The phrase Big Five Game was coined by big game hunters and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. Subsequently the term was adopted by Safari tour operators for marketing purposes.^[1] The term is still used in most tourist and wildlife guides that discuss African wildlife safaris. The collection consists of the lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard, and rhinoceros.^[2] The members of the Big Five were chosen for the difficulty in hunting them and the degree of danger involved, rather than their size.^[1][3]

Overview[link]

The big five are among the most dangerous, yet most popular species for big game hunters to hunt.^[4] Safari Club International, an organization dedicated to trophy hunters, offers a trophy for hunting all five species, called the "African Big Five Grand Slam," along with 14 other Grand Slams for other species, and a total of more than 40 different awards.

The 1990 and later releases of South African rand banknotes feature a different Big Five animal on each denomination.

Countries where all the members of the Big Five can be found include Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to recent studies, it is difficult to spot the rhinoceros in Botswana.^{[disambiguation needed ]}

African Big Five Game Species[link]

African elephant[link]

African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana)

The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is a very large herbivore having thick, almost hairless skin, a long, flexible, prehensile trunk, upper incisors forming long curved tusks of ivory, and large, fan-shaped ears. There are two distinct species of African elephant: African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) and the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana). The elephants are difficult because despite their large size, they are able to hide in tall grass and are more likely to charge than the other species.^[5]

Black rhinoceros[link]

Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)

The black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) is a large, thick-skinned herbivore having one or two upright horns on the nasal bridge. Rhinoceros may refer to either black or white rhinoceros. Among Big Five game hunters, the black rhinoceros is preferred, although it is now critically endangered.

Cape buffalo[link]

African Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer)

The African or Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a large horned bovid. Buffalo are sometimes reported to kill more people in Africa than any other animal, although the same claim is also made of hippos and crocodiles.^[6] It is considered the most dangerous of the Big Five, reportedly causing the most hunter deaths,^[7] with wounded animals reported to ambush and attack pursuers.^[8]

Lion[link]

Lion (Panthera leo)

The lion (Panthera leo) is a large carnivorous feline of Africa and northwest India, having a short, tawny coat, a tufted tail, and, in the male, a heavy mane around the neck and shoulders. Lions are desirable to hunters because of the very real danger involved. A lion may attack without provocation, and is considered by many to be the best of the Big Five.^[9]

Lion hunting is challenging because of the habitat and temperament of the lion. Lions live in the savanna where tall grasses, shrubs and bushes obscure and provide them cover and camouflage. This thick undergrowth is commonly referred to as jess. As lions are ambush hunters, they use this natural cover to stalk close as possible before making a final charge to catch their prey. Lions do not generally avoid confrontation, but will usually face the challenger. Lions are unpredictable and may charge when sufficiently annoyed or confronted by danger. These factors together make lion hunting a challenge to hunters.

Lions are hunted by three methods: baiting, stalking, and hounding. The hunting method is dependent on firstly the law, then the number of lions in a given area, terrain, the professional hunter or concession owner or the hunting outfitter, their expertise and the client.

Baiting involves the hunter lying in wait in a natural or constructed blind. Prior to the lion hunt, a prey species is hunted beforehand for use as bait. The bait is then secured to a tree or secure structure in an area which is known to be frequented by lions; usually this will be close to a watering hole. The bait is checked regularly until there are signs the carcass has been visited by a lion. Then a blind is constructed, usually 30–50 yd (27–46 m) from the bait where the hunting party can remain concealed, usually from early evening until early morning the next day.^[10]

Stalking involves driving along trails in areas where lions are known to inhabit. Once fresh faeces are sighted, the hunting party (which includes trackers) dismounts. The trackers follow tracks and spoor signs while scanning for the lion. When the lion is spotted, the professional hunter and the client will stalk in close until they reach a good shooting position. Hunting lions by stalking is conducted in daylight hours when there is sufficient light to spot the lion, which would usually be resting. Night stalking using electric light sources is banned in most countries. Lions hunted with lights may not be listed as trophies by Safari Club International.

Hounding, the least used method today, uses dogs, and may include a fighting pack and a tracking pack. The hunting party will drive in known lion territory until fresh spoor is spotted, at which time the dogs are released. The pack follows the scent trail of the lion. Once the lion is encountered, the pack attempts to hold the lion at bay until the hunting party arrives to dispatch the lion. Like stalking, hounding is usually conducted during daylight hours. The lion will usually stand and fight rather than flee.

Many concessions in Africa have been known to release captive lions into enclosed areas where they may be hunted with or without the client's approval and/or knowledge. Sometimes the lion is drugged to slow it down, making it an easier target.^[11] Many hunters and hunting organizations consider this unethical and an affront to fair chase practices of the hunt.

