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Actions of BioShock protagonist debated by characters in sequel

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 6th 2009 at 4:00PM }

Considering the dichotomy of the moral decisions (see: good or evil) offered to the silent hero of the original BioShock, many have wondered how the upcoming undersea adventure, BioShock 2, would take his actions in the first installment into account. Without a save game import feature (ala Mass Effect 2), how could the sequel register the player's decisions in the original? The answer was recently revealed by Bioshock 2's creative director, Jordan Thomas: Ambiguity, my dear Watson.

Speaking to MTV, Thomas explained that, "the things that he did are being fiercely debated by the splicers, because we wanted to support any of the choices the player could have made in the first game." He later added, "It's become kind of a religious question; what he did at the end of BioShock 1." This plot device is probably for the best -- if the splicers in Bioshock 2 knew about our actions in the first game, all they'd debate about is why we spent ten hours wandering aimlessly around the city, desperately hunting for audio cassettes.

Hands-on: BioShock 2

by Randy Nelson { Oct 29th 2009 at 12:00PM }

Having already taken a brief tour of Rapture through the eyes of a Big Daddy a few months back, we were okay with the fact that BioShock 2 looked and seemed to play very much like the original game -- only this time encased in a huge pressurized diving suit. Now that we've played through a full area of the game, our initial assessment more or less holds up, but that's not to say there aren't several noteworthy -- and even surprising -- changes and additions to expect when the game arrives next spring.

Warning: We've done our best to keep what you're about to read as spoiler-free as possible, but the extremely sensitive should tread cautiously beyond this point.

Gallery: BioShock 2 (10-29-09)

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BioShock 2's 'Capture the Sister' mode isn't kidding around

by Randy Nelson { Oct 28th 2009 at 8:20PM }

The citizens of BioShock 2's undersea dystopia, Rapture, love them some ADAM -- especially when it's been freshly harvested by a Little Sister. It's with this in mind that Digital Extremes tweaked the tried-and-true Capture the Flag multiplayer contest to place one team in charge of abducting one of these adolescent creepsters while the other must lay their lives on the line to protect her.

As the above first look at the mode explains, the "attacking" side's goal is to return the girl to a Little Sister vent. The defenders -- well they defend, of course ... but one of them gets to be a Big Daddy. We'll have our hands-on impressions of BioShock 2's single and multiplayer modes tomorrow, so look for more details then.

Latest BioShock 2 trailer stomps around 'Siren Alley'

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 26th 2009 at 3:35PM }

If you diligently avoided last week's GameTrailers TV due to all the BioShock 2 spoilers, the trailer you see above can help provide you with some water-soaked gameplay -- sans all the direct information. We feel it's safe to tell you that 2K Games gave this clip the title "Siren Alley" because of an area in Rapture of the same name, a place that we never got to see the in the first game.

Even if you don't watch the video above, you should take one thing from it: The "worldwide embargo" gets lifted this Thursday and a flood of information on the game is sure to follow. If you're really trying to remain spoiler-free on BioShock 2, now may be a good time to go dark.

Gallery: BioShock 2

GameTrailers TV drowns us in BioShock 2 footage

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 23rd 2009 at 10:39AM }

Like all good things in life, there's a steep price to pay for watching last night's Bioshock 2–centric episode of GameTrailers TV (posted after the jump). That price is your everlasting soul.

Okay, all it actually costs you is exposure to a few spoilers for the game -- but isn't that just as bad? Remember that sense of wonder the first time you stepped foot into the murky waters of Rapture? Aren't you afraid you'll ruin whatever semblance of that emotion that might still appear in the sequel by filling your ... you're already watching it, aren't you? You're a fiend, you know that? A fiend.

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GTTV features BioShock 2 this week; reveals who's running Rapture

by David Hinkle { Oct 21st 2009 at 12:00AM }

Ever since Andrew Ryan decided to go out for that pack of smokes (our mom says he's coming back; just you wait!), there's been nobody to tend to the leaky pipes and roving packs of splicers in Rapture. Well, according to GameTrailers TV's Geoff Keighley, someone's finally decided to step in and assume the leadership role for BioShock 2, and we'll find out who on Thursday's episode.

