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.

I'm getting chills already, and these are merely still images from 2K's upcoming sequel. I can only imagine what stumbling across these scenes will be like once I get my hands on the actual game. I'm extremely envious of Totilo at the moment. I'm sure I'm not alone.

Lop the boss battle off of the original BioShock and the 2007 game would seem to be just about perfect. It was a novel dive into a failed Objectivist utopia called Rapture. It was a philosophical exploration of free will played as a first-person shooter designed to accommodate a player's tactical ingenuity. It introduced one of the great and weird new relationships in video games, the life-force/Adam-draining Little Sisters and their monstrously powerful protectors, the Big Daddys.

And aside from that final boss battle, BioShock ended well enough that nothing could improve it, not the addition of a 2 at the end of the title, not the tacking on of multiplayer and certainly not the opening title screen that credits twice as many studios for the sequel (four, none of which are the series' founding studio, 2K Boston).

I have, however, returned to Rapture, with the help of 2K Marin, 2K Australia, 2K China and Digital Extremes. I have played BioShock 2's single player campaign through its prologue and first full level, and I am both impressed and pleased. Dare I write this, but the new game has improved elements of the first.

BioShock 2, in its preview form, does not start with the elegance and magic of the first game. There is no scene-setting plane crash, swim through sinking, blazing wreckage nor an elevator ride down to an Art Deco paradise gone wrong on the sea floor. There is instead an abrupt awakening, a look into a reflecting pool that confirms, that, yes, I will be playing this game as a Big Daddy. And then, swiftly, there's combat. It is less artful, and it continued my worry, though that worry would soon end.

Jarring though the beginning of BioShock 2 may be, it is more with the gradual awakened clearing of the eyes that Rapture is revealed as a better-looking place this time. Outside the windows, the sea is now blue instead of green, its waters more clear and the sea-life around it more abundant and vivid. Graphical improvements are, I remembered as I began playing, a reasonable expectation even in the successor to something that was so good.

I'll stay light on story spoilers, and instead reveal the mood. Rapture is still a wreck, still one with wrecked lives in it. The city feels changed. Sofia Lamb, a psychiatrist brought in by BioShock's Andrew Ryan, is now a worshipped leader and apparently our nemesis within radio contact. On the attack, she sends splicers and the well-publicized Big Sister, a stalking seemingly invincible foe that leaps and springs through levels, only to be beaten back temporarily as was so many times the dark Samus in the sequel to Metroid Prime. There are friends within radio contact, but most of the character that emerges in the new game appears to do so in the same successful manner as it did in the first: From, literally, the writing on the walls of Rapture, from discarded radio logs, from the posture of corpses that reveal failed dreams and failed struggles.

Rapture as a place of wonder and as a trigger of player curiosity is back, successfully.

In the early going, being a Big Daddy feels different only in armament. On our right arm is a drill, a better melee weapon than a wrench. Soon, we earn well-animated guns, like a rivet gun and a 50-cal. Machine gun. On the left hand we earn plasmids, some of the same early ones as in the first game: Electric shocks and fire. New is the ability to dual-wield, which leads to the discovery of the shock/stun-and-shoot left-right combo. Even more useful is a hacking tool which can even, with the help of a rare type of dart, hack from afar. I played many fights from a distance, shooting a hacking needle into a turret and then hacking it so it would kill the enemies for me. Hacking, by the way, is no longer a puzzle game of pipes but a reflex test of well-timed button presses, like a gaming golf swing.

What's so winning in BioShock 2 is that, as it refrains early on from re-writing the rules of the first game, it instead amplifies that original's best aspects. It doesn't just look better or explore more of Rapture's interesting world, but it recognizes what played best in the first and does more of it.

There were two things that had played so well in the first BioShock.

The first, was the original game's linear sequences, passageways through Rapture's sights and sounds that allowed the player to absorb the history of the place and its people. This is best executed early in the sequel in an area called Ryan's Amusements, which is a theme park and museum that reintroduces and elaborates on Rapture's history, Ryan's philosophy and, as much of the place is defaced, on the views of those who rebelled against Ryan shortly before the first game began. Walking through this place makes evident the genius and madness of Rapture.

