The first Bioshock quickly amazed gamers with its complex story and incredible look of the art deco, dystopian underwater city of Rapture. The look managed to be both enthralling and repulsive, and the story kept players on the edge of their seats through several shocking twists and revelations intertwined with a philosophical slant that would have made Ayn Rand proud. The Big Daddies- free roaming minibosses that wander through levels with Little Sisters that you need to interact with- have become iconic, and the game became an instant classic.
So when news of the inevitable sequel came, people were expecting it, but speculation was rampant. Without spoiling the story of the first game, it seemed like all the major factors that made Rapture what it was, had been dealt with. There was some variety to the ending, but the major elements seemed to conclude.
The player determined which of three endings they wanted by making choices after capturing the Little Sisters. Little Sister were once young girls that were modified to collect “adam”, a substance that you need in order to progress through the game by giving you plasmids- think of them as “magic” in other video games.
Once you captured a Little Sister, players are given the choice of “harnessing” the girl, which kills her but gives you a great deal of adam, or “rescuing” her, which makes her a child again, but gives you only a small portion of adam. Essentially you choose to be good or evil (or a mix of both), and the outcome determines the ending, but the endings offered take the same path to the final boss and the story seemed to conclude fully.
So what has become of Rapture? Form what we know, the game takes place in Rapture in 1970, roughly 10 years after the original. You play as a Big Daddy, and you are being stalked by a new enemy know as the “Big Sister”. Beyond that, we don’t know much, and assuming that the sequel follows the original’s a heavy emphasis on a surprise laden plot, odds are we won’t know until we have the game in our hands.
The trailer below doesn’t really give us any new hints about the game that we didn’t already know. You play as a Big Daddy, your Big Daddy is unique in that it can use weapons and plasmids, and that the Big Sister looks very tough. One thing the trailer does tell us though, is that this game looks freaking awesome.
