One last trip to Rapture?
Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode One was a nostalgia trip back to Rapture but it combined the greatness of Infinite’s gameplay and story into the underwater city, leaving us on one hell of a cliffhanger. Episode 2 begins with you as Elizabeth wondering the streets of Paris, only to be thrown back into Rapture by a Lutece tear. You strike a deal with Atlas, yes…the real Atlas…into getting back to the main city from the slums of Fontaine’s in exchange for the girl Booker was looking for in Episode One.
You hear Booker’s voice in your head, but it’s clear that it’s not him due to the events of the original game and Episode One and a twist reveals that all isn’t too well with Elizabeth either. I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s a fitting one for the franchise and if this is the end of Bioshock (which I hope it isn’t!) then it’s one that’s worthy of bringing it to a close.
Controlling Elizabeth is different to Booker and there’s a new 1998 mode which only lets you tackle enemies through non-lethal means, so you can only knock them out or tranquilize them….which is a nice change of pace for Bioshock, it opens it up somewhat and stops the typical run and gun of the combat. Sure, it’s no Metal Gear when it comes to stealth…but it’s still a nice addition. Thankfully, you have Vigors/Plasmids that can help you sneak around, possess people and once again freeze them courtesy of Old Man Winter.
It’s worth mentioning that Episode Two is a lot longer than the first episode was, but as with that once it’s done it’s only worth returning for missed audio logs and miscellaneous trophies, there’s no real replay value other than seeing the story unfold once more, so it has a somewhat limited lifespan as you would expect. Having said that, it’s well worth making your last trip to Rapture…
The Verdict
Burial at Sea – Episode Two is a great improvement over Episode One, the story takes you in so many directions and is memorable from start to finish, while the 1998 mode adds new depth to the game’s combat and most of all, it stands as a great send off to one of the best stories in gaming and that’s well worth returning to Rapture one last time…