Would you kindly take a look at this and tell me what you think? It’s the new viral campaign that’s pushing Bioshock 2 into the public eye, in around ten days time. Right now, though, it’s a map and some not-very-tantalising side-details for the game’s backstory. Over the next few days you can presumably expect updates and more details. And after the jump, you can expect musings.

Bioshock was a pretty good game, all told. But it ruined itself in a few places and I walked away from it feeling a bit disheartened. Not because the game was that bad, but mostly because it was treated like some sort of god-child, a saviour to the shooter genre and a stand-out moment in gaming’s history thus far. It wasn’t. It was a bloody good game, and that was it. With Bioshock 2 no longer sporting Ken Levine on the team (in any meaningful sense at least) I’ve got a sense of trepidation about the whole thing. But no doubt I’ll probably still play it, because I’m a fickle bastard.

The campaign’s information so far is pretty thin, though it details the disappearance of a small girl called Maura Clune from the west coast of Ireland. Given the teaser trailer we saw last year, we can safely assume a link to the original game’s beloved Little Sisters, although this all seems like it’s leading to a pretty strange plot regarding their fate. My guess is that Bioshock’s good ending prevails, and the Little Sisters all take individual and quiet lives around the world, only to be hunted down and dragged back beneath the water by… something.

I think what worries me the most about this whole franchise is that we’ve seen one of the game so far, yet two sequels and a film have been announced by the men in bowler hats. It all seems a little absurd, and very over-confident. Most of us will probably be waiting to see what 2K can do without Levine. He might not have created the entire game himself, but the shift in attitude suggested by removing Levine isn’t a good one.

But what say you, internet-men and -women? Are the Little Sisters back? Are viral campaigns about as fun as snorting Marmite?

Update 06/03/2009 – Looks like someone at Bioshock is either being unintentionally bad at web design, or intentionally open with us, as the entire map’s been found by intrepid users.

Tags: Bioshock 2, Ken Levine, Viral
Categories: News

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