Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink. Bioshock 2 takes us back into the ideological hell hole that is Rapture, the underwater city with a dying soul. Just how did 2K Marin, a team composed of 4 different developers, take one of the most interesting and politically charged games of 2007 and make a sequel to such a complete story? An even greater question is; did they succeed in meeting or even surpassing the original in terms of quality? Bioshock 2 has come to show us who’s the Daddy of atmospheric shooters, but perhaps it’s not quite the powerhouse it ought to be.

I suppose it’s best to know exactly why Bioshock 2 is one of the most tense sequels in the history of gaming. You see, it all comes down to two things, Ken Levine and Multiplayer. Ken Levine was the original designer of Bioshock, the visionary behind the project. It was his ideas and writing that helped make Rapture the unique setting rooted in objectivism. He didn’t return to make Bioshock 2, and you can tell, Rapture has lost some of its character in the loss of Ken’s input, and while the game has a much more focused and sublime story this time round, it lacks the “oomph” of a strong plot twist that the first game had. It even lacks the same sort of characters that the first game reveled in, a large percentage of the main cast aren’t insane or spliced in Bioshock 2, something that made encounters with other inhabitants in the first Bioshock both intriguing and terrifying. We are instead given a group of characters with subtle personality defects, OK perhaps it’s more realistic, but only one new character can be put up with the likes of Cohen and Steinman in terms of sick fascination and he’s by far the most farfetched of the lot. The second issue, multiplayer, was when 2K Games announced the sequel would include a 10 player online multiplayer mode, much to the horror of die-hard fans. Many complained that the game shouldn’t have one, many argued it was a sign of the times and plenty held up a placard saying “The end of single player is nigh”. However those naysayers can all go away, because Bioshock 2 has both a great single and multiplayer modes, and I can assure you, that neither feels “underdeveloped” in any way.

Story

So what of the game itself? Well for single player, you take on the role of Delta, a Big Daddy who is suddenly given the luxury, or perhaps curse, of freewill. Told that if you don’t find your Little Sister soon your body will shut down, you begin an epic and terrifying quest into the new dying Rapture, run by the left-wing extremist Sofia Lamb. The plot of the game is pretty interesting, with a stronger focus on the Big Daddy and Little Sister relationship and a glance at the political ideology that Lamb touts. It’s not quite as textured as the original Bioshock’s political commentary and it’s pretty paper-thin how the developers try to squeeze in this new ideology into Rapture.  I understand we need a new antagonist, but Sophia’s character just doesn’t feel like the kind of person who would ever go to or make it into Rapture. It’s an inconsistency that nagged at me throughout, but regardless I enjoyed the story. It’s almost contradictory to say how there’s more of a narrative here, but still not enough depth.

Rapture is familiar to all of us already. And the developers fail to introduce anything truly fascinating from the setting, relying on the underwater segments for sudden moments of artistic beauty before throwing you back into the familiar crumbling metropolis. There is one segment of the game that is truly inspired and incredibly effective late into the story and it gives a glimpse of a truly great concept, but it’s both short and impossible to “lose”. It’s a glimpse of genius amongst segments of familiarity, but none of it is “bad”.

