Review: Buried At Sea Part 2 DLC

G'day there guys and gals!

*Warning! This review may hold some potential spoilers from the original Bioshock and Part 1 of the Buried At Sea DLC. Read ahead at your own caution!*

Bioshock has always been known for it's dark depths, horror-filled moments during gameplay and of course, the city of Rapture. When Bioshock Infinite finally made the plunge back into the depths with Buried At Sea Part 1, fans were overjoyed to return to the place where their love for the series began. Personally, Part 1 left me shocked at the results of our labour, the terrific writing of the staff definitely shining through. However, and I'll be the first to say it, Buried At Sea Part 2 has done to me what no other game or DLC has ever done before. 

To the newcomers, the Buried At Sea DLC follows an alternate reality of Elizabeth and Booker in Rapture before the fall, when the city's firm chain still held strong, the lights were still on and people weren't dying by the day. Elizabeth approaches Booker in his office, asking for his services to find a little girl named Sally, whom he lost some time before. Of course, Rapture is well known for its use of little ladies but determined to find her, the two set out to find the poor girl. Part 2 picks up moments after the ending of Part, with Elizabeth somehow miraculously in a early 20th century Paris. I won't spoil you of the fun, so I shall stop there!
In the company's final send off, Part 2 will definitely confuse many and the twists, turns and plotline starts out from there. Ken Levine and his team of writers have really gone all out on this final send off and will leave you hanging for more, to know more, to search more right up until the end.

Gameplay wise is still more or less the same mechanics as the original game, but the DLC offers a few new weaponry and plasmids, completely changing the feel of the game. Whereas Bioshock Infinite's main gameplay is mostly a full on battle, Part 2 gives players the oppertunity to play and think differently with the Crossbow weapon. It does not hold bolts, but sleeping, knockout gas and bell darts. Along with your melee attack (The standard Skyhook that can one-hit kill enemies depending on their alert rate), footsteps on glass, water or simply running attracting guards and brand new Invisibility plasmid, the only way I can describe the gameplay is as such: Dishonored/Thief's system + Infinite's gameplay style all bundled up as a little baby. Sound effects and musical score are excellently done, with some new tunes done by Elizabeth (Courtnee Draper) herself. The voice acting by the main cast was, and I can't stress this enough, utterly sublime.

This is where I must break to talk about this voice acting. In very few games in the past have I personally teared or cried over an emotional scene, a character or event. But never before has a game done what one scene in particular did. The setting, mood, soft sound effects truly added to this scene but the voice acting made it what it is. Never have I sobbed that much, nor physically began to shake in fear, nor dropped my controller to cover my mouth in shock. Courtnee Draper truly made this scene what it was and I want to stress to the point that her acting, her portrayal, her sublimity needs recognition.

Not only does Buried At Sea Part 2 exceed expectations in length (Around 4 hours for me including exploration/stealth), the DLC also covers one or two of the plotholes fans pointed out in the main story, showing the truer side to the event, with an escalating ending, with the battle of Rapture all around you, one more twist ending that fans can only guess at, with those few little extras to tie off the story from Comstock to Ryan in a neat little bow. While some cutscenes are choice determinate, currently it's unknown whether these are based to your own personal choices or set in-game.
Overall, it's few flaws such as slow recognisation in AI (My guess being it dumbed down for 1998 mode) and it's interrupting loading screens that set off a brief console freeze are what keeps it from a perfect score, as they were just too frequent to ignore. But for what the DLC offers in length, story and so much more lore, exploration and even smaller surprises along the way, these few faults can be forgiven.
This DLC is a MUST BUY for hardcore or casual players of the series. The price-tag and download is highly worth it and I personally hold this DLC in high regard for what Irrational has given back.

Bioshock Infinite: Buried At Sea Part 2 DLC = A-

Part 2 is out now for $20