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Rapturous deal: BioShock 1 and 2 for $4 from GameFly
Can't afford the trip to Columbia? Want to catch up on lore and ethos that define BioShock before diving into BioShock Infinite? GameFly has you covered, offering a BioShock and BioShock 2 PC download bundle for only five bucks. Throw in the code GFDAPR20 at checkout for an additional 20 percent off, knocking the price down to a piddly $3.99.
BioShock Infinite Season Pass includes three DLC packs
Irrational Games announced a Season Pass for BioShock Infinite this morning, granting buyers access to three "all-new" upcoming DLC packs. We've spoken to the boys and girls in our labs, and they tell us that means there are at least three pieces of BioShock Infinite DLC on the way.The pass is priced $19.99 on PS3 and PC, or 1600 MSP on Xbox 360, and Irrational says it provides $10 worth of savings. So the three DLC packs come in at an average of $10 each, or 800 MSP.A Season Pass purchase also pecks picks you up the Early Bird Special Pack, this giving you a machine gun damage upgrade, pistol damage upgrade, gold skin for both weapons, five Infusion bottles, and four pieces of gear, all for free.
XCOM delayed again, beyond Q1 2013
XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the strategy game, is still coming on October 9, but XCOM the shooter is growing ever more distant. Take-Two's latest earnings report gives the game a "fiscal year 2014" date, which puts it between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014.The previous release window announcement put it in the previous fiscal year – and that announcement was, itself, a delay from a proposed March 6, 2012 release date. At this point, 2K is racing against science; if engineers of the future develop a method to contact and interact with alien life for real, this game will suddenly seem less exotic.
Seen@PAX East: Bomberman says hello
Someone tried to tell us this was a character from the BioShock universe, but we think we recognize Bomberman when we see him.
2K Marin co-founder, BioShock artist lists unannounced IP on his resume
2K Marin is busy busting some alien assignations with the first-person version of XCOM, but apparently it has plenty of artillery to throw around. J.R. Hogarth de la Plante, one of the founders of 2K Marin in 2007 and the lead artist/level architect on the BioShock series, lists an "Unannounced Title" for which he is the art director, right on his resume.Hogarth de la Plante doesn't describe the new title itself, but does explain that it's a brand new IP that he and four other directors are inventing and pitching internally. If it's still open to improvisation, Mr. Hogarth, may we suggest a stylized, top-down 2D adventure, played as a Little Sister as she fights her way through the terrifying realm of 1980s high school? You're welcome.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown mixes strategy and turn-based combat, first screens
Looks like we were right again -- Firaxis' XCOM: Enemy Unknown isn't a remake of the original game, but is more of a re-imagining, Firaxis told Game Informer. Enemy Unknown will mix real-time strategy on a global scale with turn-based combat, making it less of an RTS in the classic sense, Firaxis said. Strategically, players will handle all the holistic aspects of conducting extra-terrestrial warfare, including directing research into alien technology, mollifying nations worldwide to secure funding, attacking UFOs with jet fighters, leveling up soldiers, recruiting new ones and directing the Skyranger transport to battle aliens on the ground. Enemy Unknown isn't copying the functions of the 1994 original -- soldiers will have different stats, for example -- and it gets rid of much of the "tedium and uninteresting mechanics," while keeping gameplay challenging, Firaxis said. Enemy Unknown takes place in the thick of the alien invasion of Earth, while 2K Marin's first-person shooter XCOM covers the first alien attacks on the US. This is interesting, considering Enemy Unknown may end up launching before 2K Marin's title. %Gallery-143608%
BioShock 2 brings dystopia to OS X in January 2012
It's been nearly two years since BioShock 2 first came out on consoles and PC -- but, oddly enough, the game's still not finished being released. Next month, the game finally gets ported to Mac OS X and, like the first BioShock, the work is being done by Mac dev Feral Interactive, who will also handle distribution of the game online. Maybe you're staunchly opposed to buying games from Feral Interactive's website, for fear of the game being untrainable and potentially disease-ridden? Gamersgate will also be offering the game as a bundle with the first, so you can totally chill out. BioShock 2 for OS X will become available at some point next month, but if you really want to give Feral your money early the company is already accepting pre-orders.
