Bioshock 2 Special Edition

As far back as August when I first submitted my pre-order, I've been anticipating my return to Rapture. But this time, it will be as a Big Daddy.

With a street date announcement of February 9, 2K Games' Bioshock 2: Sea Of Dreams will release simultaneously worldwide. I was equally excited and disappointed. Excited because I've been waiting for 2 years for the follow-up to my 2007 Game of the Year selection. I finished Bioshock twice and still own it in hopes of playing it once more before the sequel debuts. But I was disappointed because a special edition hadn't been announced and I was worried one wouldn't or if one did eventually get announced, it wouldn't be as cool as the previous one.

The special edition of the first Bioshock game came with a making-of DVD, and a soundtrack CD (with 3 tracks from the game). But the prized possession in the collector's special edition was a 6 inch, 1.5 pound Big Daddy figurine. Unfortunately, due to the figurine's weight and poor packaging, most Big Daddy's arrived severely damaged. I missed out on the Xbox 360 version of the SE and I wasn't too disappointed by it since they were all just about damaged but when I learned that 2K Games would issue replacements, I feverishly set out to hunt down a copy by any means. I managed to find a Gamestop that had one final copy of the PC version.

Even though the figurine was badly damaged and the game was for a platform I didn't own, I purchased it anyway for the chance to get a replacement figurine. It ended up working out great. I sold the PC game on eBay and was able to get a replacement figurine from 2K Games. Additionally, they sent out a softcover book "Bioshock: Breaking The Mold" filled with artwork from the game for all those that had received a damaged Big Daddy figurine. Pretty cool.

Just last week, Amazon made Bioshock 2: Sea Of Dreams Special Edition available for pre-order. This time around, the special edition will bring the following:

• Bioshock 2 game
• Bioshock 2 hardcover art book (164 pages)
• 3 vintage Rapture advertisement posters (rolled)
• audio CD with Bioshock 2 orchestral score
• vinyl 180g LP with Bioshock 1 orchestral score

So, while it packs quite a bit of goodies, it's strangely missing what everyone was hoping for: a figurine of the central character, a Big Sister. I guess the big grab in this special edition is the LP. For those too young to know what an LP is, google it. :)

I can't wait for February to get here as I'm anxiously looking forward to going back to Rapture.