UPDATE: Sorry guys, according to Elizabeth, a 2K Community Manager, these details seem to be false.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: With speculation of exclusivity revolving around BioShock 2 finally laid to rest, PlayStation 3 enthusiasts can breathe lightly and enjoy the latest details regarding the hit franchise.
As many of you know, Game Informer recently landed exclusive rights to unveil the first concrete details on the eagerly awaited sequel and as usual, some readers have received their copy of the magazine early. In typical fashion, readers flocked to message boards in order to share and discuss the details divulged through the cover story for the game.
See below for the full scoop:
– Takes place 7 years after the original. The main character is Jake Abbott, a private investigator searching for one of the girls kidnapped by Big Sister.
– Two-player co-op is added.
– New enemies include spliced up dogs and bipedal robots, which like other mechanical enemies can be hacked to assist the player.
– Two of the new plasmids were revealed. One slows down time for a few seconds. The more interesting one is Telepathy, which you can use to eavesdrop on the thoughts of NPCs and gain information. For example, you can use Telepathy to uncover the combination to a keypad or gain insights into enemy weaknesses which translate into damage bonuses and new tonics.
– Epic boss battles and underwater gameplay. Much of Rapture is now flooded and you will need to don a diving suit to explore these areas as well as venture outside Rapture itself. An underwater boss fight was shown with a gigantic squid, which can cloak itself and use its massive tentacles to smash into Rapture and hurl debris. One of the concept artworks hinted at a boss battle with a mutated, spliced rhino in Rapture’s zoo.
– Jake won’t be the only one investigating Rapture. At some point in the story, Soviet agents arrive from a submarine, hoping to acquire Adam and use it to gain an advantage over the Americans in the Cold War. Soviet enemies will be much smarter than splicers, using cover and flanking maneuvers and working in groups. As the game progresses they will begin splicing themselves and be able to use plasmids against you. The Soviets and splicers will fight against each other and the player can use that to their advantage.
Needless to say, two-player co-op sounds like it could provide some serious strategic gameplay. As anyone who has played the original BioShock knows, there are many ways in which you can lure your enemies into a trap to snuff out their lives – nothing was more satisfying than having a splicer chase you into a pool of water, only to be electrocuted to death. Hopefully Sea of Dreams brings more of the same brutality, but with a partner.