“Bioshock 2” is an interesting proof-of-concept: it is a sequel for a game that did not need a sequel.
The problem lies in the fact that the first Bioshock was a unique game. With its tightly-focused story about a fallen Ayn Randian-inspired city beneath the sea, the game explored a type of narrative hitherto unseen by players.
“Bioshock 2” finds players returning to the waterlogged utopia of Rapture, only this time as a different protagonist. In fact, the main character is an earlier iteration of one of the first game’s mini-bosses, the Big Daddy.
The concept is a little confusing at first. The game takes place 10 years after the events of first Bioshock yet you play as Subject Delta, the first successful Big Daddy. Thankfully, everything is explained in due time—including those missing 10 years.
Developer 2K Marin had some big shoes to fill, taking on the job after the first game’s developer, Irrational Games, declined to make the sequel.
“Bioshock 2” features an exciting and engaging plot with a game-changing twist near the end that keeps one playing into the night long after one should have gone to bed.
In the 10 years since Bioshock protagonist Jack fled Rapture with the Little Sisters, psychologist Sophia Lamb has taken over, indoctrinating most of the city’s denizens into a cult called The Family and setting into motion some big plans for her daughter, Eleanor.
As mentioned before, Subject Delta is a Big Daddy—but as one of the first, he is weaker than the more heavily-armored and better-armed Daddies that roam throughout the game’s levels. The game starts off as a simple quest for reunion (and revenge), but becomes much more.
Unfortunately, though, at its heart, “Bioshock 2” is a game with simply too many “too’s”: too much similarity to the first game, too easy (even on the hardest difficulty) and too long for the narrative to truly start (about 10 hours or so).
One of the game’s earlier antagonists is the Big Sister, a spindly, faster female version of a Big Daddy.
The ease at which she decimates you in your first fight is overwhelming, and yet by the midpoint of the game, Delta can easily take on one or two Big Sisters at the same time.
Originally, the Big Sister was supposed to be more of a “Nemesis” from Resident Evil 3 type of character: something so monstrous, so strong and unbeatable, that you had to either hide or run from.
Instead, in a baffling design choice, 2K Marin simply made her into another enemy type. Never again does a Big Sister recapture that sense of dread felt at the first meeting, which is a shame.
Another baffling design choice is the addition of a multiplayer mode for “Bioshock 2.” In a twist, the multiplayer mode is actually a prequel to the first game, where players can experience Rapture before its fall. Though it is a prequel, there is not a lot of story; it is a multiplayer mode, after all.
The multiplayer offers several types, from capture the flag with Little Sisters being ingeniously used as the flag, as well as straight-up team death-match, and “Adam Grab,” a kind of Halo-esque “Oddball”-type game beside a few others.
“Bioshock 2” is a game that was not needed, but somehow, against all odds, it works. The story, though slow to start, is a powerhouse that packs just as much of an emotional punch as the first game, if not more.
For fans of the first game, returning to Rapture is a no-brainer.