Bioshock 2

BioShock 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Marin and Irrational Games for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles, and the Windows operating system. It is the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2007 video game BioShock.

Having not played the first Bioshock (save the demo available on the Playstation Network), I only had a vague idea of what to expect from this game. After inserting the disc, i sat through a near unbearably long installation screen, accompanied by some jazzy, nostalgic 50's music. I liked the music... not the installation time. But the game more than made up for this.

STORY

Bioshock 2 is set 8 years after the original, but the story begins 10 years before this. You play as Subject Delta, the fourth prototype Big Daddy, who is forced to commit suicide by Sophia Lamb, this games Antagonist. Lamb informs you that the Little Sister you are bonded to was formerly her daughter.

It picks up when Subject Delta is revived in a Vita-Chamber in the now run-down and chaotic dystopia of Rapture. He receives psychic pleas for help from Eleanor, his former Little Sister, setting the story in motion.

A lot of the back story of Rapture was unknown to me when i began the game, but through the use of collectible audio logs, main points were explained to me through characters words and I'd soon caught up with why Rapture was in the state that is was. The plot is fairly solid and introduces us to a few interesting characters and familiarizes us with our surroundings.

PRESENTATION

Bioshock 2 is set in the underwater dystopia of Rapture, a city once a gleaming paradise for individuals to flourish, now run down and mostly ruined underwater hell. Its inhabitants are mostly homicidal maniacs called Splicers, who have used Plasmids and Gene Tonics to modify their genetics.

The "steampunk" feel of the environment is created through the placement of 50's style items such as antique radios, alongside the security cameras, security bots and vending machines selling genetic upgrades. Posters can be seen on the walls which have a distinctly 50's style to them.

The player will often feel unsettled by the environment due to the dark corridors; i often found myself jumping at shadows cast by enemies against flames around the next corner. The disgusting appearance of your enemies, along with the sometimes dark and spooky environments in Rapture made the setting feel like a hell.

The graphics look great in this game, though not being the most "realistic" you'll see in video games. Then again, who wants THAT much realism in video games?
It has a sort of cartoon-ish style to it that works well, especially with the Splicers and their cartoon like personalities.
The graphics in the underwater sections also look stunning. I found myself just looking around, watching the wildlife as i journey to the next section.
I was in awe as a saw the shadow of a giant squid fly past me, or when i caught a glimpse of a Big Sister stalking me.

The sound effects in Bioshock 2 are extremely effective in immersing the player into the atmosphere; from the terrifying screeches of the Big Sisters, to the scurrying of a nearby but unseen Spider Slicer. Quite often, you'll also come across a 50's style radio which plays music of that era. It helps to keep the game in a certain time zone, but it also makes the environment that much creepier. The sound also helps to convey the players existence as Subject Delta, from the heaviness of your footsteps, to the sound of bullets ricocheting off your armor.

Strong voice acting lends believability and personality to the characters you interact with mostly through audio logs and radio communication, while an excellent score conveys the mood of this once gleaming paradise.



GAMEPLAY
I've played First Person shooters before; and when i picked up Bioshock 2 I didn't think it was going to be all that different to F.E.A.R 2 or games of that sort. I was pleased to find out that a) there were no creepy little girls (who were trying to kill me at least..) and b) there's a lot more to Bioshock 2 than most FPS's.

First of all, you play as a prototype Big Daddy; a being who many will remember from the first game as terrifying and amazingly strong "monsters". This is conveyed in Bioshock 2 through the amount of damage your character can take, and how powerful his melee attacks are, especially when equipped with the giant drill.
The drill feels amazingly powerful, and its fun to ram it into enemy splicers.

The controls in Bioshock 2 work rather well, allowing all the shoulder buttons for Weapon and plasmid selection and combat. Switching between the two has been eliminated; now both can be wielded at the same time, allowing for some fun combinations of weapon and plasmid combat. For example, using Winter Blast on an opponent, then Drill charging them and shattering them to pieces.

Fights in Bioshock 2 are always chaotic, the game giving you 5 types of splicers to come up against, as well as the occasional Big Daddy or Big Sister fight. When it comes to splicers there are melee based thugs, gun based Leadheads, Brutes, acrobatic Spiders and Houdini's (who can teleport and fling fireballs at you).

Enemy AI seems natural, Leadheads will try to shoot from cover, Spiders will drop from ceilings to startle you; and if any of them catch fire, they will run for water to put themselves out. This is always a good opportunity to zap them with a lightning bolt, which will help turn the environment into your weapon.

