I can’t imagine why this would ever be the case. I mean, the original Bioshock is like $15 most places, often less. Why you still wouldn’t have the game, or haven’t played through the game, is totally beyond me. I suppose it is possible, though, so this deal is still worth mentioning.

When you pre-order Bioshock 2 from Direct2Drive they’ll throw in a copy of the original for free. You can get the same deal on Steam if you prefer the Valve method. Hell, even if you have the first this is still a great deal. Install the original on a friend’s machine who just refused to buy it.

Bioshock 2 releases Tuesday, along with Dante’s Inferno.

It looks like Take Two is going to make good on the promise of delivering Bioshock 2 in the early months of 2010. The sequel to the developer’s smash hit got a global release date of February 9, 2010.

For those who have forgotten, Bioshock 2 puts you in the boots of Big Daddy some ten years after the first game ended. Now there’s a monster roaming the Atlantic coast snatching up little girls and dragging them down to Rapture. It’s your job to stop him.

Bioshock 2 will also feature a multiplayer system that works as a prequel. From the press release:

Multiplayer in BioShock 2 will provide a rich prequel experience that expands the origins of the BioShock fiction. Set during the fall of Rapture, players assume the role of a Plasmid test subject for Sinclair Solutions, a premier provider of Plasmids and Tonics in the underwater city of Rapture that was first explored in the original BioShock. Players will need to use all the elements of the BioShock toolset to survive, as the full depth of the BioShock experience is refined and transformed into a unique multiplayer experience that can only be found in Rapture.

I would have loved to see this game come out this year, but at least there’s a little something to look forward to in the wee months after the holidays.

I’m not into cosplay, but I love all the Flickr galleries dedicated to this kind of stuff. I found this one from the Reddit front page today and found myself overwhelmed with the outcome. The model, as you can see, is a near -perfect replica of Big Daddy from Bioshock, but there’s a living breathing human inside.

His name is Harrison Krix. His name is Harrison Krix. His name is…well yeah, it’s Harrsion Krix. Krix is a graphic designer from Atlanta who designs props for a living and also takes commission work. This project, though, was just for fun. You should give his blog a lengthy look-see. He fully details the method for making this monstrosity, and you can also see his other projects. The Portal gun is particularly cool. So is the weathered Kraken club. Harrison is the type of guy that makes me wish I was a whole lot more artistically inclined. Did I mention the drill arm (on Big Daddy) actually drills?

It’s no big surprise to see major titles get pushed back by publishers. That’s what’s happening with the sequel to Take Two Interactive’s smash hit Bioshock, the appropriately named Bioshock 2. Originally scheduled for an early November release, the company now says we won’t get back into their super-creepy world until the first half of 2010.

Take Two says the game is being delayed to “provide additional development time for the title.” Again, not something so uncommon for a sequel, especially for something as big as Bioshock 2. I’m happy to let them take their sweet time on the game if it means it will hold a candle to its older sibling.

The truly disappointing news is for investors. In an apology for the delay, Take Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick had this to say: “We recognize that our revised outlook for the balance of fiscal year 2009, due to both internal and external factors, is a disappointment. That said, we concluded that moving the release of BioShock 2 into fiscal year 2010 was the right decision for the product.”

The delay means we’ll be seeing plenty of heavy-hitters from Take Two next year. Their 2010 lineup now includes Bioshock 2, Mafia II, Max Payne 3, and whatever other titles remain as yet unannounced. Even if we disregard those unnamed titles, 2010 is going to be a very big year for Take Two.