Raising a lot of eyebrows when it was announced, due to various development issues, Bioshock 2 is easily one of the best first person shooters to be released in the last year.
Picking up 10 years after the events of its predecessor, Bioshock 2 sees you controlling one of the first Big Daddies of Rapture: 'Subject Delta'.
If you are unfamiliar with the 2007 game, Bioshock is set within the underwater city of Rapture and tells the tale of Jack, an individual who's plane crashes into the Atlantic, allowing him to discover the city, and the horrors within.
In the first game it was explained how the scientists of Rapture found a substance within a certain sea slug, ADAM. Once harvested – through inserting the slugs into young girls' stomachs – the Little Sisters (as they became) would extract the ADAM from dead bodies to create plasmids.
The plasmids would then be used to overwrite the user’s DNA, granting them superhuman abilities, with the slight side effect of insanity.
Eventually the populace of Rapture became addicted, thus putting the Little Sisters in vulnerable position, so the scientists counteracted this by creating protectors for the Little Sisters – Big Daddies – mentally conditioned humans in armoured diving suits.
Returning to the city of Rapture, it appears despite the decade of rust and degradation the city is still airtight, though now it is under the control of a new individual – insane psychiatrist Sophia Lamb.
Unlike the first game, where you were an outsider to the city, with Bioshock 2 your character is already established, and is part of the everyday proceedings in Rapture.
Starting off with a cutscene set in 1958, you learn that your little sister, Eleanor, is in fact Sophia Lamb's daughter.
Your character is then forced to commit suicide.
Ten years pass and you find yourself revived in Vita Chamber, receiving psychic messages from Eleanor.
If you are familiar with Bioshock not much has changed with the sequel. The environment is every bit as creepy as the previous installment, with all the signature art deco features and waterfalls in place.
Exploring the city can be quite rewarding, as you will find many corpses to loot and various weapons scattered around. All of these items will come in handy in the fight against the ADAM addicted “Splicers”.
The former residents of the city have also been very considerate in leaving various audio diaries around for you to find and listen to.
As you progress you learn Sophia Lamb and her “family” of splicers have taken control of Rapture, and she was original brought to Rapture by its founding father, Andrew Ryan, to help those who were unable to cope with the life underwater.
Bioshock 2 handles very well. Controlling Delta you come equipped with a massive drill and a host of plasmids, and as you progress you pick up various weapons, all of which are quite satisfying to use.
There's the rivet gun and the hacking pistol, not to mention the various plasmids that grant you all sorts of weird and wonderful abilities. These include telekinesis and the ability to shoot electricity (Emperor Palpatine style), at the various Splicers and Big Daddies you encounter.
During the exploration of Rapture you'll encounter other Little Sisters, who you can choose to adopt or harvest. Adopting them will give you an extra job to do, since they will harvest ADAM from various corpses as you protect them.
Opting to harvest them will reward you ADAM, and as a result will eventually lead to gaining further powers. But be warned – doing either will attract the attention of the Family, and the wrath of the Big Sisters (Little Sisters from the previous game who are all grown up).
Another means of achieving more weapons and plasmids is through hacking the vending machines scattered around Rapture.
The controls for Bioshock 2 are easy to slip into, and the game quickly becomes a breeze to play. The ability to run faster by pressing R3 would be nice, but generally the game plays very smoothly.
Graphically, the game is not up there with its predecessor, but it's still very impressive despite a few bugs here and there.
The sound is also spot on – the Little Sister’s voices balancing perfectly on the edge between cute and just plain freaky.
Unlike the first game Bioshock 2 has an online counterpart, featuring a variety of multiplayer modes. Set just prior to the events of the previous game there is a selection of matches to take part in, ranging from standard team deathmatch to objective-based games like capture the flag – or in the case of Bioshock 2, capture the screaming Little Sister.
Overall, Bioshock 2 is a great game, and while not as groundbreaking or fresh as its predecessor, it is most certainly worth a purchase.
Verdict: 8 out of 10
The Good
Great level design
Beautiful environments
Simple controls
The Bad
A bit too similar to its predecessor
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