The lion has thin skin and does not require the use of a big bore rifle. Furthermore, lions are evidently susceptible to hydrostatic shock when impact velocities are above 3,000 ft/s (910 m/s). Lion require at a minimum a .300 Winchester Magnum.^[10] However, certain jurisdictions require a minimum a .375 H&H Magnum or a 9.3x62mm Mauser as a minimum caliber. A few professional hunters are known to carry 12-gauge semiautomatic shotguns loaded with buckshot as a back-up weapon when hunting lion.

Leopard[link]

Leopard (Panthera pardus)

The leopard (Panthera pardus) is a large, carnivorous feline having either tawny fur with dark rosette-like markings or black fur. Of the Big Five, it is most difficult to acquire hunting licenses for leopards. The leopard is sometimes considered the most difficult of the Big Five to hunt because of their nocturnal and secretive nature. They are wary of humans and will take flight in the face of danger. The leopard is solitary by nature, and is most active between sunset and sunrise, although it may hunt during the day in some areas. Leopards can be found in the savanna grasslands, brush land and forested areas in Africa.

Leopard hunting uses the same methods as hunting for lions. Baiting, hounding, and stalking are the most common methods used today to hunt the cat.

Baiting is the method most often used to hunt leopard. This requires the finding and then following of spoor in an area known to be frequented by a leopard. Once a suitable area is located, a prey species is hunted and used as bait. Because of the nocturnal nature of the cat, the blind needs to be constructed close to the bait, as shooting will more than likely be during the night. The client and the professional hunter will spend the night in the blind waiting for the leopard to come to the carcass.

Hounding with dogs to hunt leopard requires the hunting party to locate an area where a leopard has been recently active, as in the baiting method. Once such an area is located, the dogs (usually bloodhounds or ridgebacks) are released. The dogs attempt to pick up the scent and follow it to the leopard. The leopard will usually flee from the loudly baying dogs and take refuge in a tree or in an area out of their reach. The dogs will hold the leopard at bay in this manner until the hunting party arrives to dispatch the leopard.

Stalking is rarely used to hunt leopard, as it is extremely time-consuming, tedious and has a very low success rate. A month-long hunt using the spot and stalk method may not be successful at even sighting a leopard.

The male leopard is less than half the size of a male lion. The leopard is the smallest of the big cats, and rarely exceeds 200 lb (91 kg).

There is a concerted effort to stop the hunting of the leopard due to the rarity of it and any subsequent big cat.

Conservation status[link]

The lion and African bush elephant are classified as Endangered. The leopard and white rhinoceros are classified as Vulnerable and near threatened. The black rhinoceros is classified as critically endangered so cannot be hunted^[12] and so is not available at all. The African buffalo is the most popular Big Five to hunt, as its conservation status is least concern.

See also[link]

• Big game hunting
• Trophy hunting
• Elephant gun
• Game reserve
• Lion hunting
• Hippopotamus
• Crocodile

References[link]

External links[link]

• Weight, diet, life span and other lifestyle details of the Big Five

The term Big Five may refer to:

Business and government[link]

• Big 5 Sporting Goods, a publicly traded (NASDAQ) sporting goods company
• Big Five (Hawaii), an oligarchy of five corporations that ruled over Hawaii
• Big Five (banks), the five largest banks in Canada
• Big Five (California politics), an informal institution of California's government
• Big Five (United Nations), the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council
• Big Five (Germany), the five major metropolitan regions in Germany
• Big Five law firms, the five largest law firms of South Africa
• Big Five game, the five largest prey hunted in Africa

Sports and entertainment[link]

• The Big Five Academy Awards, the five main award categories
• Philadelphia Big 5, an association of college athletic programs in Philadelphia
• Big Five Game, a term coined by the hunting fraternity in Africa to refer to the five animals said to be most difficult to hunt
• Big Five (orchestras), the traditional top five orchestras in America
• Big Five (Yu-Gi-Oh!), a group of fictional characters in the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe
• Big Five (movie studios), the five most powerful movie studios in Hollywood
• Big Five (album), a 1972 album by Prince Buster
• Big Five Conference, a name unofficially used by the Athletic Association of Western Universities, now known as the Pacific-12 Conference, when it had five members from 1959 to 1962
• Big Five (Eurovision), the five main sponsoring countries of the Eurovision Song Contest
• The Big Five of Argentine football, the leading teams of Argentine football

Science and technology[link]

• Big5, a character encoding method for Traditional Chinese characters
• Big Five personality traits, a theoretical construct which describes human personality as organized along five dimensions or factors
• Big Five Weapons, five biological weapons developed by the United States Army
• The five "Major Extinction Events" since life on Earth began
• The big five subsystems of second order arithmetic in reverse mathematics

