Bioshock 2 - User Review

Bioshock 2 - 8/10

First off, I loved Bioshock 1 so lets get that out of the way.

I wouldn't call Bioshock 2 a sequel exactly, more like a different tale from Rapture (an underwater city where both games take place); This story continues 10yrs after the first game.

Graphics/Atmosphere:
Overall the game looks great imo, but there are some crappy looking low res textures here and there; nothing to get excited about though. I preferred the look of the little sisters from Bioshock one, but I'm sure others could argue with that. Very similar to Bioshock in the graphics dept.

It has the same creepy, interesting atmosphere from the original as well. To me the Bioshock series is all about the atmosphere and mood these games set. It plays on your emotions, whether heart-warming moments, or jump out of the dark scare tactics, that work well I might add. It worked in Bioshock and it works in this game.

Combat:
It works the same as Bioshock; Plasmids, Gene-Tonics, Weapon Upgrades, Adam + Eve. Seems more fluid in this one, although I haven't played Bioshock in a good while, so I'm just going off memory.

Except this time, you are playing as a "Big Daddy". Which is cool, but I have some issues with it. In the first Bioshock, these were very tough "Tank" type opponents. But in Bioshock 2, you can catch a beat down from a simple wrench wielding Splicer (a type of enemy in Rapture) pretty quick lol. Long story short... I wouldn't try to win a fight with a wrench against a Big Daddy in Bioshock 1; but it would be kinda game breaking I guess to be too tough, so I get it.

The Plasmids are very close if not identical to Bioshock, except for a few they added for this game. The basics are all still there; Shock/Fire/Freeze/Tele/etc.. Also the addition of some pretty cool Tonics as well. You still get Adam from Saving or Harvesting "Little Sisters", they also added a few other ways to get Adam this go round.

Weapons are found throughout the game as you progress, and upgraded through the same "Power For The People" upgrade stations from Bioshock. Being a Big Daddy has its bonuses, since you get some of his signature weapons; like the Drill Arm, Rivet Gun, and Grenade Lanucher. But the game offers other types of weapons as well. You can't pick up handguns for some reason, that really annoyed me.

Story:
After completing this game, I'm very satisfied with it. At first I kinda wasn't feeling it, but it takes a while to get into. After it starts going it gets pretty good. Absolutely loved the ending. It's not better than Bioshock, but that's pretty hard to top, so no fault there. However that doesn't mean its not great. I played around 15 hours, but I took my time and explored and listened to about every tape recording I found.

Hacking:
The hacking mini game was revamped, and if to say what I thought at first... dumbed down. But that's not the case; In the beginning its too simple but becomes quite challenging later on.

Sound:
The sound effects and music are great, foot steps can be very creepy with headphones on! Makes me wish I had a nice surround sound set up.

Multiplayer:
Skipped it, bought this just for the single player.

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Pros:
-A Return to Rapture!
-Good Story.
-Great Voice Acting.

Cons:
-Some FOV and Widescreen Issues, 2K already patching this.
-Its not really a sequel.
-GFWL (Games For Windows Live)


It's not the best review, but I wanna put it out there for anyone that might be on the fence about the game. Despite some of the negative feedback surrounding the game, I for one.. enjoyed it.

 

I agree and tbh suckish release DX10 didn't work multi-player now doesn't work 2K Games showed there care for PC gamers :/ Sucks the Xbox360 controllers arnt supported hard to play with a trackpad on a train But i agree fantastic Singleplayer so far graphics are fine underwater's cool, Multi-player from what i played is fun the use of plasmids is awesome and runs nice and smooth on my P709u Wich is fantastic ide recommend it to anyone who likes "slower" paced shooters

 

What the ...!
How can you list Games For Windows Live as cons. ?

 

What!?
How can you not list Games For Windows Live as a con? What a half-assed piece sh.. that's not needed in the first place.

 

OMG. I leave this here, not even worth to discuss. Good if you know how to use

 

maybe, but it would be nice if we weren't FORCED to use it.

 

Agreed! I want it on every game now. Much easier. Maybe maybe it is only me, I have buddies on Xbox which plays at Xbox ect.
I also like the Gamescore funciton and Chat with Xbox people

 

nice, honest review mate thanks
cant see myself buying the game, i liked bioshock, but it did get a little samey samey near the end, and my feeling is bioshock 2 could be more of the same, i also have to agree with you about big daddies and how hard they where to take down, and that you yourself as a big daddy are vulnerable, but that when you fight other big daddies to get a little sister they are of course super powerful again.........hmmm that would frustrate me to be honest...

are you planning on playing MP at some stage, if so let us now what its like.......

thanks again for the review

 

You don't have to use Live... When you're asked to create an account/profile on Live, you can choose to create a local profile instead, after which you are allowed to save. But you'd need Live to play MP.