Gameplay

But enough of story, what of the gameplay? Surely that’s the crux of any game! Well Bioshock 2 feels comfortably familiar but also refreshingly different. Many of the new plasmids are “re-runs”, but the ability to upgrade them and make them more powerful gives them a new and interesting “charge” effect that can be a real game changer later on. The new plasmids aren’t perhaps as entertaining as the classics, but one or two, (in particular the “scout” one) have their charms and introduce some cool new ideas for tackling problems. The weapons fare better in the “new” department. Playing as a Big Daddy gives you a fantastically satisfying Drill (complete with “Drill Charge” upgrade later on) and some great new guns such as the Rivet Gun and Hack Tool add new combat possibilities. Even the new shotgun feels decidedly weightier and more powerful than your old one. You feel you have a real presence in Rapture this time; Splicers fear you and will often flee or get into groups if alone. This also leads to more ambushes, making survival much more difficult in group attacks, and with the new Little Sister mechanic you are bound to be overwhelmed at times. You see, the Little Sisters in Bioshock 2 play a much more dominant role, instead of merely harvesting or saving them you can now adopt them and carry them to corpses to collect more ADAM for yourself (ADAM being the genetic currency of the game used to buy new Plasmids). However while your Little Sister is down on the ground feverishly gathering, her activities will alert the near-by Splicers who will come charging at her, ready to steal her precious ADAM. It’s initially quite a cool idea, and some moments in the game that use this mechanic are really tense and enjoyable. Unfortunately the segments outstay their welcome and the temptation to just kill the Little Sisters grows with each passing death. Not only that, but after you save the last Little Sister in an area, the game, rather unhelpfully, drops a Big Sister, basically an agile Big Daddy with a grudge. These fights are horrible, as not only did you just use all of your ammo and EVE (plasmid ammo) on the previous enemies, but the Big Sister is the hardest enemy in the game by a long shot! I actually found it easier to plan my escape from her than actually kill her, spending the last few moments in an area feverishly sprinting to the exit. I did manage to complete every protection, but I can’t say I enjoyed them all…

Multiplayer

As for the multiplayer, it’s good, really good in fact, better than I was expecting and far better than most critics have been touting. The online mode takes place during Rapture’s Civil War. And no, it’s not just a framing device; there is some actual story here. Audio diaries, a CG prologue and unlockable back stories exist throughout the campaign of currently 40 levels (set to expand to 50 levels on March 11th with a downloadable pack). It’s not only loaded with presentation details, but it’s also really good. The game play is much more like Bioshock 1, with classic weapons from the first game (pistol, 4-shot shotgun, machine gun) and even a few new ones (nail gun, double barrel shotgun). Mixed with an interesting, if somewhat weakened, plasmid selection and you get a multiplayer unlike any other. It feels equal parts chaotic and survivalist. Your health is paramount but with so much going on it’s hard not to “Rambo” and go crazy with the bullets and plasmids. Fortunately you get used to the amount of new mechanics you won’t find in any other shooter, including hacking turrets, setting vending machine traps, plasmid traps and finding the Big Daddy Suit (an upgrade that gives you a rivet gun, some proximity mines, a paralysing stomp, a great deal more health, but stops your health regenerating). I personally really like the multiplayer, but there’s one very distinct and massive flaw. The levelling system is flat out unfair. I’m not using this as a place to whine, I’m actually quite a high level, but the way you gain new powers gives higher levels an advantage, no ifs or buts, when one of the upgrades is “carry more ammo” without any downside then you know the game cannot be balanced. I wouldn’t say it was impossible or unplayable, not by a long shot, but these guys should have taken a note from Valve, don’t make the upgrades better, just different.

Conclusion

So in the end, is it worth diving back into Rapture? Well, maybe. It certainly isn’t as good as the first game, but that’s like saying a ruby isn’t as good as a diamond, it’s true enough, but it doesn’t diminish the value of the ruby. I would certainly recommend this to Bioshock fans that don’t mind the continuation of the story and are willing to see this game as what it is, not what it could be. As a game, the mechanics are better, the graphics and sound more polished (the game sports a fantastic selection of 20’s and 30’s music), the overall feel of your character feels more fluid and the new weapons and plasmids are great. But as a narrative sequel to Bioshock, there’s a real feeling of crow barring, a story is forced into the already fully fleshed out tale from the first, and while it’s actually quite a decent plot it still doesn’t sit well with the previous entry. The multiplayer is a great addition, but by no means sells the game at the full retail price. I’d say that Bioshock 2 is worth at least trying, I enjoyed it a great deal, but I could understand how some die-hard fans would loathe it, others will love it (Silent Joe, from the podcast and Rapture Rising loves it, and he’s pretty die-hard) and the casual observer will probably find something to like. So overall, a great game, occasionally a fantastic one, but living in the over bearing shadow cast by the original.

I give it an 8/10 on the Zippy Scale.