"If you can hear me, wake up," says Dr. Bridgette Tenenbaum over a pitch-black screen, our first glimpse of BioShock 2. "Your time for sleeping is over."

Of course, the BioShock series hasn't been sleeping for very long. Developed over a tight timeframe, BioShock 2--announced amidst news of Ken Levine's departure from the series and an upcoming film adaptation--was a project born to a healthy amount of skepticism. Would this be the first of many cash-in sequels to a unique, self-contained game, or a worthy follow-up?

After learning more about the project, I certainly wouldn't count it out until all the chips are down. 2K has assembled a team of young, but very sharp developers to work on this game. While Levine may have moved on, his absence does present the possibility of a fresh take on the world of Rapture--something that isn't necessarily ruled out with the reprisal of the setting.

Though major plot details are still closely guarded secrets, those avoiding any details on the sequel should beware that this preview will cover several basic conceits, including discussion of the player character and the big boss.

But it all started with a Big Daddy.

Rapture Redux
The demonstration began with Tenenbaum waking the player. The first illuminated sight was of the player's own reflection in a pool of water--a reflection of an enormous Big Daddy, the helmeted hulks from the first title.

Lead environment artist Hogarth de la Plante quickly explained that the player character in BioShock 2 is the prototype Big Daddy, the first behemoth ever created. As the game progresses, players will discover more about how the prototype came to be--and what its purpose is.

Regardless of its lot in life, the first trait of the Big Player demonstrated was its devastating combat skills. Big Daddies in BioShock 2 will have all the powers of those in BioShock, and a few more for good measure. We saw the player use its massive melee drill to disgorge enemy Splicers, while simultaneously wielding plasmids--such as the flamethrower-like Incinerator--to burn them down. The Big Daddy prototype also has a lighter step, eliminating fears that players will be plodding through Rapture like a crouched Counter-Strike player.

The second thing to notice was Rapture itself. It was strange to see BioShock 2 looking so much like BioShock, yet also rather different--the result of using the same engine, and plenty of skilled level designers. This was Rapture, ten years later and seen from a new perspective.

"We didn't think BioShock would be BioShock without Rapture," explained de la Plante. "If this were BioShock 5, maybe that's when you go to the moon base.. [But] you only saw a small slice of it in the first BioShock. Rapture was a huge city with lots of things going on."

"Rapture's been pretty dead and falling apart in the intervening time," added lead designer Zak McClendon, "and something happens to kick-start that ecology up again, and sort of renews the cycle when the player first gets there."

As the player continued through a series of Rapture's corridors, he quickly came upon a large open area, the back wall of which was entirely made of glass. It was here the lithe Big Sister first revealed herself, leaping down from the ceiling to quickly cut a series of holes in the wall, until the ocean burst through and flooded the player.

An attack like that would have killed BioShock protagonist Jack, but as the Big Daddy, you simply take it in the face and hit the open ocean. Following the explosion, we got our first look at the ocean scenes, which will see the player pushing past seaweed for an exterior view of Rapture.

"The ocean excursions are a very controlled environment," said de la Plante. "There's no swimming.. Ironically, the ocean became a place where the player can sort of breath a little bit.. There's no combat out there."

A comparison to a combat-less version of Dead Space's space-walks wouldn't be far off. In any case, it was a striking scene, reminiscent of the player's first view of Rapture from the original title.

Big Sister, Small World
"This monster you chase, she's like the golem story, not understanding the things she does," said Tenenbaum over a speaker as the player moved from ocean to decompression chamber. "She is taking girls and turning them into creatures like her. All of this, it is my fault."

After the player re-entered Rapture, he was quickly met with the first appearance of a Little Sister. As in the original BioShock, players have the choice of harvesting the girls for their ADAM--but now you can also bring them along for the ride.

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