While it's easy to see why 2K Games wanted to remaster the first Bioshock game, it comes as an even bigger surprise that they also decided to revamp Bioshock 2; the game was already well advanced for its time, not only in gameplay but in visuals as well. Even though Bioshock 2 Remastered doesn't come with the same hefty assortment of problems that plagued Bioshock Remastered, it still comes with a whopping amount of problems that diminishes its enjoyability.
It's safe to say that Bioshock 2 Remastered does look stunningly better than its older version; the water, reflections, and dynamic lighting most notably. The title is even more beautiful in the Remastered edition than the first Bioshock Remastered is, there's a massive visual difference between the two games. Once again, however, aesthetics are the only upgrade that Bioshock 2 has seen, and all previous ailments of the game still prove to be problematic; along with a new set of issues to boot.
First of all, crashing. If you've read my Bioshock Remastered review, you will know that these Remastered editions committing suicide constantly is a huge problem; Bioshock 2 Remastered is no different, although I found that this game actually crashes less. Unlike the first game, you can actually save and open the map screen without fear of the game taking a massive dump. It more or less enjoys crapping out while attempting to boot the game up.
Since we're currently talking about new problems, let's talk achievements. Multiple achievements are bugged right now, with three being absolutely unattainable; if you're going for Rapture Historian like I was, you're SOL until if and when 2K decide to release a fix. So if you've already collected the audio diaries in the original Bioshock 2, don't worry about it here unless you really don't care about achievements. The same goes for Master Researcher, and finding all of the Power to the People stations. While those achievements are completely broken, ones such as Master Gatherer, Master Hacker, most of the other hacking related trophies, Big Spender, and an assortment of others require tricks to unlock.
Now, on to older problems. I'm happy to say that Bioshock 2 didn't have as many original problems as Bioshock did, but there is one prevalent issue that still infests the Remastered edition. Every now and then, especially when transitioning into and back out of water, your left arm which hosts your Plasmids disappears. There's no way to get it back without reload trial and error, dying, running into a section where Eleanor speaks to you, or attempting to inject an Eve Hypo; the latter of which doesn't always work.
It's really a sad state of affair that 2K Games have butchered the Bioshock 1 and 2 Remastered editions as badly as they have. There's zero reason for these titles to crash so often, and to have the same problems that they were ported with back in 2007 and 2010 respectively. While Bioshock 2 Remastered is less problematic than its predecessor, I still cannot give it a recommendation over its original title. However, I am happy to say that they removed the awful multiplayer portion from the Bioshock 2 Remastered version, so that's a plus in my book. When, and if, 2K decide to revise these problems, I will update my review. Until then, just play the original versions of both games.
Rating: 2.0/5.0 - It's not awful, but it's not great.The Horror Network
Steam Group:
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetworkSteam Curator:
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetwork#curation 2.0