Developers:         2K Marin, Digital Extremes (multiplayer)
Publisher:            2K Games
Composer:           Garry Schyman
Platforms:            Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows
Release date:     February 9, 2010
Genres:                First-person shooter, action-adventure
Modes:                 Single-player, multiplayer
Rating:                 18

I just heard that I have been sent the new game from 2K Marin – the long awaited BioShock 2. Now you might be wondering why I have started this review before even getting my hands on the game? Why I am currently sitting in a coffee shop frantically getting all my thoughts down on the back of old receipts and why I don’t even have any paper handy? So many questions and so little time; but the biggest one currently running through my head is what’s on the tip of everyone’s tongue - will BioShock2 be as good as the first one?

However my fear of BioShock2 doesn’t really explain why I am writing about the game before I have even played it. So let me (without boring you to tears) quickly explain: Being a game journalist has its perks, but at the same time it comes with a fear; a fear of falling into repetitiveness at the way in which we churn out review after review; The graphics are good, the sound is bare-able, I give it a score of blah blah…you get the idea. Of course you want to know about these things, I mean you read reviews to decide whether or not it’s worth emptying your wallet over the game in question, but really, don’t you get bored of reading the same structured, repetitive game reviews over and over again? I know I do, and not wanting to sound like a hypocrite (cause I'm sure my BioSock 2 review will touch on the same above-mentioned repetition), I thought I would at least try to start this one a little bit differently.

BioShock was, and I say this lightly, one amazing ride. It had everything I love to see in a video game, it completely absorbed me into this underwater city known as Rapture. Stem cells from sea slugs to alter your genetic code to give you super powers, I mean come on, that’s genius! Sure it had its flaws from a critic’s side but from a gamer’s, it was magic.

This brings me to my coffee shop, receipt-scribbling induced theory: Will BioShock 2 (and any sequal for that matter) ruin the enjoyment I experienced in the first game? Will it take an   idea that was so rich in content and just mess it up? To be frank, a feeling of apprehension has over whelmed me and all I can hope for is that 2K Marin proves me wrong and I get to go back to Rapture with more to look forward to than just getting my shoes wet.

A Side Note:

Before I started writing this review I was torn between giving a short, but in depth look into the first game, just to bring you up to speed with what’s ahead and how the sequel has followed on. But then I subsequently changed my mind and decided to leave that out, as the last thing I want to be is the spoiler king over here. So if you have not played the first one and you just want to find out what the second one is about - this is the review for you. If however you want an update on what has happened so far in Rapture, Google BioShock and read up before you continue.

So as we all know BioShock 2 has a new developer, 2K Marin and there have been questions raised as to whether they would stick to the story line or go off on a completely unrelated tangent. I am sorry to say that apart from the multiplayer section, I have played this game through and through and I cant help feel the latter would have been more appealing as everything just looks too similar and I am forced to ask my self - has it been worth the wait?

The Plot:

We return to Rapture, and right off the bat you realise that while we have seen this all before, the under water city hasn't lost any of its charm. The hollow sound of 1960's music is magnificent and really brings back everything you left behind. The protagonist from the first game is out and this time you play as Dela, one of the first Big Daddies. The story goes that you were 'shut down' - so to say - prior to the fall of Rapture and now 10 years later, you are awoken and you aren’t a very happy Daddy.

ADAM and Plasmids are back where you have new ways and means to collect them. New weapons fill your inventory and upgrades are far more effective.
 

Enter Eleanor - once a little sister - she is the key to the plot. Her and Delta shared the same bond that any Little Sister and Big Daddy share, but as Delta was the very first prototype Big Daddy, you can imagine that this story has more to it than meets the eye. Before Delta fell, Eleanor was taken away from him by the infamous Sofia Lamb (Dr. Sofia Lamb - former psychiatrist and the primary antagonist), who is hiding her very securely.

Here lies the main plot of the story, and with the help of a man named Augustus Sinclair, you are not letting anything stand in your way.

The story is rich and I think 2K Marin pulled a few all-nighters to get it this polished, just be prepared for a wait as while it grips you from the start, it only really gets going half way in.

Presentation:

Even though 2K Marin said they spent allot of time fixing up Rapture, this game looks and feels very much like the first one. If you are a BioShock veteran your first thought will be ‘I have been here before’, and trust me, the place is as run down as you left it.

Okay before the BioShock lovers out there start throwing things at me, I will say upfront that BioShock 2 is a great game, it really is - I mean based so closely on the first game the result wouldn’t be anything other and I cant blame 2K Marin to go this route. But I just cant help but lurk on the faults when comparing it to the first game - and unfortunately when you make a sequel it’s going to happen - I think the only things that fans will find really impressive is the improvement in dialog, sound, shadow rendering and reflections. Little Sister sends chills down your spine whenever they lure you to an ADAM, the music adjusts itself smoothly and poetically to the atmosphere around you and never over crowds the dialog.

