by Eugen Pfister
The futuristic city of Rapture, which is the size of Manhattan, lies several thousand metres below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, hidden from the eyes of the world. Built on the initiative of a visionary private investor shortly after the Second World War, the city’s gigantic glass and steel structures and elaborate neon signs bear witness to unimaginably advanced engineering and former wealth. By the end of the 1960s however, Rapture is almost completely deserted. Much of the city has been lost, lying in rubble on the ocean floor. A few neighbourhoods, though, still show signs of partial life: light attests to a working power supply, fresh oxygen continues to be pumped through the alleys and streets. Here, in the Atlantic Express Depot, I find a tape recorder on a fallen filing cabinet beside a packet of industrial rivets. I play it and hear a woman’s voice, pleasant and sonorous, with a deliberate enunciation to each word – Dr Sofia Lamb.“In ethical psychiatry, we must account for the role of evolution. Depression, fits of panic, sexual pathos — all responses to ancient selection pressure. The irony is that this theory is why Ryan’s people invited me here. They mistake my study of natural law for the worship of competition. Remember, Eleanor — one must know the beast before it can be slain.” Before I can even finish listening to the tape, I hear the confused voice of a young woman from the neighbouring workshop: “H-hello? Is there someone in the hall? Moments later, crazed mutated Splicers descend upon me. These are grotesquely mutated people, their faces disfigured by bulging growths, their limbs strangely asymmetrical. I shoot two with my rivet gun, another I pierce with my drill. All this in brutal contrast to the voice I have just heard.
Name: Bioshock 2
Developer: 2K Marin
Publisher: 2K Games
Lead Design: Jordan Thomas
Year of release: 2010
Platform: Xbox360, Windows, Mac OS, Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
Setting: retrofuturism, alternate timeline, science Fiction
Genre (ludic): First Person Shooter
„Avec les anges si purs / La mer / Bergère d’azur, infinie (BioShock 2)“ weiterlesen