Bioshock 2 - News Roundup

We haven't covered the latest trip into Rapture, but for those of you interested here is some information about the game. This roundup will feature only the single-player portion of the game. However, if you are interested in the multi-player portion the links to gametrailers and youtube have many videos showcasing that aspect of the game.
Worthplaying has a general overview of the game, its features and a bunch of screenshots:

Set approximately 10 years after the events of the original BioShock, the halls of Rapture once again echo with sins of the past. Along the Atlantic coastline, a monster has been snatching little girls and bringing them back to the undersea city of Rapture. Players step into the boots of the most iconic denizen of Rapture, the Big Daddy, as they travel through the decrepit and beautiful fallen city, chasing an unseen foe in search of answers and their own survival.

Singleplayer Features:
* Evolution of the Genetically Enhanced Shooter: Innovative advances bring new depth and dimension to each encounter. New elements, such as the ability to dual-wield weapons and Plasmids, allow players to create exciting combinations of punishment
* Return to Rapture: Set approximately 10 years after the events of the original BioShock, the story continues with an epic, more intense journey through one of the most captivating and terrifying fictional worlds ever created
* You Are the Big Daddy: Take control of BioShock's signature and iconic symbol with the original prototype Big Daddy, and experience the power and raw strength of Rapture's most feared denizens as you battle powerful new enemies
* Continuation of the Award-Winning Narrative: New and unique storytelling devices serve as the vehicle for the continuation of one of gaming's most acclaimed storyline

Over at GamerNode they show off what the special edition comes with. It's not cheap at 99$, but it comes with:

-Vintage posters from Rapture
-A CD with the orchestral score from the game
-A 164 page art book in the style of books from Rapture
-A vinyl 180g LP that features the soundtrack as well.

Gametrailers has quite a few videos for Bioshock 2:

• Debut Trailer: Just your typical day at the beach.
• Hunting the Big Sister: Jorden Thomas walks you through some of the new mysteries of Rapture.
• Siren Alley Trailer: A video showing off some locations and a ton of combat.

Youtube also has many trailers for Bioshock 2. The most interesting one out of the bunch is the E3 trailer. You can watch E3 Bioshock trailer here or click on the embedded image below:


More information.

Nothing about Bioshock 2 has excited me so far, and I really liked the first part.

That multi-player part has got me worried, but other than that the game is looking good. It seems about the same to me except for you're going after a big sister this time.

That's the point. Bioshock 1, while not innovative gameplay-wise, had a very unique plot, environment and atmosphere. Bioshock 2 seems to be more of the same. If this was Modern Warfare 3, I would be okay with it. But with Bioshock I would be afraid that the sequel diminishes the impact of the first game.

Originally Posted by Grandor Dragon
Nothing about Bioshock 2 has excited me so far, and I really liked the first part.

I feel the same way. I would have thought they could come up with something better than returning to Rapture, and having you play as a Big Daddy.

Why is Rapture even still there 10 years later? Wasn't it falling to pieces during the first game? And where did all the new Splicers come from?

Originally Posted by skavenhorde
That multi-player part has got me worried, but other than that the game is looking good. It seems about the same to me except for you're going after a big sister this time.

Multiplayer is being done by a separate studio (Digital Extremes) whose sole responsibility, so far as I am aware, is the MP part of the game so it ought to be almost completely separate and not effect the mainline development. I'd tend to be more worried about there being no less than 4 studios working on the title as a whole (2kMarin, IG Australia, Arkane, Digital Extremes and if the first is any indication they may pull in 2k Shanghai as well for a bit).

Some of the SE information in the newsbit is a bit unclear (assuming most here are PC users the price is 89USD with 99 for the console version, the two soundtracks are different, one is of Bioshock 1's score, the other is 2's)- 2k's SE press release has the details. Even at 90usd it's still very steep for what you get.

Originally Posted by Zygo
Some of the SE information in the newsbit is a bit unclear (assuming most here are PC users the price is 89USD with 99 for the console version, the two soundtracks are different, one is of Bioshock 1's score, the other is 2's)- 2k's SE press release has the details. Even at 90usd it's still very steep for what you get.

Gamernode didn't specify that price was only for the Xbox and PS3 version. I even checked to make sure that the $99 price was actually accurate. I thought it was a mistake at first. In this economy releasing a special edition for $99 seems a little crazy to me. For that I want a ton of miniatures , not a vinyl LP. That is less than worthless to me.

Thanks for the heads up on the PC version only being $89. I added that to the newsbit. Still too much, imo.

As for the game itself, the basic setting is that girls are going missing off of a beach on the Atlantic coast and a big red light has been seen when they go missing. I would assume that if girls can go missing then other people can as well. That would explain all the new splicers down there.

I'm not exactly sure how they'll tie this one together with Bioshock 1. I just hope they don't just say Rapture hasn't been destroyed 'just because it hasn't' or they gloss over the fact that Rapture was in bad shape at the end of Bioshock and without any help managed to survive another 10 years.

The first new splicer that the game introduces should be the engineer splicer. He goes around fixing Rapture. At least that would make some kind of sense as to why Rapture hasn't been destroyed yet

In the first underwater scene as you approach Rapture you can see some guys outside working on it.

While I enjoyed the first one I will probably wait for a good sale (assuming good reviews) to pick up 2.