 

i liked the story of the first one but i didnt find it much of a horror game.
dead space and ss 2 were the best horror games for me imo.

but good review though. although its probably gonna be a pass for me...


cheers

 

I just finished the game, I say don't get it even if you're having the slightest second thought... Like people said, the game is more like a sequel to the first one. And it took me roughly 8 hours to finish (8 hours to finish the game completely - find all the loots, plasmids, etc). Yes, 8 hours, like CoD MW2 without the addicting multiplayer.

 

Good review. I'm on my way through my first playthrough now, and I agree with most of your points.

I'm finding myself not using plasmids as much, and I think that's partly because the guns/drill are much bigger and meaner, so the plasmids just feel weak. Being able to simultaneously wield plasmid and gun is the only reason my plasmids ever see any use. And I still haven't figured out the research camera.

However, fighting is more fun, I think, partly because of my bigger guns, and I really like playing as a Big Daddy. It doesn't bother me that I'm easier to take out than the other ones, since you're supposed to be the "prototype" Daddy before they gave them all the extra armor and upgrades (after all, I'm much more agile than the other Big Daddies, and I get to use plasmids, so it's a fair trade).

I'm having fun. The world is rich, the characters are deep, and I loved the amusement park - very creepy, yet amusing. If it was $20 less I'd have no problem recommending it. As it is, I'm not regretting my purchase.

And Games For Windows Live can go to hell. It took me an extra half hour before I could play the game, and I hate that it pops up a window in my game every time I make an "achievement".

 

Sorry, I'm just not a fan of it. I already have an offline account from Batman Arkham Asylum, but I hate when it doesn't auto sign-in sometimes and the pop ups are very annoying. Its just not necessary imo.

Nah, AVP drops tuesday, it will be taking up all my MP time for a while.

Good point.

I hate that too, I think because its in the middle and its bright grey/white; because on Steam it doesn't bother me at all.

 

i JUST got it last night... I'm not bothering with multiplayer either lol. you don't really have to go through live if you make a local account for it if you know you're not gonna us MP.

Now i was a bit worried cause i cant play BF:BC2 on my rig, so this was a good test. With E6700/7950 GTX, i can run UP to 1600/1050 on high with a good stutter here on there. If i back down to 1440/900 on medium everything still looks the same to me tbh, and theres no stuttering. So, first off its playable, w00t. Second, i just did the very beginning and i'm liking the feel so far. I'm trying to remember the storyline from bioshock 1 to tie lamb to ryan lol

 

i meant i shouldn't be made to install it in the first place.

 

Well, maybe you should reinstall Games For Windows Live? I have used it for over one year now and not had a single problem with it!

 

Same here, played Street Fighter, Batman, and now Bioshock 2, no problem at all!

 

Has anyone come across a tweak guide for this game? Ideally something that walks through config file editing. I have not found anything good yet.

 

It uses same engine as original BioShock, so try the original BioShock tweak guide:

http://www.tweakguides.com/Bioshock_7.html

 

Thanks! Its interesting looking at the xbox and ps3 settings.

 

Playing through this now. Absolutely loved the first one. This one is definitely missing that mystery and eeriness of the first. It is also starting to feel like a bit of a grind honestly. I mean:

Fight Big Daddy
Adopt Lil Sis
Gather, Gather
Rescue Lil Sis
Fight Big Sis
... ... rinse repeat ... ...

That plus the last two or three levels I have played have been very similar in style and layout. What happened to going from gory Medical to twisted Fort Frolic to industrial Hephaestus? So far I am just stomping around the same two-level style areas connected by trains that I cannot go back to after I leave?

I like the new weapons, the drill dash is my fave! And wielding plasmids & weapons and using defenses simultaneously adds a new level of tactics... but it just feels so flat. Also I have come across a couple of bad design decisions that really urked me.

For example: I open a door, as I go through the door an Eleanor overlay with a "gift" and her voice over takes over while 2 splicers on the other side of the door drill me with gunfire and grenades? Like WTH? Make up your mind 2k is this a cutscene or an ambush... because doing both at the same time means 1) I don't understand any of the cut scene and 2) I can't fight back because I can hardly see anything from the overlay and can't figure out what's going on.

Bioshock was a narrative that immersed me. This one isn't doing it for me on anywhere the same level. Maybe that will change as I progress further? I hope so anyways.

 

Good review, but there's one thing that bugged me so much and I'm curious if you or anyone else felt this way? Bioshock 1 was a "spiritual sequel" to System Sock 2, they wanted the gameplay to feel the same-ish and bring that style of gameplay back to life. Bioshock 1 wasn't right on the money, but it was close enough to make me very happy (I'm a huge fan of system shock 1 & 2), but bioshock 2...they did not even try. It felt so dumbed down and linear compared to all the games that came before it. Hey, if something is not broke, do not try to fix it!

 

I wanna play this so bad...my brand new still sealed 360 copy is just chilling here cause I don't have time to play it