History[link]

The Big Five (empires), the five most prominent empires in modern history

Other[link]

The Big Five may also refer to:

• Five Families of Cosa Nostra in New York
• The Five, also known as the Mighty Handful, group of 19th century Russian composers

See also[link]

• Big One (disambiguation)
• Big Two (disambiguation)
• Big Three (disambiguation)
• Big Four (disambiguation)
• Big Six (disambiguation)
• Big Seven (disambiguation)
• Big Eight (disambiguation)
• Big Ten (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

BioShock 2 is a survival horror first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Marin for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.^[10][11] The sequel to the 2007 video game BioShock, it was released worldwide on February 9, 2010. The Mac OS X version of the game was released by Feral Interactive on 30th March, 2012.^[1]

The game is set in the fictional underwater dystopia of Rapture, in a biopunk/dieselpunk 1968, eight years after the events of BioShock. The protagonist and player-controlled character is a Big Daddy, a being that has had its organs and skin grafted into an atmospheric diving suit. Among the first of its kind, the player-controlled Big Daddy, named Subject Delta, reactivates with no recollection of the past decade's events, and scours the city in an attempt to relocate the Little Sister that he was paired with. Fearing this reunion will ruin her plans for the city, Sofia Lamb sends out her spliced up followers that she calls "The Rapture Family" and new Big Sisters in an attempt to deter Delta.

In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.^[12]

Gameplay[link]

BioShock 2 is presented as a survival horror first-person shooter, with the player taking on the role of Subject Delta, a prototype for the Big Daddies approximately 8 years after the events of the first game. As with BioShock, the player explores Rapture and fights off Splicers, the remaining psychotic human population of the city, using a combination of the environment, weapons, Plasmids and Tonics. Plasmids and Tonics are special genetic-reencoding liquids that grant the user active or passive abilities, respectively, and include both those introduced in BioShock and new ones for this game. For example, Plasmids can give the player the ability to use telekinesis or evoke fire, while Tonics can improve the player's movement speed, attack damage, or damage resistance. Several of the weapons in BioShock 2 are those that were previously seen carried by Big Daddies from the first game, including a powerful drill and a rivet gun. The player can use each weapon in a close-range melee attack. Unlike in the first game, the player is able to equip both one weapon and one Plasmid at the same time, which they can use in quick succession to destroy foes. For example, by first freezing a foe, then shattering into pieces using a spear gun. If the player is killed, they are revived in the nearest "Vita-Chamber".^[13]

As the player explores Rapture, they will collect ammo, health and EVE (a liquid used to power Plasmid use), recovery items, and money. Money can be used to purchase more items at vending machines across the city. The player will also encounter security systems which can be hacked through a mini-game. This requires the player to stop a quickly-moving needle one or more times in the correctly-colored marked area of a gauge. Stopping it within the green area progresses the sequence and or potentially ends it while stopping in the blue area may grant a bonus to the hacking attempt; landing in a white area shocks the player (dealing a small amount of damage) while landing in red-colored areas can lead to the start of a security alert. The player also gains access to a research video camera; in BioShock 2, once the player begins recording an enemy, the player has a short time to damage that enemy in creative ways in order to score a number of points, which are then added towards the total research of that enemy type. At various levels of research, the player is then rewarded with new abilities in general or towards that specific type of foe. Certain areas of the game take place entirely underwater, limiting the actions the player can perform.^[14]

As a Big Daddy, the player can attempt to defeat other Big Daddies escorting Little Sisters. Should the player succeed, they can then either choose to Harvest or Adopt the Little Sister, gaining appreciable ADAM to be used for buying new Plasmids, gene tonics, slots or the option to Adopt them. While adopted, the Little Sister will lead the player to corpses where she can extract more ADAM. While she does this, the player must defend her from Splicer attacks. Once the Little Sister has collected enough ADAM, the player can then return her to an escape vent, again allowing the player to choose to Rescue the Little Sister, receiving a modest amount of ADAM but with the possibility of beneficial gifts later, or harvest her for a large ADAM boost. ADAM can then be spent at Gatherer's Garden machines throughout Rapture. Once the player has either Rescued or Harvested each of the Little Sisters on the level, the player will be attacked by a Big Sister. The Big Sister's agility and resourcefulness will task the players with a difficult fight before they can proceed with the game.^[14]

Multiplayer[link]

BioShock 2 features a story driven multiplayer mode where the player takes on the role of a citizen of Rapture. Set in 1959, just before the events of BioShock, the player chooses to take on the role of a splicer fighting in Rapture's civil war. The player is being sponsored by Plasmid manufacturer, Sinclair Solutions, to test out their weapons, Plasmids, and Tonics in a consumer reward program. As the player progresses through the multiplayer experience, new weapons, Tonics, and Plasmids will be unlocked (provided by Sinclair), in addition to the story of the Rapture civil war being told.^[15]

