It’s obvious when embargoes are lifted in the game industry, as every videogame site under the sun suddenly posts the same derivative article at approximately the same time. Embargoes are a scourge, a powerplay by the P.R. department handling a videogame, 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. P.R. hacks 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.

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

Wired: First Look: BioShock 2 Takes Bold Trip to Rapture

Loot Ninja:  Eyes-On Preview: BioShock 2

CVG: BioShock: Behind the Scenes

Worthplaying: Preview – BioShock 2

Gamespy: Thrills, Drills, and Blood Spills in Rapture

ShackNews: BioShock 2 Impressions: Seeing and Dreaming

Kotaku: BioShock 2 Impressions: Spoilers? What Spoilers?

Destructoid: Preview: BioShock 2

G4TV: BioShock 2 First Impressions

Escapist Magazine: BioShock 2 Preview

Joystiq: Joystiq Impressions: BioShock 2

Good work, boys.

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.