The Cult of Rapture recently conducted a podcast interview with Irrational Games' Creative Director Ken Levine about some of the moral issues surrounding their upcoming title BioShock - in particular, the inclusion of the Little Sisters. If you've seen the screenshots and trailers, I'm sure you're familiar with the Little Sisters, creepy little girls who wander the halls of Rapture stealing the life-giving Adam from dead bodies.

In the interview, Levine states that you never actually have the opportunity to harm a Little Sister with weapons, but the choice must eventually be made whether to "save" the child or "harvest" it for its Adam. As the name implies, harvesting will leave the child dead. There are hints in the interview, however, that would suggest the Little Sisters aren't even human at all.

But does that make it any better? Is killing something that looks like a child any better than killing what's supposed to be an actual child? It's precisely this question that the creators of BioShock are hoping you'll ask yourself while your playing the game.

You can read a transcript of the podcast that has pertinent spoiler information removed. But, if you want to hear all the uncensored details, download the podcast and learn about the Little Sisters and their dirty little secrets. Flynn De Marco

AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT THE LITTLE SISTERS OF RAPTURE [Cult of Rapture]

THE BIOSHOCK COVER ART CONTEST WINNERS [The Cult of Rapture]

If you're in the need of some videogame themed t-shirts at a budget price ($15 for guys, $17 for girls), sans painfully nerdy imagery, head over to Threadless with your credit card warmed up. Michael McWhertor

The Leftover [Threadless]

There's been a lot of talk about in-game advertising lately. They are annoying and ugly and in certain cases can really disrupt the feeling of the game. The creators of Bioshock have a ton of in-game advertising in their amazingly beautiful game, but in this case they aren't ads for real products.

The Bioshock community site, Cult of Rapture, has posted a gallery of twelve different ads that you can see as you roam the halls of Rapture. As with the rest of the game, the posters are done in a great art-deco style that adds a sense of realism and unity to the whole experience. It is precisely this kind of attention to detail that will raise Bioshock levels above your run of the mill FPS.

I, for one, can't wait for this one to come out. I may just have to pull a Cartman and freeze myself until the game is released. It's like... waiting for Christmas... times a thousand! Flynn De Marco

ADVERTISEMENTS OF RAPTURE [Cult of Rapture]

The Cult of Rapture, a new community site for 2k Games' Bioshock, has landed on the tubes. There's quite a bit there, although a lot of it is the same stuff you can find on the game's official website; screenshots, trailers and a description of the game's plot.

What this site does have, however, is a Q&A with an Irrational Games representative and questions gathered from game sites and forums from around the web. One big question addressed on the site is whether Bioshock will have any sort of multiplayer or online gaming action. The mysterious unnamed rep had this to say...

There will be no multiplayer (hold on before you complain!!!!) but for a very specific reason. BioShock features a compelling storyline that revolves around the experiences of one man as he enters the decaying world of Rapture. Having a multiplayer component would have compromised the story we were trying to tell so we made the decision to keep this game as a single player experience. There will be an online component, however, where new content can be downloaded.

Personally, I am more than willing to give up multiplayer for a really good, solid storyline. And judging from everything I've seen of this game, I'm certainly not going to miss it much.

There are nine or ten other questions in the Q&A covering different topics such as whether or not there will be a playable demo and my personal favorite "Can you hype Ken Levine more like CliffyB?" Flynn De Marco

The Cult of Rapture [2k Games]
[via Blue's News]