The second gameplay achievement in the first game was the dynamism of its combat, the offering to the player of numerous direct and indirect ways to fight. This was a key element, utilized when attempting to take down a Big Daddy. Players could fill a room with explosive traps, plan to electrify water when a Big Daddy might rush through it, and then begin shooting. The new game makes these tactics all the more available, thanks to the ability to hack from afar and with projectile-based trap ammo. The game requires this kind of play when a player prepares to take down a Big Daddy. It also requires it of them when the alert sounds that Big Sister is coming in for an attack. And, in a twist, it forces this kind of planned combat when a player has taken their own Little Sister to a corpse full of Adam energy. Placing her next to the body is prelude to setting the room up to defend against Splicer attack. Give her the signal to begin and they swarm. You have to keep her safe until she drains the energy. Then you can decide whether she is rescued or harvested. These types of planned offensive and defensive combat work so well, the designers of the new game clearly relishing the opportunity to let the player strategize and orchestrate organized chaos.

Earlier demos and hype for BioShock 2 showed off the ability to walk outside on the sea floor, and much has been made of the game's placement 10 years later in the timeline from the first. I did indeed walk on the sea floor in the new game, and while it was a beautiful sight, the sequence lasted too briefly for me to recognize any significant gameplay change it introduces. The plot is mostly still a mystery to me now, as it is intentionally unclear just why and how the player's Big Daddy, one of the original line, has been revived nor how some of the supporting characters who appear really relate to each other.

I started playing BioShock 2 worried that the inspired execution of the first BioShock would consign a sequel to being a pale imitation. It seems, though, that I had underestimated the room for technical improvement and gameplay refinement. I see little sign of re-invention and a lot of signs of love and polish. That love could smother, that fealty to the past could still render this game as superfluous. But in the early going, I am happily immersed in Rapture again, joyfully mystified as to what its inhabitants are up to, pleased with the way it plays and wanting to play more.

Here's the full list. It rates a standard spoiler-alert warning but, going through this, the descriptions don't seem to give up many details of the singleplayer campaign. Be sure to check the link to see the achievement icon art.

• Bought a Slot (5 points)
Buy one Plasmid or Tonic Slot at a Gatherer's Garden.

• Max Plasmid Slots (10 points)
Fully upgrade to the maximum number of Plasmid Slots.

• Upgraded a Weapon (10 points)
Upgrade any weapon at a Power to the People Station.

• Fully Upgraded a Weapon (10 points)
Install the third and final upgrade to any of your weapons.

• All Weapon Upgrades (20 points)
Find all 14 Power to the People weapon upgrades in the game.

• Prolific Hacker (20 points)
Successfully hack at least one of every type of machine.

• Master Hacker (20 points)
Hack 30 machines at a distance with the Hack Tool.

• First Research (5 points)
Research a Splicer with the Research Camera.

• One Research Track (20 points)
Max out one Research Track.

• Research Master (20 points)
Max out research on all 9 research subjects.

• Grand Daddy (25 points)
Defeat 3 Big Daddies without dying during the fight.

• Master Gatherer (30 points)
Gather 600 ADAM with Little Sisters.

• Fully Upgraded a Plasmid (10 points)
Fully upgrade one of your Plasmids to the level 3 version at a Gatherer's Garden.

• All Plasmids (20 points)
Find or purchase all 11 basic Plasmid types.

• Trap Master (15 points)
Kill 30 enemies using only Traps.

• Master Protector (15 points)
Get through a Gather with no damage and no one getting to the Little Sister.

• Big Spender (15 points)
Spend 2000 dollars at Vending Machines.

• Dealt with Every Little Sister (50 points)
Either Harvest or Save every Little Sister in the game.

• Against All Odds (30 points)
Finish the game on the hardest difficulty level.

• Big Brass Balls (25 points)
Finish the game without using Vita-Chambers.

• Rapture Historian (40 points)
Find 100 audio diaries.

• Unnatural Selection (10 points)
Score your first kill in a non-private match.

• Welcome to Rapture (10 points)
Complete your first non-private match.

• Disgusting Frankenstein (10 points)
Become a Big Daddy for the first time in a non-private match.

