Irrational Games has finally revealed some details for BioShock Infinite’s DLC expansions, and they’re probably not what you were expecting.
Infinite’s first piece of DLC, Clash in the Clouds, is an arena-style battle mode that drops Booker into one of four new maps and pits him against fifteen waves of increasingly difficult enemies, similar to Gears of War’s Horde mode. In between waves, players will be able to purchase new weapons and upgrades for their character. Unlike GoW’s Horde mode, it seems like Clash in the Clouds is a purely solo affair, though players will be able to compare their scores with others via the mode’s online leaderboards.
Players earn cash as they defeat enemies, which can then be used to unlock new items in Clash in the Cloud’s new hub world, the Columbian Archeological Society. Players will be able to decorate this in-game museum with unlockable concept art, character models, Voxophones, and more. Clash in the Clouds will also feature new achievements/trophies to unlock.
Clash in the Clouds will be available sometime later today on Steam, Xbox Live, and PSN. The game is included in the cost of Infinite’s season pass, or you can buy it separately for a mere $5.
Infinite’s second DLC expansion, Burial at Sea, is focused more on narrative, but it’s still probably not what you were expecting — (BIOSHOCK INFINITE SPOILERS) Apparently taking place in one of the “infinite” alternate dimensions that was glimpsed at the end of the main game, Burial at Sea’s version of Booker is a private eye in Andrew Ryan’s underwater city of Rapture. Set in 1958 (two years before Rapture descends into chaos,) Burial at Sea will finally give players their first look at what Rapture was like before Ryan’s Objectivist paradise inevitably went to shit. Burial at Sea will give Booker new Plasmid/Vigor powers to experiment with, and will also let him battle Big Daddies for the first time.
Burial at Sea will be split up into two DLC chapters, the first of which focuses on Booker, and the second of which will cast Elizabeth as the protagonist, letting players experience her side of the story for once. Irrational Games director Ken Levine says that playing as Elizabeth will be a very different experience from playing as Booker.
No release date has been announced for Burial at Sea. Each chapter of the DLC will cost $19.99 if you don’t have a season pass.
I absolutely loved BioShock Infinite and I can’t wait to get more of it — neither Clash in the Clouds nor Burial at Sea is probably what people were expecting, but I’m not complaining: if the combat in Clash in the Clouds and the story in Burial at Sea are as good as they were in the main game, I’ll be happy with whatever content Irrational Games throws my way. I’ll definitely be downloading Clash in the Clouds today, so check back later for some impressions with BioShock Infinite’s first DLC expansion.
