Bioshock 2

Review from Jae - Saturday, 13 February 2010 @ 9:36am

Having only just finished Bioshock 1 a week prior to 2’s release I thought it best to get right into the sequel with a fresh mind on the story of Rapture, an under water world where everyone is hyped up on supernatural abilities. It gives me a good sense of reference and comparison from the first title released back in ’07. This time you’re a different character than your first trip to Rapture three years ago or ten years ago if you’re going by the storyline. You wake up after an incident (which I don’t think is worth spoiling) and you have now been made into a big daddy. You goal is to locate your daughter, Elanor, who is seemingly becoming a little sister.

Your pyro fix for the day

2K has kept with its strengths and refined them to give you the best experience in a story driven FPS. The first Bioshock was the best FPS game I had played since the original Metroid Prime. The environment and voice acting stand out a cut above the rest, even better than that of some top tier movies. The story this time comes from a different angle. You get introduced to a familiar face at the beginning of the game and voice recordings of some of the other characters from before, apart from that everyone else is from a fresh new coat of well told story paint. Your new nemesis is Sophia Lamb, the Tony Abbot of Rapture, who is hell bent on releasing ADAM to the rest of the world. She experiments on a bunch of new test subjects including your daughter Elanor. Unlike many other games you will want to capture every part of the story in Bioshock 2, by listening to tape recordings and the public address system. If you’re a big fan of the first game you’ll hear many references to it like the “WYK” key.

Looking back at Bioshock 2, after completing it, there were some worthy and some not-so worthy additions. The weapons and plasmids don’t really differ from that of the first game. All the guns seem to just be slight variations with the ammunition being the only real differences. For your spear gun you can get rocket spears which are like a sticky bomb. They’re the perfect weapon combined with an ice plasmid especially on the harder enemies. The way in which you hack has changed too, gone are the pipe linking puzzles and in its place is a odometer where a needle moves across a spectrum of green, blue and red. Aim for the blue to get free items in vending machines and avoid the red as that sounds the alarms. I like the change in hacking this time round and also the fact that you can hack and move around as to avoid gun fire. So instead of pausing whilst you hack you have to juggle shoot outs too. It's not as convoluted as it sounds and has to be played to understand how well it works. The new plasmids are few and far between. I still stuck with the staple fire and ice ones however new ones were introduced such as the outer body experience. You can take a ghostly version of yourself into an unknown room and release a plasmid on unsuspecting foes or use it to scout out any dangers up ahead. There is also one very cool plasmid towards the end that you will want to use as much as you can.

Every apolocalyptic game needs a cult

Don’t get me wrong, 2K Marin and 2K Australia have done a great job in creating a sequel but I can’t help but sit here waiting for the punchline or that extra something to make it a leap forward from the first. Graphically there have been improvements albeit slightly and nothing to boast about. The game centers around story and atmosphere so regardless of the improvements in visuals it still makes you feel like you really are in an under water world based in the the 1960’s.

I only ever feared the first big sister I met. Every time you finish harvesting or rescuing all the little sisters in a level a big sister comes your way. The intense music when she’s about to arrive really sets the scene well but once you realised you have enough health, plasmids and weapons to take her out you can breeze through it. Vita Chambers can be exploited once again but be warned, there is an achievement for finishing the game without ever dying. If you're an experienced FPS player I suggest aiming for that on your first play through.

Controls were almost identical to the first except the health pack button has now moved to make way for the new melee attack. A bad move in my opinion as the health pack button now defaulted to the right direction on the D-pad. When you’re in the heat of battle you’ll find your right thumb extends over the controller to hit the right d-pad direction as your left thumb is busy steering you away from danger. I would’ve thought this could be picked up on a play test and changed so that it comes back onto the four face buttons. It could’ve done away with the jump button which was unnecessary. Everyone knows big daddys can’t jump. Your right handed drill, the iconic Big Daddy tool, is immensely powerful. It was the first weapon I upgraded to the max and it comes it very handy especially when you get the ability to drill and charge at your opponents.

Big sisters are doing it for themselves

Playing this game on normal mode was surprisingly easy. I used the occasional vita chamber, the game’s re-spawning point when you die, but I never really ran out of money or ammo. I did enjoy freezing splicers and drilling them into the ether, meaning I had an abundance of ammo. The main thing to remember is that this is an explorative FPS. Checking every nook and cranny for that extra ammo or health makes all the difference when it comes to heated battles. If you’re thinking of playing Bioshock 2 without having experienced the first that isn’t really a problem. I would suggest that you try and get through the first game as there is so much more you can understand and familiarise with when you hit up the sequel.

Many would say that a game like Bioshock doesn’t need multiplayer. After playing through the single player story I think it warrants building a multiplayer component as it really brings in that value for money feel. You begin by creating a splicer character and some basic weapons and plasmids. As you play the many modes that are variations of deathmatch, last survivor, capture the flag (or in this case the little sister) and domination, you will build up in level. The higher your level the more weapons and plasmids there are at your disposal. I quite like multiplayer and I think that it works really well for that rainy day when all you want to do is set someone on fire or send a swarm of bees after an enemy.

A question I now pose is where will the series go for an inevitable threequel,? Will they go back before 1958 to a time where there was order in Rapture or will they move ahead in a scenario where plasmids spread to a country or island? In either case I’m excited to see where 2K take the franchise and will get my fill of Rapture though some of the upcoming DLC. If you liked and played the original Bioshock this is sure to please. For everyone else would you kindly go and get both games so that you can immerse yourself in the wonderful world of Rapture where dreams and nightmares come true.

Pros

Engaging atmosphere and a refinement on all the great traits of Bioshock 1.
Multiplayer works well as a level building mode.
Voice acting puts many movies to shame.

Cons

Not enough new quality plasmids and weapon ranges.
Default right D-pad direct for health just didn't fit right.