BioShock: Hands-on with new area

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Bizarre underwater forest and advanced powers emerge from depths

Despite the lush environs, a claustrophobic dankness hangs over Arcadia. Perhaps the most stunning sight is a stand of stunted, glass-enshrouded redwoods sprouting eerily from the ocean floor. They are a perfect window into the psychology of Rapture's ultra-extropiantranshumanistswho disdain nature as a weakness to be overcome in the self-directed evolution of the powerful individual. They've taken the largest, most majestic living thing on earth and reduced it to a mechanistic carbon dioxide filter. This becomes a vital plot point in the ongoing civil strife that's ripping the city asunder.

Things indeed take a turn for the worse when Ryan, Rapture's founding father, mists the forest with toxins in an attempt to destroy the city's oxygen supply. He's the spoiled child who would rather break his toys than let someone else play with them. In order to save the city, you must construct a special formula and inject it into the misting system to counteract Ryan's poison. The components of the formula are scattered around Arcadia in regions like the winery, the farmers market, and a beekeeping area.