• "Mr. Bubbles– No!" (20 points)
Take down your first Big Daddy in a non-private match.

• Mother Goose (20 points)
Save your first Little Sister in a non-private match.

• Two-Bit Heroics (10 points)
Complete your first trial in a non-private match.

• Parasite (10 points)
Achieve Rank 10.

• Little Moth (20 points)
Achieve Rank 20.

• Skin Job (20 points)
Achieve Rank 30.

• Choose the Impossible (50 points)
Achieve Rank 40.

• Proving Grounds (20 points)
Win your first non-private match.

• Man About Town (10 points)
Play at least one non-private match on each multiplayer map.

• Two Secret Achievements worth 5 points.

• Two Secret Achievements worth 10 points.

• One Secret Achievement worth 15 points.

• Six Secret Achievements worth 20 points.

• One Secret Achievement worth 50 points.

• Two Secret Achievements worth 25 points.

• One Secret Achievement worth 100 points.

BioShock 2 Achievements List [Xbox 360 Achievements via HBG]

[GameVideos]

If you want more visuals, there are two additional gameplay vids for BioShock 2 over on GameTrailers - deathmatch and the harvesting choice.

BioShock 2 Videos [GameTrailers]

And at $99.99 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, $89.99 for Games for Windows LIVE, it's no small dent in the wallet. But the lovely package you see above comes with all these wonderful things. Even a copy of BioShock 2 itself, if you can believe it!

• BioShock 2
• Vinyl 180g LP featuring the orchestral score from the original BioShock
• CD containing the BioShock 2 orchestral score
• A 164 page 8"x11" hardbound artbook chock full of developer commentary
• Three posters featuring vintage ads from Rapture (rolled)

It will ship the same day—February 9, 2010—as the common version of BioShock 2. And 2K Games' Cult of Rapture site says the package is "limited to a single production run" if that lights a fire under your preordering habit.

THE BIOSHOCK 2 SPECIAL EDITION [The Cult of Rapture]

There are some minor spoilers in the writeup, I suppose, so I'll let you venture over there if you're interested in what the awesome displays of violence entail, as they most directly pertain to capabilities or plot points in the story.

"The violence and the profanity account for the Mature rating," saith the ESRB, so let's look at the other half of that equation.

The game includes frequent use of strong profanity (e.g., "f**k," "motherf**ker," and "c*nt") and some lesser four-letter words (e.g., "sh*t" and "tw*t"); in one instance, an enemy attacks [Subject] Delta [that's you] while screaming, "F**king sodomites everywhere!"

Sodomites? F—- yeah! Oh there's also some stuff about hookin' and red-light districts. Frankly, in a laissez-faire capitalist society I'd be astonished if those weren't encountered, so maybe this should be rated O for Objectivism.

BioShock 2 [ESRB via Hot Blooded Gaming]

A healthy dose of glowing eyes and a different Big Daddy suit will help differentiate the sequel to 2007's BioShock, as one can see in the full-sized art for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC versions at The Cult of Rapture. BioShock 2 is scheduled to ship February 9, 2010, smack dab in the middle of what may be the busiest Q1 in history.

BIOSHOCK 2'S BOX ART REVEALED [The Cult of Rapture]

But, hey, rules are rules. At an event in San Francisco in early October, 2K Games gave an extended look at BioShock 2, due out Feb. 9.

Jordan Thomas, the game's creative director, gave about a 20-minute demo that took place in the Siren Alley area of Rapture. Afterward, attendees were invited to play through one of the game's early portions, a level called Ryan Amusements, a theme park designed by Rapture creator Andrew Ryan that served as a "propaganda paradise to scare [children] out of going to the surface and spoiling the secret of Rapture to the world," Thomas said.

Story: The plot takes place 10 years after the fall of Rapture, the undersea paradise-turned-distopia inhabited by genetically mutated "splicers," ghoulish Little Sisters and their protectors, the Big Daddies. Sofia Lamb, a psychologist and political rival to Rapture's creator, the late Andrew Ryan, has taken over the city. Where Ryan believed one should act in one's own self-interest, Lamb espouses the idea that we have a "moral obligation to the world entire," Thomas explained during the demo. "We like to think of Rapture as the sort of the place where good ideas, when taken to the extreme, turn monstrous," he said.