The player can choose among 6 characters to be their in-game avatar. The characters are: a welder named Jacob Norris, a housewife named Barbara Johnson, a football star named Danny Wilkins, a businessman named Buck Raleigh, a pilot named Naledi Atkins, and an Indian mystic named Suresh Sheti. Two additional characters were available as a pre-order bonus from 12game, GameStop, EB Games or Game, or through the purchase of a DLC pack: a fisherman named Zigo d'Acosta and an actress named Mlle Blanche de Glace.^[16] Another two characters were made available by downloading the Sinclair Solutions Tester pack: a criminal named Louie McGraff and a smooth-talking playboy named Oscar Calraca.

Multiplayer comes in 7 different modes, two of which have a single and team based mode.^[17] The modes are:

Survival of the Fittest 

A 'free-for-all' mode where each player gets points for killing each of the other players. Whichever player has the most kills or 20 kills at the end of the match wins.

Civil War 

Similar to 'Survival of the Fittest,' but in this mode players are divided into two teams and the team with the most collective kills at the end of the match wins.

Last Splicer Standing 

A variation of 'Civil War' in which players do not respawn after being killed. Each match consists of several rounds in which players attempt to outlive the players on the enemy team.

Capture the Sister 

A 'Capture the Flag' style mode where players are divided into two teams. One team has to protect a Little Sister while the other team tries to steal her and place her in a vent on the other side of the map. The team protecting the little sister will have a randomly chosen player be a Big Daddy. After a pre-determined amount of time, the teams switch roles. Whichever team has the most captures at the end of the match wins.

ADAM Grab 

In this mode there is one Little Sister on the map and the player must seek her out and maintain possession of her as long as possible. The first person to hold onto the Little Sister for 3 minutes wins.

Team ADAM Grab 

A variant of 'ADAM Grab' where players are divided into two teams. The objective is the same, but victory is determined by a collective score rather than individual scores, and the first team to hold the little sister for 3 minutes wins.

Turf War 

Players are split into two teams and each team must reach pre-determined points on the map to capture that point. The team with the most control points over the longest time wins.

In 'Survival of the Fittest', 'Civil War' and 'Turf War', a Big Daddy suit will spawn at a random location in the level. If a player can find the suit, the choice is given to become the Big Daddy, which will give the player greater strength and endurance, but prohibits the use of plasmids and hacking and expels any previously held damage bonuses against other players. The Big Daddy can stomp, shoot a rivet gun, melee attack and throw proximity mines. All damage dealt to the Big Daddy is permanent, and can't be replenished. Once the Big Daddy is defeated, the suit disappears, spawning in another location on the map two minutes later. In 'Capture the Sister' one member of the defending team is chosen at random to be the Big Daddy. After the player's death, the Big Daddy suit disappears for the rest of the round.^[18]

Plot[link]

BioShock 2 takes place in Rapture in 1968, 8 years after the events of the first game. Tenenbaum has briefly returned to Rapture once she realizes that someone is continuing her work by enslaving new Little Sisters. It is shown through flashbacks and audio recordings that the player character, Subject Delta (the fourth Big Daddy created), is forced to commit suicide in 1958 by Sofia Lamb, through the use of a mind-controlling plasmid. This was done in part because Delta's Little Sister, Eleanor, is actually Lamb's daughter. Lamb, originally brought to Rapture to help psychologically-stressed citizens of the underwater city cope with the lack of sunlight, used persuasion to entice her patients into a cult called "The Rapture Family", and attempted to spread her altruistic ideals throughout Rapture. Andrew Ryan discovered this through a mole, Stanley Poole, and had Lamb thrown in prison, leaving Eleanor in the care of Grace Holloway. Eleanor eventually confronted Poole about his betrayal of her mother, and Poole panicked, kidnapping Eleanor and leaving her in a Little Sister's Orphanage, eventually leading to her conversion into a Little Sister. Lamb later returned to the city, reclaimed her daughter from Delta, and gained control of Rapture after Ryan's death. Lamb guided the development of the aging Little Sisters into more dangerous Big Sisters, and sent them out to the Atlantic coastline to kidnap little girls for conversion into new Little Sisters in Rapture.

