Game of the Month Review: Bioshock 2

By Barffly79

When Bioshock 2 was announced, I was a little apprehensive about the quality of the final product. It was not being developed by the same team, and it seemed like it was too soon after the first game’s release for a decent sequel to be published by the allotted deadline. The commercial and critical success of the first title set lofty expectations for the sequel, and I was worried that 2K Marin would not be able to deliver. Luckily for Bioshock fans the world over, the new creative team came through and gave us a solid follow-up to the first title.

Bioshock 2’s story picks up ten years after the events of the first game. Many fans wanted a prequel to the first game, and 2K Marin has cleverly skirted this line. The introduction to your character occurs before the events of the first title. You are playing as Subject Delta, the first Alpha Series Big Daddy to be successfully bonded to a Little Sister. After a quick act of betrayal, Delta awakens from a coma ten years after the fall of Andrew Ryan. Your goal: Track down your Little Sister through Rapture’s ruined halls and pair back up with her before you sink into a coma and die. The catch? Your Little Sister happens to be daughter of Sophia Lamb, Rapture’s new boss and the one responsible for you being in a coma in the first place.

From here, it’s up to you to make your way from one end of the city to the other. Like the first game, the narrative plays out as you are given objectives to complete. You spend most of the time following a tycoon named Augusta Sinclair through the city towards Lamb’s home. He used to be Andrew Ryan’s primary troubleshooter, and now he’s trying to scratch out whatever wealth he can salvage from Rapture before escaping. Brigid Tannenbaum also makes a brief appearance, and her accent is still frustratingly nebulous. She’s only involved briefly though, so that’s still only a minor gripe. Bioshock 2 also adds a new narrative element. You still have the audio diaries to fill in the back story, but NPCs are handled a little differently. As you play through the story, you will be given the choice to either kill or spare certain antagonists. Your decisions in these situations affect the ending you get, as well as immediate benefits if you choose to be merciful.

Overall, the story is not as strong this time around. Where Bioshock explored the philosophical ramifications of a Utopian society fueled by unregulated free enterprise, the sequel tackles the similar dystopian failings of a collectivist society. Lamb has built a cult following upon the Atlantic floor, and the result has turned out to be just as bleak. There isn’t open war in Rapture anymore, but its denizens’ lot has not gotten any better. Crazed splicers still roam the halls fighting over Adam. Food is scarce, and fresh corpses still litter the blood-soaked floors. There are some differences; the city is even more run down and there’s different graffiti on the walls. But in all it’s a similar feel as the first game.

What’s lacking are those “gotcha” moments and genuine, cinematic set-pieces that made the first games so memorable. There are a few; the first to-the-death fight with the Big Sister (more on her later), a few moments involving flooding, a very disturbing section towards the endgame that I won’t ruin. But there were fewer moments that reached out and grabbed me like Bioshock’s meeting Dr. Steinman, the death of Dr. Langford, or the demented head games of Sander Cohen. Bioshock 2’s story is still strong enough on its own merits, but it didn’t have the same impact as the first. Of course, a lot of this can be attributed to the fact that the game’s concept, in itself, is not new to us. It doesn’t wow you because you’ve been there before, like the subsequent ring worlds in the Halo sequels. Additionally, Sophia Lamb herself is not as intriguing a villain as Andrew Ryan and (especially) Frank Fontaine. I did like the philosophical arc the developers were driving at with the sequel; free enterprise versus collectivism, argued through some of the audio diaries in the game.

Finally, some aspects of the narrative don’t quite mesh with the timeline from the first game. The events in the diaries supposedly happen alongside the back story leading to Rapture’s fall, but there’s no mention of Sophia Lamb in the first game.

GAMEPLAY

If the narrative fell short compared to the first, the changes in game play mechanics make Bioshock 2 a worthy sequel. Simply put, if Bioshock had included the combat mechanics of its sequel, it would have been the greatest FPS since Half-life, if not all time. 2K Marin reworked the combat mechanics just enough to give Bioshock a shot in the arm, while maintaining the unique tactical opportunities that the plasmids and weapons have to offer. The game still plays as a traditional FPS with some RPG elements. You have the ability to switch between your weapons and plasmids with the bumpers. You can hold the bumper down, pausing the game to bring up a radial selection menu. But the major improvement is the ability to equip a plasmid and a weapon simultaneously. By dual-wielding all the time, it is a lot easier to fire off plasmid / weapon combos.

The weapons are fairly similar to the ones in the first game. There’s a machine gun, shotgun, rivet gun (pistol), grenade launcher and spear gun (basically the crossbow from the first game). The chemical launcher has been removed, which I can somewhat agree with. It was far too easy to take down a Big Daddy with the electric gel. Each weapon still has two alternate ammo types, and each weapon can be upgraded three times with the Power to the People stations. Overall the shooting mechanics are the same, but it’s the new weapons that give Bioshock 2 some fun combat options.

First, there’s the hack tool. You can still hack security, doors, and vending machines by immobilizing them and moving close, but the hack tool lets you do it from a distance. Shoot a hack dart into an object and then retreat out of its range while out of sight. Since hacking occurs in real-time, this can be a crucial survival tactic. Of course, this means you can also take damage while hacking, so it’s definitely risk versus reward. Personally, I liked the old hacking mini-game better than the timed button presses that are used in Bioshock 2, but the hack tool’s advantages outweigh that preference.

