Game Review - Bioshock 2

Name: Bioshock 2

Console: PS3/Xbox 360/PC (Xbox 360 Reviewed)

Bioshock 2 was even more of an anomaly than the original for me.

Playing as Big Daddy was appealing until I played the penultimate section of the original Bioshock.

The idea of a continuous escort quest in the style of that mission sounded terrible.

Thankfully that's not how it plays... entirely...

I will say that, like Bioshock, I played a little bit of this before being slightly put off. I wasn't sure why but after going through it fully I can finally reveal what that thing is.

Let's talk about it.

STORY TIIIME!!!!

The story this time is a little more straight forward.

We play as Delta, a prototype Big Daddy. I'm going to address various issues as we go along so let's start with that, "prototype Big Daddy".

The only addresses what this means from a narrative sense. They can only latch onto one Little Sister for good meaning that if they're too far apart or if the Little Sister is harmed then the Big Daddy suffers. Also the original Big Daddies retain their independence, with the exception of having to follow their Little Sister's command, basically allowing us to play a game...

I feel like that the concept is a bit of a missed opportunity in this regard considering the themes of slavery in the previous game.

Back on track, our Little Sister, Elinor, has been kidnapped by her biological Mother. It's up to us to get her back and stop her nefarious Mother in the process.

The events of the game take place after Bioshock, which is possible thanks to a bullet to the head leading to a comma at the start of the game.

Thanks to this we get to see a run down... run down Rapture.

Thanks to our exploits in the original game Rapture is no longer just a big mess but on the brink of bursting.

sections of the game are submerged or in the process of being flooded entirely. It's pretty cool to be honest.

For the most part the story is pretty by the numbers. I wasn't really expecting anything as deep as the previous entry but the characters involved were pretty fun. Although Sophia Lamb doesn't hold a candle to the Ryan VS Fontaine fiasco but her motives are clear and she's not an unpleasant antagonist.

It's nice to see some characters stick through with you until the end and others take a change to good.

The endings, for the most part remain the same as that of the original with the exception of you influencing Elinor's decisions rather than that of your own character, they're fine but retain the same issues as the previous entry, a lot of build up for a short end.

GAMEPLAY TIIIME!!!!

I believe this game's biggest missed opportunity is its premise not affecting the gameplay. We ARE a Big Daddy now but nothing feels different. We have a drill now which is cool but a drill serves the same purpose as the wrench, just like the rivet and assault rifle serve the same purpose as the pistol and machine gun. I'll say that they're more satisfying to use than its predecessor but I can't help but say that after 10 hours of gameplay I felt like I played a glorified expansion to the original.

I do, however, find Bioshock's combat to addictive along with satisfaction whenever I accomplish my goals or surviving a horde. This thankfully carries over with a major exception.

I mentioned that this game avoids my fear of it being a wave based escort mission, like that of Bioshock penultimate chapter, however it doesn't avoid it entirely. Little Sister's can now collect Adam on your behalf now, making the reward for rescuing them or harvesting them bigger. The downside to this is that you have to do two harvest sections for each Little Sister to gain the most Adam, meaning that portions of the game do play like that one mission...

At first I was somewhat okay with this until a mission crops up where you have to remove three Little Sisters to progress with the story. Do you have to do these harvest missions? No. But I didn't want to risk a difficulty spike thanks to ignoring an optional and somewhat tedious section of the game.

Six waves of goons later, and the longest mission in the series yet, and I felt fatigued from to game.

This would've been another issue if the game didn't wrap up its story in the proceeding few hours.

I went from wanting the game to end thanks to a dumb design choice to wondering where the brakes went as I slammed against the wall that was the game's ending...

On my Twitter page I made it no secret in how I felt this game was shorter than expected and I fear that the feeling comes from the same issue as the previous game, a rushed last act. The only difference is that the rush starts midway through the game's second act, making it feel like a Steven Moffat show where the build up is excellent but in fear of stepping over the allocated time given the last two thirds are devoted to "making it up as they go along".

The last few missions become chaotic thanks to this.

PRESENTATION TIIIME!!!

For the most part, my thoughts on this game's look and feel are similar to that of the first however I couldn't help but think after an hour in that the game was trying a "best off" list in terms of its presentation.

Levels somehow felt wide and open yet small and tight all at the same time with outside areas acting more like tight back allies and inside building felt like lobbies.

Each time I travelled to a new location I couldn't help but feel slightly cross-eyed as the areas sort of Frankensteined together instead of feeling distinct like the previous game.

The soundtrack mimicked elements of the original as well except they felt a little soulless here because it was done before.

I'll say that the natural return to Rapture was a noteworthy moment, and something that I believe can compete with the previous game's opening, however we are the flung into a interactive slideshow of areas before the game hands over the reigns officially.

Something that I haven't mentioned yet are the Big Sisters, which act as this game's mini-bosses. After collecting all of the Little Sisters in an area a prompt will appear to notify you that a Big Sister is on her way.

The design looks impressive but they're not as memorable as the Big Daddies ominous glow.

CONCLUSION TIIIIME!!!

In short, everything that made the previous game great still applies here however the game feels like it's that one kid who has tracing paper and tries to draw the Moana Lisa with the Grand Canyon in the background. Both are well renown things but slamming them together doesn't make me turn my head and applause. I know that they both existed before Timmy got out his crayons. There's no originality to this and, once again, it feels like an extension to the previous game.

It feels like what Bioshock would've been with another 10 hours tacked on to an already 11 hour tight experience.

The roller-coaster was fun but I kinda got bored towards the end.

Doesn't make it bad, just not distinct enough for me to say it was great.

SCORE: 7/10 - A fun addition to the original Bioshock with no new ground struck.