Let it be known that I have ventured no further into BioShock 2's first-person guns-and-superpowers multiplayer modes than its playable lobby. Such are the limits of preview builds that playing an online multiplayer session requires coordination with a game publisher that can be compromised by the flu, vacations and other stuff.

But here's the shock: Even just stepping into the lobby it seems that, well, maybe this multiplayer mode can serve as a prequel to the first BioShock. (To slightly-latecomers, the single-player part of BioShock 2 is a sequel to the first game , previewed on this site earlier this week. Also, please note I have no visuals to illustrate what I'm about to describe. The screenshot up top is from single-player.)

The BioShock 2 multiplayer mode begins with a choice. The player needs to choose one of several citizens of Rapture to be. I chose football player Danny Wilkins, though I apologize for not remembering the details of his written profile. I've yet to figure out if you can change your character, as I wasn't able to back out to a character-selection screen.

To start playing my multiplayer experience, I chose a menu option called "Prologue." This triggered a cutscene that put me in an apartment in BioShock's undersea former Utopia, Rapture. From a first-person perspective, my character picked himself off the floor, a dripping syringe of blue liquid near him. On Wilkins' black and white TV screen, Rapture leader Andrew Ryan was making an address to all citizen, celebrating the turning of the calendar from 1958 to 1959. "Andrew Ryan offers you a toast, to Rapture, 1959... May it be our finest year!"

Ryan was wrong, fans know. Rapture endures civil war in the year that follows. That's the content you apparently play in multiplayer.

The apartment, which presumably belongs to my character, is a 3D space like any other room in BioShock's campaign. Amid the decor were a desk and chairs, a working stereo, and a recording machine that played back a message welcoming me into the Sinclair Solutions rewards program. Sinclair Solutions makes the Plasmid super-powers available in the series. I/Wilkins was being selected to test some of the company's "home defense products in the field." Test them well and I'd be eligible for company rewards.

Standard options that you would expect in a multiplayer set-up menu screen were rendered as elements of Wilkins' apartment. At my closet, I could change my outfit and melee weapon. I had my football hero put on a goat mask and wield a football trophy as his weapon. At a Gene Bank device on the wall, I could configure and save up to three weapons load-outs. For my guns, I chose a revolver and shotgun. For my Plasmid powers, I went with Electro Bolt and Incinerate, leaving Winter Blast behind. Other weapons and Plasmids were locked, presumably accessible only when my character levels up (make that: only when my character earns more Sinclair Solutions customer appreciation rewards.)

But before I could even make all my wardrobe and weapons selections, an audio alert played, informing me that there was trouble and people should return to the safety of their homes. Yeah, right. I assumed that was my cue to gear up for multiplayer battle. To do that I'd need to leave the apartment. Before I did so, however, a tape recorder caught my eye. It was sitting on a coffee table. I activated it and discovered that it contained audio messages from all of the playable characters. Each character had one unlocked and two locked monologues. The locked audio clips had messages next to them, explaining which level my character would have to achieve to hear each one. The levels required were different for each clip, meaning that players will be steadily unlocking a new one bit by bit as they level up in multiplayer, until all of the monologues are available in full. Wilkins' first one was all about how he told a young football player that the way to be as great a player as he was is to recognize that, the way Danny Wilkins spells it, there is an I in team. It's no wonder this guy made it to the Objectivist, individualist paradise-to-be of Rapture.

I couldn't get more information out of this lobby/apartment.

To progress I'd have to leave and step into the Bathysphere, located down a hallway containing a bucket catching ceiling leaks. In that Bathysphere, I'd be able to select a multiplayer mode of play — Survival of the Fittest, Civil War, Capture the Sister, Turf War or Team ADAM Grab — and proceed with traditional online multiplayer matchmaking.

I can't say, therefore, whether actually playing multiplayer advances the story and makes the mode feel like a prequel that has narrative to it. I can say, though, that the apartment will be able to serve as a means for telling some story and revealing some lore. That's already more than I expected. It gets me thinking that, as with BioShock 2's single-player mode, I may have been too hasty in assuming such limited potential in the storytelling ability of the series' multiplayer offering.

We've gotten tips from a reader as well as Network 23, so far the only ones to post a picture of their delivery boy. All scenarios played out this way: Speedy Brothers showed up, asked the recipient to sign for a package, and then left behind a box wrapped in brown paper and string.

What was inside the box? A splicer mask.

