[360/PS3/PC] Bioshock 2 Review

[DoctorFinger]

Bioshock 2 Review

Title - Bioshock 2
Platform - Xbox 360. Also Available for Playstation 3 & PC.
Developers - 2K Marin, 2K Australia, 2K China, Digital Extremes,
Publisher - 2K Games
ESRB Rating - M (Mature)
MSRP - $59.95 (360/PS3); $49.95 (PC)
Editor - Michael "DoctorFinger" Chauvet

What's Hot: Pretty much everything you loved from the original Bioshock is back in the sequel. Ability to use Plasmids and weapons at the same time allows for some really fun combinations.

What's Not: Multiplayer is a bit bland. Little innovation. Boss fights are a problem

The old saw says you can never go home again, but what if 'home' is an underwater utopia turned dystopia populated by genetically altered freaks who hurl lightning? Does the axiom still apply? That is the question posed by Bioshock 2, the sequel to 2007's critical darling, Bioshock.

More than almost any game in recent memory, the original Bioshock was praised for its story and setting. The failed underwater utopia of Rapture, a paean to the Ayn Rand-ian ideals of self-sufficiency and determination, was as much a character as its creator, the megalomaniacal Andrew Ryan. The sequel returns to Rapture a decade later, with a new philosophy ascendant on the ocean floor. This time the antagonist of the game is Sofia Lamb, a collectivist who takes that philosophy to some disturbing extremes. In the 10 years since Jack (your character from the original) left Rapture, things have continued to go downhill. This time around you play as Subject Delta, one of the early model Big Daddies who has lain dormant for more than a decade. Why you were dormant and why you awoke are key elements to the story, which I won't spoil here.

The game revolves completely around the Svengali of the 'Rapture Family' Sofia Lamb and her daughter Eleanor. Eleanor was turned into a Little Sister and bonded with Delta, and your driving urge is to reunite with her. Sofia has other plans. You'll hear both Sofia and Eleanor a lot during the game, as they both try and prod you in one direction or another. As you progress you'll find message recorders which add a ton of backstory and flavor to the goings on, but they're all optional. And of course the game still revolves around ADAM, the substance gathered from the dead which the denizens of Rapture are addicted to. The Little Sisters of the original have grown up and in doing so have become aggressive Big Sisters. To replace them Sofia has sent the Big Sisters to the surface to capture new little girls to turn into Little Sisters and keep the cycle going. Minor twists and shocks abound in the story, but thankfully the developers didn't feel the need to top the big twist of Bioshock 1.

Yes, I'm crazy enough to shoot a fire with a pistol!

Gamers familiar with the original will feel right at home with the sequel. Most everything is just how you remember it. Most of the Plasmids - magic-like abilities bestowed upon the player through the wonders of genetic splicing - are straight out of the original, as are the majority of the weapons. However, there is one big change you'll see right up front: dual wielding. Now you can fire weapons and plasmids at the same time. Which is good, because you'll be fighting some pretty large scale battles in this one. Individual splicers - the base enemies of the game - are rarely a challenge, but just a few can really wear you down. But not nearly as fast as the heavy hitters in the game: the Brute Splicers, Big Daddies, Alpha Series and the lightning fast Big Sisters. While you'll develop strategies for taking them on individually, none of them are pushovers, especially when they're not alone. Interestingly there are really no boss battles in the game at all. The Big Sisters, Big Daddies and some of the mobs you fight at the end are tough, but there are no bosses. Considering that the bosses in the original were its weakest point, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the change of pace a boss battle could bring was noticeable.

Delta himself offers you a wide variety of options as to how you play. You get Tonics, which grant constant bonuses like faster hacking, reduced damage and the ability to heal while standing in water. None of the bonuses are too strong, but they can let you tailor your game a little. Weapons likewise offer some choices. Seven of the eight weapons in the game - all but the iconic Drill - offer alternate ammunition, some of which differ drastically from the norm. Traps, auto turrets and armor piercing rounds are just some of the death dealing goodies you'll enjoy. The Plasmids offer similar flexibility. Pure damage dealers like Incinerate and Shock operate more indirect options like Decoy and Telekinesis. I found myself using just a couple almost exclusively, but whether this is a balancing issue or pure preference I can't say.

