Take-Two details BioShock 2 multiplayer

by Justin McElroy on May 8th 2009 11:30AM

From the "be careful what you wish for" file, we've got the first details on the BioShock 2 multiplayer you all wanted so very much after the first game. You'll play as a Plasmid test subject working for Sinclair Solutions during the fall of Rapture as you battle other players in re-worked game locales like Kashmir Restaurant and Mercury Suites.

Victory over your opponents will yield experience that you can spend on new Plasmids, weapons and tonics. If you can take it, you can read all about the mode right here. The mode's being developed by Digital Extremes, which you likely remember for its work on Dark Sector.

... Hey, why do you all look so depressed? What? Us? No, we're not crying. Why would you *sniff* think that?

Tags: 2k-marin, bioshock-2, digital-extremes, Microsoft, multiplayer, take-two, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (95)

pretty cool.
now when they say earn experience to buy weapons and plasmids is that ment during the game or overall o.O? because if it's overall that would kinda suck for new comers lol

of course its not overall. that would just be dumb. they are completely separate from each other.

how is that of course?
i was taking CoD experience into consideration

this is god awful. WTF--worst decision in video games ever.

Nobody is forcing you to play it.

You can play the single-player portion without playing the multiplayer portion, I safely assume... it's not Bioshock 3: Arena.

BAWWWWWWWWW

I dont give a crap, i'll probably never touch it, as long as Single player isn't affected by this in anyway, then who give a crap.

I wouldn't say that. What about turning sonic into a werewolf, cell shaded link or 360 motion controls?

WHY 2K WHY?

Why would you yall let the peolpe who made the crappy game dark sector handle your multiplayer mode of the game?

i just dont get it at all im boggled

I thought Dark Sector was pretty rad (for a game that only cost me nine bucks). But Bioshock is not really a game that needed multiplayer. Then again, it also didn't really need a sequel. Probably I'll wait until it's nine bucks, too, and spend my money in the meantime on things that look as original as the first Bioshock was.

Because almost every other reviewer for every major site deducted points for not being able to shoot bees at your friends in online multiplayer, and budgets, salaries, and bonuses are based entirely around what reviewers SAY the audience wants instead of reality. Also, since a different team is working on the multi-player, I kind of don't care either way.

Unless it turns out to be awesome. In which case, I've been a big supporter all the time.

Bioshock is a cool game, but it is also really stiff. It works great in the context of the single player game and its requirements of the player, but I just can't see it working in a competitive setting. This also screams "capped at eight players."

I agree. It's stiffness, as you put it, it one of the things that makes it feel unique to me. I don't know how it's going to work at all. Seems like an interesting concept, but eh.

I hope that it would be more than 8 players at least, but probably not.

I won't completely write off the mode until I actually play it myself. And I do trust 2k to make this solid. Oh wait, it's being developed by someone else. *sigh*

At least this means that their main focus will still be on the SP.

Stiff is a good way to put it. As much as I loved Bioshock, there was a learning curve with the controls, probably because of how spoiled I was by the smoothness of Call of Duty's controls.

MP might be a nice distraction, but I highly doubt it will ever be a contender for top 10. Especially since MW2 is coming out Q3/4.

If you thought Bioshock was stiff, don't play Fallout 3. Aiming with the 360 controller was difficult, to say the least.

Should I upvote you for a good point or for the cute glasses?

Totally. I'm merely making an observation, I don't want to suggest it is going to be terrible and I certainly don't want to refute its potential to be good.

Just strictly taking Bioshock, in its current state, and adding in 7-15 other people... It doesn't seem like the receipt for success. On the other hand, taking a game like Shadowrun (or as you mentioned, MGO) as an example, almost entirely abandoning the all but the core attributes of their source material.

Keep it in the same universe (same characters, environments, and weapons), keep the core features from the game (plasmids), just don't have it play like Bioshock. Hopefully that is exactly what they are going for. Judging by the last bit of info we got from them about how rapture and its characters are the heart and soul of the game, I'm faithful that is exactly what they are going to try and deliver.

@Dr. Stabbingworth: Dude, VATS!

