BioShock 2

Developer - 2K
Publisher - 2K Games
Year - 2010
Genre - FPS
Format Reviewed - PS3
Other Formats - Xbox360
Players - 1
ESRB Rating - M
BBFC Rating - 18
HD Space min (PS3) - 5GB
Resolution: 1080p
Bioshock 2 © 2K Games

The first Bioshock never really needed a sequel, in much the same way that it could be argued that the original System Shock never required one; nonetheless here we are in 2010, once again ready to explore the world of Rapture, can this dangerous, underwater city enrapture us just as much a second time round?

One of the most iconic figures from the last game, the Big Daddies, relentless protectors of their Little Sisters protégés, made quite the impression, so the prospect of playing as one as promised in the days and months before the game's release made some interesting reading. Straight to the point is that playing as one of the behemoths doesn’t make the game too easy, in fact the difficulty is on par with the first entry in the series, with the optional vita-chambers – which act as re-spawn points – on hand in case it all becomes too much.

Subject Delta, one of the Big Daddy prototypes, and the first to be bonded to a little sister, is on a course to his last days. During a normal run to find Adam with his little sister, the two encounter a group of Splicers, after a short battle Delta is hypnotised and forced to take his own life.

Ten years pass before Delta awakens to the world of Rapture, a world shaken by Jack’s assassinating Andrew Ryan in the first game a year ago; needless to say Rapture has seen better days, with many sectors of the city spouting numerous leaks or completely flooded in. Sofia Lamb has taken over what’s left of the city, and is intent on making sure that Delta doesn’t reunite with his little sister, who also happens to be her daughter Eleanor. Brigid Tenenbaum, the creator of the Little Sister project from the first game, tells Delta that he must find his little sister before his bonding condition shuts him down for good. To this end, she joins you up with Augustus Sinclair, a plasmid scientist who never seems entirely trustworthy.

The story is great throughout, even if most of it is played out via radio contact and the scattered audio diaries that have become a stable of the genre. And with some great twists and multiple endings that we won’t spoil, and it is certainly is worth experiencing more than once to see them all. A massive change from the prior game is the fact that the game is completely linear this time around, with it broken down into separate chapters. Once you leave a chapter, you can’t go back, so make sure you find everything you can in each level before preceding to the next, though this cuts back on the backtracking, it does make Rapture feel less like a complete, cohesive world where you could go anywhere at anytime as in the first.

The game still retains the first person roots of its forebear, and most of it other quirks, like it non-regenerating health in an industry were a recovering one is now standard; making the use of first-aid kits vital. It may seem like an anachronism in this day and age, but it goes a long way to make you fearful of every new corner, at least it does when you turn the Vita-Chambers off, as otherwise death is fairly redundant, since you’ll always re-spawn, ready to continue the fight with any real penalty.

Unlike Jack in the first game, Delta is capable of duel wielding, making for faster paced combat; weapons include the use of a gatling gun as well as a shotgun, spear-gun and the use of a rivet gun as a lethal weapon. Plasmids and tonics make a return, the former genetic enhancements that allow Delta to shoot off elemental and other kinds of bizarre projectiles out of his fingertips; whilst tonics act as augments to increase his strengths or reduce consumption. Delta is armed with a spiral drill, which can be used to smack and mince enemies, but the device quickly drains fuel, making it a constant pain to find more; later on Delta is able to do a charging attack with the drill, scattering his enemies all around him.

Hacking has also been changed completely, with the pipe-mania-ish mini-game being replaced by a simple stopping of a needle running back and forth across a bar similar to that of a sports game’s angle gauge. While it lacks the charm of its predecessor, it does make hacking a more immediate and riskier affair, as the game doesn’t pause while you do so like before, meaning that the thing you are hacking, splicers, and anything else in the area will still be able to attack you during your attempts.

Joining the ranks of splicer enemies from the first game are Brutes, hulking masses of muscle. The major new big daddy is in the form of a rocket-propelled-grenade wielding, turret layer, though there is another type of Daddy which we won’t spoil. However, the biggest of the new enemies comes in the form of the big sister.

Agile, ferocious and well armoured, the Big Sisters are tough opponents to face and provide some of the highlights in the game, particularly early on in the game, when they are put to great use in some well thought out set-pieces. It’s just a shame that after a few encounters with them, you realise that the encounters are operated via triggers that can be predicted and manipulated much more readily than you might initially think.

Delta, as a Big Daddy, albeit a prototype, can adopt Little Sisters after dispatching with their Big Daddy guardians. He can then get the sister to search for corpses rich in ADAM, the currency needed to buy new plasmids and tonics; since ADAM gathering attracts the unwanted attention of splicers to the scene, Delta is armed with various traps to put to good use against the enemies. Gatherings can be fairly random, ranging from walks in the parks to immensely tough scourges. Before you decide to adopt, or when you have gathered from two bodies, you will also be giving the option to rescue or harvest the little sister, as before there are benefits and costs to one verses the other, can your decisions will have an affect on the game’s ending and how the game progresses.

Bioshock 2 is using the same engine to run as its predecessor, and the underwater world of Rapture looks just as amazing as ever, the city looks like a living, breathing world; at times it looks absolutely breathtaking. Characters walk around and interact with each other, and respond with realistic action and behaviours. Animation is spot-on and varied, whilst textures are extremely detailed; Bioshock 2 is one fine looking game.

Unfortunately the high fidelity of the graphics means that the frame rate occasionally stutters when the action gets busy. There is an option to prioritise frame rate, at the cost of visual quality, however the frame rate, even at it worst rarely becomes an actual nuisance.

Strangely, giving the game’s rating – both in the UK and Stateside – there is a surprising lack of gore, considering the fact that you’re able to shove a spinning mining drill into your enemies, as well as shoot them with rivet, Gatling guns and harpoon like spear-guns. Downed enemies either just land on the ground, or explode into clouds of claret – or smash into tiny pieces after being frozen.

Also noteworthy is that while the mutated splicers, and the still very creepy little sisters look somewhat authentic, the supposedly normal, non-spliced humans have an awkward habit of looking a bit too much like they reside right in the middle of uncanny valley.

Sound design is spot-on with the period music reflecting the sensibilities of the time period Rapture is struck in, and superb voice acting in both the game and the numerous audio diaries throughout. Guns sound as meaty as the chunks of flesh they tear off, and the heavy bass footfalls and the deep, whale-like calls of the Big Daddies are as ominous as they ever were, as are the high-pitched shriek that accompanies the arrival of the Big Sister. This is one game that truly demands the use of a Dolby Digital receiver.

While Bioshock 2 is just more of the same, this is one of those times where such a thing is enough to warrant purchase on its own, in spite looking a little worse for wear in places, Rapture is still as captivating as before, and although this will probably be last time we visit the ruinous, undersea city, this second trip is seriously worth considering.

8/10