Alrighty, I beat Clash, minus all the Ribbons, because those are a pain in the ass. It's fun enough for basically a horde mode, and the ribbins (of which I have 15 out of 60) are ridiculously challenging and will push anyone to their mettle. Got all the trophies except for the Ribbon one, but that's not what I'm here to talk about.
Boy are all the extras in this DLC worth it. First, the Archaeological society: Wow, and I just mean wow. It was fun seeing all the behind the scenes stuff, and the models, but I just love having access to the music (I still wish they were on the soundtrack.)
However, my favorite part is the "Art Direction Concept Art," I chuckled for a good couple minutes after seeing that.
But now, the extras.
If you purchase bot of the Lutece models a tear appears leading to their place where you can find 5 new voxophones, all by Rosalind, which are… interesting. For those who do not have the DLC or do not wish to purchase it, below are the transcriptions of the voxophones.
! The Constancy of Music
October the 10th, 1893
"When I finally brought my brother through, he seemed to lack the capacity to square his own reality with this one. I suspected such a thing would happen, yet had no means to accommodate his distress. His behavior was that of the feebleminded. He hemorrhaged nearly continuously from his nose. Naturally, I was able to transfuse him from my own veins and thus avoid catastrophe. In the end, it was music that proved therapeutic and grounded his thoughts. A middle C vibrates at 262 Hz, no matter what universe."
! Playing Prophet
October the 15th, 1893
"Brother, I have told you many times that I encountered this particular Caesar before he crossed the Rubicon. When I met Comstock, he was little more than a preacher, able to move both members of the flock or members of congress with equal dexterity. He believed in my work, and his influence bought me the funds I so needed. And if he wanted to use tears to play prophet, that was his prerogative. But at some point, the mean become incapable of distinguishing his performance from his person. I sit in judgement -but then again, it was I who built the stage."
! A Better Father
March the 3rd, 1896
"Fink's bird is a repulsive creature. But I suppose a prison needs a guard. What surprised me is not how the girl has imprinted upon the monster. After all, one might observe a baby chimpanzee accept a wire replica for its mother. But I did not expect the brute to be capable of forming an attachment in return. Hm. Perhaps it could be a better father to her than the two she has known."
! No Cell Will Hold Them
July the 27th, 1907
This evening, on my way back from supper, my theory became reality: a spontaneous tear had opened in the market district, emitting both sights and sounds. I observed what I could only imagine to be some future version of Columbia. Though familiar, strange red flags with a small yellow icon flew from her rooftops. Although we can lock up the girl, it appears her powers will not be imprisoned so easily."
! Unde Vigores?
June the 16th, 1908
"That ghastly Fink fellow has been busy of late. He has sent his minions out to prowl the city, on the lookout for tears wherever they might appear. They are armed with camera and voxophone. One could only presume he is no longer content to steal patents from his own reality. No surprise then, his scientific 'breakthroughs.' I imagine I could also appropriate parlor trick like incinerating trees with the snap of my fingers. But the universe offers more delicious fish to fry."
Some interesting stuff there I will talk more about later; specifically, I will be focusing on the music of it all.
Now, there's one more little surprise. After you have cleared all four levels and return to the archaeological society, there will be a new tear available.
! It will be for a water puddle. When you open it up a splicer appears and shouts, "eave me alone!' He knocks Booker out, and the screen goes black. Then you hear Elizabeth struggling, and… It ends.
! I will admit, this would have been a lot more shocking and awesome if we didn't already know we would be going back to Rapture. Still, it did cause me to yell "Oh shit!" when the splicer appeared, as I wasn't expecting that.
! Also, you can't kill the splicer. I've tried many times. Shooting him just causes the screen to go black.
! I am glad they included this, as it does tell us that there is a reason Booker and Elizabeth or there. It's not just an alternate "what if" type storyline.
So yeah, overall it's worth the five bucks, whether you got it in Season Pass form (like I did) or just pick it up. Everything in the archaeological society is fun to look at, and the voxophones give some interesting backstory.
I'll be working on a guide for the ribbon challenges soon, right now all I can say is, first time through: don't worry about it. Just make the "Face Melter" build because it will make it so easy, and worry about getting all the upgrades you can. Then go back an do them with a max level Booker.