Preview: Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea

Warning: This post has spoilers.

If you haven't heard yet, Irrational Games is finally releasing the DLC for Bioshock Infinite. The first of these, Clash in the Clouds, has already been released. Clash in the Clouds is fun but what I'm really waiting for is new story DLC like Burial at Sea.

 

 Instead of fighting in the clouds in Columbia, players will now be returning to the underwater city Rapture. But this is not the Rapture players remember, this is Rapture before the New Years Day 1959. Before the city was brought to its knees by Fontaine's insane splicers.

Based on the trailer, Booker appears to be repositioned in his Pinkerton roots. Players may have access to the original plasmids from the previous games and will be able to explore Rapture before the fall. Whether or not this DLC is part of the main cannon or an alternate story all together remains to be seen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv3FhE6_TK0

Ken Levine (co-founder and creative director of Irrational Games) has recently opened up on the new DLC. http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/mc160g/bioshock-infinite--burial-at-sea-dlc-picking-ken-levine-s-brain

Based on Ken Levine's interview he seems to regret revealing a lot of information on Bioshock Infinite a few years before it's release. If you saw any post-release comments on the game, you'll probably notice that a lot of people are criticizing the lack of content that was shown in the E3 2011 demo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEBwKO4RFOU

To be fair, the content is there, its just in a different format than what was originally shown.

So why is this DLC so important? I want you to think back to what happened at the end of Bioshock Infinite. At the end of the game, Elizabeth takes Booker to a realm filled with lighthouses. New adventures await Booker with different beginnings, experiences, and endings.



Elizabeth claims that there is always a lighthouse, always a man, always a city. Different yet similar. A realm of infinite possibilities, all that is needed is a choice.

And that brings up my point. An endless supply of constants and variables is awaiting the world of Bioshock. Why stop with Rapture? What other kind of variants of Booker's story are out there? What kind of man might Booker have become if he chose differently? The "what if" possibilities are practically overwhelming.

If I had any problem with Bioshock Infinite, it was that I felt like my choices were miniscule in the grand scheme of events. I never felt like they would alter the story in a significant manner. The game presents you with the theme of choices but it never felt like it was fully fleshed out. That's what I want form the DLC, more "what ifs."