Just when you thought it was safe to go back underwater…

SETUP.EXE

Irrational Games plunges us once again into the underwater city of Rapture in the new FPS BioShock 2. Having played the original (see my review here) I’ve been looking forward to loading this one up.

GAME MECHANICS

The game mechanics are nearly identical to its predecessor. The game takes place eight years after the original. Rapture’s a bit darker, leakier and more barnacle covered this time around. But you’ll still run into its denizen of wacked out genetically modified Splicers. The biggest change by far is that you play a bona fide drill in hand Big Daddy. Though you a missing your little sister. As the plot unfolds you discover who she is who you are and what you’re doing down there.

While the levels aren’t particularly linear unlike before there’s no going back after you progress. Like the original objectives are communicated by short wave radio while the back story is epistolary by means of voice diaries scattered about. Occasionally, someone talks to you in person however the player never speaks. That’s not to say there are no choices. How you conduct yourself has implications including impacting the end.

There’s a new offering of weapons more tailored to a Big Daddy. As mentioned before the melee weapon is a big drill which you can use to either club Splicers or drill them in half. Early on you add the rivet gun to your arsenal. The old standby machine gun and shotgun make a comeback. And there are some new choices. Once again, the weapons have multiple ammo types. However you don’t invent the unique ammo from spare parts like in the original. The other way to shoot the enemies is with a research camera. This time around it’s a video recorder. Your research progresses faster when you dispose of enemies using different techniques. Each research track yields four bonuses.

Plasmids again play a big part by allowing the player to change their DNA to produce X-Men like abilities. You’ll find your favorites from BioShock 1 plus a few new ones. Unlike the original the passive gene tonic plasmids are not categorized. You are free to load the slots up as you please.

The hacking mini game has changed. It now looks like a gauge where the needle bounces back and forth and you have to execute a well timed mash to stop it in a green zone or blue to get a bonus. Landing on the white gives you a jolt. Landing on red triggers security. The other change to hacking is you no longer have to get up close. You can initiate a hack by firing a remote hack dart. The hackable devices are the same: security cameras, turrets, flying bots, safes, vending machines, health stations and some locked doors. There are gene tonics which decrease the difficulty level of the puzzles. There are also auto hack darts for when you’re not feeling up to it. And oddly you can pay to auto hack things.

The environment plays into combat the same ways as before. Oil puddles can be lit on fire which spreads to enemies. Which can then run to a puddle of water to extinguish themselves, but the water can also be used to facilitate their electrocution. There are also the usual explosive canisters lying about. Using the telekinesis plasmid the player can grab nearly any game object and hurl it against enemies.

MULTIPLAYER

Yes it now has multiplayer. But I’m not sure that’s a good thing. It’s explained as taking place prior to the first game during the revolution. There are several game types death match of course but also objective games like capture the little sister. You get a limited build out of weapons and plasmids. The plasmid power is reduced from the single player game to balance things out. I played a bit and feel like they did a good job but somehow it was missing the fun factor. Now that there are a good number of dedicated multi-player games having the option isn’t as compelling as it was a couple years ago.

CONCLUSION

If you liked BioShock 1 you’ll enjoy 2 but don’t expect anything revolutionary. The first game benefited greatly from its uniqueness. The sequel is not without its charms but it feels like a rehash. It has the same solid game play; however I liked the original hack mini-game better and missed the ghosts. There is also less of a horror element to the game even if the atmosphere was grungier. Playing as a Big Daddy you feel less vulnerable and that eats at the tension some. There are new underwater sequences but you don’t really do much out there. There are new weapons and while cool they’re not that interesting. They did do a good job of bringing in collectivism as new philosophy to ponder but I didn’t feel like it was explored as much as unchecked capitalism. They do deserve credit for not doing anything to poison the IP water as some sequels do. Though I’m not sure how they can eek out another one, unless it takes place before the original as Rapture’s gotten a bit too rusty.

Rating: B+