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BioShock 2 announced

Published on 12th March 2008 by Joe Martin

BioShock 2 is confirmed to be in development at the new 2K Studio.

Take-Two has now officially confirmed that BioShock 2 is in development, set for release in Q4 2009 according to the fiscal calendar. That translates to a August-October 2009 release date.

Those expecting to see a massively similar game to the first BioShock may be surprised though - Eurogamer has confirmed that the game will be developed at the new 2K Marin studio in California.

Oddly though the lead designer of BioShock, Ken Levine, won't be as involved with the game as he was with the original - Levine will be dividing his time between BioShock 2 and a new game at a different studio.

Levine is heavily rumoured to be working on a new X-Com game, but that is still unconfirmed and clashes with Take-Two statements that Levine is "working on a new IP."

Take-Two hasn't confirmed any plot details or platforms for BioShock 2, but the safe bet is that it'll be a Xbox 360 and PC release just like the original.

What do you think? Do you agree with our indie columnist Cliff Harris that sequels are an excellent way to refine a formula, or would you rather see the 2K Marin team work on something new? Let us know in the forums.

24 Comments

Discuss in the forums Reply

Gunsmith 12th March 2008, 10:17

I can has inventory? no? ok i'll settle for proper widescreen then instead

[USRF]Obiwan 12th March 2008, 10:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gunsmith
I can has inventory? no? ok i'll settle for proper widescreen then instead

amen to that.

Mankz 12th March 2008, 10:38

I actually didn't enjoy BioShock.

Veles 12th March 2008, 10:51

I would prefer a more complicated game along the lines of DX. Nothing too OTT but it would be nice if it had some more depth. The thing I wasn't too keen on with Bioshock was it was a good game, but it was simplified unnecessarily. People say that consoles simplify games too much, but Morrowind wasn't simplified at all on the xbox and that sold really well.

lewchenko 12th March 2008, 10:52

I played 1/3 of the original Bioshock on my PC. Was a unique game at the time, but with horrible mouse support and poor widescreen.

Oh... and it was VASTLY overhyped by all the media and magazines.

I really doubt Bioshock2 will do as well. A lot of people were duped into buying Bioshock, and felt that it didnt meet the hype (myself included). Will I shell out more money on Bioshock2. Probably not.

Mentai 12th March 2008, 10:54

I would rather see them come up with a new IP. I think it would be cool to have left it as a standalone game, although I guess a prequel could be pretty good.

Da_Rude_Baboon 12th March 2008, 11:35

So long as its not dull and repetitive with 5 types of enemy it could be ok.

D3s3rt_F0x 12th March 2008, 12:19

Good only game bar GTA4 I can see me buying between now and then.

I really got pulled in by it tbh would love to see more back story etc or seeing the city from a different perspective, personally I loved it without doubt my best game for last year. HL2 episode 2 just didnt seem to pull me in or involve me as much although it was a very good game and Crysis was all shiny flashing lights and graphics with no substance.

sotu1 12th March 2008, 12:21

People say that consoles simplify games too much, but Morrowind wasn't simplified at all on the xbox and that sold really well.

wasn't that because it was originally a PC game, then ported to XBOX?:

hence immense ammounts of detail being left in? not sure cuz i never payed attention to it, jsut a thought.

naokaji 12th March 2008, 12:54

they dont have to make the game hard overall, they just need to have working difficulty adjustments.

Bioshock 2? well, I kinda liked the first one, i mean sure it had its flaws, but overall still one of the best games of 2k7 and if they stick to the Graphics Style of the bioshock 1 and dont forget to have plnety of Big Daddys then it will be ok.

Hg 12th March 2008, 13:17

Lol gunny, i know your pain.
However i did enjoy the game and it had a great twist at the end, lets hope they create this game as a proper PC title not an xbox port

yakyb 12th March 2008, 13:19

probably wont get this Bio shock was wa too repetative

rjkoneill 12th March 2008, 13:47

this does not surprise me in the slightest

Delphium 12th March 2008, 14:02

I quite enjoyed Bioshock, despite the lack of different types of enermies and some chapters being a little repetative (collecting the paintings springs instantly to mind), I actually enjoyed the game because of the plasmid abilities, they were very fun to play with, using a balence of your main weapon ammo and these, like catching rockets from turrets and thorwing it against an enermy or right back at the turret.

For me, the plasmids kinda made the game, id love to see a sequel to Bioshock set in the similar style and with the plasmid abilities again, however I would hope that the chapters/maps have a bit more depth to them without the repetativeness of the first Bioshock, this would make it much more enjoyable.

HourBeforeDawn 12th March 2008, 15:57

I hope that they focus more on the story then just solely graphics as the last one ya it looked pretty but game play eh...

Smilodon 12th March 2008, 18:08

I won't get it for sure. Bioshock 1 was pretty boring IMO.

I loved the environments and all, but the game simply got boring after a short while.

Overhyping games sure kills the joy of playing them... :(

MrMonroe 12th March 2008, 18:40

I really liked the first one... just don't see where they're going to get a story out of it again. The whole thing played like a novel where an idea (this is what happens in an objectivist paradise when someone discovers workable genetic manipulation) was the central point of the story. Why make another based on the same idea?

I'd also like to know what y'all meant by "proper widescreen support." It looked fine on my 1920x1200...

Bauul 12th March 2008, 20:34

Ah Bioshock was great. More shallow gameplay than it could have been, but dripping in enough atmosphere and a decent enough story to make it fun. What I'd love from a sequal is a more non-linear level design. Bioshock felt like moving from one self contained level to the next, with no cohesion between the two. You got no sense of where you were within Rapture. A HUD system, global maps and just more of a sense of the whole city would be really appreciated in the sequal.

And some more varied enemies.

tomshawn 12th March 2008, 21:18

holy ****! great! I loved first part.. I played it 2 times !!

The_Beast 12th March 2008, 21:35

I have never played bioshock before and I don't think i'll play #2

lewchenko 12th March 2008, 23:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrMonroe

I'd also like to know what y'all meant by "proper widescreen support." It looked fine on my 1920x1200...

You been living in a cave ?

Did you not remember the internet fury from everyone about how widescreen users had their field of view (FOV) reduced so that whilst you thought it had good WS support, actually you were not seeing a whole chunk of the actual screen that a non wide screen user would actually see. That made it weird for enemies appearing etc.

Personally it didnt really bother me.. the game had other more serious flaws than its bodged WS support.

aurora 12th March 2008, 23:10

I actually don't like this game - graphics are sometimes too ugly. Don't feel this game anyway...

aurora 12th March 2008, 23:11

ooops.. double post...

boggsi 13th March 2008, 13:22

Awesome game. Outstanding graphics and atmosphere. What varity it lacked in adversaries was entirely made up by with new gameplay styles. Traps, plasmids, weapons, upgrades etc. I thought it was a formula well iterated to a fine result. I can however see unless it you made it 3/4 of the way through how you may be have been disappointed tho.