The fallen Utopia

You have a fair bit of flexibility in how you play, but the game itself is mostly linear. You enter a new area (usually by some sort of train) and have to work through the environs to clear the path forward. Unlike Bioshock 1, once you leave a level, you can't return. This actually streamlines things a bit, since you know you won't have to trek across the whole game to pick up one widget you missed. And in any case, the levels themselves are pretty large and expansive, so the change is a positive one. Then there are the Little Sisters. If you kill a Big Daddy escorting one on of these creepy little girls, you can choose to either escort them on their search for more ADAM, or immediately harvest them for a quick fix. If you choose to escort them, you get more ADAM in the long run, but you have to deal with a flood of enemies while the Sister harvests from a corpse. Each Sister can harvest twice, at which point you get another choice: save them and get a little bonus ADAM, or harvest and get more of a bonanza. The choices you make here will determine which ending you get, although none of the endings are "wrong". The frantic fights while the Little Sister harvests ADAM are some of the tougher ones in the game, with long streams of enemies coming at you from all sides. This is in stark contrast with the Big Daddy and Big Sister fights, which are one on one contests and play out much differently.

One aspect which I'm sure will become a flashpoint with fans is the Research Camera. Take a picture of an enemy, and the camera will "rate" how you fight him, with added points for novel and original takedowns. Points accrued this way go towards a variety of bonuses and even new Plasmids and Tonics. Use the same method too often and you won't accrue points too quickly. You only have to use the camera once in the game, but the wise player uses it quite a bit.

Big Sister is watching. And trying to stab you in the head with a needle

Difficulty wise, the game really isn't very tough, at least on normal mode. If you die, you're revived almost instantly at the nearest Vita Chamber, with your Little Sister (if you're escorting one) right there for you to pick up. While you make your way back to the point of your death the enemies you were fighting have taken the opportunity to heal, but the penalty for death is very small. Mostly the Vita Chambers serve to streamline the experience, trimming the time normally spent loading an old save to zero. Of course you can turn the Vita Chambers off for a more...challenging experience. But personally it just wasn't fun, in large part because the game's auto-save feature only kicks in when you move from one "level" to another. If you choose to turn off the Vita Chambers, be sure to save manually. A lot.

The biggest new addition to the game is the multiplayer mode. Developed independent of the campaign by Digital Extremes (Dark Sector, Unreal Championship) the MP is set before the events of the original game, during the Fall of Rapture. This minor shift in the timeline explains how you have multiple combatants running around environments which haven't fallen completely apart. While the MP portion isn't bad, it is uninspired and bland. You choose loadouts of Plasmids, weapons and Tonics, unlocking new ones as you gain experience (which they call ADAM). You can hack turrets and vending machines to damage unwary opponents, all the while flinging around gouts of flame and balls of ice. You can even stand over the downed corpse of an enemy and "research" them with your camera, gaining bonuses to damage against them until they kill you. Occasionally a Big Daddy suit is dropped into the proceedings, giving one player a power boost but preventing you from using Plasmids. Everything in the multiplayer works, but nothing manages to stand out. Maybe it becomes more engrossing at higher levels when there are more customization options open, but as it stands there's little reason to play it long enough to get to those goodies.

Big Daddy with a Big Gun

Presentation wise 2K Marin and crew saw a good thing and decided not to screw with it too much. The visuals hew very close to the original; the art deco style and overall retro-future feel are still in each and every room. The ability to walk on the ocean floor and see Rapture from the outside is a nice touch. Enemies you encounter have a nice visual variety, and suitably creepy animations. They're also usually pretty mouthy, which is another nice touch. The animations on the Big Sisters really give the impression that they're just gangly teen girls who haven't quite grown into their bodies, even while they telekinetically hurl boulders at you. The city itself is even more decaying, with more coral and barnacles sprinkled throughout. The audio for the game is also top notch: haunting sounds of creepy Little Sisters juxtaposed with big band swing music. Rushing water playing counternotes to the clomping bulk of a Big Daddy.

While it never quite achieves the lofty heights of the original, Bioshock 2 is a very good game in its own right. But its greatest strength is also its greatest fault; it never really strays from the path laid down by Bioshock 1. In doing so you get a lot more of what made that game great, but almost nothing new or terribly innovative. The multiplayer was a nice attempt, but the results are bland and forgettable.

Score: (4 out of 5 Cogs)


Michael says, "Ultimately Bioshock 2 is a very entertaining and engrossing game, which never quite manages to recapture the magic of the original. Recommended, but not a game of the year contender."

[torrefaction]

Most of the main points of review? I agree.

But I find myself surprisingly taken in by the multiplayer in Bioshock. It's much better in Civil War and Capture the Little Sister. No real difference than Capture the Flag or Territories, but I find the powers make it interesting..

Actually, in a lot of ways, it reminds me of Shadowrun. Maybe with a bit more options, but a little less in the outright fun it was to teleport and fly and shit.

[Wilkz07]

the multiplayer is fun when you can get into a game. why can't i choose a mode and have it search for available games? Why do I have to sit there and wait for people to join before starting?

[Hawkzombie]

Originally Posted by torrefaction

Most of the main points of review? I agree.

But I find myself surprisingly taken in by the multiplayer in Bioshock. It's much better in Civil War and Capture the Little Sister. No real difference than Capture the Flag or Territories, but I find the powers make it interesting..

