Icarus!!!! (/whisper)

So The trailer came and went yesterday, we had discussions about the validity of the IP of the game. When I first saw the trailer, I agreed with everyone else. This was another iteration of Bioshock, and they were going to just rehash everything and throw it in the sky. Well, after reading the "Letter from Ken Levine" I changed my perspective, and realized that this, although it's retaining it's Bioshock title (sadly with the moniker "Infinite," which doesn't sound as cool as Icarus), it's going to be a new game.

This was further reinforced by the above interview with Ken Levine, the creative force behind the Bioshock games. Now granted I think it will be similar, but I have a feeling that it will be just different enough that it is more of a spiritual successor to Bioshock than a direct sequel. As Ken Levine states, it takes place in the early 1900's, versus the 1960's that Bioshock took place in. I seem to recall them saying that it is a different world than Bioshock's, but they may have just been speaking to Columbia, and not the actual universe (or continuity) that it is in. What would definitely warrant the title "Sequel" is if this is where Andrew Ryan either grew up, or got the idea from, but I hope to god that isn't the case.

I want Irrational to populate this new game with a cast of characters just as unique as Andrew Ryan was in the original game. Also, I'm kind of hoping that they do not have plasmids useable by the main character. I feel as if that was kind of the original Bioshock's "thing". Now maybe if the companion character they're talking about were the one using the powers, and you had to direct her, that might be an interesting system.

I'm also hoping that little sisters do not make a return. That too was Bioshock's thing, and I feel that it would make the game a little tawdry. Then again, I can't really think of anything else as iconic as a Little Sister and a Big Daddy.

All in all, I think there would be a lot less skeptics if Bioshock 2 had not seen the light of day. The game, while a solid FPS experience was definitely a let down from the high expectations that was merited for the Bioshock games. It was pretty much more of the same, with a less creative (and less driving) story.

The game is set for a 2012 release date. Here's hoping we get to see it that year.