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.

Looks like Microsoft isn’t the only one thinking Natal is going to be a serious game changer. Take Two CEO Ben Feder had plenty to say about the Xbox 360 periph during today’s Q3 earnings call with investors.

“Natal motion-sensors – yes we have dev kits, yes we’re working on them,” he said. “Obviously, we can’t comment on games we haven’t announced. But those dev kits are embedded in all of our studios, or just about all of our studios, and everybody’s working with them to try to figure out new ways in which we can innovate and create the kind of content that this company is famous for. So yes, we’re working on it.”

That’s a pretty serious commitment as I see it. Take Two isn’t just big, they’re huge, and it sounds like they’re dedicating a lot of resources to what is basically a new platform. Of course that could all just be talk, but why say so much when it could have just been, “Yes, we’re working on it.”

Regardless, I’m excited to see what next year holds. As we get closer to hardware release you have to bet developers like Take Two will be showing off their stuff.

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.