CP3S said:

The best time to read Atlas Shrugged is pretty much never. You're not going to get more out of the game by having read Atlas Shrugged or any of Ayn Rand's other books first. Yeah, it is a dystopian using a failed objectivist society as the backdrop, which is completely awesome, but as long as you have some grasp on the concepts of objectivism you're not going to miss out on that angle of the story.

Not to dis on Atlas Shrugged, it is just kind of a long tedious read, and it really isn't that great.

To offer a counter point- I really liked Atlas Shrugged. C3PX, I would think, is the target audience, so I'm surprised he didn't care for it... It is long and it takes a while to get going... but I think it makes a pretty compelling argument. And so much of what was ridiculed as "preposterous" in the book seems to be coming true around us. Especially the past several years.

I think it makes a better case for Objectivism than Fountainhead.

I think familiarity with Ayn Rand will enhance one's enjoyment of Bioshock 1 & 2. When I played BS1, it had been over 10 years since I had first/last read Atlas Shrugged. Playing the game convinced me to give it another read, which I'm glad I did. As an adult, I found I enjoyed it much more than I did when I was 13 or so.

In summary, you can do it either way. I think playing the game first is a fine approach.