Frank's Bioshock 2 review
There is no place like Rapture and in 2007 2K games took us into this amazing world in Bioshock. Three years later we are back in Rapture for Bioshock 2. Does this game live up to the first game? Will we still love Rapture like we did before? Does multiplayer Bioshock really work? I think I can help answer some of these questions for you.
One of the first big changes in this game is that you play as a big daddy one of the major bad guys in the first game. It is eight years after the first game and you are searching for your original little sister. Rapture has continued to decay and it inhabitants are even more crazy. I must say that once again the setting of Rapture is the star here. You really get a feeling of just how massive it is and the new perspective of seeing it from the water is very impressive.
If you are a big daddy then what can really mess with you right? Well some of our old friendly types of splicers are back with a couple of new additions that may at times give you a run for your money. There is also the new "Big Sister" and where you are slow she is very fast and agile. The big sister fights will have you pushing your limits to stay alive.
In the first Bioshock you would switch between plasmids and guns but there seemed to be much more potential in this system. Bioshock 2 has really realized the potential of the plasmid and gun combo in that you can use both at the same time. This adds a very interesting element to the gameplay and is a huge improvement from the first game. Not only that but as you buy higher levels of the plasmids they gain new abilities. Chain lighting anyone? Or how about supercharging your trap with fire? being a big daddy you get some new and different weapons like a drill or a rivet gun. All of these can be upgraded at the power to the people stations as well as use 3 different types of ammo. The other big change was that of the hacking system. No longer do you line up the tubes. You do this all on the fly and are able to hack things from range witch can create some very interesting moments. Bioshock 2 has really come to perfect and improve the combat from the first game.
Bioshock was extremely creepy and I found myself scared to look around the next corner to find a big daddy waiting. Bioshock 2 did not have the same level of scare factor as the first. This game had more of the ohh no better prepare for the horde feeling then the creepy horror feeling of the first. I really liked the idea of preparing for an onslaught when your little sister is gathering adam since it seemed to fit. The first two times you see the big sister get that fear into you but I was very disappointed that they would announce and warn you before the big sisters came from there on out. If they had kept the big sister as a random without warning event I think it would have served the game much better.
Bioshock multiplayer was the one thing I had major concerns about. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well it works and how much fun it is. The multiplayer has its own story as it occurs right after the civil war in rapture starts. You play as the citizens who are filling themselves with plasmids to take the other guy out. The story continues as you level up unlocking new diaries for each character. They were able to make very intriguing multiplayer that fits with the game. This is probably my second favorite online shooter to play. The use of plasmids in multiplayer can really change things. I don't know that most regular FPS gamers will like it but if you like Bioshock you will like the multiplayer. The game types are fantastic and the use of the little sister as the flag ect is genious. The one thing I have found is many laggy games due to lack of dedicated servers. The single player game is what most of us came for but the multiplayer will extend the life of the game very well.
Does Bioshock 2 stand up to the first game? I would have to say that even with all the improvements to the combat I felt like this game was just slightly behind the original. The story seemed to piggyback on the original too much for me and the couple of parts where it could stand on its own were to short. The combat is vastly improved from the first and the use of plasmids and guns together leads to some really great moments. They could have made a couple of slight changes and I feel like this one could have been as scary as the first. The multiplayer is amazingly fun and fits very well in the Bioshock universe. In short if you liked Bioshock you will like Bioshock 2 and its very much worth a buy.
The Good
Improved Combat
Rapture is as beautiful as ever
Multiplayer is fun and fits
The Bad
Weaker Story
Loss of "Scare Factor"
Can be laggy online
Score: 8.5/10
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Originally Posted by Dakafall