I agree that Bio1 was a bit clunky. I can't imagine being able to effectively fight other people using those controls. I left my sensitivity at the default, I usually crank it up a notch or two for multi-player FPS. But I think that with the innovation of dual-wielding plasmid/gun it'll be quite a different experience. That should cut down on the learning curve and make it much easier to compete. I'm optimistic. That being said, it won't ruin my day if I don't like the MP. There are plenty of good FPS games to fill the void.

i'm embracing this mode...

anything that gives me more bioshock is welcome in my books. to tell the truth, this actually sounds pretty sweet.

I agree. The "stiffness" comments are a little ridiculous (BioShock was a very smooth game) and it should come as GOOD news that 2K Marin has hired a separate developer to handle the multiplayer aspect while they continue to focus on the meat and potatoes of BioShock 2's hopefully epic singleplayer aspect.

If 2K announced that they were going to try to juggle both, then yes, I would be worried, but since they're not spreading themselves painfully thin, I still have incredibly high hopes (and expectations) for this one.

So...no co-op?

DO NOT WANT.

Co-Op Bioshock would be gay...

just like you

First time i laughed from a troll who commented

What's so bad about co-op? Its sad to see co-op dying in favor of online multiplayer, lets have both.

"Co-Op Bioshock would be gay...

just like you"

Ok, this caught me off gaurd. I'll admit it was funny. Not right, but funny. lol

+1

BTW yes it would be TEH GHEY!

One of those rare times a troll comment comes out of no place and gets a laugh from me. Just didn't see it coming.

I found the multiplayer in Dark Sector to be really fun with a small group of people. I just hope it's not laggy like Dark Sector.

dark sector mulitplayer was so bad because of the lag. i tried getting into it but the lag was just so bad. single player was fun for a bit. last 2 or 3 levels were the best

I had no lag in that game. I enjoyed it alot too, campaign and MP. Its just that the modes got old really fast. They could have had straight up TDM and peeps would still be playing IMO.

Can we just get Ken Lavine working on System Shock 3 please? I just replayed SS2 and besides graphics and big daddies these Bioshock games offer no new innovation.

I'm not a big fan of multiplayer, anyway. This is a definite "skip" for me. As with most games, I'd probably rather just start the single-player experience over again than go online and deal with a bunch of trash-talking losers that do nothing but play multiplayer all day and night and mock those of us that have a life and haven't memorized every corner of the maps. That online elitist mentality is really what kills most multiplayer experiences for me, personally.

I agree. I absolutely abhor the current trend of adding multiplayer to every game imaginable. At least they're farming this out to another developer, which I'm hoping means that the single player experience won't suffer.

I'm agreeing here, cos at no point through playing Bioshock did I think this would be really cool in multiplayer.. I'm gonna be a whore & say that if it 'really' needs to add MP, don't attach achievements too it, like COD4 did (/didn't).. the only online MP I like is co-op, and even then I can rarely get a buddy to do it with..

im on the other end of the spectrum; a game must have multiplayer to be a real buy for me. im the kind of person who cant watch a movie or play a singleplayer game more than once without becoming bored. multiplayer ups the re-playability and value of a game immensely for me. compare the 10ish hours of play i got out of the original bioshock to the 30+ hours of play im still getting out of cod4 multiplayer.

sure people in multiplayer games like halo or cod can get annoying sometimes, but you dont have to listen to them. mute them or party with your friends, just dont let the 13 year olds ruin the experience for you.

then just don't play multiplayer. i can't see how it hurts a game. personally i enjoy online multi more than single player.

This could be a hit or miss. I won't judge until it gets reviewed or some how ends up on the new Joysti-quitter. Hope the review is good!

Is this online or split-screen multiplayer? I don't think Bioshock 2 has been confirmed for PC yet....

click the link. i'm pretty sure it said it's in developement for ps3 360 and pc.
"BioShock 2 is currently in development at 2K Marin, 2K Australia and Digital Extremes for PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows-based PC. This title is not yet rated by the ESRB."
yup

I don't know why some people are getting so worked up. If they don't pull it off and it's not fun, you'll just ignore it. If they do a great job, there's more fun to be had. I don't see what the problem is. Plus the fact that they're outsourcing it just means they're not dedicating some of the main team's time on it. That means there's less risk of them spending time on the multiplayer that they could have dedicated to polishing the single player.

Well put. Couldn't agree more.

Exactly.

I don't think it will work based on the details I have right now, but I would loved to be proved wrong. But the fact remains that the SP team probably won't really have that much to do with with this except for some higher level guys taking a look at the quality. So it shouldn't affect the SP experience.

