BioShock 2 Message Board older than one year ago

Over on The Cult of Rapture, 2K Marin has posted a Q&A on BioShock 2 multiplayer. First of all, on all platforms, the game doesn't have distinct ranked and unranked multiplayer options. All public matches, including those played with friends, will be ranked and posted to leaderboards. Meanwhile, private, invite-only matches will not post to leaderboards. The game will also keep friends on the same teams and employs a matchmaking system to find opponents of similar skill levels. Also, the game does not include an option to kick troublesome players. 2K Marin suggests that players report any cheaters and griefers, quit and find a different match. And now for the big one: BioShock 2 does not support dedicated servers or LAN play on any platform. According to 2K Marin, the development schedule didn't allow enough time to create a solid multiplayer component and implement dedicated servers and LAN play. The site reads, "We chose to spend the time we had creating a solid game foundation and unfortunately that did not include LAN play or dedicated servers." So there you have it.

The BioShock 2 special edition includes the game's score not just on physical media, but on an impressive vinyl record. However, if you want to hear the BioShock 2 soundtrack but don't want to be saddled with any tiresome tangible items, there's an option for you too. GameTunes reports that the soundtrack, composed by Garry Schyman, will be released digitally through both the iTunes Music Store and Amazon's MP3 store. No price or release date have been mentioned yet. There are currently no plans for a CD version, so it's either a huge disc or no disc! [Via Big Download]

Here's what you'll need.

Valve has officially announced that 2K Games' BioShock 2 will be available for purchase on Steam -- you can pre-purchase the game right now, and it'll be unlocked for play on February 9, 2010, day and date with the rest of the world. The current price is $44.99, a slight discount from the boxed version, and that includes a Steam copy of the original BioShock as well, which you can "kindly" give to a friend if you happen to already have it. Or you can nab four licenses for you and three friends for $134.97, with each of you getting to play the original also. Sure, it's a good deal if you're not concerned with "discs" or "physical media," but does it come with a vinyl LP of the game's original soundtrack? Didn't think so, boy-o.

A 2K Marin representative has confirmed that BioShock 2 will have DLC -- we'd have been (bio)shocked otherwise. Speaking to AustralianGamer, Senior Systems Designer Ken Hudson revealed that the studio has "pretty aggressive plans for DLC" and that it's "something that is already under-way." No further details were provided. The original BioShock was lacking in the DLC department, only providing some extra plasmids and adding challenge rooms for the PS3 port. Hopefully, the numerous studios working on the sequel will have all their Splicers in a row for the game's February 9 release date. Gallery: BioShock 2 [Thanks, Matthew; Via Xbox Insider]

Is the undersea sequel a little wet behind the ears?

We venture to two new dilapidated levels and emerge from the watery abyss to tell the tale.

Ten players fight for the Big Daddy suit. Only one gets that rivet cannon.

Rapture has sprung more than a few leaks during the mayhem of Bioshock 2!

In Rapture, the commodity is ADAM, and you will be fighting over the most coveted source of all in Capture the Sister.

Fight for your rightful place in Rapture with Turf Wars in Bioshock 2's multiplayer.

Bioshock 2 takes multiplayer team deathmatch underwater with Civil War.

How does the beginning of the game compare with the opening of the original?

If your wait to return to Rapture has been too much to bear, then you may be interested in some of the Achievements for Bioshock 2 over at Xbox360Achievements -- you know, just to help ease the passing of time. None of them spoil the game (you hack stuff again!) and, unsurprisingly, they mimic a lot of the Achievements in the first game. But, with the inclusion of multiplayer this time around, a few of the 'cheevos are obviously geared toward that. [Via Hot Blooded Gaming]

Bringing to a close the BioShock 2 "Artist Series" over at the Cult of Rapture website is the image seen above, dubbed "Subject Delta." Painted by Julie Bell and Boris Vallejo, the piece epitomizes the little we know about the upcoming game, with Splicers looking more gruesome than ever and a flood of ocean water just moments from washing everything away. Oh, and dear Little Sister, please stop staring right through us. That's just creepy. Check out the wallpaper-sized version, right here.

The game's co-art director talks about Rapture, Sophia Lamb, and making a game of extremes.

Perhaps this electrobolt may spark your interest in returning to Rapture in the sequel to the highly successful Bioshock.

2K Marin's Jordan Thomas talks about how this weird underwater world is changing.

Good news, Japan! D3 Publisher is localizing Bioshock 2 for you and, this time around, you won't have to wait that long to get your ADAM-soaked hands on it. Andriasang reports D3 Publisher will release the 2K Marin, et al.-developed sequel sometime in early 2010 -- presumably close to the February 9 US release date. We just hope the new Japanese ad campaign dials back the completely frightening a bit.

It's an all-out Rapture kill-fest.

Bioshock enters the wireless age with new hacking abilities!

The pivotal question, will you save or consume?

Click to Big Daddy-size If you find yourself enraptured by everything BioShock, you're really going to love this. 2K Games has disclosed details on the BioShock 2 Special Edition release, limited to one production run and set for retail on February 9 alongside the slightly-less-special edition we saw the cover art for on Tuesday. If you're prepared to sink $99 into the set ($89 for PC) you'll be the proud (but poorer) owner of the game, a 164-page hardcover art book, three posters, the orchestral score on CD and the most special goodie accompanying this edition: the orchestral score on a vinyl 180g LP. You know ... a record. You know, big black disc DJs use? Yep, one of those. This is great news for audiophiles and those who refuse to own a CD player because lasers are obviously some kind of witchcraft.

Click to Big Daddy-size If you find yourself enraptured by everything BioShock, you're really going to love this. 2K Games has disclosed details on the BioShock 2 Special Edition release, limited to one production run and set for retail on February 9 alongside the slightly-less-special edition we saw the cover art for on Tuesday. If you're prepared to sink $99 into the set ($89 for PC) you'll be the proud (but poorer) owner of the game, a 164-page hardcover art book, three posters, the orchestral score on CD and the most special goodie accompanying this edition: the orchestral score on a vinyl 180g LP. You know ... a record. You know, big black disc DJs use? Yep, one of those. This is great news for audiophiles and those who refuse to own a CD player because lasers are obviously some kind of witchcraft.

Probably the only special edition worth getting.

Probably the only special edition worth getting.

Sequel to one of the biggest games ever gets its face.

Not to be overshadowed by BioWare's latest effort to depict Mass Effect 2 in one epic cover, 2K Games has released the box art for BioShock 2 -- and it doesn't win any points for originality or cleanliness. Just like the first game's cover, it features Big Daddy (this time he's you!) and Little Sister (not you). Only now, everything's behind cracked, grimy glass and the logo's covered in barnacles. Eww. You can lay your eyes on high-res versions of the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC covers for the sequel in the gallery below. You might want to put on some rubber gloves and grab a can of Scrubbing Bubbles before you click on 'em, though. [Thanks, Geoff]

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.

It's like capture the flag, but with a flag that kicks and screams.