In another tweet, Keighley promised plenty of "new single player info and footage" and even teased that the episode will also reveal new characters -- something we already knew was planned for the sequel. You can catch the special BioShock 2 episode this Thursday night, October 22 at 12:30 a.m. ET on Spike.

BioShock 2 washes up on shore Feb. 9, 2010

by Justin McElroy { Sep 18th 2009 at 8:41AM }

If you're planning the playoffs for the video game industry's intramural softball league, you may want to avoid the weeks leading up to Feb. 9. That's when the 27 different development studios involved with BioShock 2 (a full half of the world's developers) will be crunching to finish BioShock 2 for release.

After waiting all this time, we're just happy that the game can finally ship, 2K can staff up just a bit more, and work can begin on BioShock 3: Now It's An MMO.

BioShock 2's plasmid-packed multiplayer trailer makes a splash

by Randy Nelson { Sep 4th 2009 at 2:30AM }

The first look at BioShock 2's multiplayer component in action surfaced this evening on GameTrailers TV. Our rough calculations reveal that the trailer -- which clocks in at just over two minutes in length -- is running at about .5 plasmid attacks per second (PAPS).

It might just be the edit, but the gameplay looks extremely frantic, with several human-controlled players employing the likes of Incinerate, Winter Blast, Telekinesis and a host of other plasmid powers in rapid succession. There are also glimpses at turret-building, what appears to be the first game's Research Camera being used for something and, of course, someone playing as the prototype Big Daddy.

Check out the trailer after the break and let us know that you thought of it in comments. Did it have you enraptured ... or leave you with a sinking feeling?

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'Early 2010' is a 'realistic' release for BioShock 2 [update]

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 20th 2009 at 9:00AM }

Update: Call it a failure in translation. The representative meant PAX in Seattle and not PAX East in Boston. The company currently has no plans for PAX East. The rep followed up that "'early 2010' is a much more realistic release date than 'second quarter 2010.'"

Speaking to a 2K Games representative at GamesCom, Joystiq learned that a new BioShock 2 trailer is set to be revealed at next year's PAX East show, which will also be host to a strong presence from the company. With the undersea sequel still being promoted during the last week of March, we were able confirm the obvious implication: BioShock 2 won't be out during the cluttered first quarter of 2010.

Instead, it seems we'll make our long-awaited return to Rapture in the second half of the first half of 2010.

Worley Winery loses stock, BioShock 2 gains promotion

by Griffin McElroy { Aug 10th 2009 at 9:35AM }

We have to imagine that the marketing team for BioShock 2 is split into two warring factions, each one trying to outdo the other's promotions. "We're going to make an online pseudo-ARG site." "Oh yeah? Well we're going to give away characters as a pre-order bonus." "Oh yeah? Well we're going to set up an eerie simulacrum of our ARG site in the middle of Comic-Con." Hopefully the escalation will stop before we reach: "Oh yeah? Well we're going to kidnap an actual little girl and take her to the bottom of the ocean."

The latest salvo from one of these sects is pretty clever (and legal, we think) -- a number of advertisements for plasmids and Rapture locales tucked into bottles from Arcadia's Worley Winery (an in-game spirits retailer) recently washed up on beaches across the world. Kotaku readers grabbed images from the bottle-peppered shores of Brighton Beach, The Hague, Vancouver and Santa Monica. We also received a video from tipster Lazlo showing the early-morning discovery at Vancouver -- it's posted after the break.

If your mainland orientation kept you from checking out the promotion, don't despair -- you can already grab one of these ad-filled bottles on eBay for around $100.

[Thanks, Lazlo!]

