BioShock 2’s last installment of DLC, “Minerva’s Den,” will officially hit PSN and Xbox LIVE August 31 for $9.99, or 800 Microsoft Points, while Games for Windows LIVE will get it at “a later date.”

“Minerva’s Den” introduces a new cast of characters in an independent narrative following Sigma, another Alpha-series Big Daddy working with Brigid Tenenbaum to stop the villainous Reed Wahl’s dictatorship over a key district in Rapture. To thwart Wahl, Sigma must access Minerva’s Den, a kingdom which holds The Thinker, a giant supercomputer controlling the Rapture Central Computing District.

BioShock 2’s final DLC is “single-player focused” and features new weaponry, an epic new plasmid, more dangerous Splicers, Security Bots that shoot lightning bolts and rockets, and The Lancer, a new model of Big Daddy. Also, those who downloaded the previous “Protector Trials” will have an added advantage with the Master Protector tonic, which increases the harvest times for your hungry Little Sisters.

This is DLC worth paying for, in my humble opinion – will you guys be picking it up at the end of the month? Sound off below!

Via Joystiq

After roughly three years of silence, Ken Levine and the team at Irrational Games have finally revealed what the BioShock developer has been up to all of this time; BioShock Infinite. Unveiled last night at the historic Plaza Hotel in NYC, Levine offered up a brief introduction to a handful of journalists inhabiting a decked-out room made to mimic the new game’s setting before showcasing the world’s first look at the highly-anticipated project.

You can check out the rather impressive debut trailer right here.

In addition, the below synopsis (pulled from the game’s teaser site) delivers some additional insight into the project:

BioShock Infinite is a first-person shooter currently in development at Irrational Games, the studio behind the original BioShock (which sold over 4 million units worldwide). Set in 1912, BioShock Infinite introduces an entirely new narrative and gameplay experience that lifts players out of the familiar confines of Rapture and rockets them to Columbia, an immense city in the sky.

Former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt has been sent to rescue Elizabeth, a young woman imprisoned in Columbia since childhood. Booker develops a relationship with Elizabeth, augmenting his abilities with hers so the pair may escape from a city that is literally falling from the sky. DeWitt must learn to fight foes in high-speed Sky-Line battles, engage in combat both indoors and amongst the clouds, and harness the power of dozens of new weapons and abilities.

As you can tell, Infinite features all-new characters in an all-new setting, but will contain the same level of intensity and atmosphere series fans have grown to love. Details on this one are obviously sparse at the moment, but we do know that Irrational is targeting a simultaneous PS3, 360, and PC release some time in 2012 for BioShock Infinite.
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2K Games announced today that Bioshock 2 will be getting a narrative driven piece of DLC come the fall. Titled Minerv’a Den, the DLC will feature a self-contained story that takes place in an entirely new part of Rapture. Also included are new weapons, a new Plasmid, upgraded Splicers, and a new Big Daddy!

“Minerva’s Den is a substantial addition that will give players more of what they’re looking for: more story, more narrative, more gameplay and more of Rapture,” said 2K president Christoph Hartmann in the announcement. “The core team has created an exciting product that further enhances the mystery and allure of the world of Rapture. Minerva’s Den will be a fitting conclusion to the BioShock 2 saga.”

No price has been announced yet, but look for the Minerva’s Den DLC for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC this fall.

Source

Raise the pain-sticks and prepare for ascension! Its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! In this week’s Skirmish, we run down the release date for Final Fantasy XIV, check out BioShock 2’s latest DLC, discuss the news Fable III is going episodic, and ponder whether Raiden has what it takes to carry the Metal Gear Series on his own.

With Shigeru Miyamoto’s recent comment that Nintendo “needs new characters,” we sit down to discuss what makes a great game character and why Nintendo’s mascots have stood the test of time. Will Marcus Fenix or Nathan Drake have the same longevity as Mario and Link?

The Battle Cry of the week goes to the remote deletion of content, an HD ICO/Shadow of the Colossus Collection from Sony, the prowess of three year old gamers, and calls on the gaming gods for fal tor pan of the Full Spectrum Warrior IP.
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Bioshock 2 has harvested its first singleplayer DLC, the Protector Trials, due out August 3 for Xbox 360 and PS3.

The Protector Trials is an expansion on the harvesting portions of Bioshock 2, placing “players back into the boots of the Big Daddy as he defends his Little Sister against swarms of corrupt Splicers who are hell-bent on stealing the precious ADAM that she gathers from corpses,” publisher 2K Marin described in its press release.

