Bioshock 2, the sequel to one of most compelling shooters within the last decade. Like any sequel of any great game I wondered what sort of improvements would they make to the game. There were a couple things that caught my eye, but none like the reveal that your character is a big daddy. Yeah, that is something for sure, so now let’s get going and see what is like to walk in the boots of a big daddy.

Story

Now, you play as a big daddy, and as you learn later, a rather important big daddy. You are Subject Delta, who is on a personal quest through rapture to reunite with his little sister, who is also important. Now, unfortunately, the characters that you encounter throughout the story aren’t very interesting compared to the first game. I even found the main antagonist to be less intimidating in her radio messages than Andrew Ryan or Fontaine. I felt that her radio messages were rather irritating to listen since I felt she shoved her philosophy more than Andrew Ryan did. However, I do still think her goal was certainly admirable, though her way of doing so is certainly horrible. Unfortunately, despite the story being primarily about Subject Delta reuniting with his little sister, it isn’t until the climax that I actually felt a real connection with her. But, a story in a modern game must be supported by its visuals.

Graphics

Not much has changed since the first game. The environmental graphics haven’t really improved much at all, but the character models have certainly improved since the first game. Splicers are less ugly, well in terms of graphics anyway, and the Little Sisters look a lot more realistic compared to their predecessors. Also an improvement is the fact the NPCs that you meet throughout the story all have their own character models. This really helps to identify them from the splicers, unlike the first game where most NPC models just used splicer models. However, a game’s presentation isn’t supported by just its visuals, but also its audio.

Sound

Like the previous game, Bioshock 2 does rather well in the sound department. Sound effects are well designed, voice acting is good, and music is well done. However, Like the first game, this game’s music only really presents itself during loading screens, fight scenes and key moments. However, the music is beautifully done with feelings of intensity and sorrow. Next, I’ll explain how well done the gameplay is.

Gameplay

Bioshock 2 is a first person shooter like its predecessor, however, it does make some changes. First and foremost is the feature of dual wielding both your weapon and plasmid, which means you shoot your gun and fire your plasmid simultaneously. Speaking of plasmids, those have been improved, as the upgrades have additional effects beyond increased damage (ex: Electro Bolt 2 has a chain lightning effect). Even the plasmids that had no upgrades in the previous game have upgrades that are actually pretty good (ex: Security Command 2 lets you summon a security bot). Another improvement is that you only have to buy one type of gene tonic slots, instead of the three in the previous game. And in regards to gene tonics, I didn’t find much of them to be incredibly useful. Power to the people machines return with an additional special effect upgrade for a weapon that was upgraded twice before (ex: a fully upgraded rivet gun gets a fire damage effect). The overall speed of reloading weapons and refilling eve has been increased, and also considering that you no longer need to switch between weapon and plasmid due to the duel wielding feature. You may also now, thank goodness, melee with any weapon, which, to me, makes your default melee weapon useless. While most of these changes and additions are welcome, there are others that I found unwelcoming. First is that hacking is no longer a puzzle instead it’s just a dumb feature of press the button so the needle lands on green/blue. This complete rehash of the hacking mechanic takes away all of the challenge of hacking. The research camera comes back, but as video camera instead. As the camera films a targeted enemy, you have a limited amount of time to use a variety of attacks on the enemy. Each combination will contribute to the research point that you earn, and like the first game’s camera, you’ll be awarded when the meter is filled. Now, while my brother enjoyed this research camera, I found it an annoying and unnecessary change to the camera. Collecting ADAM has also changed, you can still harvest little sisters, or, being a big daddy, adopt them. Adoption lets you carry a little sister, who will show you the way to corpses containing ADAM. Once the corpse is found you may set the little sister down so she may start extract the ADAM. However, splicers will come in waves when she starts and it’s up to you to defend her until she’s finished. But you shouldn’t have much trouble with it since splicer A.I. is dumb. Once a little sister extracts all of the bodies available to her, she’ll need to be returned to a vent. At the vent you may choose to harvest her or save her, which works exactly the same as it was in the first game. However, once you take care of all of the little sisters in an area, beware, for the big sister comes for you. Big sister is fast, hardy, and can use plasmid and can heal herself using nearby splicers. In fact, she is the toughest enemy in the game, making the new splicer, and the new big daddies look like chumps. Killing a big sister will earn you more ADAM, and earns a step closer to earning a gift from the little sisters. While this new system of earning ADAM is rather creative, it is also very repetitive.

Bioshock 2 wasn’t as good as the first game, in fact, I found it a chore to get through. There are no moments ever in the game that made think that this is awesome. As well the changes made to the game, such as the duel wielding and improved plasmids, made the previous game’s toughest enemies, the big daddies, seem like chumps in this one. Furthermore is that none of the areas in the game are very interesting; no Fort Frolic for you! Bioshock 2 shows that rapture isn’t worth revisiting.

Supergamer :  Your layout prevents me from seeing almost half of your review. 

cnw64 : trust me, I've seen far worse layouts for reviews than that one. I for one can read the entire review just fine.

Supergamer : As far as your review goes, I think you did a very good job. You added plenty of detail and you organized the review nicely. I also find the fact that you put the story category first is interesting. Most reviews I've seen go in the usual order of graphics, sound, addictiveness, story, depth, and difficulty. Overall this is a great review.

cnw64 : a trick: just hit reply and the layout disappears. That's what I do in order not to get too distracted by layouts and gifs.

As for the review itself: Loved it! I'm not into shoot-everything-in-sight games, and I got lost in a few of the details, but I can clearly tell that you had reservations. Can't wait for your next review!