XCOM delayed beyond Q1 2012
A tired but resourceful former cop delays an alien invasion. It sounds like the eventual outcome of the never-ending Die Hard franchise, but for now it's the picture of Take-Two's first quarter of 2012. We didn't think there'd be room for Max Payne 3 and 2K Marin's overhauled XCOM in the same month, and now the latter project has been bumped into the publisher's fiscal year 2013. Originally scheduled to launch on March 6, 2012, the promising tactical shooter is expected sometime between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013. XCOM's public invasion has moved ahead in jolts since it was first announced, but has grown quiet in recent months following rumors of layoffs at 2K's Australian studio. At least it's a chance for humans and aliens to agree on something: these things are never easy to plan.
Rumor: 2K Marin in Australia hit by layoffs
2K Marin's studio in Canberra, Australia, has allegedly gone through a round of layoffs. Kotaku AU reports that the studio, previously known as 2K Australia, cut 15 employees. The studio is currently assisting in the development of XCOM, which is scheduled to launch March 6, 2012. Requests for 2K to reconfirm that date, especially in light of recent announcements that would have titles from the same publisher competing against one another, have gone unanswered. We contacted 2K to confirm the layoffs, but were informed it's company "policy not to comment on rumors or speculation" If true, this is just the latest in a string of bad news for Australia's troubled development scene.
XCOM developer diary discusses game world
If you couldn't find the patience to watch the 22-minute XCOM E3 demonstration, you'll find the game's first developer diary trailer covers the basics of XCOM's world in about six minutes.
XCOM's E3 demo declassified
XCOM version 2.0 was revealed at E3 this past June. The tweaked demonstration we saw kept the setting of socially and politically turbulent 1960s America, but took a significantly different approach to the gameplay. Gone was the clearly BioShock-infused game we'd seen the prior year, twisted into something more strategic with many more gaming influences, not the least of which was Mass Effect. The demo video has everything we saw at E3, covering squad selection, use of skills in combat and alien technology reclamation. XCOM will supposedly be ready to hire new recruits on March 6, 2012. %Gallery-126032%
XCOM Preview: Mass affect
2K Marin creative director Jordan Thomas wasted little time in addressing XCOM's year-long absence after E3 2010. "We're here to pull back the curtain on what we've been up to for a year," Jordan told us during a demo last week. "We've kind of been flying under the radar for a long time, and I wanted to start by talking about why that was." The studio was comprised of plenty of talent from Irrational who had worked on BioShock (including Thomas) and then developed BioShock 2 at 2K Marin. In other words, BioShock was their comfort zone, Thomas said. "Our first crack at XCOM kind of had a run-and-gun feel. It was very BioShock. It was contiguous first-person, it had a creepier, splicer-like alien enemy, and so on," Thomas said. Over the last year, they've tried to get away from that, making "several key alterations" to the XCOM reimagining we first saw last year. XCOM was a strategy game, the new XCOM is a first-person shooter, and that incongruity seems to be responsible for much of 2K Marin's second draft. "The main reason for that is that we are strong fans of the original XCOM series," Thomas said. "Basically, XCOM was about being the best of humanity repelling an alien invasion through cleverness and dynamism. Through taking the enemy technology and subverting it, to remove their strategic edge." Lucky for you, the "best of humanity" are on your team.%Gallery-126032%
XCOM inducing singularities on March 6, 2012
After months of secrecy, XCOM's release date has finally been declassified by publisher 2K Games. The first-person relaunch of the XCOM series will arrive on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on March 6, 2012, according to 2K. The nearly nine month window between now and then does, of course, give plenty of extra time to delay it, should that be necessary. Not that we hope it gets delayed, but it does stand to reason that we won't see BioShock Infinite in the first quarter of 2012 if XCOM sticks to the release date, as 2K Games is unlikely to drop two major shooters so close to each other. The game's E3 2011 trailer was also loosed, showing off a much more direct example of XCOM's first-person action gameplay. A press release accompanying today's release date news speaks to the game's setting as well, explaining that XCOM will put players into the shoes of Special Agent William Carter who, employing a crack team of veteran XCOM officers, will "strike surgically against the alien menace" in an effort to turn the tide of war against them. It's kind of like Halo, basically, except in 1950's America. And no Master Chief (as far as we know). And the aliens are way more inky, of course. Okay, it's not that much like Halo. Fine.