The masks appear to vary. Reader Kevin L. received that one above. Network 23's (below) looks like a standard thuggish splicer mask.

The mask was accompanied by this letter:

Dear Friend:

Phil Isidore (of N.U.F.O.S.) has vouched that you are a trustworthy individual. Please - closely guard the contents of this package. I have sent it direct via courier out of concern that gov't personnel or unknown individuals may attempt to intercept it.

As you may know, I have been investigating anomalous phenomena related to the disappearence of my daughter. In the past, you've provided information that has helped my research. Now I need your input in a matter of utmost urgency.

I discovered the enclosed item in basement workshop owned by Orrin Oscar Lutwidge. I am desperately trying to uncover more regarding it's origin, manufacture, etc. Please examine it and let me know what you make of it.

Any information could help me find my daughter.

Thanks,

Mark Meltzer

I think this concludes 2K Games' masterfully executed roleplay marketing. I have no idea how many of these were delivered - for such personal service, it can't be that many, but who knows? I'd love to know if anyone puts these items up on eBay anytime soon. There's no way I'd part with one, were it mine.

Bioshock 2 Telegram: Part Two [Network 23]

That telegram above was sent to reader Andrew B., and also to three friends who comprise the Network 23 blog. If you can't read that, the text says:

ISIDORE VOUCHES THAT YOU ARE TRUSTWORTHY BE ON LOOK-OUT FOR A PACKAGE FURTHER EXPLANATION FORTHCOMING YOUR HELP URGENTLY NEEDED

=MARK G MELTZER=

Now, here's where the mystery begins. Why them, exactly? I spoke to Network 23's Colt Gauvreau, who said it may have something to do with the Rapture Record that all of them figured out how to order from the BioShock 2 hype site (and which Totilo received back in July.) Long story short, the Network 23 guys deduced that the site was strongly hinting that they should write to a P.O. Box - the same shown on this letter. That letter also wink-nudge asked people to submit pictures of the beach events. So it appears the records and/or the telegrams are premiums for accomplishing one, the other, or both.

A wife of one of Network 23's guys managed to snap a picture of the delivery boy:

After verifying the recipient's name and delivering the telegram, the messenger "jumped on his Pee Wee Herman-looking bike and rode away."

What does all this mean? What package may they expect to receive? Do we all get one if we hurriedly write a pretty-please to that P.O. Box?

Bioshock 2 Telegram [Network 23]

Since you'll be playing as this guy, it looks like the design was shifted over to make him appear more human and certainly less imposing. The design conforms not only to the GamePro cover back in May, but also to one of the early concepts for the original BioShock. And also to this well-known image of the original.

Player Big Daddy [Colin Fix's Knuckle Deep, via Official Xbox 360 Magazine]

While the game was previously slated to hit European store shelves on October 30, 2009, just squeezing into the company's fiscal 2009, the company has now moved the title to a more vague "fiscal year 2010." The sequel was expected to arrive on these shores November 3rd, a few days after its ship date in Europe.

Now, BioShock 2 could very well be pushed into calendar 2010, missing the holidays completely.

Officially, Take-Two blames the delay on the need to "provide additional development time for the title."

Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two called the delay "the right decision for the product," but calls the impact on its revised financial outlook a "disappointment."

"The decision to shift a release date is never an easy one, especially with a product as highly anticipated as BioShock 2," Take-Two CEO Ben Feder said in a financial release. "We felt that it was essential to invest the additional time to ensure that this title will deliver what its fans expect and deserve."

Take-Two announced delays of Red Dead Redemption and Mafia II in May, both of which are expected to ship in the publisher's fiscal 2010.

Unlike the first lot, which showed the initial designs for the original Big Daddies, these show how 2K Marin - the developers working on the sequel - have gone about depicting the Little Sisters for the second game. And they look...well, pretty much identical. Which I guess was the point!

She doesn't look mean. She just looks like she needs a nap.

These concept art shots appeared yesterday on The Cult of Rapture BioShock website, they were presented as a way to sort of get into the heads of the developers at 2K Marin, seeing what they kept and what they scrapped in coming up with the final design for the game's protagonist.

Between the first BioShock and the sequel, you've seen a lot of concept art for Big Daddies. The logic behind this concept art went beyond different designs and suit combinations. The artists had to imagine what the very first Big Daddy would have on him — this Big Daddy had to feel like he was a rough draft or a work-in-progress, an amalgam of Big Daddies to come. The first Big Daddy was a test case, and in making the perfect prototype, 2K Marin drafted many, many prototypes themselves.

