Follow-up to BioShock, 2K Games' critically acclaimed and commercially successful 2007 release, BioShock 2 is a first-person shooter set in the fictional underwater city of Rapture. As in the original game, BioShock 2 features a blend of fast-paced action, exploration and puzzle-solving as players follow varying paths through the overarching storyline based on the decisions that they are forced to make at various points in the game. In addition to a further fleshing out of the franchise's popular storyline, players can look forward to new characters, game mechanics, weapons, locations and a series first, multiplayer game options.
Set approximately 10 years after the events of the original BioShock, the halls of Rapture once again echo with sins of the past. Along the Atlantic coastline, a monster ? somehow familiar, yet still quite different from anything ever seen ? has been snatching little girls and bringing them back to the undersea city. It is a Big Sister, new denizens of Rapture who were once one of the forgotten little girls known as Little Sisters, known to inhabit the city's dank halls. No longer a pawn used to harvest ADAM, the dangerously powerful gene-altering lifeblood of Rapture, from the bodies of others and in turn run the risk of being harvested herself, the Big Sister is now the fastest and most powerful thing in Rapture. You, on the other hand are the very first Big Daddy, in fact the prototype, that for some reason has reactivated. You are similar to the Big Daddies familiar from the original BioShock, but also very different in that you possess free will and no memory of the events of the past ten years. The question is, as you travel through the decrepit and beautiful fallen city beneath the waves, hunting for answers and the solution to your own survival, are you really the hunter, or the hunted? Gameplay and Multiplayer In BioShock 2 players will take on the role of the original Big Daddy, not that of game one protagonist, Jack. As a Big Daddy you will have access to all the strengths and weapons of a standard Big Daddy, including the drill and rivet gun. More importantly you also possess free will and the ability to use plasmids and gene tonics ? genetic modifications allowed for through ADAM, a stem cell harvested from conquered enemies, or sea slugs outside the Rapture air lock, and powered by the in-game injectable serum known as EVE, which can be found, captured or purchased. Plasmids and gene tonics provide a wide range of aggressive and passive abilities which can be upgraded and arranged for quick use. The ability to use plasmids and tonics gives you a decided edge over other Big Daddies and most other denizens of Rapture, excluding the powerful Big Sisters. In addition, due to their role as a Big Daddy, players will experience a new relation to the Little Sisters. Upon defeating standard Big Daddys you are given the familiar choice as to whether to harvest or adopt them. Harvesting gains you ADAM immediately, but could alter your path through the game, while adopting makes you responsible for Little Sisters, who then accompany you through Rapture, but also provide aid and warning in times of danger. Additional gameplay features include: new plasmids, weapons and the ability to combine these two. The game also features the anticipated multiplayer modes. Several of these are team-based, allowing up to 10 players. Within these players are provided with a rich prequel experience that expands the origins of the BioShock fiction, and allows you to play as one of several characters pulled from Rapture's history before the events of the first game. Key Features
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53 of 63 people found the following review helpful: = Fun: Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Bioshock 2 (Video Game) I was a bit apprehensive about getting this game - I knew for fact that I'd get it, since I loved the original so much, but I was worried that the absence of Ken Levine would be too obvious on its story. However, I kinda ignored the voice in the back of my head, and decided to get the game anyway. When the 'more of the same' reviews started coming in, I wasn't disappointed; I loved the original game enough not to mind going through a very similar the game again (I played through Bioshock two or three times; each time finding something new in the game, or the story).
The beginning of Bioshock 2 seemed promising. It's certainly impossible to top the beginning of BS1 (the whole segment up to the exit from the bathysphere is classic), but there was a lot of promise in the presentation of the new antagonist of the game, including the shrines you find here and there, and the occasional communist drivel she spouts. Once you reach near the end, however, you begin to realize that...Read more 63 of 80 people found the following review helpful: By = Fun: This review is from: Bioshock 2 (Video Game) Bioshock, when it came out 2 years ago, completely reinvented the way I'd played first person shooters (I had never played System Shock 2). Diving into the sea, into a world eerily familiar to mid-20th century America was one of the most blindingly original, involving experiences I ever had with a controller. My main problem with Bioshock 2 is that this feeling of originality never returns. Despite what the designers do, this new main villain Sofia Lamb just doesn't strike the same terror at Andrew Ryan did and fighting splicers and other big daddies from the other perspective- that of a big daddy--just isn't as exciting or new as i would expect. The game feels so much like more of the same, and for that I give it fun factor of 5, because it builds on a brilliant foundation, but overall i feel its lack of originality compared to the original earns it only 4.
As an addendum-- I can find no issue technically with the game- I think it's running on the same Unreal...Read more 7 of 7 people found the following review helpful: = Fun: This review is from: Bioshock 2 (Video Game) By now, there's not much new to be said about BioShock 2. No, it isn't as good as the first game, but honestly I don't know if any game is as good as the first BioShock. No, Ken Levine wasn't involved, and to some extent that's evident; or, more precisely, it's evident why he didn't feel compelled to explore Rapture further.
The premise of BioShock 2 isn't exactly new, since it's basically a reversal of the previous game. If BS1 explored a world powered by objectivism and capitalism, BS2 shows the city fallen into the hands of socialists. From a socioeconomic standpoint, it's an intriguing exploration of the evils of both sides, and a necessary response to the first game in that respect. Also, the dynamic of using plasmids and weapons simultaneously is incredibly useful and is something you will miss if you play a normal shooter afterwards. Multiplayer, despite its complete brokenness, was fun, and honestly it's a shame that no one plays it because I'd love to jump back...Read more |