I highly recommend you check out Podtacular's latest podcast about Bioshock.

"This show we talk all about one of the greatest games to come down the pike in a long time: Bioshock. Joining JVB and [Foo Mo Jive] are Immortal Three from the Podtacular crew and Mintz from Halo Portable. Hope you like it!"

There are no spoilers. There are, however, major THX plugs.

In case anyone is debating purchase of the Bioshock limited edition I thought I might show you exactly what you get. The box is big: about 5" x 6" x 6". Inside you'll find the DVD case marked limited edition, game manual, game, an audio EP with three tracks, a behind the scenes DVD, ...and a Big Daddy (Bouncer) figurine that will pwn your face off! It is heavy! Must be made of lead pewter. Detail on it is pretty good, and there are a few (but not enough) splatters of blood. The EP is interesting, but nothing really special. I thought it might be audio tracks from pre 1960 that you hear inside the game, but the songs are remixes. The third track is pretty cool. All tracks are kind of new age / techno. I won't watch the behind the scenes DVD until I finish the game, so I'm reserving comments on that one. For the figurine alone, the extra $10 over the regular edition MSRP is a no brainer for me. More pics after the break.

I received a tip late last night (Friday August 17th) that the Huntsville, Alabama, Circuit City had Bioshock available for sale. I arrived this morning to find the rumors were true, and happily purchased a copy. How did the street date get screwed up so badly for Bioshock?

Here is a forum post from CAG about BioShock. It has scans from OXM UK and PC Gamer. OXM gave it a 10/10 RAD!

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146740

Bioshock is the next generation first person shooter from 2k Games coming this August. Set in an underwater bathysphere in 1960 BioShock promises to present the gamer with decisions he's never faced in a video game before. A complete description of BioShock is outside the scope of this article, but on the BioShock website 2k Games promises "No encounter ever plays out the same way twice. No two gamers will ever play BioShock the same way."

Merely one feature that separates BioShock from the FPS background noise is the use of genetic enhancements. The same thing that contributed to the demise of the citizens of Rapture plays a key role in your journey to liberate or condemn the failed social experiment and its inhabitants. Plasmids and tonics are the two types of genetic enhancements available in BioShock (at least the two types we know about so far). It appears you can find them in vending machines scattered throughout Rapture, much like cigarettes in the 80s. Genetically enhancing yourself is done Mr. Brownstone style by injecting the dose of glowing goodness into your arm from a syringe. Yummy! What are plasmids powered by? Eve, of course, the fictional derivative of Adam (a substance collected from dead bodies by the creepy little sisters you've seen in the trailers).

2k Games has released a ton of information (including videos) on many of the plasmids available in BioShock. Click "read more" for pics, vids, and descriptions of the plasmids we know about so far.

If you want to see what the new Bioshock 360 Dashboard theme looks like instead of having to buy it first, here's some screencaps:

I was discussing upcoming XBOX 360 games with FoulBreed and we had the revelation that this year is going to be expensive for those of us wanting to play all the new "revolutionary" games.

Games I am sure I want:

Halo 3
Crackdown
Assassin's Creed
Bioshock
Forza 2
Oblivion Shivering Isles Expansion Pack

Games I might want:

GRAW 2
Mass Effect
The Darkness
PGR 4

Games that may or may not make 2007 that I probably want:

Shadowrun
Too Human
Halo Wars

Decided to dig through my old motorcycle riding gear that I no longer need and sell it on Ebay to help finance this habit (my gear for sale on eBay).