Bioshock 2 review

If someone asked me to describe Bioshock 2 in just a few words then “more of the same” would definitely be the first thing that sprung to mind, however given that the first title was one of the most unique games of it’s time that is certainly no bad thing.

Although I say Bioshock 2 doesn’t really cover any new ground, it certainly improves on the original ten fold thanks to the inclusion of bigger and badder enemies, a better combat system and some very tense moments during the levels where you get so engrossed it’s impossible to tell if this is all really happening before you eyes. The story in Rapture this time around sees you playing as a Big Daddy who is out to rescue your former little sister named Eleanor and escape this place. Unfortunately her Mother and Raptures new leader, Sophia Lamb is out to stop you and Eleanor and she has plenty at her disposal such is her grip over the Splicers she will command to attack you and her secret weapon, The Big Sisters, who are even harder to defeat than the Big Daddies who still wander Rapture guarding their own Little Sisters. Speaking of Little Sisters, as in the last game if you decide you would like to earn some Adam in order to gain new Plasmids or Upgrade your character in anyway you can still pick a fight with a wandering Big Daddy and then once you have taken care of him you have the moral choice of either harvesting the Little sister for maximum Adam or rescuing her. When you choose to rescue a Little Sister you can temporarily adopt her and then set out on a mission to harvest Adam rich corpses, this is done by following the Little Sister to the body and then placing her down to harvest the Adam, unfortunately though this attracts the attention of the Splicers and therefore you need to fight them off before you and your Little Sister become toast. The choice to kill the Little Sisters does become a moral one, but be careful how you choose. One of the most important parts of surviving in the new Rapture is the weapons and plasmids, Splicers and other creatures such as the all new and fierce Big Sister come at you from all angles, barley giving you time to react, therefore you need to be prepared and armed to the teeth. Thankfully you have both weapons and plasmids ready to go, therefore you can shock, freeze and blow away your foes with your plasmids and then finish them off in their disabled state with your machine gun, drill, rivet gun etc. One thing you do need to be careful of though is that you don’t run out of ammo for your weapons or juice for your plasmids, because when this happens you will more often than not find yourself returning to a Vita Chamber to start the last area you visited over again. As well as weapons your Big Daddy will also make use of some rather handy equipment, for example one item, a camera, has you take shots of your foe and then after a specific time it will research that creature and then give you hints on its weaknesses and how to defeat it. There are also First Aid kits, Food and Dollars to be found, the latter of which can be spent at the many machines which are spread around Rapture waiting for your visit. The vending machines are a major part of the game and you don’t always need money to use this due to your handy hacking skills. Hacking machines successfully is dependant on stopping an arrow on the green/blue areas that appear on the onscreen meter, stopping the area on the blue area will award you with free items, while stopping it on the green area will make items in the machine cheaper. Hacking also applies to things like Security cameras and Healing stations, which if hacked successfully will work for you and against the enemy, this is particularly handy when you fatally wound an enemy as they will run to heal themselves at the hacked healing station only to be poisoned instead. One of the main additions to the game is the new multiplayer mode, sure it’s an other online FPS shooter, but this is one with plenty of twists thanks to a gameplay style that only Bioshock knows how to do. Playing online in Rapture introduces you to game modes such as Capture the Sister, Last Splicer standing and Adam Grab which are all variation on classic multiplayer modes with a Bioshock twist. The multiplayer mode also introduces a reward system which will unlock new and more powerful plasmids and weapons the longer you play. Although the multiplayer is a welcome experience and the new Rapture is bigger and bolder than the first in terms of combat, enemies and adventure there is still part of me that thinks I’ve seen all of this before. Bioshock 2 is not a big step away from the original game and therefore some people, especially those who didn’t like the first may be put off by this. You’ve been to Rapture, but whether you want to go back or not will decide how much you would enjoy this title.

Rating: 8.5/10

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