When Bioshock 2 was announced, it unleashed a shock-wave of excitement throughout the gaming community; its predecessor had been a monumental success, and people could not wait to see what the sequel had in store. Born three long years after the original title, it's safe to say that Bioshock 2 did not disappoint in terms of gameplay, visuals, and setting, although many fans agree that the plot and characters are not quite as memorable as those from the first installment.
The game begins in the year 1958, two years prior to the events of the first Bioshock, and shows the main character that you play, known as Subject Delta, patrolling Rapture with his Little Sister, Eleanor. Some events happen, and the game fast forwards ten years later to the year 1968 (not 1970 as the store page misleads you to believe). Subject Delta, also known as Johnny Topside prior to his conversion into a Big Daddy, has set out to find Eleanor, who is now a young adult in her teens. Time is pressing, however, as the longer a Big Daddy is away from his Little Sister, the higher the odds of him slipping into a coma are. There's but one problem standing in your way, a highly manipulative and slightly insane woman named Sophia Lamb. She has replaced Andrew Ryan as the main antagonist, while Augustus Sinclair helps guide you throughout Rapture through radio messages.
Yes, you read that right. This time around, you get to play as an actual Big Daddy; arguably the most appealing feature of the entire game. You can also take on other Big Daddies to take their Little Sisters, and you can protect them as they're harvesting ADAM from angels. After letting the Little Sister gather from two angels, you take her back to her vent and choose to either harvest or rescue her. Harvesting or rescuing Little Sisters has an impact on the end game cutscene, and there are a total of three different endings. New to the tried and true Splicers and Big Daddies are now Big Sisters, which wear much of the same gear as a Big Daddy but they're much slimmer, quicker, and deadlier.
Another improvement to the gameplay is the ability to wield both a weapon and a Plasmid at the same time, where as in the original Bioshock you had to constantly swap between the two. However, there's a huge glitch in the game that causes your left arm, which is the one that uses Plasmids, to disappear until you either die or get talked to by Eleanor. There are also a new assortment of weapons, such as the drill, grenade launcher, and speargun, and there are a mix of new and old Plasmids to enjoy as well, 11 in total.
Bioshock 2 feels a lot more linear than its predecessor, as there aren't as many non-essential rooms to explore. However, the lush environments and fantastic atmosphere more than make up for the overall closed maps. A huge feature, aside from being a Big Daddy of course, is being able to occasionally venture outside of Rapture, onto the ocean floor. The oceanic scenes and moments spent underwater are beautifully crafted, and make you realize just how small you are in comparison to the immense structure that is the city of Rapture. The Art Deco style has been down-scaled in this installment in lieu of a more steampunk style, which ends up coming full circle in Bioshock Infinite.
One thing that really brought this game down was the inclusion of a multiplayer element. I'm not even sure if the servers are still active anymore, but I did play some multiplayer on console when the game was brand new. Like most games that should stay as a single player experience but don't, the multiplayer was terrible and mostly consisted of death matches between Big Daddies and Splicers. I'm not alone in my distaste for the multiplayer element, as you will see most other reviewers also scorn it as well. This 'feature', however, has been dropped in the Bioshock 2 Remastered version.
Is Bioshock 2 better than the first game? Absolutely not. It's nowhere near as memorable in terms of story or plot, but the gameplay is where this title really shines. Playing as a Big Daddy is satisfying in every imaginable way, from the killing and being able to use a drill, to protecting Little Sisters and helping them harvest ADAM. It's the experience that fans would've been continuing to ask for until we got it, but luckily 2K had the foresight to just go ahead and do it. Sophia Lamb is definitely not as charming a villain as Andrew Ryan or Atlas, but she does have her moments. It's a worthwhile experience for the fan of the Bioshock universe, just don't go in expecting as gripping of a tale.
Rating: 4.0/5.0 - Excellent, highly worth playing.The Horror Network
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