Follow-up to BioShock, 2K Games' critically acclaimed and commercially successful 2007 release, BioShock 2 is a first-person shooter set in the fictional underwater city of Rapture. As in the original game, BioShock 2 features a blend of fast-paced action, exploration and puzzle-solving as players follow varying paths through the overarching storyline based on the decisions that they are forced to make at various points in the game. In addition to a further fleshing out of the franchise's popular storyline, players can look forward to new characters, game mechanics, weapons, locations and a series first, multiplayer game options.
Set approximately 10 years after the events of the original BioShock, the halls of Rapture once again echo with sins of the past. Along the Atlantic coastline, a monster somehow familiar, yet still quite different from anything ever seen has been snatching little girls and bringing them back to the undersea city. It is a Big Sister, new denizens of Rapture who were once one of the forgotten little girls known as Little Sisters, known to inhabit the city's dank halls. No longer a pawn used to harvest ADAM, the dangerously powerful gene-altering lifeblood of Rapture, from the bodies of others and in turn run the risk of being harvested herself, the Big Sister is now the fastest and most powerful thing in Rapture. You, on the other hand are the very first Big Daddy, in fact the prototype, that for some reason has reactivated. You are similar to the Big Daddies familiar from the original BioShock, but also very different in that you possess free will and no memory of the events of the past ten years. The question is, as you travel through the decrepit and beautiful fallen city beneath the waves, hunting for answers and the solution to your own survival, are you really the hunter, or the hunted?
Customer Reviews:
 Bioshock 2 Review February 13, 2010
Mr. Luke Harrington (Cardiff, Wales)
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
Bioshock 2 is something of a difficult game you may think to review. Sequel to a game which many said needed no sequel. Pointless, not needed, not wanted by the fans etc. What more could it bring to the table? After having played the game extensively I can tell you it brings a lot. It has a host of refinements, improvements, and quite frankly is a game which taken as a whole, I think will struggle to be bested by any other game this year.
Set 10 years after the first game, in Bioshock 2 you play as subject Delta, the first Big Daddy to be successfully paired with a Little Sister. Delta wakes up in Rapture at the beginning with little recollection as to what has come before. All he has is an unshakeable urge to find and be reunited with his Little Sister. To complicate matters, Rapture has a new leader in the form of Sophia Lamb, a Psychiatrist who has managed to unite the Splicers under the banner of 'The Family', a twisted cult she uses to serve her will. It's a great set-up, and one which leads you further into Rapture meeting a host of interesting characters. More complex than you would normally expect from a video game story, and without the slightly perplexing and damaging twists that were found in Bioshock, the story is one of the numerous areas where Bioshock 2 shines. It won't be as highly praised as the story found in the first, primarily because Rapture isn't a new and unknown entity this time around. This is sad because it's definetly as good, if not better than the first.
When it comes to the gameplay itself, Bioshock 2 has certainly been improved. This is primarily due to the fact you are now a Big Daddy with the ability to dual wield weapons and plasmids, which makes for some hugely entertaining firefights and combat experimentation. Combat itself is also far more intense, and you will often find yourself far more overwhelmed than in the first game. This is no bad thing however, as the intensity never drops and you will find yourself excited from beginning to end. Control wise, Bioshock 2 is very smooth. It may not be as twitch perfect as other top shooters on the market such as Modern Warfare 2, but it actually works in the games favour. It's far more of a thinking mans FPS, with the ability to lay traps, call upon bots for help and dupe your enemies with the use of plasmids. As previously stated, it is very intense but you will never feel rushed or under so much pressure that you miss a shot, and if you do it's your own fault and not that of a faulty control setup.
The biggest, and most exciting addition to the gameplay though is the ability to use Little Sisters to harvest Adam from bodies. You first have to take down their own Big Daddy, and once that is done you are left with a choice of whether to harvest or adopt them. If you adopt them, you then take on the role of protector, and are able to Harvest dead bodies for Adam for use for upgrades. These scenes are where the game is at it's most intense, as you have to hold off gangs of Splicers intent on stealing that Little Sister from you. It's a very interesting role reversal of the Big Daddy fights from the first game, and one which I relished from beginning to end.
Perhaps the most well documented and hyped element of Bioshock 2 is the addition of the Big Sisters. Under the control of Sophia Lamb, the Big Sisters are beings who were once Little Sisters, who couldn't resist the call of Rapture even when returned to land. They are your toughest enemy and usually arrive when you have finished gathering Adam with you Little Sister. Lighter, faster, and more fear inducing than the Big Daddies, the fights you have with them are intense, but this is probably the games weakest new addition. Once you have upgraded enough, the Big Sisters, while still tough, become more of an annoyance rather than something you dread. They never become easy fights, but start to feel like a chore the more the game goes on.
