Bioshock Infinite DLC Revealed, Play The First Part Now

Bioshock Infinite.  Man, oh man, what a game.  Great story, great atmosphere, great gameplay.  If you're like me then you have probably been wondering just what the heck is going on with the game's downloadable content plans, especially since Irrational has been quiet as to the future of the series past March's epic skycrawling experience.  That pondering ends today, my friend.

Announced today, Bioshock Infinite's DLC plans come in three parts with the first part arriving on Xbox Live, PSN and PC later on today.  Called Clash in the Clouds, this first bit of content is actually an arena brawler mode wherein players face off against the various enemies and bosses featured throughout Infinite.  Players will engage in rounds of up to fifteen waves across four maps using earned cash to purchase upgrades, restock items and more.  Blue Ribbon challenges will also force the player to complete waves using set parameters.  Cash earned in the DLC can also be spent on unlocking items in the Colombian Archeological Society, a sort of hubworld for this horde mode.  Items like character models, backstory voxophones and more will be available for the player to ogle, reportedly making the CAS a strong highlight of the DLC.

Now, I know what you are thinking.  "Gee, Chris, that does look pretty swell for $5 but it just doesn't feel like what Irrational should be releasing."  Well, calm down because Irrational announced that the follow up DLC will be entirely story driven and, dare I say, infinitely more interesting.  Yes, I went there.

In the months to come Irrational will be releasing a two part story called Burial at Sea.  This new content seems to be its own self contained story that takes place in Rapture.  On New Years Eve 1958, the day Rapture experienced the opening salvo of the civil war that would go on to kill most of the populace and cripple the city, private investigator Booker DeWitt is hired by a woman named Elizabeth for an unknown task.  Players will get to see Rapture at its prime with friendly NPCs and the ability to meet both old characters and new ones alike.  Irrational is calling Burial at Sea a loveletter to fans of the series and man, does it look good.  This new content supposedly emphasises survival horror and stealth gameplay much like the first game did and that just sounds exciting.

Episode one, staring Booker, will arrive later this year.  Episode two, which puts you in control of Elizabeth, will be released sometime later, more than likely in 2014.  I feel unnaturally compelled to offer my personal take on Burial at Sea in this post so, if you haven't beaten Infinite (what is wrong with you?) please avoid the paragraph below the trailer you see below.  SPOILERS!

Rampent speculation by Chris: SPOILER ALERT!

I believe that this new content ties into the concept of the Infinite factured timeline.  As Elizabeth exists in a universe fractured after her finger was severed while being abducted by Comstock, there is a reality in which she and Booker were never victims of Colombia but instead people who lived in Rapture.  If you notice in the trailer above, for example, Elizabeth bears the same would on her finger.  This particular Elizabeth is not depicted at the end of Infinite however.  Could this mean that the events of Burial at Sea take place, despite being 40 years in the future, before the Booker was drowned at the universal apex?  Does this mean that Elizabeth's powers are not singular across all dimensions and that, depending on the reality, she might be empowered differently?  Burial at Sea looks to begin just as Rapture enters a state of civil war.  What roles do Booker and Elizabeth play in the 1958 New Years Eve riots?  Will they be witnesses or even partake in the attack on the Kashmir Restaurant?  Are Booker and Elizabeth/Anna even related in this alternate reality?