14 DAY TRIAL // The upcoming BioShock game for the PlayStation Vita portable console will surprise fans of the series much like the incoming BioShock Infinite has when it was first revealed to the world.
Sony presented its impressive PlayStation Vita next-generation portable console at last month's E3 2011 convention and saw, besides the announcement of games from its own studios, like Uncharted: Golden Abyss, the promise of a BioShock game, made by franchise creator Ken Levine, of Irrational Studios.
Levine hasn't talked all that much about the BioShock Vita project up until now, preferring to focus on the upcoming BioShock Infinite, which is set to appear early next year on platforms like the PC, PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
He did talk with IGN, however, and confirmed that BioShock for the PlayStation Vita is going to " be strange and surprising to people," much in the same way that BioShock Infinite left fans when it was first presented to the world.
"I think when we launched Infinite, people said, 'Wait, what, what are you doing?'" Levine says. "I think we always want to surprise people. If I'm just saying, 'Here's BioShock 1 on Vita'... you don't need us to do that. Somebody could make that happen if they wanted that to happen."
BioShock for the PlayStation Vita is a custom, hardcore experience, built "from the groud up" for the Vita, according to Levine, and, while it may be a risky project, it allows him and his team at Irrational to really try out new things.
"For us, it's like, 'Hey, here's this weird experiment you want to do,'" Levine continued. "Experiments always carry risks, though. That's been the experience of working on BioShock Infinite. And working on BioShock. People saying, 'This is weird, risky, I don't understand.'"
The original BioShock impressed gamers with its fresh gameplay as well as deep narrative, set in the underwater city of Rapture, and saw the release of BioShock 2 after, continuing the story of the location after a few years.
Now, with BioShock Infinite, Levine shifts the action of the series completely, going into the past and focusing on a floating city called Columbia. The game is set to appear in spring 2012.