I love BioShock Infinite, though its grip on my imagination has admittedly and understandably waned over the last year. However, the implications of the game's extremely audacious ending are still being felt. Perhaps they are most strongly felt in the game's cycle of downloadable content: Burial at Sea. However, I can be counted among the gamers who have played and failed to fully appreciate Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode One. Its slow pacing turned me off for the majority of its play time and oddly enough, the story just wasn't up to Irrational's standards. However, if there's one thing that was brilliant about it, it was how it acted as a lens through which we were able to get a glimpse of Andrew Ryan's legendary underwater metropolis at its peak. Well, BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode Two forgoes the opulence in favor of an experience that feels more like a return to form than its disjointed predecessor.

So BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode One ended in true BioShock style, with a twist. It turns out, Elizabeth was only looking for a way to dispose of the final incarnation of Zachary Hale Comstock, and that "method" ultimately involved exploiting Booker's adopted Little Sister, Sally. Despite her godlike powers, Elizabeth is still human, and she finds herself feeling pretty lousy about the whole affair. So she sets off to make things right. Unfortunately, the only way forward is to make a deal with the devil: the revolutionary psychopath known as Atlas (Mr. Would You Kindly, Frank Fontaine himself). He's got Sally, but his department store headquarters has been sunk to the ocean floor and he needs it raised back up so he can finally have the war he's been spoiling for...

With Booker permanently out of the picture, you take control of Elizabeth -- but there's a catch. No longer does she have the ability to open tears in the fabric of reality. So she's far more vulnerable, which results in an increased threat level from the legions of psychotic splicers roaming the crumbling aquatic paradise.

All hope is not lost, of course; being human, Elizabeth can make use of Vigors and Plasmids, and she's more than capable of wielding firearms and the trusty Skyhook -- erm, I mean Air Grabber. Honestly, Burial at Sea - Episode Two's greatest strength is in its deliberate approach to enemy encounters. The stealth in many of these sections evokes the speed and flow of Dishonored, though it's admittedly not as satisfying or empowering. A new Plasmid called Peeping Tom allows Elizabeth to turn invisible and see enemies through walls, which is particularly useful, given that there are precious few resources to scavenge. And her crossbow is a fine multi-use tool that allows her to put splicers down or distract that one Big Daddy lurking around.

As a whole, I'm not sure I would consider BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea a success. It feels more like an experiment, complete with misfires and eureka moments. Both episodes are of incredibly disparate quality, with Episode Two clearly coming out on top. That being said, the production values are first class the whole way. And of course, let's not forget the incredible reprisals of Courtnee Draper and Troy Baker. If you want more BioShock Infinite, this is your only option. The only trouble is, you'll have to get through the weaker stuff to get to the good stuff. With the closing of Irrational Games, it's difficult to imagine where this series will go; that is, if it goes anywhere at all. But on reflection, it's been one hell of a run. Cheers to the developers.