By Alec Meer on August 30th, 2010 at 3:33 pm.
I never thought I’d hear myself say “one of the things I’m most anticipating for the next couple of months is some DLC,” but one of the things I’m most anticipating for the next couple of months is some DLC. Specifically, Minerva’s Den for Bioshock 2. BS2 is, all told, a better game than BS1 for my money, just hampered hugely by over-familiarity and trying to insert an epic new tale into an already-finished story. Steve Gaynor’s upcoming singleplayer vignette sounds like it may well be that much distanced from Rapture’s meta-narrative – both because BS2′s story is now done, and because the announcement of Bioshock Infinite suggests no more Rapture. I’m hoping for a short, self-contained and perhaps more satisfying story that doesn’t resolve itself with another Little Sister-based deus ex machina.
The bad, bad, oh-for-god’s-sakes-you-prats news is that, while console-toy owners can download Minerva’s Den today, it’s coming to PC-land at “a later date.” Let’s hope that’s not a coded dismissal. So let’s make this thread a clarion call from people who are interested in playing this: a message that proves a PC version is a necessity. Trailer below – suggesting homicidal AI has returned to a ‘Shock game…
A new character, new environments, new weapons, a new Daddy and, hopefully, a more satisfying insight into Bridget Tenenbaum – still the dark horse of the Rapture world, and given short thrift in both game’s denouements. Moreover, a final farewell to Rapture now we know we’re upping sticks to Columbia is surely no bad thing – especially given BS2′s DLC to date has been somewhat uninspiring multiplayer trinkets. This means one more Daddy-fandango.
30/08/2010 at 15:35 Rinox says:
That owl is amazing.
30/08/2010 at 15:39 robrob says:
Do you like owls? I know a cracking owl sanctuary.
30/08/2010 at 15:42 Rinox says:
You know what they say, once you go owl you never go erh…cowld?
30/08/2010 at 16:08 Hyoscine says:
That whole image is amazing. I wonder if the artist once owned a BBC Micro?
31/08/2010 at 00:43 Nallen says:
“is it artificial?”
“Of course it is.”
31/08/2010 at 12:12 Frankie The Patrician[PF] says:
2Nallen:
So different from the book’s twist with the owl! It’s kind of a pity Scott didn’t include a more deep “pro-life” philosophy connected with Mercerism…but oh well, he didn’t read the book after all. Yet he “nailed” the right mood, tho…
15/09/2010 at 05:50 Liquid Cool says:
Minerva’s Den is a play on the Roman goddess Athena who is usually depicted with an owl(as a sign for wisdom). Bohemian Grove anyone?
30/08/2010 at 15:44 Demon Beaver says:
I don’t see any mention of a PC release on Steve Gaynor’s blog…
30/08/2010 at 15:48 Gene says:
“BS2 is, all told, a better game than BS1″ – I hope thas was a joke
30/08/2010 at 16:45 Shagittarius says:
The story was better in the first game but the gameplay and pacing was better in 2.
30/08/2010 at 17:21 DrGonzo says:
The gameplay was shit in the second game. Not challenging at all. And completely boring because it had already been worn out by the first. In my opinion BS2 is worse than the original in pretty much everyway. Even the graphics are better in the orignal.
30/08/2010 at 17:40 Heliocentric says:
If bioshock was too easy, i need to ask if you played on hard or not. I would love a “really hard” mode but i guess turning off vita chambers goes some way.
30/08/2010 at 17:41 Heliocentric says:
Whoops i meant bio2
30/08/2010 at 17:49 Heliocentric says:
This might be a triple post but add me to the “people i hate because they think bioshock 2 is better than #1″. More enemy variety, more plasmid/equipment variety, more control over when combat happened, more wide open environments. I finished bio 1 bored aoe uninstalled, i finished bio 2 wanting to try new things aoe restarted.
30/08/2010 at 18:04 Xocrates says:
@Gene: BS2 played better, flowed better, and the plot, while less memorable, was more mature with a far more rewarding conclusion.
Your mileage may vary, but personally I would say that while BS1 was the most memorable and better experience, BS2 was actually the better game.
30/08/2010 at 18:41 wm says:
That’s not enough.
30/08/2010 at 18:42 wm says:
…Major reply fail :(
30/08/2010 at 20:42 Jeremy says:
I love the “your opinion better be a joke” comments. It really embraces the true nature of an opinion.
30/08/2010 at 21:36 Ninja Dodo says:
I just got around to playing this recently and personally I found the story-arc with Eleanor a lot more satisfying than the one with Atlas and I really liked how you could pick your battles and prepare a strategy in 2, setting traps, hacking turrets, etc… It actively encouraged experimentation where in the first one I just went “I guess I’ll just use this random thing”. Sure the wonder of a new place was lost a little bit, but overall I had more fun playing 2.
30/08/2010 at 23:30 Bobic says:
I think bioshock 1 is better, namely because of it’s impact in the gaming world. Bioshock 2 was expertly crafted, but it was just a return to rapture, with no plot elements that were as interesting as the first game. This SHODAN concept looks like it could be really good though.
31/08/2010 at 02:45 Sagan says:
BioShock 2 managed to really make me care more strongly for a character than I ever remember caring before. After all you spend hours walking through this depressing place shooting hundreds of horrible characters , and then there is this one person who is likeable. Just before you meet her I was hoping so much that she wasn’t just a figment of the character’s imagination, that she was real, and that she wouldn’t be killed, because she was the only one who made this place pleasant. You could not have dragged me away from the screen for that hour.
So yeah, I liked BioShock 2′s story as well as the first one’s.
