Let me preface this post by insisting that I am a HUGE BioShock fan. For crying out loud, I have a [=112203272&filters[recent]=1&filters[publicOnly]=1&sort=1&o=0"]BioShock 2 tattoo](Photobucket | Make your memories fun
Broadly speaking, I was happy with BioShock Infinite en toto, though I was put off by its change in setting - I’m one of those folks who insists that BioShock IS Rapture after all - and by the weirdness of the entire “tear” mechanic that played such a huge part of the narrative. Finishing the game, I was happy that Rapture ultimately WAS a part of BSI (however briefly its appearance), though I continue to stand by my assertion that the order of quality of the BioShock series goes as follows:
BioShock 2 >>> BioShock 1 >>>>>>>>> BioShock Infinite
Spoilers
I jumped into Burial at Sea Episode 1 wholeheartedly, thrilled that it was set in Rapture and interested to see how it would tie into BS1 & BS2. Ultimately, I was disappointed with it due to its short length and all of the retconning that took place in order to tie the story into the other games. Still, it had a definite ending, so I was really interested to see how Episode 2 was going to continue the narrative.
It’s a bummer that it took so long for Episode 2 to come out, given that I’d forgotten a lot of the events from Infinite’s main campaign and the Episode 1 DLC. Nevertheless, getting to play as Elizabeth is an excellent change of pace, and there’s an added stealth mechanic here that forces players to rethink how they would otherwise approach a BioShock game. It’s also quite a bit longer than Episode 1, and the ending really gives players - especially BioShock fanatics such as yours truly - a lot of things to think about.
I do have my criticisms though.
From my perspective, the thing I’m most irritated by is the complete dearth of references to BioShock 2. Aside from a few tidbits here and there (that only astute players would even notice), BioShock 2 is ignored altogether in favor of a total homage to BS1. Now, on some level this makes sense because Irrational Games (the developer of BSI) didn’t actually produce BS2, but still, the second BioShock is my favorite title in this series and so I personally would’ve liked to have seen it been given a lot more deference.
On a broader level, however, I’m put off by the fact that there is a TON of retonning taking place in Episode 2 in order to tie it into the events of BS1. Much of it doesn’t even make sense, so casual players would likely be confused even more. Also, the “tear” stuff from the main game is even more pronounced in Episode 2 than it was in the prior DLC - especially in terms of its role in the narrative - and I continue to believe that it’s an altogether weird and (yes) unnecessary component of the BioShock games writ large.
Ultimately, I just hope that this isn’t the last time 2K decides to visit Rapture. I absolutely love that setting, but still…any additional Rapture-set game will have to incorporate this “tear” stuff into the story, and I don’t think that I’ll ever be sold on that. Beyond that, however, Episode 2 HAS left me with a lot of things to think about, and for that I definitely recommend it to other interested players.