In 1968, Eleanor, now a teenager, has gained control over many of the Little Sisters, and uses them to revive Subject Delta at a Vita Chamber. Delta is drawn towards Eleanor by their past Daddy/Sister connection. Brigid Tenenbaum encounters Delta, and explains that unless Delta reunites with Eleanor, a fail-safe device will trigger that will put him into a coma. With the help of the Little Sisters under Eleanor's control and Tenenbaum's ally, Augustus Sinclair, Delta makes his way towards Lamb's stronghold, encountering both Poole and Holloway en route. As Delta progresses, it becomes clear that Lamb is seeking to use ADAM to transform Eleanor into a perfect embodiment of her altruistic ideals. Lamb's ultimate goal is to have all the collected minds and memories of everyone in Rapture become a part of Eleanor, through the use of the genetic memory in ADAM, thus making her an "Embodiment of the Family", which Lamb believes will put an end to "The Self".

Delta arrives at a containment chamber where Eleanor is held, but Lamb captures him and severs his bond with Eleanor by temporarily stopping her heart. Though Eleanor survives, Delta is now slowly dying, as the bond cannot be re-established. Eleanor uses a Little Sister to bring Delta a plasmid which allows him to control the Sisters, thus enabling him to bring Eleanor a complete Big Sister suit, and allowing Eleanor to become a Big Sister. Eleanor escapes with it, rescues Delta, and together they head for an escape pod that Sinclair has arranged to leave Rapture. The two find that Lamb has converted Sinclair into a Big Daddy, and Delta is forced to finish him off. After a final climactic showdown with the remnants of The Rapture Family, Eleanor and Delta make it to the escape pod, but a final trap set by Lamb mortally wounds Delta and starts to send the entire building into the deep ocean rift. Eleanor teleports out of the explosion to the rising escape craft, but Delta is trapped on the outside. Using the last of his strength, he manages to grab onto the side of the escape pod and climb to its top as it rises. Trapped in the flooded escape pod with her mother, Eleanor makes the choice to either kill or save Sofia Lamb based on what she has learned from the player's actions.

There are several possible endings depending on how the player has performed during the game; these are based on whether the player has rescued all the Little Sisters or harvested them, and if they have spared the lives of certain non-player characters (like Holloway and Poole) within the game. If a certain number of these non-player characters have been spared, Eleanor will save Lamb. If the player killed all, or not saved enough, of these non-player characters, she will allow Lamb to drown. When the pod reaches the surface, Eleanor finds a dying Delta barely hanging onto the pod. Depending on how the player has chosen to deal with the little sisters, the ending will change. If the player has rescued all of the Little Sisters, Eleanor will absorb the ADAM from Delta, taking his mind and memories into herself, and leaving Rapture behind forever, accompanied by a group of rescued Little Sisters. If the player has chosen to harvest all of the Little Sisters, Eleanor will absorb Delta's power and use it to make herself even stronger to dominate the world alone. A mix of harvesting and rescuing of the Little Sisters will leave Eleanor to opt against absorbing Delta's ADAM and mourn Delta's passing.

Development[link]

Initially, media reports suggested that the subtitle, "Sea Of Dreams", would accompany the second entry in the series. However, this subtitle was supposedly dropped,^[19] before 2K withdrew the statement, stating that the "Sea Of Dreams" subtitle would still be part of the full title.^[20] However, a later statement from 2K spokesman Charlie Sinhaseni clarified that the "Sea Of Dreams" title was for the trailer, and not for the game itself.^[21] The first appearance for BioShock 2 came in the form of a teaser trailer that was available in the PlayStation 3 version of the game. The first major details on the gameplay and plot of the game were revealed in the April 2009 issue of Game Informer magazine,^[22] around the same time that the "viral" site "There's Something in the Sea" was revealed. This site documents a man named Mark Meltzer's investigation into the disappearances of girls from coastline areas around the Atlantic, along with a mysterious red light that accompanies each kidnapping. On April 9, 2009 on the Spike TV show GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley the first BioShock 2 gameplay video was shown featuring the Big Sister. This demo showed many features including the ability to walk under water.

The story received major changes over the course of development, with two of the most important relating to the player's character and the Big Sister. Initially there was only going to be one Big Sister who would continually hunt the player down throughout the course of the game and then retreat once she was defeated. This Big Sister was written as a Little Sister who, as she grew up on the surface, could not leave the memory of Rapture behind and eventually returned. The reason for the change, as explained by Zak McClendon, lead designer for 2K Marin, "If you have a single character that the player knows they can't kill because they're so important to the story you're completely removing the triumph of overcoming that encounter with them." ^[23] Jordan Thomas explains however, "The soul of the original Big Sister character still exists, but in the form of somebody you get to know over the course of the game." ^[24] The other major change is that the player's character, Subject Delta, is no longer the first Big Daddy, but rather the fourth prototype. He is, however, the first to be successfully 'pair-bonded' to a single Little Sister.^[24]

