bends to find likes to Infinite proper and this is the hook that drives you forward.

Booker seemingly hasn’t changed much since our skyline adventure whereas this outing does give Courtnee Draper (the voice of Elizabeth) to play and old, more sophisticated 50’s bombshell. In fact the real joy here comes from the underwater playground itself – Rapture has never looked so good. It’s not as dank and dark as before but knowing the savage environment – post it’s terrible downfall – means you know the secrets ahead.

Familiar locations are sprawled around the single player content, used to tug at your nostalgia, and the gameplay mechanics of Infinite – Skyhooks n ’all – make their way into the Sea. The only potential issue here is that gamers who didn’t get around to the previous titles may miss some of the excitement that grips the ones that have.

Splicers also make a triumphant return and the Adam induced psychos are as ‘dark’ as ever.

The ending got my excited about the next episode but because it is very familiar to Infinite in scope, gameplay and story I was already braced for the revelations (even if I wasn’t sure what it would be).

If you are a fan of the full Infinite game then this gives you a good opportunity to both expand the story and play something you haven’t experienced before. It’s clever, witty storytelling is a joy to watch unfold and the studio – Irrational – provide another reason for us to remember what really is the game of 2013.