Back in August of 2007 2K Games released BioShock, a title that took the gaming market by storm and had Xbox 360 and PC owners busy playing for hours a day. It garnered wide critical acclaim and was considered the best game of 2007. Even to this day it holds its own against more recent releases. It’s been almost three years, two and a half to be exact, but in the second month of this year fans of the first title have finally got what they’ve longed and waited for. The sequel to BioShock; titled simply as BioShock 2.

 

When news of a sequel first broke out there were generally two responses. Either A) “YES! YES! YES!” or B) “NOOO they’ll ruin BioShock just let it be!”. Fans joined sides and set against each other to defend and argue over their decided anger or joy. While news and details continued to seep out with ideas of a prequel to the first story and the player taking the role of a Big Daddy, fans began to switch sides to oppose their original argument. Those who were first against a sequel were now excited about a prequel to the story and the chance to play as one of the behemoth protectors of the Little Sisters. While on the contrary, fans who were originally all for a sequel were having second thoughts, not caring much for a prequel but wanting a true sequel. Regardless of which side anyone was on though, opposed to or in favor of a second title, I think it’s safe to say that everyone gave their “O” face during their first glimpse of the Big Sister images.

 

 

But enough about what was and on to what is. The return to Rapture was imminent. Whether you were a hater of the idea or a supporter of it, it’s now here. The city of Rapture in all its broke-down and ruined glory opens its doors and welcomes you for another thrilling adventure in the deepest trenches of a vast ocean. But keep in mind your last visit, and be sure to remember the dangers that lurked your first exploration here. It may have been ten years since you last stepped in what was a ruined city with inhabitants that were killing each other, a society that was ending by their own cause. But instead of dying out they’re still here. They’ve grown stronger under the guidance of a new leader; a new lord, and new threats now await your presence. You may think you’ll have the advantage with your new role as a Big Daddy. But you are now the monster to those who used to be one to you. And ‘The Family’ don’t take kindly to your kind, Delta. Oh no, ‘The Family’ sure don’t.

 

Okay so, way-too-long intro out of the way, lets get down to business. BioShock 2 plays and feels a lot like the first one. Anyone who’s played BioShock will immediately realize the similarities. It’s definitely a familiar experience, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As I said earlier, BioShock still contends and holds its own against more recent games. So instead of trying to fix something that isn’t broken, as the old expression goes, 2K Marin instead opted to make a few tweaks here and there to deliver a new experience while still making you feel right at home. The main gameplay is still the same, and still fun and addicting! A few things have been changed though, and those that have are definitely for the better.

 

 

One of the main improvements in BioShock 2 is the ability to now have both your active plasmid and your active weapon ready in each hand. You no longer have to switch back and forth between electrocuting an enemy and then shooting them down while they’re paralyzed. Instead it’s as simple as left-trigger for plasmid, and right-trigger for weapon. So no more of that irritating swapping that plagued you in BioShock. Another slight update is the way you succeed in hacking something. Instead of going through the little mini-game with the pipes, you now do a real-time challenge in which you have to stop the needle on a specific color-coded point a few times to do a successful hack. Green indicates success; red is failure that will sound the alarms; blue will earn you a bonus; and a blank spot is basically failure but without the alarm going off. Choose when you decide to attempt hacking wisely though. As it is real-time, meaning if your enemies are around you they will still attack you while you’re at work.

 

Another nice tweak of improvement is to your way of researching data. For those of you who have played the first game, you may remember having a snapshot camera for use in this task. It was slightly awkward to handle at times. Trying to avoid enemy fire while snapping single photos. But in BioShock 2, your dinky little snapshot has now been upgraded to a video-recorder. You simply equip it for a second, hit the trigger once while aiming at an enemy, and then immediately switch to a combat weapon to engage in battle. While the fight goes on and you kick ass, everything is being recorded and your data is being gathered. Simple as that. The abilities of plasmids have also been approved. While they may be the same ol’ ones you overused in the first game, making you feel slightly disappointed, they redeem themselves with the new functions they receive when upgraded. Fully upgrading them to the final tier can make for some great attacks and entertaining antics, my personal favorite being the Insect Swarm plasmid. Once it’s upgraded all the way enemies killed by the swarms will become a nested host for the insects that will shoot out more stingers at any other enemies who walk by. Great stuff!

 

 

All of the original enemies from the first game are back, along with some new ones as well. You’ll see all the familiar Splicers that attack you with melee and assorted fire-arm weapons, as well as the genetically enhanced and very creepy Spider Splicer. One of the new enemies in BioShock 2 would be the Brute Splicers, who I would say are sort of like the Tank from Left 4 Dead both in appearance and characteristics. It’s a big disfigured looking Splicer that charges repeatedly at you with a ramming attack once you’re spotted. He’ll also tend to run away every now and then to find something to throw at you. There are also some new variations of the Big Daddy as well. You’ll encounter different types as you progress through the game. And of course there’s the Big Sister. A lot different from a Big Daddy and very unique in her own right. These female versions of the Big Daddy are incredibly agile, fast, and can use some pretty mean plasmids. When you hear her screeching calls echoing throughout the halls of your surrounding areas, you better take it as a warning to prepare for an encounter with her. As this is one vixen you don’t want to run in to while low on supplies.

