2k-boston posts

We've been down this road before and it looks like we are going that way once again. Rumors of a revival of the classic X-Com turn-based strategy PC game series have been popping up on the Internet tubes for years. This week the new rumors center on 2K Games' developer Firaxis working on a new version of the original game.

This new rumor comes from the Twitter page of the anonymously updated and trademark-obsessed web site Superannuation. The statement also revives the rumor that there's a first person shooter X-Com game that's also in the works. 2K Boston has been named as the developer for that title for quite some time and it's head man Ken Levine hasn't exactly denied that possibility. Indeed 2K Boston's sister developer 2K Australia has apparently worked at one time on such a project as Superannuation has found a (since removed) resume from a former developer at that studio that mentions such an X-Com game. We just wish 2K Games would spare us more time to speculate and come clean; the suspense is killing us.

While Ken Levine is still working on his top secret next project at 2K Boston following the release of the original BioShock over two years ago, he's apparently got some time to reveal his top 10 favorite games of all time to IndustryGamers. As one might expect, Levine's picks include several PC exclusives.

Among the games picked are Master of Magic ("It's Civilization with dragons. And spell making. And giant armies of Dwarves and stuff. Why is there no sequel? Is there no God?"), Baldur's Gate 2 ("I play it for the combats") and Company of Heroes ("The RTS that reminded me I could still love RTS."). And his number one pick is not much of a shock but still funny to read. You can check out the entire list at IndustryGamers right now.

While PC gamers are anxiously awaiting the release of BioShock 2 in early February, Mac owners will finally be able to play the original game in the first person shooter series in a native format. Feral Interactive has announced that the Mac version of BioShock will be released in October.

Yes, that does mean it took over two years for the Mac gaming audience to get a native version of 2K Boston's FPS masterpiece of gameplay and art design. The Mac version is currently available for pre-order at Feral Interactive's web site for $49.95. System requirements for the game can be found after the jump:

Several months ago, it seems like the planned movie adaptation of BioShock was in danger as its movie studio Universal put the film on hold due to budget issues. Now Variety is reporting that things are back on track as a new director is now in talks to helm the movie version of 2K Boston's 2007 first person shooter.

According to the article, the new possible director is Juan Carlos Fresnadillo who scored a solid critical and box office hit with the 2007 zombie movie sequel 28 Weeks Later. Originally Gore Verbinski, of the Pirates of the Caribbean serie, was to direct but he will still be a producer of the BioShock film. BioShock's game publisher Take Two Interactive still has to approve Fresnadillo as the new director. Filming is now expected to be held overseas in order to cut the budget but there's still no word on when that might happen.

Earlier this year a job listed for 2K Boston stated they were looking for someone to work on a multiplayer first person shooter project. This week new evidence emerged that the development team behind the original BioShock is working on some kind of shooter game for their next project.

The company's job page shows three listings, all of whom state that 2K Boston (and its head man Ken Levine) are hiring to work on "an unannounced shooter". Levine has already said in previous interviews that their next game will have "a scope and ambition in mind which is more ambitious than anything we've ever done."

Ken Levine is still not talking about what his team at 2K Boston is working on next. Let's get that out of the way right now. However he is more than willing to chat to Gamasutra about pretty much anything else in a lengthy interview (with interjections from 2 Boston's director of creative development Joe McDonagh and the studio's recruiter Ryan Oddey).

The interview talks about how 2K Boston hires the right people and creates the right culture to develop their games. However Levine does give a small hint about what their next project is trying to achieve. He states, "We needed a certain kind of length for the title, because we had a scope and ambition in mind which is more ambitious than anything we've ever done. Even more, substantially more ambitious than BioShock." Wow. That sounds promising.

The BioShock & The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Bundle will cost $29.99 for the PC version and will ship to stores on July 7. There's no indication that the bundle will include any extra content beyond what was available in the game' first releases. Again if you haven't got these games already this rather unique bundle is a must have.

[Via email press release]

2007's BioShock remains perhaps one of the best games made in the current decade. Developer 2K Boston and its head man Ken Levine not only made an entertaining first person shooter with a few RPG elements but managed to deal with deep themes about choice and freedom in society. And of course the game's art style, depicting art deco looks within an underwater city, hasn't been seen before or since.

That is, of course, until BioShock 2 comes around. The sequel is being developed by 2K Marin (2K Australia, who created the PC port of the original game, is doing the same for BioShock 2) but with no input at all from 2K Boston. During E3 2009 we got to see some new footage (not shown to the public) from the game as well as a live demo of the game's all new multiplayer component.

One of the most anticipated game-to-movie translations has hit a snag. Variety is reporting that the upcoming film adaptation of 2K Boston's FPS BioShock has been put on hold at Universal Pictures. The reason is a familar one: cost.

Variety reports through unnamed sources that while the film was deep in pre-production it would have cost $160 million to film the movie in Los Angeles as previously planned. Now Universal and the movie's planned director Gore Verbinski are looking to make the movie outside the US in order to lower its planned budget. The story claims that both the movie studio and Verbinski are determined to have the BioShock movie avoid what happened to the Halo film adaptation which was permanently shut down due to budget issues.

Spike TV's GameTrailersTV show showed the first ever gameplay footage of BioShock 2 (that's without any subtitle by the way) early this morning and today the GameTrailers web site has posted up the footage for all to see. As you can see for yourself the sequel from developer 2K Marin keeps the incredible art style that 2K Boston originated in the first BioShock title.

You can also see quite a lot of action including what looks like some new fire based weapon. And how about that little narration at the end? We think the footage is certainly in keeping with the original but perhaps you may feel differently. In any case we will likely get more chances to see the game up close and personal (E3 anyone?) before its fall 2009 release date.