Two years go 2K’s Bioshock introduced us to the underwater city of Rapture and its
founder, the industrialist Andrew Ryan. The game sent you exploring the crumbling ruins
of the failed utopian society and piecing together the how the city rose and fell into
ruin. The rich story and stunning art direction made the game a critical and commercial hit
that left fans hungry for more time in the gorgeous but disturbing world of Rapture.
2K Marin’s upcoming Bioshock 2 aims to give fans a second run through Rapture in two flavors,
a single player game set after the events of the first game, and an all-new multiplayer
mode set just as the ambitious city is starting to come apart at the seams.
The single player experience is set roughly ten years after the end of the original Bioshock.
You’re cast in the role of Subject Delta, an early prototype of the armored Big Daddy
behemoths seen escorting the creepy Little Sisters around in the first game. But, unlike
the Big Daddy’s from the first game, you’re not mindless and you have a very specific
mission find the Little Sister that you’ve been bonded to who’s lost somewhere in Rapture.
Your mission will send you through the vast city, revisiting places seen in the first
game, though weathered by the passage of time, and you’ll entirely new places as well.
The game’s story has a tighter focus on theme of family as it follows your search
for you little sister and introduces you to the unlikely bonds that has formed among key
figures in the population. The passage of time has also led to some unique
changes in both Rapture and its residents that have led to the city becoming even more
disturbing and dangerous. The splicers, humans who have taken to altering their DNA to improve
themselves, have gotten even crazier due to their addiction to ADAM, the gene-altering
stem substance that’s been one of the factors in Rapture’s fall. As the years have gone
by splicers have continued to tinker with their DNA, resulting in some all new incarnations
such as Brute Splicers- hulking masses of muscle that are tough to take down and who
use the environment to their advantage. But, given that you’re based on the early designs
for one of the most powerful creatures in the game, you’re not exactly a pushover.
You’ll be able to use weapons such as the rivet gun and drill which are core to a typical
Big Daddy’s arsenal. But, in addition, you’ll also be able to use DNA enhancing plasmids
to gain powers well beyond that of a normal splicer. The ability to use your weapons and
plasmid fueled powers in tandem presents some new, tactical combinations thanks to a new
plasmid system that allows you to upgrade their levels. Plasmids can also be combined
in certain instances, such as using Inferno to ignite Cyclone traps to create fire-based
traps for enemies.
You’ll need all these abilities and more to deal with the game’s new villain, Sophia
Lamb, clinical psychologist and altruist. Andrew Ryan’s idealogical opposite, she
has wound up in control of the city and the head of a cult-like mob of splicers. She’s
also holds the key to you finding your little sister, who’s name is, oddly enough, Eleanor
Lamb. When we said family was a theme in the game, we never said healthy family. Another
interesting branch of Lamb’s brood are the other residents of Rapture have done some
growing up and blossomed in unique ways. The little sisters who weren’t rescued in the
first game have grown and evolved into Big Sisters. The young ladies have been inspired
by the Big Daddies who cared for them and cobbled together suits of armor from the remains
of their former protectors. The result is a unique new enemy that’s fast, agile, almost
as powerful as a big daddy, able to use plasmids, and a deadly predator you’ll have to contend
with as you work your way to Eleanor in the single player game.
Bioshock 2’s multiplayer mode, changes things up and drops you in Rapture during the riots
that caused the fall of the city shortly before the start of the first Bioshock. You’ll
play as a product tester for Sinclair Solutions, a provider of weapons and plasmids. You’ll
fight in online matches of up to eight players in a number of rapture-themed spins on traditional
multiplayer game types. You’ll be able to see parts of rapture at the height of its
grandeur as the multiplayer maps all take place in familiar locations before the urban
decay set in. With a new story, characters, locales and
gameplay, there should be plenty of reasons for fans to return to Rapture. Players can
look forward to reacquainting themselves with the city of Rapture and its colorful and disturbing
residents on February 9th, 2010 when the game ships for the PC, PS3, and X360.