The long awaited sequel to the 2007 smash hit has finally arrived. 2K games newest instalment in the franchise has a whole host of new features and exciting prospects. Once again the player finds themselves traversing through the underwater city of rapture. This time around the game takes place in 1968, 8 years after the original events of Bioshock. In Bioshock 2 it is you who becomes the notorious Big Daddy, a once human being that has had its organs and skin crafted into an atmospheric diving suit.
You are “Subject Delta” one of the first Big Daddies who reactivates with no memory of past events and ventures out into Rapture to relocate his Little Sister. In your quest to find your Little Sister you will discover that Sofia Lamb, the new leader of Rapture, is trying to destroy Rapture with her army of Big Sisters ; a stronger, faster, smarter version of the Big Daddy.
So let’s talk gameplay. The classic Bioshock style returns in an all new package, and there isn’t many words I could use to describe the gameplay other than fantastic. So as I mentioned the player explores Rapture in search of their Little Sister Eleanor fighting off the remaining inhabitants of Rapture known as Splicers. To defeat these foes the players will find themselves using a whole host of weapons, be they guns, drills, tonics, plasmids and even the environment itself. The plasmids will be vital in your arsenal against the Splicers and these range from being able to summon swarms of bees to firing off balls of fire. The tonics are more of a passive ability boosting item that enable you to increase movement, strengthen your attacks, reduce amount of EVE consumed during plasmid use etc.
The weapons you will come across in Bioshock 2 are the same ones that may have haunted your nightmares from the original Bioshock. Many fan favourites return such as the infamous Big Daddy Drill arm, the rivet gun and the spear/harpoon gun (my personal favourite). The fascinating factor with the weapons system is that each weapon has various forms of ammunition. For example the Rivet gun has trap rivets which are a basic form of trip mines which can stick to surfaces or the anti personnel rounds for the machine gun which more or less just rip through your enemies with ease. A new feature of Bioshock 2 is the ability to now wield a plasmid in your left hand and a gun in the right enabling you to link the two attacks together when faced with multiple foes or a tough enemy such as a Big Daddy rival or a Big Sister, and if you do die against these foes you will always revive at a “Vita- Chamber”.
Vending, Ammo, Weapon Upgrade and Health machines are located around the vast world of Rapture. Dollars can be obtained from fallen foes, cash registers and basically most piece of furniture within the game and these can be used to buy your ammunition, EVE, health etc. Most vending machines can be hacked either up close or with your remote hacker gun. This starts a mini game which results in either receiving a discount (green area) or if you fail the mini game a health deduction (white area). There is also a blue area which grants a further discount bonus or free item.
An exciting new feature of the game is that some sections of the gameplay take place entirely under water. To me the underwater play was very well made. The character doesn’t move as fluidly as in real life and you really get a feel of the fact you are at the bottom of the ocean with various forms of wildlife swimming all around you. The ocean even has that infamous Bioshock punk twist to it that fans have grown to love.
A prominent feature of the game is the use of ADAM. After obtaining a little sister from defeating a Big Daddy the player has the ability to either harvest them for ADAM or enable the little sister to help them search for ADAM. ADAM is essential as it enables the player to buy new tonics and plasmids as well as upgrade current ones. Harvesting is the easier option as when you choose to escort your little sister to a corpse to drain ADAM you must protect her from Splicers while she harvests the ADAM. However the player should think twice about just harvesting the little sister as this could have serious implications later on in the game.
All right so how does the game look and sound. Well straight off the bat I am going to say this is one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played. The level of detail and vibrancy involved in each level is astounding and the developers deserve massive amounts of credit for their perfection of how games should look. This is one of the most impressive looking games I have ever played and I love the self proclaimed “steam punk” style that the franchise incorporates which makes it so unique and a top FPS competitor.
Character models are fantastic and each is grafted to fit perfectly into the twisted world of Rapture. Splicers look like genetic freaks should look; little sisters have the correct blend of innocence and violence in their look and Big Daddies and Big Sisters just look brilliant. The Big Daddy charging towards your screen is one of the most adrenaline pumping, eye popping and jaw dropping events in the gaming world and after playing Bioshock 2 I regret never getting an opportunity to play the original.
Environments are amazing and highly detailed and as I previously mentioned have that “Steam Punk” twist that separates Bioshock from all other FPS’s on the shelves right now. The audio quality of the game is also astounding. The eerie tunes that play through Rapture seem to suit it perfectly and really create an indescribable atmosphere for the player on their adventure. Enemy sounds are fantastic and haunting, be it the demented screams of a Splicer or the grinding roar of a Big Daddy.
A major new feature of the game is its new multiplayer function. It takes place prior to the original Bioshock game in the year 1959. The story goes that the player is being sponsored by plasmid manufacturers to test their new products and weapons in a consumer reward program and as you level up more of these items unlock and enable you to become more powerful.
There are 6 basic characters to choose from: a welder, a housewife, a football star, a pilot, a mystic and a businessman. There are 7 different modes consisting of:
- Survival of the Fittest: A free for all based mode with a score limit
- Civil War: A team death match with a score limit
- Last Splicer Standing: I relate it to a search and destroy type game mode as there are no respawns
- Capture the Sister: One team defends the little sister whilst the other team tries to get her to a vent on the other side of the map. Teams take turns in defending and capturing and the team with the most captures wins.
- Adam Grab: A free for all grab the little sister mode where the player that holds the little sister the longest or reaches the time target wins
- Team Adam Grab: Same principle only in two separate teams
- Turf War: Domination style gameplay where there are three points on the map and the teams have to capture these points to reach the score target
The unique factor of this multiplayer is that occasionally a Big Daddy Suit appears randomly on the map and this enables the player to become a Big Daddy until they are defeated. This can be the difference between winning and losing in a host of different game modes and requires team work to take down one of these monsters.
Overall Bioshock 2 is definitely one of the games of the year. Its multiplayer can compete with the best and its single player is once again an epic tale of twists and turns that will have the player coming back time and time again. I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing Bioshock 2 and highly recommend it to any fans of the series or even those yet to experience a taste of the Bioshock franchise.
Marks out of 10
Gameplay 9: Fluid and fantastic, a breath of fresh air
Graphics and Audio 9: Wonderfully crafted environments with an audio that runs alongside perfectly
Multiplayer 8: Tonnes of fun and provides a welcome break from the stress of Modern Warfare 2
Story 8.5: Deep and enthralling, retold through collected tapes as so many fans have grown to love
Overall : 8.5/10
