Hipster instinct would tell you that there is no way this game could possibly be any good. BioShock was a masterpiece, elevating the art of storytelling in games and becoming an instant classic. It did not beg for the franchise treatment. This, annecessary sequel, developed by a completely different studio without the involvement of Ken Levine or any of the original team, seems like a cynical cash-in on a beloved work of art. It’s The Phantom Menace. It’s those new Dune books. A wretched creature, shriveled and crying out for a merciful death.
But strip away all of those expectations, forget for a moment that this game is in any way connected to its beloved forerunner, and what you will find is an very competent shooter with its own voice and a fun bag of tricks.
The game puts you in the corroded metal boots of an early prototype Big Daddy, reawakened ten years after the events of the first game to reunite with your lost Little Sister, now all grown up. In the interim since Andrew Ryan's death, Rapture has been taken over by Sofia Lamb, a collectivist reflection of Ryan's rabid individualism. And-- dun, dun, dunnnn-- it turns out your Little Sister is Sofia Lamb's daughter. Derivative, yes, but it serves the purpose of putting you back in Rapture and giving you a reason to mow down splicers.
The secret heresy of BioShock 2 is that on a mechanical level-- as a game, and not as a piece of art-- it actually surpasses the first game. I'm sure 98% of the Internet will disagree with me, given the hallowed status of the original, but it's true. As much as I am in love with BioShock, it had its share of problems. There were only a handful of enemy types, and they weren't exactly powered by the greatest AI in the world. Plasmids and guns weren't always well balanced, and you were so overpowered by the final act that it dispelled the sense of dread and impending death. Hacking became a tedious exercise and broke the flow of both the combat and the narrative. And let's be honest, the game should have ended with Andrew Ryan's death. The final act was tacked on purely to add length, and the final boss fight was terribly video-gamey; I shouldn't be shooting glowing orbs during a grim reflection of unchecked human ambition. It was the antithesis of the tone that had been established throughout the rest of the game.
The sequel improves on these mechanical issues in almost every way. You are now able to use your plasmids and weapons simultaneously, so that you are essentially "dual-wielding" with your mutant powers in the left hand and a gun (or drill) in the right. Normally I regard dual-wielding to be a flashy gimmick (I'm looking at you, Halo 2), but here it works superbly-- your plasmids usually induce some kind of status effect on enemies (like stunning or freezing), giving you an opening to finish them off with your weapons. There are more enemy types to deal with as well, from the burly Brutes to the extremely creepy Spiders, and they attack in more varied groups, forcing you to think more tactically. And it could be my imagination, but the AI seems a bit smarter this time around; several times I was flanked by splicers while their buddies kept me distracted.
The greatest new mechanic, though, is how the game deals with the Little Sisters. As a Big Daddy, you are able to "adopt" a Little Sister (after killing off her previous guardian, of course), and carry her around to splicer corpses where she harvests ADAM for you. But once you set her down to start the collection process, it alerts all of the splicers in the area to your location, so you had better be prepared for a big fight. This is a much more effective use of the Little Sisters, as over time your guardian role begins to foster an emotional bond with your charges. (The first game always made me feel vaguely like a predator, even though I always opted to save the Little Sisters.) Some of my favorite moments came from carefully setting traps and chokepoints, before fending off the deluge of ADAM-hungry splicers.
The game isn't without its flaws. It promised to make you into a Big Daddy, the nigh-invincible alpha predator of Rapture, but you don't feel substantially more powerful than Jack from the first game. (Also, why are the early prototype Big Daddies so much stronger than the later models?) It also never reaches the atmospheric heights of the original. The art style is brighter and more colorful, which does allow you to see more of Rapture, but at the cost of the oppressive gloom that pervaded your first trip to the doomed city. But, again, these flaws are only apparent when comparing the game to its predecessor. Taken on its own terms, BioShock 2 is a great shooter available at a rock-bottom price. At $15, this ticket back to Rapture is an absolute steal.
But strip away all of those expectations, forget for a moment that this game is in any way connected to its beloved forerunner, and what you will find is an very competent shooter with its own voice and a fun bag of tricks.
The game puts you in the corroded metal boots of an early prototype Big Daddy, reawakened ten years after the events of the first game to reunite with your lost Little Sister, now all grown up. In the interim since Andrew Ryan's death, Rapture has been taken over by Sofia Lamb, a collectivist reflection of Ryan's rabid individualism. And-- dun, dun, dunnnn-- it turns out your Little Sister is Sofia Lamb's daughter. Derivative, yes, but it serves the purpose of putting you back in Rapture and giving you a reason to mow down splicers.
The secret heresy of BioShock 2 is that on a mechanical level-- as a game, and not as a piece of art-- it actually surpasses the first game. I'm sure 98% of the Internet will disagree with me, given the hallowed status of the original, but it's true. As much as I am in love with BioShock, it had its share of problems. There were only a handful of enemy types, and they weren't exactly powered by the greatest AI in the world. Plasmids and guns weren't always well balanced, and you were so overpowered by the final act that it dispelled the sense of dread and impending death. Hacking became a tedious exercise and broke the flow of both the combat and the narrative. And let's be honest, the game should have ended with Andrew Ryan's death. The final act was tacked on purely to add length, and the final boss fight was terribly video-gamey; I shouldn't be shooting glowing orbs during a grim reflection of unchecked human ambition. It was the antithesis of the tone that had been established throughout the rest of the game.
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| Dual-wielding does present certain...difficulties. |
The greatest new mechanic, though, is how the game deals with the Little Sisters. As a Big Daddy, you are able to "adopt" a Little Sister (after killing off her previous guardian, of course), and carry her around to splicer corpses where she harvests ADAM for you. But once you set her down to start the collection process, it alerts all of the splicers in the area to your location, so you had better be prepared for a big fight. This is a much more effective use of the Little Sisters, as over time your guardian role begins to foster an emotional bond with your charges. (The first game always made me feel vaguely like a predator, even though I always opted to save the Little Sisters.) Some of my favorite moments came from carefully setting traps and chokepoints, before fending off the deluge of ADAM-hungry splicers.
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