BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Sinks to New Depths This Holiday

BioShock Infinite is still on course to revisit the watery grave of Rapture this year, creative director Ken Levine has confirmed. The luminary reiterated the snippet during a preview event for the title’s hotly anticipated Burial at Sea expansion, which washed up some new details regarding the fairly recently revealed add-on.

As previously confirmed, the content will plot a chance meeting between series protagonist Booker DeWitt and heroine Elizabeth, shortly before society crumbles in the underwater city. Just as in Columbia, the aforementioned star is still a detective beneath the ocean, and is looking for a girl named Sally.

According to IGN, the timing of the expansion means that Rapture feels much more alive than in previous instalments, with non-playable characters casually going about their daily lives. You’ll revisit landmarks from the series, while others will be referenced in passing. Predictably, Plasmids will replace Vigors, but the Sky Hook will make an unexpected comeback.

Despite this, Irrational Games has completely reworked the artificial intelligence system in order to make the game feel like the original BioShock. “It took a fair amount of work,” he said. “We just bit the bullet and said, ‘If we want it to feel like BioShock, we’re going to have to make all of these things happen.’ If it didn’t feel like Rapture, it would just feel like a coat of paint.”

Burial at Sea will release in two parts, with the second expansion putting you in control of Elizabeth. However, while the first pack is due out before Christmas, the company’s remaining tight-lipped about the second episode. “It’s not done yet, [so] we don’t have a date,” director of marketing Leonie Manshandan told Joystiq. Better stash that wrench somewhere safe for the time being, then.