Finally, Minerva's Den coming to BioShock 2 PC
BioShock 2 add-on "Minerva's Den" will finally make its way to PC on May 31 for 800 MSP ($10) -- that means you'll need to be hooked up to Games for Windows Live. The BioShock 2 DLC became available on consoles late last year, and in our review we found it to be a "very interesting and value-packed single-player expansion." The road to a PC release of "Minerva's Den" has been long and awkward ever since it was announced late last year. The last time the DLC's potential PC release popped up on radar was January. Repeated requests for an update had 2K Games explaining it had "no new information at this time." So, while it may be seriously late, at least it wasn't canceled. (Why not just say so, 2K?)
2K Australia studio head resigns in the middle of XCOM; 2K responds
Earlier this month, internet snoop supererogatory noticed 2K Australia's studio head Martin Slater resigned, right in the middle of development on the upcoming XCOM reboot. That news was paired with another tweet saying, "FWIW, there's a rumor that XCOM's undergone some big changes since it was announced." Sounds plausible, especially if the studio head of one half of 2K Marin (yeah, it's confusing) is no longer with the company. "Over the course of a project, development teams do change and evolve from time-to-time," a 2K spokesperson told Joystiq. "While we can confirm that Martin Slater is no longer with the studio, there have been no changes to the way in which XCOM is being developed. The project continues to involve strong collaboration between our California and Australia locations and continues to be led by creative director Jonathan Pelling, a longstanding member of the talented team that worked on BioShock, BioShock 2, Freedom Force and Tribes." While Slater's departure may not have caused changes in the way, or the process, that XCOM is being developed, that doesn't mean the game itself hasn't undergone changes since we saw it last, at E3 2010. We'll know for sure the next time we get our hands on the title. Probably E3 this year, right 2K?
BioShock 2 PC DLC comes out before it's ready
Well, we've got good news and bad news for folks who've long awaited the PC version of BioShock 2's downloadable content. The good news? According to a few users on the game's official forum, the Protector Trials expansion was released on the Games for Windows Marketplace earlier this week for $5.75. The bad news? It ... um, doesn't work. Like, at all. It seems like the PC version of the game needs to be patched before the DLC will become compatible. A 2K representative confirmed on the forums, "wait till my word before you go grab it - it's not ready yet." But when will it be ready? If we were to wager a guess, we'd say anywhere from "soon" to "six months ago."
Bioshock 2 DLC and patch back in development for PC
You may recall the manner in which the internet exploded earlier this month, when 2K Games explained that no single-player BioShock 2 DLC or future patches were in development for the PC version of the game. It's time for these oft-scorned gamers to take back all the mean things they said upon hearing that news. 2K Games reversed its position in light of the passionate response from its community and has "resumed development" on the excellent "Minerva's Den" and "Protector Trials" DLC, as well as on the game's final patch. A 2K representative said on the game's official forums that the patch and Protector Trials should get through certification in December, at which point they'll both be released to the PC community for free. The company has no idea when Minerva's Den will be finished, but 2K has allocated resources to completing its PC version. See? Everything's going to be fine. Just ... put down that giant, deadly drill, okay? [Thanks Andrew!]
BioShock 2 DLC marked down this week on XBLM
Though the deals don't cover what is arguably the game's best expansion, Minerva's Den, you should still look to the Xbox Live Marketplace this week if you're looking for some BioShock 2 supplementals. Check out the full list of temporary discounts on DLC and Avatar items below.
2K Games has no plans to bring Bioshock 2 DLC to PC
If you're a PC gamer that's been waiting to get your feet wet in BioShock 2's pair of DLC expansions, the "Protector Trials" and "Minerva's Den," you're in for a disappointing next few minutes. A 2K Games representative recently commented on the game's official forums, explaining that "we will also not be offering Protector Trials and Minerva's Den on the PC in the future," citing "timing and technical issues" as the reason for the expansions' non-appearance. The representative went on to apologize for "the disappointment this will cause to PC players out there," though we wouldn't worry too much about that, as PC gamers are almost certainly used to it by this point.
BioShock 2: Minerva's Den review: Turing Rapture
I don't care much for video games -- well, not when I'm playing them inside another video game. I can appreciate the recursive wink and what it says about the hours we devote to entertainment as life continues around us, but in the wrong context it can dissolve a game's sense of urgency. It's classic Shenmue syndrome. If you have the time and impulse to pet a cat, get a haircut and play a computer game, then maybe your quest isn't all that important. %Gallery-100380%