The single player clocks in at about 10 hours, which feels ideal. Due to the multiple difficulties, vast array of Plasmids, and numerous different possible endings it is a game that is meant to be replayed. It doesn't outstay it's welcome, but still leaves you excited to replay it, one of the markers of a great game in my opinion.
Multiplayer is also a new, and rather infamous addition to the Bioshock franchise. Fans have maintained that Bioshock didn't need a multiplayer, that it was the single player story people loved the first game for. While this is true, the multiplayer is actually quite impressive. It borrows heavily from Call of Duty in it's ranking system, but due to it's use of Plasmids and setting, it still manages to feel unique. It actually plays like something of a next gen version of the Timesplitters multiplayer due to it's sense of humour and how frantic it is. It may not hold you for long, but it's definetly good enough to secure a large dedicated following.
Graphically, Bioshock 2 is on a par with the first, something of a dissapointment considering it's 2 and a half years since it was released. It still looks good, with beautiful water and lighting effects, but the unreal engine is starting to show it's age. Some of the textures are blurry and lacking in detail, and the game doesn't have any settings that break from the tradition set by the first game. It's not detrimental to the game, but if there is a third game released as planned, maybe they should try and overhaul the graphics engine.
So, what else is left to say? Well, it's a great game, the best of this year so far along with Mass Effect 2. I doubt many games will match it. Is it perfect? No. As well as the slightly ageing graphics, the game can definetly feel repetitive. About half way through you realise the game isn't going to throw any new gameplay scenarios your way, and you keep repeating the same sequences. It didn't bother me that much, but I imagine some will definetly dislike the recycled Little Sister sequences of capture, gather, release. And the Big Sister fights are something of a bore after a while.
However, Bioshock 2 is ultimately a superb game. Was a sequel needed? Not necessarily no. And I think a lot of the fans who adore the first one will go into the second determined to dislike it precisely for this reason. It does feel a bit familiar, and it worries me thinking how they are going to further delve into Rapture in the proposed third game. What more can they show us? That doesn't detract though from the sequel's achievements. It is an all round better game with an improved story and better, more intense gameplay. It is a great game, and one which shouldn't be knocked just because it's a sequel.
An exceptional sequel! February 9, 2010
Millenwagon (England)
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
I have been looking forward to this game since i first heard they were making it and I am not disappointed in any way. In fact.... I absolutely love it. I wont go into much detail about the story line because I dont want to spoil anything (but having just completed the game I can honestly say I enjoyerd it thoroughly and am looking forward to my second playthrough. There were nice little twists and some really epic moments, I was genuinely gutted when it was over) So I will focus more on the characters, gameplay, graphics and overall experience of playing.
Ten years have past since The fall of Andrew Ryan and we are back in Rapture, one of the most unique gaming environments you will ever experience. With it's dark and moody atmopshere and superb attention to detail it's hard not to appreciate just how much effort has gone into making this game. The graphics are really lovely, about the same as the first one only the characters and visual effects look better, the speckles of blood and water on your helmet look briliant. However, i must note the textures on some objects are not quite as crisp as they were in BioShock 1 making them look a little bland at times, but that's no reason to be put off. There is a nice little option to turn the helmet effect on or off to the gamers preference, the only difference is there are little edges in the corners of your screen which i found not to my liking so i simply turned it off so there are no obstructions what so ever.
The game plays and feels very similar to the first BioShock so veteran BioShock fans will feel right at home with the controls straight away, apart from the healing button that has changed from B to -> on the D pad which can be quite odd at first, but you soon get used to it.
A great feature in BioShock 2 is that you dont have to swap from your weapon hand to your plasmid hand, they're both right there on the screen which is so much better than before because you can dish out some real damage without having to slow the pace down.
The Single player starts out with a nice little cutscene letting us know what has roughly happened since the events of BioShock 1, and who you are and why you're here. You are Subject Delta, a prototype Big Daddy never to have been seen before, and I will just say how well he fits into the game and how much of an excellent character I feel he is. It is great fun and a nice refreshing change to play as a Big Daddy, it puts a whole new aspect of feel and play to the game particularly with rescuing little sisters. Rather than rescue or harvest, you now adopt her with the choice of either collecting some ADAM from corpses containing this much desired drug, or simply returning her to a sister vent, then you can harvest her or let her go. The ADAM collecting is quite fun and can have some pretty intense battles with swarming splicers trying their best to stop you and the Little Sister.