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GameStop pre-order ad reveals pair of BioShock 2 multiplayer characters

by Ben Gilbert { Aug 8th 2009 at 7:00PM }

After 2K showed us some of the customization options available in BioShock 2's multiplayer for the single character thus far revealed (Jacob Norris), we were left in the dark as to how many to expect in the finished game. While we're not much closer to knowing that now, GameStop has reportedly revealed two more characters in "Zigo the Fisherman" and "Blanche the Actress," available "exclusively" through pre-order of the game via in-store ads.

Koku Gamer spotted the images on the 2K's BioShock 2 forum, where astute forumgoers point out that the images of the two characters look a lot like recently released BioShock 2 Mulitplayer Gamerpics #2 content on Xbox Live. As the game's release has been pushed back to the "first half" of 2010, we're waiting to hear more before running out to the store and dropping five Earth dollars, thank you very much.

[Thanks, Admir!]

Levine: BioShock 2 needs 2K Marin's stamp

by Justin McElroy { Jul 20th 2009 at 2:45PM }

Though you may see characters and a world you recognize when you pop in BioShock 2 next year, don't expect to encounter that distinctive Ken Levine flavor, that Zest of Kenny L, if you will. "I make no claim to anything on BioShock 2, and I think it's important that that's their product, and their culture," Ken Levine told Gamasutra. "Because you can't just clone a studio. They're working on BioShock, but it's got to be their project. They've got to put their stamp on it."

While we can't wait to see 2K Marin's stamp, we just hope it leaves room for Arkane Studios, 2K Australia and Digital Extremes' stamps too. Man, we'll be able to ship this thing to Jupiter with all the postage it'll be packing.

BioShock 2 given another helping hand in Arkane Studios

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jul 10th 2009 at 11:15AM }

Have you heard the one about BioShock 2? You know: "How many devs does it take to screw up a BioShock sequel?" We haven't come up with the punch line yet, but 2K Games seems to be increasing the odds of something going wrong for BioShock 2 by adding a fourth studio to the ~~company~~ crowd of developers. Lyon-based Arkane Studios joins lead developer 2K Marin (in California), its collaborator 2K Australia (we repeat: Australia), and multiplayer specialist Digital Extremes (headquartered in Ontario) in a cast that's starting to look like a "We Are the World" tribute to the late Mr. Jackson. We know, we know: outsourcing and globalization are just signs of business as usual these days, but when you've got this many cooks in the kitchen, development could easily flip a wrong page to the recipe for disaster.

"Arkane is assisting in the creation of levels that embody the aesthetic and gameplay ideals that make BioShock such a unique and exciting experience," 2K Marin's Alyssa Finley explained, according to Develop. Oh, well, that's a relief. And here we were worried the plan was to recycle unused assets from the first game.

Gallery: BioShock 2

See the prototype Big Daddy prototypes from BioShock 2

by Justin McElroy { Jun 25th 2009 at 8:30PM }

As you're no doubt aware, you'll be playing as the very first Big Daddy in 2K Marin's upcoming BioShock 2. If you're craving a bit more insight into just how said Big Daddy came to be, 2K's just dropped some concept art showing the development of the hulking bruiser.

The final product looks cool, but are we the only ones that would have totally dug this armored Terminator Big Daddy? Just us? Fair enough.

[Via GameSetWatch]

BioShock 2: Simultaneous release on Xbox 360, PS3 & PC [update]

by David Hinkle { May 29th 2009 at 11:13AM }

We've been waiting on platform confirmation for 2K's upcoming BioShock 2 for some time now, and now we finally know which systems the title will release for. VG247 confirmed with 2K that the game will release "on PS3, 360 and PC on 30th October, just for the record." It should be noted that October 30 is the European release date for the game, and that it's already been confirmed for a November 3 release in North America.

With the game releasing on multiple platforms on day one, it means that PS3 enthusiasts won't miss out on the fun due to timed exclusivity this go round.

Update: We contacted 2K to clarify the statements that VG247 received, and it confirmed that a simultaneous Xbox 360, PS3 and PC release would occur in North America as well. Huzzah!