30/08/2010 at 16:18 Hogni Gylfason says:
For the whole top of the article I thought you were talking about system shock. Then I clicked through and realized (epic rubbish) Bioshock was the topic. Sad is me.
30/08/2010 at 16:39 StingingVelvet says:
I was disappointed in BioShock 2′s storyline, but I agree it had better core gameplay due to some refinements. I didn’t think the level design was as good as the first though, there was a lot of boring rooms and tunnels that just didn’t feel as magical as BioShock’s.
That said I liked the game a lot, and I DO look forward to this DLC, assuming it offers a healthy dose of content (which console reviews should helpfully tell me). I’m annoyed it’s delayed for PC, I feel constantly slapped in the face for being a PC gamer, but what else is new.
The trailer shows a lot of promise.
30/08/2010 at 16:47 Shagittarius says:
I’m also very excited about this DLC and have been wishing for more single player rapture narratives ever since I finished the 2nd game. I NEVER download DLC, but I plan on getting this.
30/08/2010 at 16:57 Taillefer says:
“In time, you will come to regard me not only with respect and awe, but with love.”
30/08/2010 at 17:23 qrter says:
Although I think the sentiment in such a statement is a good one, it’s also getting faintly ridiculous that PC players should have to “petition” for a PC version of DLC that is available for other systems.
The only criterium for putting out DLC for any system should be how many copies were sold. I don’t know how the PC version of BS2 did, but I’d bet it did well enough to warrant releasing the DLC.
30/08/2010 at 17:26 Andy says:
It would be despicable if they didn’t release this for PC. Given that surely it’s no more than some extra maps, character models, scripts and sounds then what could possibly prevent it from being released on PC??!! Unless there’s some horrific bug that the devs haven’t managed to fix yet I can’t even think of a reason it couldn’t be released at the same time.
Doubtless we’ll never actually know the why though…
30/08/2010 at 17:48 Pantsman says:
Oooooh, an evil analog computer? Exciting!
30/08/2010 at 18:01 Latro says:
1 – At so many rethreads, Rapture is looking a bit crowded, like the old White Wolf WoD; I mean, didnt they have enough evil masterminds already?
2 – On the other hand, Underwater Alpha Complex makes me smile :-P
30/08/2010 at 20:01 Gabbo says:
It does say GFWL at the bottom among the other platforms, so it’s not completely without reason to assume we PC brethren will end up getting it (Shame on Scoops if we do not).
May have to actually pick up BS2 at some point.
30/08/2010 at 20:32 Rattman says:
Look at my owl my owl is amazing… ^^
30/08/2010 at 22:10 Bib Fortuna says:
BS1 was already a coded dismissal.
30/08/2010 at 22:12 deadsexy says:
Excited aswell. this might even be the first non-free DLC I’m actually excited about and if it’s good not even the stupidity that is Microsoft points will keep me from buying this.
30/08/2010 at 23:05 Danda says:
I get a Shodan vibe from this video. Haven’t they ripped off System Shock 2 enough already?
30/08/2010 at 23:14 Sup says:
The style is amazing, also I’m hyped because Steve Gaynor had something todo with it. Almost a reason to buy Bioshock 2.
Maybe it is just me beeing sad that the Idle Thumbs podcast just ended (again) and trying to replace it with something loosely related to it ;)
31/08/2010 at 00:23 MadTinkerer says:
As long as they don’t try to force me to buy it via GFWL (as if I would) and actually make it available on Steam, I will probably buy this.
More single-player? More Story? Finally fixing that plot hole Tenenbaum disappeared into 1/3 of the way through BS2? “The Thinker: the most helpful machine in Rapture!”? Yes, please!
On a related note, considering they have frickin’ teleportation-resurrection devices in Rapture, it’s about time they added a period mainframe computer to the mythos. The fall of Rapture took place in 1960 which was only four years before the first electronic mainframe was created in real life, and BS2 is set eight years after that.
31/08/2010 at 02:23 Ted says:
I don’t think I can ever take seriously another post by Alec again after reading that piece of pure insanity. Bioshock 2 is a complete piece of shit.
31/08/2010 at 14:00 Jim Rossignol says:
You want to try playing some games that are actually bad and recalibrate your opinions.
31/08/2010 at 14:38 Harlander says:
Any suggestions?
*flees the ensuing chaos*
31/08/2010 at 06:19 DaveyJones says:
You used the word “fandango”. You know what I’ll be replaying instead…
31/08/2010 at 10:21 dethtoll says:
I swear, reading some of the comments in this post make me think I might find more intellectually stimulating discussion over at Destructoid or Kotaku. Seriously guys, if Bioshock 2 is a complete piece of shit then you must not play very many games.
31/08/2010 at 13:47 Jim Rossignol says:
I hope this does turn up. It seems a little depressing that only Borderlands and the Bioware games have actually made any headway in this DLC revolution.
31/08/2010 at 15:38 eclipse mattaru says:
What about Fallout 3? You can complain all you want about the game (though I never understood what’s with all the hatred RPS has towards it), but you can’t deny Point Lookout and Broken Steel are among the top-3 best DLC seen so far in any game.
My guess is this will most likely turn up, but you’ll have to deal with f’ing GfWL to get it (and people like me will be limited to either pirate it or fuck off, as per usual).
31/08/2010 at 16:41 Man Raised By Puffins says:
Yeah, Bethsoft deserve some props for experimenting with DLC on Oblivion before hitting the bang/buck sweet spot with Fallout 3, even if the quality isn’t quite there yet.
31/08/2010 at 14:13 Kieron Gillen says:
Yeah, it’d be really sad if we don’t get it.
KG