Secondly, you have the Big Daddy’s drill. This replaces the wrench as your standard melee weapon. There’s fuel lying all over the place for it, and it’s pretty satisfying to gore a splicer with it. You get the drill charge attack fairly early on, and it’s a lot of fun sending enemies flying across the room.

The plasmids are improved as well. You can now charge the upgraded ones up with varying effects. For example, charged lightning attacks can arc from enemy to enemy. The target decoy plasmid will reflect damage back at the attacker at higher levels. And each of your “elemental” plasmids, Electro Bolt, Winter Blast, and Incinerate, can be charged to make a continuous stream at their highest levels. This is similar to the Chemical Thrower effects from the first game. They’re useful attacks, but they burn through Eve very quickly. I also liked the Cyclone Trap at level 2. I thought this Plasmid was fairly useless in the first game, but now you can combine other Plasmids with it to create different effects. It’s extremely valuable when you have to gather Eve from a corpse.

The other large revision to Bioshock’s gameplay is how it handles gathering Adam. You no longer have to just kill a Big Daddy to get the chance to harvest or rescue a Little Sister. You still have to take down the big guy to get to her, but now you have the chance to adopt her. Once done, you can then track down Adam-stuffed corpses for her to drain. This is not as simple as it sounds, as the harvest will attract wave after wave of splicers. You’ll have to recon the area and set up defenses before doing so, which can lead to some pretty hectic and awesome set-piece battles. Once you’ve finished two harvests, you then return to one of the vents to either rescue or harvest the Little sister herself. You get less Adam immediately for rescuing them, but it evens out through the gifts the Sisters will leave after several rescues. The harvest option is still rightfully disturbing, and it still has the obscured, green fog death screen when you extract the Adam slug. I have actually read complaints online about how this is not graphic enough. If you are one of these people, seek psychological help. Immediately.

Finally, there is the Big Sister herself. Apart from a few scripted sequences, you will not encounter her until you’ve “dealt” with the last Little Sister on each level. I was a little disappointed by this predictability; the previews I read implied it would be more random. On the other hand, it is nice knowing when this fight will come because you can pick a tactically advantageous vent to set up your defense around. Big Sister is a tough fight, and every advantage you can scrap together will help. She’s fast, agile, and uses telekinesis and pyrokinesis to lethal effect. By knowing that you can pick when you want to fight her, you can stock up on supplies before the battle. If you’re going for the Big Brass Balls achievement (beating the game on hard with Vita Chambers turned off), make it a habit to save before you fight her.

GRAPHICS

Bioshock 2 continues the art-deco tradition of the first game. The water effects are still excellent, and new touches, like barnacles and rust, add some new visual flair to Rapture. The weapon and character models are detailed. They look functional, like real tools and weapons you would expect to see. The enemies are even more grotesque this time around, but it still boils down to a few kinds of splicers and Big Daddies to fight. Some of the same texture pop-ins occur, but not as often.

SOUND

The sound is still excellent. The weapon effects sound authentic and the voice-acting is still top notch. Rapture still has a creaky atmosphere that uses ambient sound to great effect. The score is moody and tense, with appropriate cues at important plot points. Popular music from the period is also used to eerie effect. Like most of Bioshock 2, the sound design does not make any great departures or evolutionary leaps from the first game, but it consistently carries on the spirit of its successor.

MULTIPLAYER

I haven’t played the multiplayer in Bioshock 2 yet and there’s a reason for that. It’s not to say that it’s bad all around. They use an interesting premise for it that actually ties into the overall narrative; you’re a plasmid test subject in the events leading up to the first game’s civil war. You start with very limited weapon and plasmid options and have to earn upgrades by leveling up. This seems to be the norm for competitive shooters nowadays, and it’s not necessarily good for casual online players like me. It is fun in short bursts, but I simply do not have the patience to get my ass kicked repeatedly by higher level users with superior equipment while trying to grind my way to the better equipment.

The plasmids and weapons work like their single-player counterparts, albeit to lesser effect. You can still hack turrets to work for you, though they are horrible at tracking and engaging enemies. I found that the most fun comes when I could get a hand on the Big Daddy suit that spawns at random on each level. At least then I could walk more than ten feet before getting gunned down from behind. Or from the side. Or from the front. Or from above. Or after emptying a whole clip from a Thompson into someone’s chest, only to be killed first by a single head-shot from a pistol. Needless to say, I did not enjoy the frenetic deathmatch pace of the multiplayer as much as I liked the methodical, moody action of the single player.

CLOSING COMMENTS

Overall, I recommend Bioshock 2 to fans of the first game and to those who want to try something different. The narrative isn’t quite as strong as its predecessor, but it has enough action and character to stand well enough on its own. It’s a good sequel, and the multiplayer is worth trying if you like online shooters. Based on the ending, there’s definitely going to be a third game. That being said, I think it’s time for 2K to take the action out of Rapture and see what they can do with a new setting on the surface. Spliced up gorillas and polar bears, anyone?