If you enjoyed Bioshock you may be in for a supprise!
The gameplay mechanics of Bioshock 2 have not altered much from the hit 2007 Bioshock game. Fans of the series will no doubt be pleased of this. However there are some modifications worth mentioning. For starters there are changes to the hacking mechanics. You will now find that rather than using a pipe puzzle game like the first Bioshock, you are required to now use a timing puzzle where you hit green sections in tandem to unlock mechanical objects. Another variation from the original gameplay is now you can "dual wield" which essentially means you can have a gun in one hand and use plasmids in the other hand at the same time. This is a big change for gameplay and so puts more of an effort on you to use them in tandem unlike the original Bioshock where you could still focus on using guns over plasmids.
For those of you who have not played the original Bioshock here is a break down. You will play in a very action packed first person shooter. You can use plasmids which are a power up you control such as spouting fire to set enemies and scenery on fire to freezing enemies mid battle with your ice plasmid. These are found as you progress through the game story and leveling up in the multiplayer section which you will find out more about later in the review.
You are fighting creatures of different variations including humans who have been altered using adam which is a genetic altering tonic. These events you may be best playing Bioshock for as there is little explanation to the game story for why this is the case.
You are also going to be able to set certain objects in the game on its creators, such as hacking turrets and flying gun posts which turn them from fighting you into fighting your foes.
All of this feels improved from the last Bioshock game but combat is not this games strong point. It is very good but at times the guns feel flimsy and under powered as you blast five or six bullets into an enemy and they fail to fall.
The story of this game does not feature as many twists and turns that fans of the first Bioshock may come to expect. You will be pleasently supprised at later parts of the game where some gameplay twists aid to the enjoyment of the game. However the story feels more tacked on to the world with characters that the first game failed to mention to you such as the main pantragonist, Lamb. This woman will goad you throughout the game and is made to be an important character along with other people you meet but her rivalry with past characters feels tacked on when she was not mentioned in the previous game.
Another problem with the story is it feels slow to start off with, there is little in explanation at the start of the game through the story telling for why you are in Rapture (the games under water city which you explore) and also the character seems to not question why the city he once lived in which was thriving seems to have turned into a decreped and failing society. Other characters appear but leave no trace after which makes them seem like bit part characeters and one in particular will leave you wandering why the creators put her in, especially after the big part of the first game she played.
As you move around the ever declining Rapture you can see it is slowly crumbling appart from the inside and out. The story telling is done in several ways, you will see cut scenes in the first person perspective, through the eyes of other characters and also through this series focal of sound recordings. These are presented verry well to you and really do add to the enjoyment of the game, however you may skip these but this would damage how much of the game you can really enjoy which is to the detrement of the story telling at times.
Graphics wise this is an improvement over the first Bioshock. As you move around you will see your big shadow and that of the other creatures you enhabit in Rapture. However, the mood does not feel as well made. You will not jump as often, if at all, in this game. This is supprising as those of you who played the first Bioshock will remember events where the lighting and sound effects would trick you. This does not seem to be done in the sequal. There are less genuine moments of scare in this game.
You will find, however, that this game is more emotive than the first. If you listen to the excellent sounding clips left around, you will build the characters up in your mind. You can visualise them more through this game and you get a real feeling of what has happened to the people and build empathy/loathing for those in them. The music score will add to this and genuine emotive moments do happen where you really have to think about the actions you take.
Choice is another part of this series which some of you may not have encountered. This is not as one dimensional as the first game. You still decide the fate of the little sisters you find (little girls who are engineered to collect the adam tonic from dead bodies which is very disturbing) but you now also have the power to decide the fate of other none playable characters.
The excellent visual approach which can leave you awe struck as you see many areas such as under water sections, plantation, twisted metal bending on doors that leaves you inches away from a total flood. The little things also such as the wires for trip mines (which are a new introduction to the universe) and the smoke you walk through emiting from pipes. You will feel like you are in Rapture.
Also added to Bioshock 2 from the original game is the multiplayer experience. This is much better than some of you may have expected. Whilst this is no Call of Duty nor Gears of War, it is compareable to the greats in depth through customization. You will level up the more you play in this title and by doing so will unlock special functions. This includes new plasmids which are variations of the single player versions. You will be able to set fire, freeze and many other things to your rivals. You may also hack gun posts like in the single player and set up booby traps. These are great ideas for the multiplayer but you may get frustrated by the over powering of the plasmids and the one two punch feel to combat (hit them with a plasmid then shoot/mele them) . You may also notice lag from time to time but this is something 2K can work on.
You will see the enironments in a less decreped state as the multiplayer is targeted as a prequal to Bioshock. The environments are less damaged than that of the single player expirence. You will also notice that the levels are very small but this works to the advantage of the small player numbers which also makes it more likely you will find full games than part full games other seemingly single player titles have had problem wise.
Summary
If you loved Bioshock then you will enjoy this. Whilst it is not a game that people may list under their cult titles, you will find a very solid Bioshock universe to explore. This is game you may not enjoy as much if you are not into the 1960's humour mocks and political story interests. If you hated Bioshock you may like this game as its more leveled at how it approaches the story, but you will need to read up on the backstory if you did not finish Bioshock as not everything is as explained as it could be.
With an excellent single player aided with a functional multiplayer experience you will not find many better games out this month if even this year. Fans of the Bioshock universe will feel at home but be warned, it is not Bioshock in plot twists. Buy this if you love action games for the thinking person. Rent it if not.