It’s obvious when embargoes are lifted in the game industry, as nearly every video game site under the sun suddenly posts the same derivative article at approximately the same time. Embargoes are a scourge, a powerplay by the Publisher’s PR arm handling a video game, which serves no positive purpose for anyone involved. It dillutes the media for gaming sites and compresses the exposure of a game into a single day.

I mean, how many BioShock 2 previews do we need posted on a single day? You’d think a publisher would want the exposure spread out over time, keeping the brand in your head up till the day of release, but no. PR teams think it best that previews all hit on the same day. Worse, the various sites are more than willing to play along, willingly giving up whatever power they may have had. [The whole industry is so controlled by publishers that there is essentially no choice. No access = no info = no audience. Only totalitarian governments have more of a stranglehold over the media that covers them. If any of our readers have a solution as to how principled journalists and site owners can change the state of things and still remain financially viable, please let us know and we'll share your thoughts with the rest of our audience. -Ed.]

Let’s take a gander at which sites played the embargo game today, offering up essentially the same content as everyone else:

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I thought the first BioShock was pretty lame in terms of gameplay design, so I’m hoping BioShock 2 rights the wrongs of the original and actually delivers on its promises.  My helpful advice would be: figure out some way to dispense weapons other than a vending machine, okay? The idea that people just walk up to a vending machine and buy weapons in an underwater “utopia” is, frankly, the epitome of lazy design. It ranks up there with finding med-kits in crates.

Details about BioShock 2 are slowly coming to light, thanks to advance copies of Game Informer finding its way into the hands of eager leakers. Here’s what we know so far:

• Big Daddy is being retired and will be replaced by a Big Sister.
• Rapture is almost entirely under water, while the game will feature some underwater diving excursions.
• Expect to see some “spliced” psycho animals in the Zoo level.
• Players will be able to hack dogs and robots to assist in your adventures.
• The Soviets will be after you.