Actually, in a lot of ways, it reminds me of Shadowrun. Maybe with a bit more options, but a little less in the outright fun it was to teleport and fly and shit.

Wait...did you just admit to enjoying that abomination?

[torrefaction]

Originally Posted by Hawkzombie

Wait...did you just admit to enjoying that abomination?

Shadowrun was an awesome game, that just so happened to have nothing to do with the Shadowrun universe.

[Gerbs]

Originally Posted by torrefaction

Actually, in a lot of ways, it reminds me of Shadowrun. Maybe with a bit more options, but a little less in the outright fun it was to teleport and fly and shit.

I felt the same during my time playing MP. MP seems to be a like it or leave it affair. I felt it was good enough to play through to the cap, and was generally interesting trying out combos. Netcode was a bit spotty at times, and the lockups were a pain. We need more online FPS + magic power games.

Great review Doc, I can't fault you for not liking the MP.

[JayK47]

Hoping this is on sale for $5 on Steam this holiday season.

[Mike Kelehan]

I liked the way with COG's previous reviews, the news item linking to the review would contain a summary of the review. It was a nice alternative to the stick-and-carrot of other sites.

[DoctorFinger]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelehan

I liked the way with COG's previous reviews, the news item linking to the review would contain a summary of the review. It was a nice alternative to the stick-and-carrot of other sites.

I prefer to use what's known in the biz as a "tease".

[BlackPete]

Gah... I really really hate Kotaku for pointing out that once you can see Bomberman in that cover, you can't unsee it. Now it's all I can see

[torrefaction]

Well, I'm gonna play some MP. Anyone feels like joining me, and I haven't got ya already...

Surprisingly enough, I'm torrefaction on XBL.

[AgtFox]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelehan

I liked the way with COG's previous reviews, the news item linking to the review would contain a summary of the review. It was a nice alternative to the stick-and-carrot of other sites.

I think I might be the only one that does that. Since about 50% of the reviews are written by me it probably looks more of a standard and is weird when you see something else. I always feel the reviewer should make the post however they want, although I do enjoy doing it the way you are talking about.

[Talanvor]

I'll have to try out the MP when I finish the SP part.

I think the review is pretty spot on, it's a good game and I'm enjoying it, but going back to Rapture doesn't have the same feeling as it did the first time.

[bryan]

So if you turn off the Vita-Chambers, then normal is challenging?

[menage]

I'm actually quite surprised with how much fun I'm having with the game. It may not be the high brow classic that 1 was, but in actual combat and gameplay it does top 1 a bit. GOTY it s not, but it's easely just as much fun as AC2 was or something. Just a great sequel to a masterpiece.

MP is the second game after UC2 I'm actually going to sink time in, just because anyone can actually play it besides the usual crowd who always kill me in games like COD or something. It may lack finsesse, but it's still a riot. Reminds me of Timsplitters.

[DoctorFinger]

Originally Posted by bryan

So if you turn off the Vita-Chambers, then normal is challenging?

More like annoying. The game only auto saves when you change hub areas. So you either have to constantly save manually or you end up doing the same area a bunch of times. The fights themselves don't really get any tougher w/o the Chambers, they just make the game a drag.

[Dukefrukem]

Too high a grade for it's summary conclusion.

While it never quite achieves the lofty heights of the original, Bioshock 2 is a very good game in its own right. But its greatest strength is also its greatest fault; it never really strays from the path laid down by Bioshock 1. In doing so you get a lot more of what made that game great, but almost nothing new or terribly innovative.

[DoctorFinger]

Originally Posted by Dukefrukem

Too high a grade for it's summary conclusion.

Not really. It's a truly entertaining game to play the whole way through; I never got to a point where I thought "damn, I wish this section would just be over already". The lack of innovation is what keeps it from getting a 4.5 or a 5, but I enjoyed it tremendously, so it gets a 4.

[Vermillion]

Try going through the hardest difficulty without vita chambers. PitA! But it's definitely the way the game should be played, because normal difficulty is far to easy and this way you really feel the need to fight for your life. I appreciate the reviewers stating what difficulty they played on, but I'd like to see it in the summation of the review at the top too along with the platform played on. That lets me put the review in a better context instead of getting half way through it and going "oh, he only played it on easy"...

My main complaint is that I never feel like a giant lumbering big daddy. There is no "thud" to my movement and I move too quickly and nimbly. I think the big daddy in the MP feels more like it should, as there are subtle but noticable differences.

The MP can be a blast. It is MUCH better than I thought it would be.

[torrefaction]

Keep in mind, you're not a full on big daddy. You're Delta, and if my inferences from the game are correct very similar to

Minor Spoiler:

Alpha Models