The Protector Trials will include six new maps with three difficulty settings, seven new achievements/trophies and a fresh batch of unlockable concept art and videos.

This is the first installment in a coming wave of singleplayer DLC for Bioshock 2, according to 2K president Christoph Hartmann.

“The team at 2K Marin has been working hard ever since the launch of BioShock 2 to develop ways for gamers to extend their time in the single-player world of Rapture,” Hartmann said. “I’m proud to announce the first of these experiences, the Protector Trials, which takes players back to some of their favorite places from the original game and features some of the biggest challenges that fans of this series have ever experienced. This is just the beginning. More single-player content is on the way that will deliver more of the intense action and story-driven gameplay that fans have been craving.”

The Protector Trials will sell for 400 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360 and $4.99 on PS3 when it drops August 3rd. 2K has yet to announce an official release date for the Protector Trials on PC, though the previous DLC was released for PC two weeks after hitting consoles.

Will the Protector Trials keep you playing Bioshock 2? What about the promise of more singleplayer content? Splice into the comments below!

Via Shacknews

Next week isn’t just the biggest week in the gaming industry, but also a week containing some of the best video game deals in recent memory. What could I be talking about? How about Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for $39.99? Uncharted 2 for $34.99? Mass Effect 2 for $19.99?! These certainly aren’t typos, believe us. Kmart is providing gamers an opportunity to pick up some of the biggest games for some great prices. The deals start June 13 and run through June 19.  Check out the full list of titles that are on sale below. Which ones will you be picking up?

• Mass Effect 2 — $19.99 (Save $20)
• Battlefield Bad Company 2 — $39.99 (Save $20)
• Skate 3 — $44.99 (Save $15)
• FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa — $44.99 (Save $15)
• God of War 3 – $34.99 (Save $25)
• Heavy Rain – $34.99 (Save $25)
• Uncharted 2 — $34.99 (Save $25)
• Backbreaker — $34.99 (Save $15)
• BioShock 2 — $34.99 (Save $15)
• BioShock — $14.99 (Save $5)

Source (via Joystiq)

The PlayStation blog recently received a post by 2K Marin Creative Director Jordan Thomas detailing the BioShock 2 Rapture Metro downloadable pack and Kill ‘em Kindly mode which are being released today via both PSN and XBL.

The $10 Metro pack adds six maps to the game’s multiplayer while the free Kill ‘em Kindly content is a new mode where players “fight to the death with golf clubs”…Interesting…

The post talks about the multiplayer-focused nature of the content while detailing the Rebirth mode, Golden Bucket, and various locations featured in the goodies.

You can read the post here or just check out the (somewhat odd and rather bloody) Kill ‘em Kindly trailer above. So, who plans on checking this stuff out???

BioShock 2 is set to get another round of DLC and we’ve got a trailer for you to check out the goodies. The Rapture Metro was originally set to come out tomorrow but has been delayed. While we don’t have an exact release date yet, here’s what we do know: There will be six new maps (Pauper’s Drop, Dionysus Park, Fighting McDonagh’s, Fontaine Fisheries, Siren Alley, and Smuggler’s Hideout), 2 new masks, and three new trophies.

We’ll also see a new game mode (Kill’em Kindly) which goes something like ‘death-match by golf club.’ Additionally, there’s a rank increase to level 50 and a Rebirth feature. which will give players a special mask if they reach level 50 and rank back down to level 1. Rapture Metro will set you back $10 (800 points) and will be hitting the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 later this year. Hit the jump to check out the trailer.
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Holla me amigos and welcome to another week of back-fence news as brought to you by Epicbattleaxe.com’s The Rumor KILL.  Now I know all you Axeheads are full of gaming news and knowledge courtesy of GDC and to be honest I was a little nervous this week.  Gaming conventions such as GDC tend to solve rumors instead of creating them and even if some rumors are started most gaming journalists don’t report them because they have their hands full with the festivities.  For such an occasion I have a great rant planned out about the subliminal messages in Disney films and video games!!!  Just kidding……fortunately my fears did not become reality and we still have many rumors to dissect and discuss so take out the pruning shears it’s time to get whacking!
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Greetings Axeheads! We come, once again, to the end of a week full of insightful discussion and superb punditry. We’re going to close out the conversation on game delays with a Battle Cry that puts some pragmatic perspective on the high-profile delays of 2009. Were the rash of delays from late last year a good thing? Could we have afforded all those games anyway? Is the game industry harming themselves irrevocably by leaning on the delay crutch too often, rather than simply being smarter with their scheduling? AxedWheelie makes the case…
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