Bioshock 2 - Review

2007 was an excellent year for gaming. But one of the more different masterpieces that 2007 presented to us was Bioshock. Underwater utopia Rapture was a bliss to explore, because of the mystery it hid so well and the eerie atmosphere it gave out. Playing as Jack in the first game gave you a sense of vulnerability and by the end of the game, I felt satisfied with it in total. 2 years and 6 months later Bioshock 2 hits the stores with a much more intriguing concept which I always wondered about after it was announced: Playing as a Big Daddy.

Bioshock 2 starts off with your Big Daddy player protecting his little sister: Eleanor. We can immediately tell the game will approach emotions rather than mystery in this game, since the opening scene in the sequel might not as be as abrupt and exciting as the first game, but it still is quite shocking of what happens. 10 years later after the original Bioshock your Big Daddy reactivates with little to remember and guided by Tenenbaum, one of the guides in the first game, you find out how you were separated by your Little Sister and your only objective is to rejoin with her. She was kidnapped by Sophia Lamb, who wants to bring the communist vibe in Rapture by persuading everyone to work together for freedom. I will admit Andrew Ryan was a much more interesting character than Lamb, since all she does in the entire game is intimidate you with radio messages and we learn about her character quite early in the game and never really develops deeper. Progressing through the story I must say it really slows down in pace. You do the banal fetch that type of missions like in the first one, which really is common in sandbox type of games these days. It's not until the last half of the game where the game's story increased my interest drastically. Sinclair, an altruistic businessman guides you to your goal throughout the game. He won't be your favorite character but yet again, an innocent person should be included in a game with such devilish looking enemies. Despite not learning much about your Big Daddy since he doesn't really talk, we do find about the relationship between your Little Sister later in the game. Audio diaries digs through the game's plotline even deeper making it as interesting as the first game. And for a little taste about the ending, it is much better than the first one. 6 different endings and the one that developed for me almost brought a tear in my eye.

The game's 60s soundtrack suits the atmosphere very much. It matches the time period and whenever a tune is played during load times just cuts the tension in the game and some of the lyrics just perfectly match Rapture. My favorite piece is probably "Hush hush hush here comes the boogyman." The voice acting in the game is great. I like how Andrew Ryan's original voice appears in the audio diaries; the sequel connects to the first one a lot more with the familiar voices and locations in whole. Sound does make the atmosphere creepier. Splicers talking from afar, water dripping from ravaged pipes and Big Sisters' warning screech that they are hunting in for you make the game alot like Bioshock 1's whole survivor concept even when you are playing as a Big Daddy. I do wish though they included the "Welcome to the circles of values" when you approach vending machines. It really did make me want to spend money on the items it had on stock.

Bioshock 2 really does improve in the gameplay even though it keeps the same recipe as the first one. Some little tweaks like better aiming (aiming down sights with every gun finally) and a better variety of research upgrades and tonics make the game feel much more massive (alot like an RPG). Your typical guns are in it like machine guns, grenade launchers and shotguns but also the Rivet Gun is added: a standard bolt action rifle type gun used by Big Daddies only which is my favorite gun by far. I also love the new addition of using both your plasmid and weapon at the same time for some outstanding combos. The game never feels easy though since there is no health regeneration and the limited first aid kits really accumulates the survival genre still.There are more enemies types added as well. Brute Splicers are big splicers that remind me of Left 4 Dead's tank and my favorite addition: The Big Sisters. Ninja type enemies that are much tougher than the typical big daddy. They usually appear after dealing with every Little Sister in a map. Freedom might feel more linear than the first one but there are more items to loot and every corner is filled with a surprise. It was annoying always opening file cabinets in Bioshock 1 and finding nothing even with the double search tonic. Little Sisters appear in the game for ADAM again but 2K also improved it. When defeating a Big Daddy you can now adopt or harvest a Little Sister on the spot. It obviously affects the ending, but adopting can let you gather ADAM from fallen splicers which activates a 5 minute protecting sequence until your Little Sister from waves of splicers until she also drinks the ADAM (by the far the slowest gulping I've ever seen; when you're low on health and getting killed and just see your Little Sister slowly gulping ADAM down, really does get annoying). The game difficulty increases as you progress obviously but so does your abilities and upgrades. Weapon upgrade stations reappear in the game and after 2 upgrades on a specific weapon you get a 3rd special upgrade for it if you wish to pick it. For the Rivet Gun I got setting enemies on fire on some of my shots.

Another part of the gameplay is the relieving enjoyable multiplayer. With a similar ranking system to Call of Duty (Call of Duty's challenges are known as trials in this game) that allows you to level up and gain new abilities/ upgrades/weapons and appearance upgrades for the character you select. It's obvious 2K tried to make the game feel fresh at all times thus trying to make people play the multiplayer as much as possible. They even announced their first DLC a few days ago increasing the level cap.

The visuals of Bioshock 2 are as good as the first one. Not much improvements, but that's because Bioshock 1's graphics were ahead of its time. The water effects still are the best effects I've seen in a game. The design of the game is still top notch. The grotesque designs of splicers and the spooky atmosphere of Rapture still exist in the sequel and with the Big Daddy/Sister design being still one of the most unique designs in a game, makes me feel this franchise should really turn into a movie because of all the interesting concepts it contains. Plasmids look awesome on a Big Daddy's hands and while you upgrade one really does show. For example Incinerate starts from a small fire, to a huge flame if you fully upgrade it. Guns look extremely appealing with its uniqueness and the drill really does blow the inferior wrench ,from the first game, out of the water.

The engrossing story, upgraded gameplay and fascinating visuals still impress in 2K's amazing sequel. Bioshock 1 might seem one of a kind for a few, and some parts I might agree but the sequel improves in a lot of sections where the first game lacked on and even though it may feel like a clone at times, it's a clone you shouldn't pass on. Rapture is still one of a kind.

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