Digital Extremes produced the multiplayer component of the game.^[25] In the multiplayer portion, players are put in a separate story where civil war has broken out in Rapture prior to the events of the first game. In the multiplayer mode the player acts as a plasmid test subject for a company called Sinclair Solutions.^[26] As the player progresses through the multiplayer maps like Mercury Suites and Kashmir Restaurant they will either have the ability to hack turrets and vending machines or search for the Big Daddy suit.^[27]

Music[link]

The score to BioShock 2 was composed by Garry Schyman, who recorded his score with a 60-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at Capitol Studios.^[28] Additionally, the Special Edition of Bioshock 2 included the orchestral score from the game on a CD, as well as the orchestral score from the original BioShock on a vinyl 180g LP. ^[29]

Track listings[link]

• Disc length 47:58

• Disc length 35:10 - Regular
• Disc length 52:08 - Special Edition

• Disc length 37:47

Retail versions[link]

A Special Edition of the game was announced on November 19, 2009. This edition, which was limited to a single production run, contains the game along with three posters featuring fictional advertisements from Rapture (all of which, when looked under a black light, reveal hidden messages),^[35] the orchestral score from the game on CD, the orchestral score from the original BioShock on a vinyl 180g LP, and a hardbound, 164-page art book. It is packaged in a 13"×13" premium case with special art on both the slipcase and the box cover.^[36]

A smaller limited edition, titled BioShock 2 Rapture Edition, was officially announced on December 2, 2009. Its contents are the game and a smaller, 96-page art book, which are packaged together in a special slipcover. As with the Special Edition, the Rapture Edition was limited to a single production run.^[37] The BioShock 2 Rapture Edition is available in Europe, New Zealand and Australia, in addition to the BioShock 2 Special Edition.^[38]

Expansion packs[link]

Sinclair Solutions Test Pack[link]

"Sinclair Solutions Test Pack" is the first installment of downloadable content (DLC) for BioShock 2. The pack focuses on the multiplayer element of the game, increasing the leveling rank to 50 as well as unlocking 2 new playable characters, 20 new trials, 5 new masks, the 2 new players' special melee weapons and a third upgrade for each weapon. The DLC was released on March 11, 2010 for 400 Microsoft points, and was also available for purchase on the PS3 entertainment system for $4.99.^[39][40]

Shortly after the release of the DLC it was discovered that the "downloadable" content was already stored on the retail disc, and players were actually paying for a small file that unlocked content they already owned. This was later confirmed to be the case by 2K Games, who also claimed that this was so that all players would have the same files on the disc and so that the DLC would not split the playerbase.^[41]

Rapture Metro Map Pack[link]

The Rapture Metro Map Pack launched on May 11, 2010, for $9.99 (800 Microsoft Points) and on May 25, 2010 for PC. The DLC includes 6 new maps, an increased level cap (up to level 50 for those who did not purchase the Sinclair Solutions DLC), 2 new characters, 2 new masks, a new "rebirth" gene tonic, and a new "Kill 'Em Kindly" game mode. This DLC also adds 3 more achievements for the Xbox 360 and PC versions and 3 more trophies for the PlayStation 3 version.

Since its release, many players of the new DLC have complained to 2K, saying that the odds of playing the new maps from the Metro Pack are extremely low, with many players commenting that since purchasing the pack, they haven't played a single new map. 2K responded and said the design decision was made in order to stop "base-splitting"; where the player lobbies are split up, so that all players can still play together, regardless of whether they have purchased the DLC or not. However, players still voiced further complaints, citing that the odds of 10 people in one match all having the DLC, and then still having a 10 in 16 chance of striking an old map, means that overall, one is unlikely to be able play the new maps in a non-private match (which is required for 2 out of 3 of the new achievements/trophies). Some players suggested adding a "playlist" to feature only the new maps, so that players with the DLC could play together, rather than having to set up private matches. However, 2K Games later stated that they had no plans to add playlist functionality to the multiplayer.^[42]

Another complaint surfaced shortly after, regarding the DLC new "Rebirth!" feature. Players reported that once activating the feature at Rank 50, all leaderboard stats and ADAM scores are reset too, effectively sending the player to the bottom of the rank globally.^[43] 2K Community Manager, Elizabeth Tobey responded with the following statement:

"I don't have much to tell you currently, but whenever I do, I'll update here. For now, I want you to know that the dev team is looking in to solutions for both the DLC map playlist request and the leaderboard reset issue. I hope to have more information for you early next week, but that depends on the devs and when they can provide us some good info. For now, please know that the team is aware and they are looking in to what they can do to make you happy — and all your requests have been forwarded to them." ^[44]

Kill 'Em Kindly[link]

Kill 'Em Kindly is a new game mode for BioShock 2 multiplayer, free for download for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. In this game mode, players can only use golf clubs to melee attack enemies, a reference back to the first game where Andrew Ryan forces the player-character Jack to kill him with a golf club. This pack is also included in the "Rapture Metro Pack".

