Confession time: I still haven't played BioShock 2. It's not because I don't want to; I loved the hell out of BioShock, and even replayed it earlier this year in anticipation of the long awaited sequel. Then February proved to be an extremely busy review month, and then Final Fantasy XIII came out... well, whatever, those are just excuses. At any rate, I need to make time in my schedule for BioShock 2 this summer, because 2K Games has announced the first single-player DLC for the game, known as Protector Trials.



Protector Trials will come with three new maps and seven new achievements/trophies, and will task players with defending their Little Sisters from crazy ADAM-hungry splicers. Personally, I'm usually more in favor of story-based single-player DLC, but for five bucks it's hard to complain about the additional content. At the rate I'm going, I might actually finish BioShock 2 later this summer, and perhaps I'll get to the Protector Trials around autumn. For those of you planning to get the DLC when it becomes available on August 3, there's more information in the press release below.

New York, NY - July 1, 2010 - 2K Games announced today Protector Trials*, an all-new single-player focused downloadable game add-on for BioShock® 2 that puts 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. Available starting August 3, 2010, this exciting and action-packed addition will challenge players to use the full arsenal of the BioShock 2 tool set as they dispatch their foes and unleash their wrath on enemies across six different areas from the single-player experience.

"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," said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K.  "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."

Protector Trials is being developed by the core team behind BioShock 2's single-player experience. It contains a series of challenges focused on frantic combat and fast-paced action that are designed to push players' mastery of weapons and Plasmids. The goal is simple, but tough to achieve: players must keep their Little Sister safe from the intense onslaught of Splicers as she gathers ADAM from corpses.

The pack includes:

Six new maps: three unique difficulty levels, each based on favorite locales from BioShock 2;
New unlockables, including never-before-seen concept art and videos;
Seven new Achievements/Trophies.

Protector Trials will be available starting August 3, 2010 from the Xbox® LIVE Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games for Windows-LIVE for 400 Microsoft Points, and from the PlayStation®Network for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system for $4.99.

In the coming months, 2K Games will publish more downloadable content that extends the single-player experience, providing new insight into the world of Rapture. The next package will expand the narrative, and introduce new tools and new challenges that extend the lore and fiction of the failed utopia under the sea.

BioShock 2's first two downloadable packages, Sinclair Solutions Tester Pack* and Rapture Metro Pack*, are currently available for download from both the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360 from Microsoft and Games for Windows-LIVE, and from the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

About BioShock 2

BioShock 2's multiplayer modes provide fans with an engrossing prequel experience that expands upon the fiction of Rapture's origins. Set during the year before Rapture's descent into chaos, players assume the role of a Plasmid test subject for Sinclair Solutions, a key provider of Plasmids and Tonics in the underwater city that was first explored in BioShock. Players will enter into areas from the original title as they struggle to gain superiority and fight for survival in franticly paced battles.

The single-player mode serves as a sequel to the original game and provides fans with an unsettling storyline, dazzling visual design and the evolution of the genetically enhanced shooter gameplay. Set almost a decade after a grueling civil war consumed the once magnificent city of Rapture, evil reverberates through the halls and a wickedness once thought gone forever returns along the Atlantic seaboard. An unspeakable series of kidnappings from local seaside communities by an unseen monster leads to the repopulation of Little Sisters in Rapture's failed utopia under the ocean. Players must step into the boots of one of gaming's most iconic characters, the Big Daddy, as they traverse through the fallen city, fending off attacks from an army of genetically modified Splicers, while searching for escape and the key to their survival.

BioShock 2 is available now for the Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Games for Windows-LIVE and is rated M for Mature by the ESRB. For more information on BioShock 2 please visit www.bioshock2game.com, www.cultofrapture.com and www.somethinginthesea.com.

* Requires standalone BioShock 2 product in order to be played.