There are 8 available "weapons", but only 6 of them are actually weapons. You get your drill, rivet gun, machine gun, launcher, shotgun and the always entertaining spear gun. Each of these can be upgraded at "Power to the people" machines, which, sadly, may only be used once per machine. This means you have to choose your upgrades wisely.
There are also two non-lethal "weapons; the research camera: used for gaining upgrades against certain enemies; and the hack tool: used to hack bots and cameras.

There are also 11 plasmids to choose from, and about 55 gene tonics. Plasmids are active "superpowers" ranging from Fireball throwing (Incinerate!) or freeze blasts (winter blast), to Shooting bees from your wrists (swarm). Gene tonics are items that can be equipped to give your character background upgrades, like speed boosts.

All of that said, many players will find their perfect combination of Plasmids and weapon attacks, which makes many of the plasmids and gene tonics obsolete. Players may find that they're picking up ammo for guns they rarely use, because they already have a plan for all encounters.

An aspect of gameplay that keeps popping up is hacking. This "pseudo quick-time-event" has replaced the boring "plumbing" minigame from bioshock one, and has made hacking a little more challenging, but a lot quicker. Hacking has various purposes, such as reprogramming enemy bots to aid you, or getting free stuff and reduced prices at vending machines; but gets really repetitive.

Being a Big Daddy, your character is inside a pressurized diving suit, allowing him to survive on the ocean floor, if only for short periods of time. Walking around in this environment feels as if you're underwater; jumping feels nearly weightless, and guns/plasmids have been disabled, as they wouldn't work effectively in the environment.

MINOR SPOILER ALERT- Moral Choices

A core part of the gameplay seems to revolve around moral choices, whether or not to kill certain NPC's or to harvest or adopt Little Sisters. As with most games involving moral choice systems, they affect the outcome of the game. Being a jerk will get you the evil ending, while being a nice guy (with severely less powerful plasmids etc. i might add)will get you a happy ending.

Apparently there's some middle ground with the ending if you're only kind of a jerk, but being the power crazy meanie that i am, i got the evil ending. It seems a bit silly to give players these opportunities to make their character more powerful, then giving them the unhappy ending, but oh well.

Replayabilty
With the aforementioned moral choice systems, players may find the need to replay the single player game again to get the alternate ending. This could give them the chance to also change the way they play, as well as farm a few trophies or achievements. The amount of different plasmids and gene tonics makes gameplay extremely varied, and gives plays the chance to play whichever way they want.

There are also up to 100 audio logs to collect, which helps to reveal the back story of Rapture through personal accounts. The existence of these gives players an actual reason to explore the decaying paradise of Rapture again.

The multiplayer aspect of Bioshock 2 isn't nearly as strong as other games, such as Call of Duty, Halo, or Resistance; but it is quite unique, and has a story separate from the main single player story. It takes place in Rapture during the civil war; and players take the role of citizens who have signed up for Sinclair Solutions plasmid field research.

The playable characters all have a back story and have audio logs which help to reveal even more of the story. Gameplay in multiplayer is fun and chaotic, with players using weapons and plasmids against each other; and randomly appearing big daddy suits are available to the play who gets to it fastest.
Game modes include your standard Free-for-all and team deathmatch, but also Last Splicer standing, Turf War (king of the hill), Capture the Sister (capture the flag), ADAM grab and Team ADAM grab.

OVERVIEW
Bioshock 2 has an in depth story to tell; and it is woven seamlessly in with the ever changing gameplay that allows players to play how they want to. The path may be linear but how you travel that path is completely up to you.
Some aspects of gameplay get repetitive; such as hacking, or helping Little Sisters harvest ADAM, only to get attacked by a big sister after all encounters, whether you save the Sisters or harvest them.
Also, gameplay is interesting, but only if players find the need to try new things when battling enemies. If the same plasmid/weapon combos get used, it gets stale after a while. But that's all up to the player.
The presentation of this game is fantastic, and it really immerses you into the environment. However, graphics leave a little (and i mean very little) something to be desired.

Bioshock 2 is a fantastic game; anyone who enjoyed the first game will enjoy this one too. Anyone new to the world of Rapture may enjoy this too, if they're looking for an FPS with a twist. Its an extremely atmospheric environment and that was enough to draw me into the game (as well as the use of superpowers). It was an immersive roller coaster ride, taking players from (seemingly) abandoned, pitch black corridors, to chaotic battles with multiple Splicers.


As per usual, constructive criticism is encouraged... and i mean CONSTRUCTIVE. Saying something is pathetic is NOT constructive.

Thanks for reading =).