 

Another new feature to the gameplay of BioShock 2 is the choice to now adopt a Little Sister after choosing to attack and destroy their current Big Daddy. Since you’re a Big Daddy you now have the ability to do so, and once you do, you’re able to use her as a scout to track down and load up on some ADAM. Which you will find yourself doing a lot so you can upgrade your plasmids and purchase some tonics, which you have a wonderful selection to choose from. Finding the ADAM is easy, but the hard part is successfully getting it. The Little Sister sure does take her time in retrieving it, and while she is doing this task, it attracts all the Splicers who want it for themselves. So while she’s busy with that you have to fend off the Splicers and defend her until she’s finished. After successfully retrieving two doses of ADAM, you can take her “home”. There you’ll have the option of harvesting her, or saving her and sending her back as a normal girl again. Just like in the first game. Remember though, every action has a consequence that changes the direction of your story. You’ll encounter choices like this a lot in BioShock 2 as you progress and the story unfolds. Will you choose to be true to the monster that everyone sees you as? Or will you prove them wrong by showing compassion and traits of a thinking process? The choice is yours, Delta.

 

 

That mostly covers everything as far as gameplay goes. There really wasn’t much to improve on from the first game. But the few slight “faults” that were there have been adjusted for the better. So with the gameplay aspect of things covered we can now move on to the graphics of the game. The style stays true to the first game, which of course is great and was to be expected. However, there really hasn’t been any improvement here. Of course the first game was visually stunning and is still one of the best looking titles on the Xbox 360 to date, so most people probably weren’t expecting much change in this category anyway. Not surpassing it’s predecessor definitely doesn’t mean the graphics in BioShock 2 are in any way bad though. Everything from the walls, halls, and various knick-knacks and items scattered around to the underwater views, enemies, and attacks are detailed amazingly and can easily be appreciated as a fine work of art.

 

The sound and music to the game is all top-notch. Everything works very well together to set an eerie tone to everywhere you go. The creaking and groaning help to suck you in to the setting and make you really feel the experience of being in a ruined city that’s been left in shambles. The distant shrieks and shouts you hear make sure you always know you aren’t alone, keeping you on the edge of paranoia of unseen enemies. The growing whispers, talking and faint footsteps will have you turning in all directions to spot who they belong to. Sounds will also help you remember just what you are. Your footsteps are much heavier and louder. Melee attacks will clang against your body, and bullets will bounce off with a metal against metal sound as they fail to embed in to your armor. The voice acting is all fantastic as well, giving each person you meet that holds a name to their face their own unique character that fits very well with their voice. Even the audio logs are all very well done. And of course the memorable golden oldies of music that were played in the first BioShock are back with some new hits that mesh in with your surroundings to send chills down your spine as it creates an undoubtedly eerie environment.

 

 

So we’ve covered the gameplay, graphics and sound of the game. We’re mostly done but there are still a few things left to go over. One of these said things being very important to the lasting appeal of the game. With BioShock 2 comes the inclusion of a game mode that was left out of the first one. Multiplayer. That’s right. The second title in the series has what is usually the first thing someone will ask about for a new game. Respectively of course, as it is an important factor to the amount of time you can invest in a game before it loses its appeal. It’s also interesting to note that the multiplayer mode of the game is actually set before the events of the first game. So while the single-player campaign mode in BioShock 2 is set ten years after the first game, the multiplayer game mode is in the past. What’s also a nice feature to this is that it holds it’s own little story to tell.

 

Surprisingly, the multiplayer mode to BioShock 2 is actually very well done and quite fun. It has a lot of what you’d hope for in a multiplayer mode. Features that are similar to the popular Modern Warfare multiplayer even. Some nice levels and a rank-up feature, as well as some cinematics even to give it its own unique take on multiplayer. As you progress and rank up, new weapons and Plasmids will be unlocked and the story of the Rapture civil war will be told. You’ll have 6 different characters to choose from, unless you have the 2 pre-order bonus ones, and 7 game modes to play. Survival of the Fittest is your regular Free-For-All, while Civil War is your Team Death-match mode. There’s also Capture the Sister(Capture the Flag) and a few other unique ones. So all in all, Multiplayer is definitely a nice addition to BioShock 2 that is very well done and expands the lasting appeal of the game. It’s currently very active on Xbox Live, and while it’s too early to tell if that will always be the case, I wouldn’t be surprised if it does indeed continue to stay strong.

 

 

So I think that about wraps up this review. We’ve gone over all the different aspects of the game and I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with each one. Every category in this game was developed very well and helped establish this game as one of the best so far in 2010. Everything is simply top notch. The visuals and graphics; sound and music; gameplay; characters and emotion. Nothing ceased to amaze and there is certainly no disappointment. There have been a high number of First-Person Shooters recently. But BioShock 2 offers what few others do. It rids you of the generic soldier or space marine storyline and bland characters in favor of a story that unfolds wonderfully with surprising twists and turns. It establishes a true sense of right and wrong to make your decisions count but also makes it tough to figure out which decision truly is the right one to choose. Do you act as the monster they all claim you to be? Or do you let go of your own personal feelings towards those who’ve wronged you to show that you’re far more than just another Big Daddy? That’s what BioShock 2 is all about.

 

Overall this is an amazing game with fun and addicting gameplay, an exciting story that keeps you entertained throughout all of it’s progression, and a memorable setting with characters that you won’t forget. I give this title a 9/10. A must have for almost any gamer!