Amid all of this, the player assumes the role of a prototype Big Daddy who has been awakened and given free will. His focus is to find the Little Sister to whom he was once bonded, but "as the player closes in on his former Little Sister, he realizes she's not just important to him, she's important to the entire city."
New enemies: Because much of Rapture is flooded, the goal in Siren Alley was to find a pumping station to rid the area of excess water. Standing in your way, however, was one of Lamb's lieutenants, a half-crazy (and in Rapture, who isn't?) cult leader.

Before getting to him, though, we were introduced to some new enemies. Since we needed Adam, we had to find a Little Sister. That meant defeating her Big Daddy protector. In BioShock 2, there's a new kind of Big Daddy, the defense-minded Rumbler. Again, as long as you don't attack him, he ignores you, which gives you the chance to properly arm yourself and prepare. Once provoked, the Rumbler will lay down a perimeter of mini-turrets and fire at you from behind a powerful bazooka. To combat this, the demo showed the player summoning Security Bots to help defeat the Rumbler.

Later in the demo, we came across a Brute splicer, who, Thomas explained, had been splicing himself stronger and stronger since the events of the first game. Because he's essentially at the "top of the Adam food chain," he's much more difficult to defeat than regular splicers, often throwing objects or charging you as a means of attack. To address criticism that splicers' behavior tended to be too predictable in the first BioShock, the enemies now will come at you with in a variety of ways, both offensively and defensively. (In the demo I played, a note popped up on screen that said, "Beware, a splicer is trying to heal at a health station." I got him good.)

Finally, there are the Big Sisters, as dangerous as Big Daddies but otherwise opposite in nearly every way. Lithe and quick, they come looking for you after you've rescued or harvested a Little Sister. In a way, their presence serves to address the complaint that going up against a Big Daddy just doesn't sound as daunting when your character has become one himself. It was a point the developer obviously wanted hammered home: Yes, the protagonist is much stronger, but, this time, Rapture is much meaner.

"We wanted the Big Sister to not be just like another Big Daddy," said JP Lebreton, the game's lead level designer. "We wanted her to be fast, to be agile, to be scary. She's darting around the environment, she's jumping off walls, she's jumping down off balconies or behind you. A lot of people are saying, 'Well, if you're a Big Daddy, what do you have to be scared of? You're the most powerful thing in the environment.' It's like, well, no, wait a minute. There's this other thing. You're a big, strong dude, but these Big Sisters are a whole different level of challenge for you. And they hunt you."

Weapons: In this respect, the biggest change to the game is being able to wield weapons and plasmids independently and simultaneously. As a Big Daddy, you come equipped with a drill, so if melee combat is your thing, do so Big Daddy-style: First freeze your enemy, then drill him to pieces.

Your other main weapon is a rivet gun. One type of rivet ammunition allows you to shoot rivets so they stick in the ground or on a wall; when an enemy approaches, they act as a sort of proximity mine. Other weapons include a machine gun and a spear gun, with which you can fire rocket spears, projectiles that embed themselves in enemies and cause them to fly around the room before exploding.

There are new uses for plasmids, too. In one instance, the demo showed the player setting some traps for enemies by using Cyclone and combining it with Winter Blast – unsuspecting splicers would wander into the mini tornadoes, freeze, get blown into a wall and shatter. Sure, afterward you can't collect anything off the bodies, but it's a small price to pay for iced splicers.

Combat and strategy: Once you capture a Little Sister, you can choose to harvest her on the spot or adopt her. If you pick the latter option, she hops on your shoulder and becomes a guide to bodies from which you can harvest Adam, the substance that's necessary to gain new plasmids and tonics. Clicking a button allows you to see a "pheromone scent," the path that leads you to Adam-filled corpses. Once there, she will tell you to put her down so she can begin her work. First, however, you must set up a perimeter, because as soon as she begins her harvest, splicers will relentlessly come after her for her Adam. This is where it's handy to have a mini-turret from the Rumbler and to set up Winter Blast-infused Cyclones. When you're done with a Little Sister, you can again choose to harvest her or free her.

