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Genre: First-Person Action Publisher: 2K Games Developer: 2K Marin Players: 1-10

By Keith B (16th Feb 2010)

To save myself from rehashing at length the various perspectives of a BioShock sequel, let me try and cram it into a few words. Was BioShock a game that needed a sequel, or was it a release that should have been left alone for those of us who have experienced it to think fondly on that part of our gaming history, to recall the glistening walls of Rapture and the overtone of a slightly-mad Andrew Ryan? You’ll find a strong case for both camps, but it’s irrelevant. What we do have is a competent second story, offering tighter combat and a slew of small improvements, but ultimately returning to Rapture doesn’t awe like it did the first time, and the solid but uninspired multiplayer doesn’t add much appeal in the long run.

Breaking the debut title down into its core components, I would offer four: setting, narrative, combat, and evolution. The story was absolutely vital in breathing life into the strange, brilliantly-realised underwater utopia, while the action and plasmid evolution allowed interesting customisation options to keep the player hooked. And as history tells us, it all worked rather well.

Going back just isn’t the same, and I don’t just mean in how the city has deteriorated from utopia to dystopia in the decade since we last walked these halls. Oh, we can look at all the improvements that have been made and help ourselves forget that this is a world we have already seen (although admittedly not these exact locations), but the bottom line is that avoiding the sequel to preserve the memory of the first wouldn’t be a crazy idea, because while good in all areas, BioShock 2 ultimately offers little that you can’t live without.

Our return to Rapture sees us unceremoniously strapped into the massive bulk of a Big Daddy suit as Subject Delta, a prototype Big Daddy with access to plasmids. The opening sequences introduce us to a Little Sister called Eleanor, our little sister, who is violently pulled from our grasp by her mother, who is also the New Dictator of Rapture following the demise of Ryan. Her outlook may not be quite as engaging as Ryan’s, but her constant referencing the dominions of Rapture as ‘family’ takes its own form of life as the game progresses. Our hunt to be reunited with Eleanor will see us battle through waves of Splicers and doing more than a little running to and fro hitting switches and opening valves / activating turbines / generic FPS mission moment.



Combat has been given an overhaul and now players can wield a plasmid at the same time as a conventional weapon, immediately giving a far more destructive perspective on play. Quick selecting weapons and plasmids through the bumper buttons works well and with some practice, many of the tricks of the first game (setting someone on fire, then hitting them with a heat-seeking missile) come quick and fast and consistently throughout play. Plasmids, too, have been overhauled, although anyone who has played the first game will be immediately at home here.

All those plasmids will be used for blasting holes in a whole new breed of Splicers, although many of them are similar to the ones we’ve blasted already, with some notable exceptions. The obvious one is the Big Sister, an incredibly fast and tough opponent who appears to have had a bigger role in the original design but has now been reduced to cameo appearances now and again. Again the enemies must be researched although the still camera has been forsaken in favour of a video one, rewarding you for causing damage in interesting ways.

As a Big Daddy, players can collect a Little Sister and send her to work removing Adam from the corpses around the city. Once she has been placed beside a potential harvest, waves upon waves of enemies appear, doing their best to smite the little one while she works. This allows for some of the best moments, as traps are laid, pools of water noted for charging with electricity, and entrances mined, stemming the flow of enemies coming forth.



Is the Unreal engine maximised? No. Rapture looks exactly like it did before, and that’s not such a good thing considering we first wandered around it in 2007. Textures on objects often take a moment to pop into view, while the wonderful font used on many signs takes a moment to move from pixellated to clear. The occasional sojourns outside, walking along the sea floor, feel more like you’re in a swimming pool with props such is the lack of any effort to make it feel like you’re actually on the floor of the Atlantic, with progress often halted by a sprig of coral, making it retain the feeling of corridor confines. Even the water while indoors – often such an important feature – looks imperfect. At one point when I entered a room to be greeted by a river of water falling down some steps, I was disappointed with the way it looked – flowing water does not have sharp angles.

Part of the problem is that there are just no places where the panoramic beauty of the city is thrust upon you. Moments like descending in the first bathysphere at the opening of the first title never materialise, and while there are occasions when you can tell the developers are trying to put into place some interesting set pieces, it just doesn’t come off. As I write this, I struggle to think of any one moment that stands out as truly memorable. All I seem to recall is waves and waves of increasingly difficult enemies in the lead up to a black and white choice at the end of the game. The only saving grace is the psychology of Eleanor is affected somewhat by your choices, and seeing that bear fruit is worth experiencing.



Multiplayer is more entertaining than I thought it would be, although it’s certainly not going to keep you playing for long and it depends on if you can find a game. It has an unfinished feel to it – a handful of game modes can’t hide a lack of inspiration, and the execution is only mediocre. What saves it from real ridicule is the gradual unlocking of new plasmids, tonics, and weapon upgrades which will give the dedicated something to aim for.

It's hard to be really disappointed with BioShock 2 because at its core is a competent shooter. But disappointment does exist, and although I’ve tried my best to avoid looking back at the past with rose-tinted glasses, I fear that the end result isn’t entirely devoid of that notion. So if you’re desperate to revisit Rapture again, then go for it, although be forewarned that it’s not the same.

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