Bioshock 2 and [Insert Clever Subtitle]

            To explain the premise of the Bioshock games to anyone who frequents this site would be pointless. If you are reading this and you do not recognize the Bioshock moniker, then you have indeed clicked a wrong link somewhere. Incidentally, please don’t follow this link. Anyways, the Bioshock was well known among gamers for being quite good, particularly for its mind-blowing plot twist and spectacular setting and atmosphere. The ending, generally regarded poorly for being terribly shitty, wrapped things up rather nicely for the player, seemingly leaving little room for a sequel. But oh how we were wrong, for the suits over at 2K did think that there was plenty of room for a sequel, and so we were given Bioshock 2. Though the game had a long and difficult development (eventually working its way around to five developers) and was criticized for shoehorning a multiplayer component that nobody asked for, it came out with decent reviews in the high 80s. However, many the general consensus on the internet was that Bioshock was superior to Bioshock 2, a sentiment that I frankly disagree with. Read on to learn why.

            Bioshock 2 has the player take control of the original Big Daddy, the lumbering armored giants that patrol the dank and dreary halls of the sunken metropolis of Rapture. In the opening minutes, the main character, called Delta, is forced into shooting himself through the same hypnosis trick revealed in the first game’s notorious “Would you kindly…” plot twist. Delta wakes up years later and is on a quest to find the little sister he was protecting, and on his quest he will run across three characters he will have the choice of killing (evil option) or sparing (good option) and have to choose between harvesting (evil) or rescuing (good) the little sisters scattered throughout Rapture. The morality is fairly cut-and-dry, just as it was in the first game, though the game’s ideas on what is good don’t match with common sense when Delta is asked to deal with one of the aforementioned three NPCs, but more on that in a moment. By the way, did you click that link above? If you didn’t, then I am proud of you. If you did, then I’m sorry. Here, maybe this will make you feel better.  

All said and done, Bioshock 2, following in the footsteps of its predecessor, does not present the player with any difficult moral dilemmas. Unlike the original, however, the gunplay in Bioshock 2 can actually stand on its own, but not for the same reasons that, say, Call of Duty can. Using your guns in Bioshock and Bioshock 2 has a strange, slippery feel to them, and the aiming is somewhat slow and unwieldy. The difference is that Bioshock 2 allows the player to dual-wield guns with plasmids, the magic spells of the game, allowing for whole new kinds of strategy. Now it can make a difference what gun you’re using in conjunction with which plasmid, and with the addition of new plasmids and changes to existing plasmids, and new tonics, which are passive abilities,  there are lots of ways you can enjoy the game.

There’s a tonic in the game that makes the cost of spells much, much cheaper, but it only allows you to use the drill, the primary melee weapon of the game, and prevents the use of all other guns, forcing you to seriously rethink your plasmid loadout. If you don’t want to let go of all your guns, level up you Incinerate ability so that you can pour dozens of bullets into your foes while you simultaneously wash them all with a constant stream of fire from your other hand, so while you fill one guy with lead, the rest of the crowd is dancing ablaze in your glorious flame. 

And with improved gunplay comes a slightly more diverse catalog of baddies to fight off, introducing the Brute, a large, powerful and strong variant of the games standard splicer badguy that knows how to take a punch. Bioshock 2 also introduces a new type of Big Daddy that launches rockets and turrets at the player, as well as a secondary “elite” class of Big Daddy’s that are much more aggressive than their standard variants. Another cool addition is that, after you deal with all of the little sisters in an area, you trigger a boss fight with a new character called the Big Sister, who is much faster and a much more legitimate threat than her Big Daddy brethren, and sometimes these encounters get frantic. On one occasion, after saving my last little sister, I set up turrets and sentries to prepare, but a Brute came up on me shortly before the Big Sister arrived. In the ensuing scuffle I had angered a Big Daddy that was wandering by, and once I had drawn his ire the Big Sister arrived, and with her came a handful of splicers and another brute. It was one of the most unexpected, organic and fun experiences I've had with a game in a very, very long time, and I only wish Bioshock 2 had more "Fuck me..." moments. On an unrelated note, I do hope you didn’t click that previous link. To prove to me you have some semblance of self-control, I plead that you do not click the following link.

Bioshock 2 improves the gameplay of its predecessor to actually become fun and exciting to play, and not just cool to wander around listening to audiologs, which is still a joy. The environments in Bioshock 2 are diverse and rich, with each area feeling distinct and unique. The initial rush of exploring a hidden lost world that you get form the first Bioshock, though, is never quite reclaimed, as Bioshock 2 spends less time showing you the world of Rapture and more time telling you its story. The story of Bioshock 2 never reaches the incredible heights of the original’s, but on the whole it is a better story. Specifically, the ending sections of Bioshock 2 are significantly more entertaining and worthwhile than they were in the first Bioshock.

On the whole, it is not at all difficult for me to recommend Bioshock 2 to anybody that remotely enjoyed the first entry in the series. The gameplay is markedly improved over the slower and clunkier initial entry. The story, though lacking the spectacular twist of the first game, is competent and well-paced, remaining entertaining throughout the whole experience. It is worth noting that the end presents a cool segment of gameplay from the perspective of another character that is very intriguing and appropriately short-lived, but no spoilers. The biggest complaint I have with the story is with respect to the final NPC that Delta can choose to kill or spare. Slight spoilers follow, but this is a character that has succumbed to dementia and paranoia. Before his fall into madness he left prerecorded messages pleading however is left to listen to murder the madman he has become. It becomes very clear that the sane man wants the mercy of murder rather than the prolonged suffering of insanity. But the game seems to think otherwise, branding you a villain if you choose to end his suffering, as per his sane requests. Maybe you disagree, but I know that I’m not the only one on the world wide interwebs that thinks this. Incidentally, Gil Alexander went from looking like this:

Sane

To this:

Insane

On a final note, I think I hate you if you’ve clicked on all those little links that I kindly asked you not to open. They’ve only been getting worse with each link. While Andrew Ryan may have been proud of you for choosing and not obeying, I am personally disgusted. Here, the following link is NSFW and you totally deserve this you disobedient scum.