Character pack[link]

The character pack adds two characters that were exclusive to the pre-order version of BioShock 2, Zigo d'Acosta and Mlle Blanche de Glace. This pack is also available alongside the "Rapture Metro Pack" on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for 160 MS Points ($1.99).

The Protector Trials Pack[link]

Released on August 3, the Protector Trials pack is a single-player downloadable content which has the player defend Little Sisters against swarms of enemies in a variety of challenge rooms. The content contains six maps based on locations from the main game, alongside three difficulty levels, seven Achievements/Trophies, and new concept art and videos to unlock. The pack is available on Xbox 360 for 400 Microsoft Points (£3.40) and PlayStation 3 for $4.99^[45] (£3.19).^[46] This downloadable content was released for free on the PC on March 14, 2011.^[47] As of March 15, the DLC is playable after a patch to the main game.

Minerva's Den[link]

Minerva's Den is a downloadable single-player campaign with a plot completely separate from that of the main campaign. The player assumes the role of Subject Sigma, another Alpha Series Big Daddy, as he travels through Minerva's Den, home to Rapture's Central Computing. The campaign adds three new levels (with around four hours of gameplay) and provides deeper insight into Rapture's inner workings.

The story introduces the characters of Charles Milton Porter, who guides the player (with Brigid Tenenbaum), and Reed Wahl, who acts as the antagonist. Porter and Wahl were once partners working on a computer with advanced artificial intelligence dubbed "The Thinker", but Wahl framed Porter for treason and stole the machine. Porter, realizing that he would be taken away and that Rapture was crumbling, left instructions on how to replicate the machine on the surface, in order to ensure that his creation would benefit mankind. Sigma, under the orders of Porter and Brigid Tenenbaum, seeks to obtain the Thinker's machine code, hoping that its processing power combined with surface technology will allow for the development of a cure for the Splicers.

Unfortunately, Wahl has holed up in Minerva's Den and he's adamant to not let the Thinker be taken away since he believes due to splicing induced madness that the computer is key to a "predictive equation" that allows him to predict the future. Sigma makes his way through Minerva's Den battling Splicers, the area's experimental security bots and finally Wahl himself. Once Sigma reaches the Thinker, the latter recognizes Sigma as Charles Milton Porter: the "Porter" that contacted Sigma is the Thinker itself, simulating Porter's personality (a feature originally created by Porter to simulate the personality of his deceased wife) to provide a familiar guiding voice. Sigma obtains the codes and heads to the surface on a bathysphere with Tenenbaum, so it can be rebuilt.

The add-on also features new weapons, a new plasmid as well as a new Big Daddy type. It was released August 31 for PS3 and Xbox360. It costs $10/ 800 Microsoft Points.^[48] Work on the PC version of this downloadable content was resumed on 28 October 2010.^[47] The DLC was released on PC on 31 May 2011.

Windows version DLC[link]

Though the Windows version of BioShock 2 had received some patches and downloadable content shortly after release,^[49] 2K Games announced in October 2010 that they would not provide a final patch to fix remaining issues with the game.^[50] Furthermore, 2K Games announced they would not offer the "Protector Trials" or "Minerva's Den" content on the platform, citing "Timing and technical issues" that they had encountered but could not work around.^[51] 2K apologized to the players, as they had promised that this content would be forthcoming to the Windows platform, and that if the situation changed, they would offer it in the future.^[50] 2K later explained that in trying to prepare additional patches with support for the additional content, they encountered bugs under specific circumstances that they felt would not be acceptable to the Microsoft certification process, and while they had tried to correct those bugs, they were unable to do so in a timely manner, leading to their decision to abandon the attempt.^[52] The announcement was met with heavy criticism from some players, having felt that 2K Games took advantage of their "goodwill" in the promised game and DLC updates.^[50] In late October, 2K Games reversed their decision based on the players' responses, and have recommitted resources to complete the game patch and support for both content packs on the Windows version; the patch and "Protector Trials" would likely be available in Spring 2011, while more work is necessary to complete the "Minerva's Den" content.^[52] Protector Trials DLC for the PC version of BioShock 2 was made available pre-maturely via Games for Windows Live on February 20, 2011. Users find that the download pack, which was yet to officially arrive on PC, was available for the price of 400 MS Points. But when users paid for and downloaded the 964mb update, they were completely unable to access it.^[53] On March 12, 2011 it was announced that Protector Trials would be released for PC on March 14, 2011.^[54] The patch to the main game which enabled the DLC to run was released after the DLC itself, though the new content was playable by March 15, 2011. Though 2K was originally reluctant to confirm a release date for the Minerva's Den DLC, eventually they confirmed that it would be released at the end of May 2011.

