Old meets new. The old-school BioShock approach to combat design turns out to be a refreshing change after Infinite‘s gauntlet. Image used with permission by copyright holder Elizabeth follows him closely, but she’s not anything resembling a companion. All that’s really changed between our two protagonists is their demeanor toward one another, but that changed relationship makes a big tonal difference as you play. They travel around together as they did in Infinite, and Elizabeth still opens Tears or throws ammo/health your way when you need. There’s a well-justified narrative reason for you to fight deranged Plasmid junkies before the fall of Rapture that we’re not going to spoil here, but needless to say, Booker and Elizabeth find themselves with a goal to achieve and an army of trapped Splicers standing in their way. Nearly every combat-oriented location you step into is occupied by Splicers that are just going about the business of existing. Splicers, Big Daddies, and Little Sisters existed in a self-contained sort of ecosystem that you could disrupt in whichever manner you chose.īurial at Sea works much the same way. BioShock, on the other hand, charted the protagonist’s slow creep through a dead undersea city. The more things change. When Burial at Sea does eventually transition into the full-blown combat scenarios that are typical of the series, the action feels like it’s drawing more from the first BioShock than it does from Infinite. Booker and Elizabeth’s adventure through Columbia was a ceaseless advance through a series of largely unfriendly environments filled with enemies that had time to prepare for the pair’s arrival. While part one of Burial at Sea eventually gives way to more traditionally BioShock-y combat, this first section is built entirely around exploring and spending time with the people in one of Rapture’s lively entertainment centers.ĢK wants more on Nintendo Switch after BioShock, Borderlands. He apparently has some information about Sally, but in order to get it, you’ll need to sneak into a closed event that’s happening at the theater. Booker and Elizabeth’s first stop is a theater belonging to Sander Cohen, Rapture’s premiere performance artist. The original BioShock‘s waterlogged world is replaced by a series of bright, airy spaces, filled with light and life. I chose… Rapture. It is December 31, 1958, a full year before the terrible events that bring Andrew Ryan’s undersea utopia to its knees. Booker and Elizabeth set out to find her, and the office door swings open to reveal… Image used with permission by copyright holder We learn more about Sally as the story continues to unfold, but this is enough to set things up. He thinks she’s dead, though Elizabeth insists that she’s merely lost. It’s not clear how at first, but Booker has some connection to her. That’s exactly what Elizabeth needs. She holds up a picture of a young girl, smiling and clutching a doll named Sarah. Booker is no confidante or friend he’s hired help. The sense of innocent wonder that made Elizabeth such a charming companion throughout the events of Infinite is gone, and in its place is an icy appraisal. She’s pale, almost death mask pale, but more than anything else, it’s the eyes. Her tone is serious and her voice is low, husky. Her cheeks are drawn tighter and her mouth seems incapable of flashing a smile. Her face, only lit across the eyes at first by a sliver of light pushed through the office’s tightly drawn blinds, is the same, but it’s also not. It’s when Elizabeth arrives, seeking help from this private investigator that she doesn’t appear to be acquainted with, that things start to feel off. Burial at Sea begins in Booker DeWitt’s dingy office, the same one that we visited so many times during the events of Infinite. She was worth a stare. It all looks so familiar at first. The team at Irrational Games isn’t known for hanging onto the past, but that’s exactly where they take us when we return to the bottom of the ocean in BioShock Infinite‘s first story DLC, part one of the two-part Burial at Sea. BioShock Infinite introduced the floating turn-of-the-century city of Columbia, and it was in this vibrant space that we saw glimpses of what Rapture might have looked like before its terrible fall. A dead, art deco metropolis of dripping, cylindrical corridors and cavernous interiors strewn with rubble, Andrew Ryan’s failed creation became the most intricately detailed character in a game focused on examining questions of identity and agency. The original BioShock‘s undersea city was a beautiful, if unsettling, location. Share Image used with permission by copyright holder
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