A major change to how you progress through the game has to do with hacking. When you hack circuitry, no longer does the action pause for you to complete the associated mini-game (one that, by the 50th, 60th or thousandth time, became annoyingly tedious). There's still a mini-game, albeit a simpler one: A vertical needle moves horizontally across an area divided into colored sections (picture an analog voltmeter). Pressing the A button stops the needle from moving; the goal is to stop it in the green section. The difficulty varies with needle speed, the width of the green sections and how many times you have to repeat the process. Stopping the needle in blue sections gets you a bonus.

Moreover, as mentioned, the game no longer pauses during hacking, so that turret that politely stopped and waited for you to hack it before it started firing on you again? Yeah, now it'll keep firing. To help you out, though, you can now collect hacking darts, which allow you to hack from a distance. Just shoot a dart at a turret from across the room, hack it and you're good to go.

Multiplayer: Although I was unable to stick around to experience it first-hand, here's the overview. The setting of the game's multiplayer is before the events of the first BioShock, during the civil war that led to Rapture's demise. Players assume the roles of Rapture citizens, earning experience points to create unique Rapturians with whichever weapons, plasmids or tonics they want. Environments, such as the Kashmir Restaurant or Mercury Suites, are taken from key areas of the first game, only revised so they accurately depict that time in Rapture's history.

I admit that, although I did finish the first BioShock, it had been some two years since I last visited Rapture. The good thing is that, while playing the single-player demo, I was able to ease back in fairly effortlessly. From the little of the game I played – only about 45 minutes – BioShock 2 at least has the potential to satisfy those who enjoy running and gunning as well as players who prefer to plan their strategy of attack. Then there are those instances that combine those two tactics: When you plunk down a Little Sister so she can begin her harvest. The strategists should take satisfaction from setting up an effective perimeter; the mayhem-minded will appreciate the point when the perimeter fails and chaos ensues.

Other moments were equally satisfying, from accessing a locked door by firing a hacking dart through a broken window to the door controls on the other side, to going head-to-head against a Little Sister and ending up the last one standing. There's the potential for hacking to seem too rote (and that can only be answered after hours of gameplay), but having it occur amid the action, instead of during paused interludes, is a nice touch. In fact, my main complaint isn't really one at all: I wanted to play more.

How are you feeling now about the series getting multiplayer?

The gameplay shows the firepower; the cinematics show a suspense factor to match. And pay attention to the final title card. Of course it'd behoove you to check back here on Thursday, because when an embargo breaks, we fix it!

Siren Alley Trailer [GameTrailers]

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]

The sequel, currently in development for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, is set about ten years after the events of the original BioShock.

"Along the Atlantic coastline, a monster has been snatching little girls and bringing them back to the undersea city of Rapture," according to the press release. "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."

Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick said during an earnings call today that Mafia II, Red Dead Redemption, BioShock 2 and Max Payne 3 would all be shipping sometime between February and June of 2010. That's a pretty packed schedule, but it's not like Take-Two has much choice.

Some of those games were pushed back from originally planned 2009 releases, joining the ever crowded Q1 and Q2 of next year. Take-Two gave a looser release window for some of those games back in July. At the time, Take-Two execs blamed a softer economy and development issues.

But Zelnick sounded confident that all four heavy hitters would ship in that five month window.

Rockstar Games, developer of two of the slipped titles that now have more firm sounding release plans, has had a little trouble making its dates this generation, with similar slips on Midnight Club Los Angeles and Grand Theft Auto IV.

"Mr. Bubbles", like Jhonen's "The Sisters," is a fine example of art that's slightly more creepy because we know the story behind it. If we knew nothing about BioShock, this would just be a lovely depiction of a deep sea diver taking his daughter to the aquarium, dressed for work because of his busy deep sea diving schedule. If I manage to grab one, it will beautiful on my wall next to the print of "The Sisters" I had framed.

Speaking of "The Sisters", Jhonen Vasquez will be visiting PAX as well, signing copies of that print from 2PM to 4PM on Saturday September 5th. Totilo and I will be at the show as well, signing articles we've written printed out at the Kinkos down the street.

BIOSHOCK 2 ARTIST SERIES: PART TWO PENNY ARCADE'S "MR. BUBBLES" [The Cult of Rapture]