I always appreciate a game that allows you to go from start to finish without reading or hearing any additional back logs to figure out what’s going on and I will give BioShock 2 credit for this. The recorded audio logs are back, and while you can find them along your path, it’s really up to you if you want to listen to them or not.

I am glad to say however that most of the user interface is the same, and rightly so - there was nothing wrong with it in the first place. The health and eve bars are back, the store and plasmid/weapons sections have been ported and in my book that’s okay. Why fix something that wasn’t broken?

Game Play:

Leading up to the game’s release, the developers focused on how the game is built around being a Big Daddy, from the rounded screen edges to simulate your mask, to the big drill on your right hand - it all sounded so promising - until the day I played it.

Big Daddy? I play as a Big Daddy? Sweet! - This was my first reaction - So I am going to be this big powerful beast like creature that can swat splicers away with a flick of my drill and I can take a million bullets before going down? ... um... no not really.

It’s almost like 2K Marin didn’t even bother to play the first game and for that matter, try take down those Big Daddies.  Because I can tell you right now, that you are nothing like those. I mean you can get killed by the most basic of enemies and after a while all you can do is run around searching for ammo, and only swing your drill because it needs more gas - correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t remember Big Daddies running around looking for canisters of gas last time I visited Rapture?

I know it isn’t sounding too good right about now, but I will restore your faith again and say that, allot of what it means to be a Big Daddy revolves around your interaction with the Little Sisters. It goes much deeper that just a simple moral 'Harvest' or 'Rescue' choice, now the relationship reinforces a father-daughter bond. You find out very quickly that this isn’t an easy task, because in order for the Little Sisters to collect ADAM and in turn power plasmids, you have to endure very frantic but satisfying protection scenes as splicers come from all sides with one intention - to kill your little sister and steal her ADAM.

Once she is finished you will be given the choice to rescue or harvest; in lamens terms - rescue the little sister and you get less ADAM or harvest her and you guessed it, more ADAM. But you should be aware that your decisions in this game would ultimately determine how it ends.

One sister that you wont be able to rescue or harvest is the newest character to the BioShock franchise - The Big Sister – how original.

The Big Sisters are tall, thin versions of Big Daddies. Adorned in the same diving suit, they wield plasmids, let out nail biting screeches and are far more agile and cunning than you are. They don’t take kindly to you saving little Sisters so keep an eye out.

But you do have a few things going for you, as this time around you are able to use weapons with a whole range of notable upgrades on your right hand and plasmids on your left. With a Big Daddy  and with the right combination, putting these Sisters down can be as easy as saying, 'would you kindly.'

The improved hacking system also deserves a mention as unlike joining some stupid water-pipes together in the first game, this has now been replaced with a new hack-dart - allowing you to hack from distance - only to land a needle in the green zone a few times. Combine this with new upgrades and plasmids – awesome.

Unfortunately BioShock 2 is almost half the length of its predecessor. To give you an example I played through the whole game and after saving - or harvesting - every Little Sister I finished it in about 10 hours on medium difficulty. In the case of the first game, I knocked that one down in around 20 hours.

But fortunately, that’s where the multiplayer comes in.

Multiplayer:

In following with this review’s code; the biggest drawback about the multiplayer is that it doesn’t follow the single player story line what so ever. I understand that maybe players wish to play online before finishing the game but come on, at least bring something into it we can relate to.

All in all, the multiplayer is really just a hack and slash fest with a Modern Warfare 2 styled ranking system. Your first experience might be a bit off-putting, as Digital Extremes - the online developers - didn’t catch the ball in terms of what players have come to expect from a first person shooter. The gunplay is sloppy and at times you wonder if it is just your fault or poor precision on the game’s side.

The load out is simple, 7 different gaming modes and players can choose from 6 characters - I couldn’t resist leaving these out: a welder named Jacob Norris, a housewife named Barbara Johnson, a football star named Danny Wilkins, a businessman named Buck Raleigh, a pilot named Naledi Atkins, and an Indian mystic named Suresh Sheti. Brilliant!

But to be honest, after clocking over 20 hours on the multiplayer, I guess they must have got something right.

Verdict:

Okay lets wrap this one up: BioShock 2’s biggest flaw is that to a player that has already been to Rapture it might seem all too familiar. However to the newcomers I can’t help but suggest to go back, pick up the first game and then decide for your self if the story should end there.

So ill leave you with this; I believe that BioShock 2 has rightfully earned my score of an 8.0 (with the multiplayer pushing it out of the 7's) - yes a little lower than every other review you will read out there - but I can‘t help feel that everyone has overlooked one blinding fact that this game just doesn’t have that pull.

I enjoyed my time back in Rapture, but do I have any need to play it again?