Okay, so this one is just a guy in a suit.

You can see the influence of this design a bit in the Big Sister.

Drill? Check. Slouching? Check.

Underwater Mutant Big Daddy Turtles

Almost perfect.

When I met with Alyssa Finley, executive producer for Bioshock 2, that's the first thing I wanted to know. Bioshock was a solid shooter, but not one that stood apart, except for its story, I said. Will Bioshock 2 be able to match all but the original game's ending?

"We take story very very seriously," she said. "The reason the game is set back in Rapture is because we think there are more stories to tell of Rapture, more stories about Rapture."

Bioshock 2 will tell the story of what happened in the sunken city in the ten years since Jack Ryan left Rapture and will do so in a way that takes into account the decisions players made at the end of the original title.

"I don't think it would be Bioshock if we said the only thing that really happend was this," Finley said. "The choice the player made, whatever it was, was a valid one."

In the years since Ryan's departure the city has continued to struggle.

"There has been a power play," Finley said, " by other people who have other schools of thought have. That's going to give us an opportunity to tell some different stories, show some different ideologies."

"Andrew Ryan built Rapture and it was built on the principals he espoused. This is not a story about Andrew Ryan, it's a story about a city and what's become of it."

As with the original game, Bioshock 2 will be careful not to push the story at players, but rather allow them to work it loose from the scenery on their own and piece it together. What is known already is that players will take on the role of the Big Daddy, not a Big Daddy, but the Big Daddy.

"People have know idea what the Big Daddy is," Finley said. "They've seen the dumbed-down versions, they haven't seen the prototype. This is the one from which all of the others have evolved and early on it's being let off its leash."

Moral choices will return to the game as well, she said, as well as other types of philosophy that deeply impact those choices and the underlying themes found in the story.

"I think that we can convince people there is a worthy story to keep telling here," Finley said. "But at the end of the day it's still all about choice. If people choose to buy the game, that's great."

During the company's conference call to discuss second quarter financial results, Take-Two CEO Ben Feder announced that BioShock 2 will hit Europe on October 30 and North America on November 3.

The game, which is expected to ship on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, is still officially listed in the company's press release for second quarter earnings as coming to platforms "TBA."

UPDATE: Asked if the "TBA" is a sign that the game could become a timed exclusive, Take Two CFO Lanie Goldstein said, "In terms of BioShock, we're still working out what the right SKUs [versions] are and the right timing." Company chairman Strauss Zelnick quickly added: "No you shouldn't read anything into that."

BioShock 2 is in development by 2K Marin and is the sequel to 2007's hit BioShock from 2K Boston and 2K Australia.

According to 2K Marin's creative director Jordan Thomas, the setting is "one of the characters we don't want to let go." Thomas added that he thinks Rapture is still "fertile" for as much exploration as the team sees fit.

"I absolutely believe that there might be future games set in Rapture in whatever time period," Thomas said, "but I would also say that I think that the Bioshock brand is big enough that it could evolve." Evolve into more sequels, that is.

BioShock 2 Interview: Part Two [OXM via CVG]

Good thing the preview 2K showed was a "fake" level that won't appear in the final game, making it impossible to spoil BioShock 2 for anybody and focusing more on the game itself and less on the spoiling. But, if you're the sensitive type, you have been warned: *HERE BE SPOILERS*

"Hunting the Big Sister" is a short preview level that contains elements of BioShock 2 that will be in the final game. The first of those elements is obviously the protagonist – the original Big Daddy. See? Not a spoiler. Nothing new here, move along, move along.

It's 10 years after the events of the first game and for some reason, we're back in Rapture and not much has changed. The producers say there's a reason for this and that they don't want to presuppose a canon ending for the first game. Fingers crossed it's not "the first game was all a dream," because that would make both games terrible instead of just the sequel.

The demo level starts with your character coming to in a partially flooded chamber of Rapture as Tenenbaum orders you to get up. Since you are the first Big Daddy, you're not subject to the mind control the other Big Daddies suffer – but how can you refuse a beautiful woman with a German accent?

Tenenbaum tells you about the Big Sister – antagonist and second element of BioShock 2. She looks kind of like the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz, only made up of wire mesh and pipes. She also goes into murderous rages periodically, especially where Little Sisters are concerned. For whatever reason, Tenenbaum blames herself for all of this and enlists you to help her fix it/save it (sound familiar? Then it's not a spoiler!).