Reception[link]

BioShock 2
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	87.89% (X360)[55] 87.00% (PS3)[56] 87.64% (PC)[57]
Metacritic	88/100 (X360)[58] 88/100 (PS3)[59] 88/100 (PC)[60]
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	B+ (X360, PS3)[61]
Computer and Video Games	9.1/10[62]
Edge	8/10[63]
Eurogamer	8/10[64]
Famitsu	35/40[65]
Game Informer	8.25/10[66]
GamePro	[67]
GameSpot	8.5/10 (X360)[68] 8.5/10 (PS3)[69]
GameSpy	[70]
GamesRadar	10/10[71]
GameTrailers	8.8/10[72]
IGN	9.1/10[73]
Official Xbox Magazine (UK)	9/10 (X360)[74]
TeamXbox	9.2 (X360)[75]

BioShock 2 received positive reviews. Currently, it holds an 88 on Metacritic for the Xbox 360,^[58] PlayStation 3^[59] and PC^[60] versions. On GameRankings, Bioshock 2 has overall scores of 87.89%, 87.00% and 87.64% for the Xbox 360,^[55] PlayStation 3^[56] and PC^[57] versions.

GamesRadar's Charlie Barratt awarded the game with a perfect score stating that "The weapons are better. The plasmids are better. The enemies are better. At some points, even the storytelling is better. What’s most amazing and surprising about BioShock 2, however, is that by diving deeper into Rapture’s tortured history and exploring more of Rapture’s haunted world, it actually manages to make the original BioShock better, too."^[71]

Game Informer's Andrew Reiner scored the game a 8.25. He criticised the game saying that "For roughly 10 hours, BioShock 2 follows directly in its forefather’s footsteps, too fearful to inject anything new into this twisted world." However, he praised the game's ending stating that "Eventually this disappointing adventure does turn a corner. It takes 10 hours to get there, but the final two acts (lasting approximately three hours) are brilliant." He concluded with "BioShock 2 eventually becomes the sequel I hoped for, but spends too much time getting there."^[66]

IGN scored the game a 9.1/10 and said that "anyone looking for a first-person shooter that offers more than flat, stereotypical characters and copy-and-paste supersoldier plots, one that attempts to establish a sense of right and wrong and loops you into the decision making process, and one that's set in one of the most vividly realized settings around should pick up BioShock 2. It's a game in which story, setting, and gameplay are expertly blended to create an experience that's as thought-provoking as it is entertaining."^[73]IGN's review also stated that the game does not look as visually impressive as its predecessor, but it is still one of the best-looking games around because of its unique art style. In a round-table style video chat, IGN editors said that Rapture was less mysterious because players have seen it before, and that was a major strike against the game. Since the original had such an eerie mysterious feel to it, the twists and turns seen in the sequel seemed less surprising.^[76]

Tom Price of TeamXbox gave the game an overall score of 9.2/10 saying that "BioShock 2 remains one of the most original, exciting, subversive and intriguing shooters out there for you to play, and you shouldn’t miss the experience of doing that."^[75]

Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell was more critical of BioShock 2. Though he scored the game a very positive 8/10 overall, he noted that "The single-player campaign... will and should be damned for its long, slow start, during which the game struggles to make its intentions clear, but once past that the developers find a new tempo that wrings just enough extra quality out of the existing framework to justify your patience, even if the game still feels flat in the context of more daring and elaborate sequels like Mass Effect 2 and last year's Assassin's Creed follow-up."^[64]

Sales[link]

Prior to the game's release, the chairman of Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick stated that he expected the game to sell 5 million copies across all platforms.^[77]

In its first week of release, BioShock 2 was the best-selling Xbox 360 game in the UK and North America.^[78] In the U.S., NPD recorded it as the top selling game of February with 562,900 units sold on the Xbox 360, and 190,500 on the PS3. Gamasutra state a possible reason for the Xbox 360's greater sales was the original BioShock's 14 month exclusivity on the platform.^[79] It also managed to hold both the first and second positions on the Steam release charts.^[80]

In its first month of release, BioShock 2 was number 1 in sales for the Xbox 360 and number 12 for the PlayStation 3. PC sales are not tracked by NPD for top 20 results, and is therefore unknown.^[81]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Teaser site: There's Something in the Sea
• The Cult of Rapture official community website
• BioShock 2 at Feral Interactive
• BioShock Wiki, an external wiki