Bioshock 2: An emotional return to world of Rapture :: Editor's Blog at WRAL Tech Wire

Posted Mar. 14, 2010 at 11:40 a.m.

Bioshock 2: An emotional return to world of Rapture

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Editor’s note: “Bioshock 2” from Take-Two Interactive topped the videogames sales list for February. Veteran videogame player Ryan Smith tells us why in this review of the Xbox 360 title.

By RYAN SMITH, special to LTW

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – “Bioshock 1” took us to the wonderful and troubled city of Rapture and the story was carried by a great plot and magnificent characters. Andrew Ryan, Rapture’s creator, easily became one of video game history’s most iconic characters. The Big Daddies and the Little Sisters they protect also join Andrew Ryan in making Rapture such a special game world. Battling the splicers and their genetic manipulations amidst the crumbling ruin of a neo-Atlantis while trying to uncover the mystery of Rapture’s rise and fall was a tremendous experience. It ended with the fall of Andrew Ryan and his nemesis Atlas, all seemingly was well in Rapture, or at least well as could be.

The story didn’t really set itself up for a sequel, but “Bioshock 2” has hit shelves and the player is brought back to Rapture for a second run. Ultimately as the story begins it feels like the first Bioshock all over again. There are a few new weapons and enemies that add just enough variety to keep you going. But at this point the game is lackluster; it isn’t until later in the game until Bioshock 2 really starts to shine. In the first title, the feel of the game is strong because you are a seemingly normal guy fighting your way through Big Daddies, splicer’s of all kinds, and Machiavellian villains as you strive to escape rapture alive.

Bioshock 2’s main storyline difference is the fact that rather than a normal person fighting these monstrosities, you become a Big Daddy yourself. This is an exciting idea, however it isn’t fully delivered upon as you are merely an ‘alpha series’ Big Daddy, lacking the full capabilities of your Big Daddy enemies. However the fact that you get to use the Big Daddy drill and dash attacks makes up for the fact you cannot take as much damage as a full fledged Big Daddy.

To make matters even worse, upgrading your character still requires the procurement of ADAM, Rapture’s gene-tonic and plasmid currency. In order to obtain ADAM, you must defeat a Big Daddy and then either adopt or harvest its undefended Little Sister. Once adopted, you do feel a bit more like a Big Daddy, but unfortunately in order to have your new Little Sister gather any ADAM, you must defend her from wave after wave of Splicers. You’re not even as strong as the true Big Daddies, yet you seem to have far more foes attacking your Little Sister than they ever do. Regardless, once you obtain enough weapons and plasmids to easily dispatch the Splicers, it becomes a non issue and it even becomes one of the more charming aspects of the game.

This time through Rapture you really get a massive arsenal of trap type weapons and plasmids, allowing you to basically fortify any location where you might need to harvest ADAM. Now, once you’ve slain a big daddy, protected the little sister from splicers, and dealt with all of the Little Sisters in that region (ultimately dealing with around three Big Daddy protectors and nine groups of splicers) you then get attacked by the real threat of Bioshock 2, the Big Sisters. Big Sisters are even nastier than Big Daddies, they have greater agility, speed, increased plasmid damage and effects, while also having the usual drill and drill charge attacks. They are a force to be reckoned with and the most challenging foe of the game, but they are very entertaining to battle and add a fresh new twist to the Bioshock formula.

The story itself is not as compelling as in the first title, where you were carried along by the machinations of the villains. The new villain, Dr. Lamb, is nowhere near the villain that Andrew Ryan was, or even Atlas. It’s a much more standard plot, with a mostly regurgitated feel to the level design and battles (despite new weapons and splicers). However, many of the plot twists toward the end of the game end up adding an unexpected level of emotion to the game, when the Big Daddy is finally reunited with his Little Sister, the game really takes off. Unfortunately there isn’t much time left in the story, but at least it ends with an epic bang.

So although the story may be a bit slow in comparison to the first title, it evens out in the end and is worth at least one play through.

Multi-player mode

After that what are we left with? The brand new multiplayer mode. Bioshock 1 was exclusively single player, and no one was complaining about that, it delivered in every area a single player shooter should. However was a multiplayer mode really called for? Probably not, but lets’ see how it measures up to all the other multiplayer shooters of the current time.

It doesn’t come with just one or two modes which is a plus; there are a total of 7 modes to choose from. Mostly however they boil down into the generic multiplayer shooter modes such as capture the flag, death match/team death match and point control. So it has the usual game modes, but it doesn’t quite have the smooth and brutally quick game play of games like Modern Warfare 2 or the superior team-based play of games like Battlefield Bad Company 2.

However, the little quirks that Bioshock 2 adds into each of the multiplayer modes ultimately make them enjoyable. For instance, capture the flag has become capture the Little Sister, the only real unique feature of this capture the blank mode is the fact that one person is chosen to become a Big Daddy to defend the Little Sister (a real Big Daddy, unlike in single player), but the fact that it has been uniquely fitted into the Rapture world makes it charming enough to come back to. This is the case with most of the multiplayer modes.

They are fun, and tied into the world of Rapture well enough, but in the end if choosing between Bioshock 2 and other first person shooter titles when seeking multiplayer action, Bioshock 2 just isn’t the best choice.

However, if your going to pick up Bioshock 2 to see what has happened to Rapture in the eight years since Bioshock 1’s story ended, then you might as well head on over to the multiplayer and check it out, its worth at least a few matches.

Summary ratings, 5 highest score:

• Multiplayer – 3/5
• Single player - 4/5
• Overall – 3.5/5.

About the author: Ryan Smith is a longtime gamer and freelance writer who lives in Raleigh, N.C. A graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in business and marketing, he has written in the past for Local Tech Wire and GameArgus.com. He currently plays Xbox 360 and PC as well as Nintendo DS. He can be reached via e-mail (ryannicksmith@gmail.com)

Other recent LTW game reviews:

Modern Warfare 2 - Read here
Assassins Creed 2 - Read here
Mass Effect 2 - Read here

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Tags: Video game industry, video game review, Epic Games

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