The fake level presents you with your first Big Sister encounter by having the rampaging thing blow open a wall of glass in one of Rapture's ocean-view rooms. This puts you at the bottom of the ocean surrounding Rapture; but because you're in a diving suit, this isn't a big deal for Big Daddy.

This third element of the game – the ocean explorer segments – is technically the only new thing I saw in the demo, since you really didn't get to wander around the ocean in the first game. But don't get too excited – 2K says you won't really get to wander around much in BioShock 2, either. The ocean segments are "guided experiences" where the Big Daddy is supposed to follow a mostly-linear path to an airlock to go back inside Rapture. It sounds like instead of having to build stuff to open doors, you'll be asked to find airlocks and go out into the ocean to find ways around locked doors.

Once back inside Rapture, the game introduces combat. No real spoilers here, since the only enemies around were Splicers. No explanation what they're still doing in Rapture after 10 years, but they're just as agro as ever – even considering that you're a Big Daddy with a drill for an arm. You come upon one or two of the whacked-out buggers and they immediately start mobbing you with about three more coming from nowhere to join the fray. You can drill them with the drill arm (big fun), use plasmids (new ones are promised, but we didn't get to see them) or firearms to kill them off (yay, magnum rivet gun!). But sometimes they run away so you can't kill them; and they might even be able to kill you in larger packs so think twice before charging after the ones that flee. Additionally, there will be "differentiated" enemy types to keep the playing field level – but we didn't get to see anything besides Splicers.

After the combat, we were shown another main element of the game that's supposed to be the big ticket item: the Little Sister interactions. It's tempting to say that this doesn't count as a spoiler since it looks almost exactly the same as it did in the first game – but I guess changing the word "Save" to "Adopt" is significant.

The producers are well aware that people didn't really like the Hitler/Jesus split endings in the last game (especially since they were practically the same and there was no significant payoff or penalty for choosing one over the other). To address that, they've made the Little Sister interactions more complex than just "Harvest" or not-Harvest. This will in theory impact the endings more profoundly and since there might be more than just two endings, this might actually matter.

When you "Adopt" a Little Sister, you carry her around a level with you and can deploy her to go gather Adam from corpses. But doing so agros pretty much every Splicer in the area and they all come running to kick the shit out of the Little Sister. Again, not really a spoiler, since this same mechanic went on in the later levels of BioShock. The difference here is that the Little Sister has a Harvest limit and once she's reached it, you have to send her back home via the little pipe system.

Or – and this is a spoiler and quite possibly the most interesting thing to say about BioShock 2 so far – you could Adopt her, max out her Adam limit and then Harvest her. If you really want to be a bastard, that is.

After we saw the Little Sister Harvest a corpse, the Big Sister showed up again to knock out the Big Daddy, thus ending the fake level presentation.

P.S., said the developers, there will be multiplayer, there will be side stories and audio logs and they promise not to apply retroactive continuity to the first game. But since we didn't get to see any of that, none of that counts as spoilers.

*END SPOILERS*

So here's what we don't know, even having played the first game, fantasized about a sequel and read every scrap of pre-preview coverage out there:

1) How are we back in Rapture? We know why we're back in Rapture: it's easier for the producers to work with. But how is this city still functioning after Jack supposedly liberated or enslaved it at the end of the first game?
2) Why are we a Big Daddy? Not that I'm complaining about having a huge drill arm – I'm just confused as to how a speechless dude in a diving suit is going to sustain an emotional connection for the player.
3) How many endings will there be? The producers won't say, but they did say that the whole game would be "a smidge more linear" while still "empowering exploration." Very cryptic.

Make of BioShock 2's early looks what you will. But I'm going to take a moment to remind you of another Sad Truth About Sequels: like a second bite of cookie, the second installment of any game is rarely ever quite as sweet as the first simply because it's no longer new. You've already been spoiled... get used to it.

This of course carries a bigtime spoiler alert, so, you been warned. Visit the write-up at your curiosity's peril. Or you can peruse the following, which contain the write-ups more more generic comments after Gamespot played a demo entitled "Hunting the Big Sister." (Come on, that title's not a spoiler, I guess).

• "[Bioshock] had a fairly self-contained story that ended pretty definitively. This posed a challenge for 2K Marin, but the studio has taken the world of BioShock and used it to tell a whole new story."