I don't know why people are getting so pissy. It being in the game won't detract from the game given the info we have. So it might be crap or it might be awesome. Eh, even if it is crap, it's still more bang for your buck.

THIS

Because they don't want to play the multi-player but they want to achievement whore and NOW THERE IS A CHOICE TO MAKE. It will keep them up at night, tossing and turning, crying into their pillow, shouting to the heavens, "LEVIIIIINE WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN US?"

This is exactly what I was thinking. There is really nothing to be disappointed about. Bioshock is truely an amazing single player game, multiplayer is just a little extra incentive. I'm just happy that they are not making people pay for it a couple months after the game comes out (like this one other popular game).

Man, I couldn't agree more. This is like saying you wouldn't get the old XBOX 360 bundle b/c it came packaged with Kung Fu Panda.

Let's say it takes X amount of money to develop this. That is X amount that is not put into single player, that is X amount of dollars worth of content that I will never, ever play because it's not on single player, and therefore it is a waste of space. That is why throwing a multiplayer component onto a single-player-oriented game is a problem, you can't just say 'don't play it, it's not affecting the rest of the game', because it does.

this will be on the same disk right???
so that is space taken from the SP game
its not like its will have a disk 2 just for online play
this game moved from a buy to a rent at best

@Geist
That's not necessarily true. Maybe they got extra money specifically to add in MP. You can't assume that if there were no MP then it would be a better game. I mean, you can, but, it's foolish.

@oldmike
There will be room to spare on the disk even with multi-player.

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 50 Comments

Sorry, you must be logged in to leave a comment.

Breaking News

The most popular posts
in the last 7 days

Vita 'UMD Passport' won't be offered in US 219 comments
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning review: A tempting fate 152 comments
David Jaffe leaves Eat Sleep Play, layoffs hit developer [Update] 107 comments
Don't call it a remake: Final Fantasy X is a 'remaster,' to be clear 95 comments
Battleship movie adapted into FPS by Double Helix 93 comments

Take-Two details BioShock 2 multiplayer

Reader Comments (95)

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:36AM Mikey XBL gamertag Sgt Mikey 516 said

Posted: May 8th 2009 10:17PM 8bitartist said

Posted: May 11th 2009 4:34PM Mikey XBL gamertag Sgt Mikey 516 said

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:39AM EddieMakuchGameSpot said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:03PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:11PM darkinchworm said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:34PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:49PM hobbykitjr said

Posted: May 8th 2009 1:14PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:40AM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:31PM coinop25 said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:35PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:39AM cuteSAVAGE said

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:44AM AsherR said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:11PM RudyHuxtable said

Posted: May 8th 2009 1:46PM Dr Stabbingworth said

Posted: May 8th 2009 2:26PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 8th 2009 4:43PM cuteSAVAGE said

Posted: May 9th 2009 12:09AM Saria the Cat said

Posted: May 10th 2009 5:33PM Boomzilla said

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:43AM SecretAgentHam said

Posted: May 8th 2009 3:24PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:44AM zippypatrick said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:01PM FakeJamaican said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:04PM xThePunisherx said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:40PM RKN said

Posted: May 8th 2009 1:06PM xFenixKnightx said

Posted: May 8th 2009 3:53PM Duke said

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:45AM KingJD said

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:49AM Mikey XBL gamertag Sgt Mikey 516 said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:59PM xFenixKnightx said

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:50AM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:51AM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:11PM johnperkins21 said

Posted: May 8th 2009 1:45PM Mazrael said

Posted: May 8th 2009 6:15PM damnreds said

Posted: May 8th 2009 7:58PM maveric101 said

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:52AM latin trident said

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:54AM RKN said

Posted: May 8th 2009 11:57AM Mikey XBL gamertag Sgt Mikey 516 said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:00PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:07PM iFester said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:12PM AsherR said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:12PM SecretAgentHam said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:39PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 8th 2009 12:45PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 8th 2009 1:00PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 8th 2009 2:55PM Geist said

Posted: May 8th 2009 5:29PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 10th 2009 6:09PM Boomzilla said

Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

Double Fine Kickstarter passes $1 million in under 24 hours, breaking yet another record

Featured Stories

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier brings information warfare to the front

Rhythm Heaven Fever review: Crazy into you

Remedy not done with Alan Wake

The most popular postsin the last 7 days

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW

The most popular posts
in the last 7 days