Game Reviews Volume 2

BioShock Infinite: Burial At Sea Episode 1 (PS3, PC, Xbox 360)

So as we all know, BioShock Infinite was a pretty good game. Itdidn't quite have the oomph that the original game did, but it diddeliver one hell of an ending that was guaranteed to leave you alittle lost for words to say the least.

So how does the first of two episodic adventures stack up against themain course?

Rapture, December 31st 1958. Anybody who has played thefirst two BioShock titles should know that date as the nighteverything changed, the night that Rapture transformed from troubledbut idyllic underwater utopia into a desolate remnant at the bottomof the ocean that houses various mutated nasties and some ratherdisturbing secrets.

As Booker DeWitt you are contacted by a woman named Elizabeth to finda lost girl in the city, a girl that you believe to be dead. She hasother ideas and takes you on a journey to meet the crazed SanderCohen and eventually to search the abandoned Fontaine departmentstore for clues as to the girls whereabouts.

Taking place after the ending to Infinite, Burial At Sea acts as abridge between that and the previous BioShock titles. Offeringinsight into the fall of Rapture, as well as showing us exactly whatElizabeth got up to following the events of Infinite.

You are a Booker in a reality different to that of Infinite's,meaning you are unaware of Columbia and the events that transpiredthere. You have never met Elizabeth before, but she has absolutelymet you...or another version of you anyway.

I'm going to put it pretty bluntly, the events of this episode arepretty dull. Not a lot happens and the big reveal at the end is kindof unsurprising considering that if you've already played Infiniteyou're already in on the reason why Elizabeth has tracked downanother version of Booker.

The combat doesn't help the situation much either. It's extremelyslow paced due to the lack of ammo and also the lack of weapons andplasmids you have on offer to you.

Having Infinite's gameplay mechanics in a game that has the pacing ofthe first couple of hours of the first BioShock game was a veryunwise decision from Irrational Games as it causes the episode todrag and become relatively boring to play at times.

However the reason to continue playing is being able to exploreRapture before it succumbs to total destruction, as well as beingable to find and listen to the incredibly interesting audio logs thatdelve deeper into the world of Rapture and it's well knowncharacters.

I also dislike how often the game stopped to load in the next area,or made a door take forever to open to disguise a loading screen.Infinite handled this much quicker and better by having more frequentloading screens, but Burial At Sea will regularly pull you out ofyour immersion by pausing the game whilst it loads the level in aheadof you. These levels aren't even as expansive as many of the areas inInfinite so as to why this is even an issue I'm confused.

On the whole, Burial At Sea Episode 1 is somewhat disappointing. It'shardly a bad game, but when you compare it to what you've just comefrom in the main game it feels like such a huge step backwards.Here's hoping that Episode 2 has more, better tricks up it's sleeve.

BioShock Infinite:

Burial At Sea Episode 1 – 5/10

+Great Audio Logs

+A Vibrant, Lively Rapture

+Seeing Familiar Faces Again

-Very Short

-Slow, Boring Gameplay

-The 'Surprise' Ending Isn't Surprising