The weapons are brutally brilliant in BioShock 2 and can all be upgraded again at the weapon upgrade stations. The drill arm is so much fun to use, just drilling through the splicers torso never gets old! and if you run out of fuel you can simply whack them with a melee attack, and what is also nice is that you can melee with any of the weapons instead of just one (the wrench) from BioShock. I must say though I do miss the wrench simply for how fast it was, the melee attack on the weapons obviously is a touch slower, but does come in extremely handy when the splicers get too close for comfort (which does happen often when playing on hard mode)
The story is very in depth again, and all the characters and voice talents are top notch yet again, they really make this game what it is and BioShock 2 is another truly epic and gripping story which will make you keep wanting more and more! The game as a whole is much creepier than the first BioShock, and because Rapture is in such a dreadful state (much worse than before) it adds to it being even eerier. And the game comes with a whole new tension factor, the fights with the Big Sisters can be so intense at times it makes your heart start to race as you battle away with this acrobatic, plasmid abusing lunatic! These guys aren't too easy to beat when you're playing on hard mode, and I do recommend all players giving this difficulty a shot because it will make your game last longer and give you more of a challenge, and if it's too hard you can lower the difficulty at any time. Some other intense battles are when you first encounter a Brute Splicer. These guys look like 3 Arnies all morphed into one and they will do whatever it takes to defeat you. They're really dirty brawlers, throwing things at you and charging at you, they fight very similar to the bouncers from BioShock 1, only they're even faster and stronger!
We still have the Bouncer big daddy and the Rosie, and of course the alpha series (the test big daddys, which is what you are of course)and now there is a new Big Daddy called the Rumbler, but i wont give anything about him away, you will have to find out for yourself.
The multiplayer mode is great, very addictive, very VERY fun rather than frustrating and will prove to be a huge hit particularly with true BioShock fans. Particularly fun when you get to wear the big daddy suit, you can do some real damage when wearing it!
Anyway i'm rambling on now so to sum it up, this is an excellent sequel, possibly even better than the original game. It's not 100% perfect, but it's as good as it gets for me. I love it. And to all the people who are saying it is too similar to the first bioshock well... 90% of sequels are similar to their predecessors, they're not going to make a completely new and unique game all together, otherwise it wouldnt be a sequel it would be a brand new game. Bioshock 2 is an amazing sequel in my eyes and true Bioshock fans will love this.
Thanks for reading.
SIMPLY AWESOME February 17, 2010
Mr. Prem S. Heer (B'ham, UK)
When bioshock first arrived on the scene it was a huge success simply due to its refreshing new take and unique style on the FPS genre, backed up with a brilliant setting and a good story killing enemies has never been so much fun. When i heard i the sequel was coming i just had to pre-order, and boy i was not dissapointed. Essentially the setting is the same, so the formula that made the 1st game so successful is implemented again but with welcome changes which make it almost better than the 1st game. Firstly you play big daddy and thats mean you can enjoy unique big daddy weapons like the drill and rivet gun which serves to add even more infinite combinations on how to kill splicers and being a big daddy now means you can adopt a little sister and protect her from all rapture has to through at you while she extracts adam for you. secondly you can dual wield plasmids and firearms so there no need to waste time changing hands, thirdly there are new firearms and ammo types and even more ways to trap your enemies sending them to their doom, fourthly there are new and more challenging enemies most notably the big sisters and finally the game has a brilliant story and a great ending aswell a multiplayer mode with its own story-BRILLIANT!. In all its a fantastic sequel which is an absolute must have if you have the first but if dont own any of the bioshocks do yourself a favour and go and get them because there is no other FPS out there like this. The unique experiance this game offers is part the reason it scores a perfect 5/5. ps ignore any critics here because despites there dissapointments whatever they are there is still lots of fun to be had with this game. if you check actual game reviews and critics then you will find that it is been reviewed as equal or better than the first.
:) A lot of fun February 17, 2010
Mr. S. E. Mills
This game is great... provided you don't compare it to the first and overall is a good game
a cracker February 19, 2010
James Koppert (Scarborough England)
you know what, I've played video games for many years and this is just so well made. Great fun, great world and a game you wont be able to put down. Top banana, a proper corker
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The multiplayer mode features a completely different story and even developer
Will you save the Little Sisters or exploit them?
As a Big Daddy you can now venture outside of Rapture and onto the sea floor