Bioshock 2: A Review (and my first!)

To my surprise, I found that I am the only person amongst my immediate gamer-friends to buy Bioshock 2. Although I may be a bit disappointed in several of you (ahem… 3N3MY), I consider it a privilege to have played it and to be the one to write a review on it. So, without further ado…..

I had very high expectations going into this after the phenomenal experience I had with Bio1. Plus, no matter how this game ended, it could only get better after how the first one ended. Those who have played it know exactly what I mean. Right from the beginning you get the feeling that the developers understood they had something great in the first one and that change is not necessarily a good thing. And that is essentially what you get: more of the same. I'll try and summarize my feelings in different sections and do my best not to give away anything (don't worry, I'm just kidding)

Gameplay: More of the same is exactly what you get. It feels like Bioshock except you are a Big Daddy from the get-go. I'll admit that I was worried about this going into it but luckily it works. The only time your really get a feel for your size is during jumping or falling. They made two major improvements to the controls: 1. they removed the Eve Hypo and Health Pack button mapping from the standard A,B,X,Y (don't remember exactly which it was), preventing you from accidentally wasting all of your stash. You can still use them but it is done when holding down the weapon or plasmid selection screen and pressing a button (or pressing right on the d-pad for health). 2. THEY ADDED A MELEE BUTTON!!!!! The last thing I want to mention in terms of gameplay is they fixed that damned camera from the first one. It is still there but a hell of a lot better. It is now in the form of a movie camera that doesn't require to scavenge for film. You equip it as you would have the original, but once you click it, the game automatically switches you back to your weapon and you then get research points based off of how it was killed. It's very unobtrusive, and since it isn't plot essential, it never becomes a nuisance.

Graphics: The game looks amazing, but unless I would do a side-by-side comparison, I would say without hesitation that the Bio1 and 2 look almost exactly the same. I'm sure there are some details, draw distance, texters, etc that are increased but I didn't notice.

Plasmids: I give this a separate category because of how significant they are to the game itself. All the plasmids from Bio1 are back with only one new being added (that I could find). The biggest change is that as you upgrade them, a new power/feature is unlocked. For example, the Electro Bolt plasmid upgrades from your standard electrical shock to chain lightening and finally to what I will only refer to as "The Emperor". I was pretty disappointed in the choices but the upgrades easily made up for this.

Story: My opinion of the story is still uncertain. In short, it was good. The ending.... a lot better than Bio1. What I was looking forward to the most was to be shocked and awed by the twists that were constantly thrown at you in the first one. Bio2 definitely has its moments including 3 different times where I could have sworn I was heading into the final events of the game only to have it open up into another task or even an entire new level. What this game was missing was the sinister characters like Sander Cohen and Andrew Ryan. Although Ryan is present throughout the game in the Audio Diaries, the main antagonist, Sophia Lamb, lacks.... something. You just don't find yourself drawn/attached to her as you were to Ryan. Also, the other character bad guys you find in the different levels just don't have the same feel as Cohen did in the Bio1. One of them specifically I killed without even realizing I was fighting him (sigh... could have been such a good character too). What makes the story so great is how they dive into the history of the Big Daddies and their attachment to the Little Sisters. They way this unfolds throughout the game really makes you feel for your character and the Big Daddies in both games. I won't say much about the Big Sisters besides that they are AWESOME.

In summary, I really enjoyed the game and I definitely recommend it to anyone. Its a FPS that actually is focused on telling a story. It had its moments, and I left feeling very satisfied with the experience. As for the Multiplayer.... I have played 2 games so far and it is very different. I will write more on that after I have played more. But from the bit I've played you can tell it was made by another developer but not so much that it doesn't feel like Bioshock.

Oh, one last thing... the music in this is phenomenal.

Play-through time: 23hrs.