• "We watched our boy as he lumbered around a new section of Rapture - the team pointed out that the original game let you check out only a small part of the massive ruined metropolis."

• "A new gameplay mechanic lets you make use of your fancy diving suit to take a stroll on the outside of the city."

• "At first blush, the visuals in BioShock 2 seem on par with those of the first game—but after carefully scrutinizing them, we saw many subtle improvements. Lighting has been polished up considerably, and the overall level of detail seems to have been increased, too. We're especially fans of the particle effects we saw both indoors and underwater. The game is using an enhanced version of the technology from the original game, which helps maintain the look and feel of the battered city."

• "Given the raw power and range of abilities the big daddy you'll play, the team felt the need to create a formidable predator."They're not referring to the Big Sister. They were. I'm a jackass.

BioShock 2 Exclusive Impressions - First Look [Gamespot, SPOILER ALERT throughout]

2K and Game Informer both responded, saying the rumors that BioShock 2 would be Big Daddy-free were untrue. The rest of the details? Also lies. Big Daddies will be making another appearance in the sequel.

How?

You play as a Big Daddy.

In fact, you're the first of the lot, a so-called "renegade" Big Daddy who's on the hunt for a Little Sister of his own, according to a tipster who has the new Game Informer magazine in hand. You'll take out rival Daddies with your huge hand-drill and plasmid powers, claiming their wee sidekicks as your own. Similar to the first BioShock, you can choose to either harvest your Little Sister prize for ADAM or you can adopt her as your own.

That Little Sister comes in handy. She'll harvest ADAM from corpses strewn about Rapture, acting as a warning sign for when the Big Sister—the lithe, lightning fast enemy who will hunt your character throughout the game—has you in her sights. Based on her description, it sounds like she'll one hell of a fight.

From what we've heard, players will have access to all the things that made the Big Daddy such a menace in BioShock, with the character upgrades and options available in the first game expanded to keep things interesting. More details can be found in the new issue of Game Informer, which will be appearing in subscriber hands any second now.

There's not much to see at the "There's Something In The Sea" site outside of photo of the Big Daddy doll (seen in the first BioShock 2 trailer), a newspaper clipping detailing the kidnapping of 7-year-old Maura Clune, and a hand-written letter speculating on the kidnapping from a J. Lynch. These documents are pinned to a map with the date "2/20/67" scrawled next to the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.

2K Games has begun teasing the game in another fashion, as well.

Reader Dominique sent us the above snapshot of a "There's Something In The Sea" promo poster, which teases the same red light described in the account of Maura Clune's kidnapping.

We're sure to learn more soon, as BioShock 2's release date looms ever closer.

There's Something In The Sea [Official Site - thanks, Dominique!]

Also noteworthy is that the multiple open job listings for BioShock 2 positions specify PlayStation 3, Xbox, and Wii as the intended platforms. I just hope they call it BioShock Too, because that's a funny and lighthearted way to name your sequel and the first one was sort of depressing. Who's with me?!

Senior Designer BioShock 2 [Gamasutra via Gameguru] [Image Credit]

While most of the development duties sound like they'll be undertaken by the Marin studio, Take-Two's Strauss Zelnick echoed Feder's praise, saying that Levine is "critical to BioShock." 2K Boston is said to be working on a separate intellectual property for 2K Games, but hopefully Ken will be at the very least creatively consulting on BioShock 2.

Take-Two also noted that the original BioShock has 2 million unit sales under its belt since its August '07 release. No pressure, 2K Marin! No pressure at all.

"We're focused on continuing to bring new brands and cutting-edge gameplay to market with the creation of the 2K Marin studio," said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. "2K Marin will build upon our success in creating and leveraging AAA franchises."

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Announces Formation of 2K Marin

New Northern California Based Development Studio to Focus on Creating Original, Industry-Leading Intellectual Property

NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) today announced the formation of 2K Marin, a new development studio under its 2K publishing label. Located in Novato, California, 2K Marin will develop original intellectual property, as well as co-develop products with other 2K studios around the world.

"We're focused on continuing to bring new brands and cutting-edge gameplay to market with the creation of the 2K Marin studio," said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. "2K Marin will build upon our success in creating and leveraging AAA franchises."

2K Marin is the newest studio to join 2K's outstanding group of development studios located in Asia, Europe, Australia and North America.

For more information, visit the 2K Games website at www.2kgames.com.