A New Bioshock Game Announced Company: Irrational Games Product: BioShock Infinite After three years of silence, Irrational Games, the development team behind the first Bioshock game in 2007, have come forth from the shadows and revealed their new project: Bioshock Infinite. Yes, it is a Bioshock game. Most people were hoping for a new intellectual property, or at least an update to other games in Irrational's impressive portfolio, but this is a Bioshock game. Sort of. Well, it isn't set in the underwater city of Rapture. "But Rapture IS Bioshock!" you scream. Calm down, it is all part of the plan. Irrational Games' lead designer, Ken Levine, explains that for this game, they wanted a change in scenery. For he and his team, the idea of Bioshock is about a fantastic setting and a strong narrative rooted in the human experience. Irrational is trading the underwater masterpiece of Rapture for the wondrous glory of the skyward city of Columbia. Columbia is a city literally floating in the sky held afloat by hot air balloons and massive rockets. Set in 1912, Columbia was conceived as a symbol of American Exceptionalism. The idea that America could do whatever it could think of as technologies burst out of the creative subconscious during the turn of the century. Columbia is like a sky-born Titanic, received with massive fanfare (and most assuredly a disastrous ending.) During a voyage across the skies, the Columbia disappears and is lost amongst the clouds. That's where the main character, Booker Dewitt, comes in. Dewitt is a former agent of the Pinkertons. (The Pinkertons were a massive privately contracted army in the United States from 1850 - 1893. That's history, folks!) Dewitt is given a new mission to land on Columbia and extract a woman named Elizabeth who shares Dewitt's supernatural abilities. Of course, things probably won't go smoothly and Dewitt will have to fight his way across Columbia to protect Elizabeth. Bioshock Infinite is already shaping up to be a very different experience than what most gamers had assumed of the Bioshock universe. This quote off the official press release from Ken Levine explains it better: "But when it came to begin work on BioShock Infinite we only had one rule: No sacred cows. This game is both true to what people love about the series and unafraid to question every assumption." Don't get too excited just yet. While the game is being developed for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, the kicker is that Bioshock Infinite is still a ways away. How far? 2012. Not next year, but the year after that. So check back with us often, because we will be sure to keep up with all the news about Bioshock Infinite as it becomes available. -HanChi, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Hanchey Related Links: See the Official Website for More Info Game Vortex Coverage of Bioshock