IAHGames

One of the issues I had with the first Bioshock was how long it took for the player to connect the main character to the overall story.  Its not till quite close to the end do you get the big reveal and personally for me, it was more of a “sure, of course that’s the route they’ll take” kind of moment. Not to say the story was altogether bad. It had a seamless blend of political intrigue, suspense and intrigue to keep you going, I just wished that it was delivered better.

Right off the bat, Bioshock 2 rectifies my personal gripe and establishes the setting and mood the entire game was to take from the get-go. Where you played a regular Joe turned Sylar (Yes that was a Heroes reference I just made) from the first game, the second game puts you in the very big shoes of a prototype Big Daddy called Subject Delta. After a rather revealing and surprising intro, you begin your play through several years later in search of your little sister Eleanor.

The game takes the time through various means to further flesh out the mythology of the Big Daddies and why they’re so attached to their Little Sisters, which does a great job at making the rather simple plot of locating your charge more poignant. As you progress, it becomes more apparent that the new antagonist, Sofia Lamb, while radically different from the totalitarian Andrew Ryan, was as much an extreme idealist and as dedicated to achieving her goals as the former. Throughout the game, you’ll hear Sofia’s voice, taunting you and rallying her people whom she adequately calls The Family to eradicate the ‘Beast in Iron’ – namely you. It seems that despite your innocent attempts at being reunited with your little sister, the people of Rapture have been brainwashed into believing Eleanor is the key to their salvation and will stop at nothing to prevent you from ruining it for them.

Even with all the revolution going on in Rapture, these guys still found the time to take a swim

So with the odds stacked against you, what’s a Big Daddy to do but bend the rules and take a taste of what caused Rapture’s downfall in the first place?

ADAM.

See her poking that poor sod with the syringe? That’s what this is all about. ADAM

Much like the previous game, not only are you able to obtain new abilities via the Gatherer’s Garden, but through gifts left behind by the Little Sisters you decided to save. All the familiar upgrade machines and vendors are back, and the one thing I’m happy to report is hacking these machines are more enjoyable now. Gone are the annoying puzzles that often left you with an exploded vein. Hacking a machine happens two ways now. You can either stand by it and hit the prompt button to activate a meter with a slider, where your only job is to make sure the meter stops in the green range (hint : hit the blues for free items) or you use your hacking tool to do it from a distance or launch darts that automatically do it for you. This is especially useful when you’re fighting a Big Sister and wander clueless into the view of security cameras. A quick shot there turns their angry eye from you to the unsuspecting Big Sister.

Hit the green bar and you’ll win a prize…or get electrocuted

And speaking of Big Sisters, be wary of them. They’re essentially Little Sisters grown up and the first occasion you meet one, let’s just say she does an excellent job at telling you just why you’re going to have a hell of a time battling her…  

The game does a wonderful job at making you feel overwhelmed by the zealous denizens of Rapture, even more so than the first game. After all, you’re a mean Big Daddy, you’re meant to be more badass than the juiced-up protagonist from before. Its rather sad then, that at no point in the game do you feel like you’re playing a Big Daddy. Sure, you’ve got a big drill attached to your right arm and the various other armaments available only to a Big Daddy, and you’re dual wielding sweet abilities from your left arm. You may be simultaneously fending off ten enemies coming at you from all sides, but rarely do you feel powerful.

Little did we know that Big Daddy is also a drunk. Beware of shaky camera

While you get to be strategic by placing mines as traps, it seems rather pointless that a fearsome thing created to protect the Little Sister from being abducted and drained off ADAM would require you to be ‘strategic’. No doubt you’re a prototype, but that’s no excuse for feeling about as powerful as the first guy from the previous game. While I applaud 2K for attempting to make gameplay more varied than your traditional shoot-and-run tactic, making it relevant to the character however, seems more than an oversight to me. 

My advice would be to stock up on health and EVE and any upgrades that give you more of those two. The game does a good job at providing you with more stuff than you carry but I always find it funny how I go into a fight fully stocked only to find out halfway that I’m totally out of shotgun bucks or my drill has ran out of fuel and I’m dangerously low on EVE.

But while these little grievances do annoy, they have a subliminal effect of making you feel that every drop is indeed precious and no matter how prepared you are, you’re bound to get surprised one way or another. Enemies are far more intelligent this time, working in tandem to attack you. Throw in a Brute and you’ll be lucky to come out of the fight unscathed. Some of my favorite moments have me defending my Little Sister from a horde of rampaging Splicers while she sucks the ADAM out of a corpse and have another Big Daddy with his Big Sister walk by only to view the attacking Splicers as a threat and join me in putting an end to them. And soon after they’re dead, you send your charge off to the nearest vent after releasing her or harvesting her and hunt down that Big Daddy, kill him and adopt his Little Sister. The circle of viciousness is complete and all is right with the world.

Big Daddy vs Big Daddy. Get ready for a cockfight. Wait, that didn’t sound right…

Finally got him to chill out though

Besides, having a Little Sister on your shoulder making remarks while you run around and kill Splicers is both amusing and rather cute! You forget that these girls are charged to do something truly tragic and are often the reason you pause when deciding if you’re going to rescue them or harvest them for more ADAM.

Decisions decisions decisions... If only real life was this simple

This Little Sister finally has a new Big Daddy to ride. Wow, that didn’t sound right either...

It’s random moments like these that really make progression a poignant and exhilarating thing. Wandering through the ruined passageways and rooms of Rapture is both creepy and beautiful. Those that could play the first game on maxed-out settings will be able to do so here and capture Rapture in all its intended glory. While not much has changed in terms of graphics and pastels, save the upgraded lighting and gorgeous new water effects, the game runs smoothly without much hiccups.

Now while single player is a valued addition to the Bioshock franchise, it’s inaugural multiplayer venture leaves a little to be desired.

Even on a high-powered rig and speedy internet, the lag you get from just five vs. five is unforgiving.  Players are able to enter their own lobby, which is essentially your own room where you get to customize your avatar and abilities before you head into the player lounge. Now customizing isn’t as robust as you’d expect it to be. Your only options are from the handful of models the game offers and what melee weapons he/she holds and if he/she is to wear a mask or not. You are able to obtain ADAM and purchase upgrades for use in future games and while you begin rather weak in your first match, you’d probably not have to endure dying too much if you keep at it.

The heading of ‘Customize your character’ seems rather premature with the options offered

While the multiplayer isn’t bad, it’s no Modern Warfare 2. With that said though, it is still fun and will provide hours of continued playtime long after you’re done with the campaign. It is a modest addition to what was a fervently requested mode. I can safely assume that for Bioshock 3,  multiplayer gameplay will be radically superior to its predecessor.

So if you’re thinking if you should get Bioshock 2, I’m here to tell you that if you liked the first game, you’ll LOVE the second game. 2K has improved on so much of what was great and revolutionary with the first game. This is a fine entry to the series and leaves your mouth watering for the next inevitable installment.

Got a sweet looking pad though, so all’s well and good