The Digest: 2K Marin dives back into the depths of Rapture to experience life like never before, as a Big Daddy. As a giant walking through the depths of the unknown, 2K Marin and Digital Extremes deliver all of the excitement from the original game, while improving it, and add a great multiplayer that will be sure to keep you playing this game for months.

The Fact Sheet

RELEASE DATE: February 9, 2010
PUBLISHER: 2K Games
DEVELOPER: 2K Marin, 2K Australia, Digital Extremes, and 2K China
ESRB RATING: “M” for Mature
GENRE: Shooter

PRODUCT OVERVIEW:
Step back into the unforgettable world of Rapture in BioShock 2, the next installment in the franchise that has won more than 50 Game of the Year Awards and has sold more than 2.5 million units worldwide. Developed by 2K Marin, 2K Australia and Digital Extremes, BioShock 2 provides players with the perfect blend of explosive first person shooter combat, compelling storytelling and intense multiplayer to form one of 2009’s most highly anticipated titles.

Single Player Features:
•Evolution of the Genetically Enhanced Shooter: Innovative advances bring new depth and dimension to each encounter. New elements, such as the ability to dual-wield weapons and Plasmids, allow players to create exciting combinations of punishment
•Return to Rapture: Set approximately 10 years after the events of the original BioShock, the story continues with an epic, more intense journey through one of the most captivating and terrifying fictional worlds ever created
•You are the Big Daddy: Take control of BioShock’s signature and iconic symbol by playing as the Big Daddy, and experience the power and raw strength of Rapture’s most feared denizens as you battle powerful new enemies
•Continuation of the Award-Winning Narrative: New and unique storytelling devices serve as the vehicle for the continuation of one of gaming’s most acclaimed storylines

Multiplayer Features:
•Genetically Enhanced Multiplayer – Earn experience points during gameplay to earn access to new Weapons, Plasmids and Tonics that can be used to create hundreds of different combinations, allowing players to develop a unique character that caters to their playing style. •Experience Rapture’s Civil War– Players will step into the shoes of Rapture citizens and take direct part in the civil war that tore Rapture apart.
•See Rapture Before the Fall – Experience Rapture before it was reclaimed by the ocean and engage in combat over iconic environments in locations such as Kashmir Restaurant and Mercury Suites, all of which have been reworked from the ground up for multiplayer.
•FPS Veterans Add Their Touch to the Multiplayer Experience – Digital Extremes brings more than 10 years of first person shooter experience including development of award-winning entries in the Unreal® and Unreal Tournament® franchise.

Single Player

As the original Bioshock was a great game, it’s hard to imagine that there was anything left to improve with Bioshock 2 . Surprisingly, 2K Marin exceeded my personal expectations by far with their in-depth presentation of Rapture. In fact, I only have 3 complaints from the game: The story is relatively short, the hacking mini-game turns into a chore, and the middle-section of the story is boring but is made up for with a terrific ending (Don’t worry, there are no spoilers in this review.)

Despite the actual storyline being short enough to finish in a few days, the world is so open and full of exploration. You can spend more time exploring every room of Rapture than the actual story with the only benefit being the piles of money and journals scattered around. This turns into a lot of mashing of the ‘A’ button due to nearly every drawer containing ether money, canned meat, or alcohol. Consequently, ether your wallet becomes full and you can’t pick up more money or Big Daddy becomes tipsy due to drinking too much.

The other problem with this game is the Hacking mini-game. Despite it becoming harder as the game progresses, it becomes a chore and very boring. Most of the game requires the hacking to be completed in order to open doors but for other parts, it turns into a much harder game. In order to progress, the security cameras, drones, and turrets in your way can only be destroyed with a great amount of brute force… or you can hack it. Even the vending machines require hacking or else the prices are exorbitant. While there are specific tonics that simplify the hacking process, they obviously knew that it would become difficult because they even give the option to skip any hacking all together by paying a small fee. In an unrelated note, there is no color-blind option for Bioshock 2 which can make the game unplayable by up to 10% of the population. See the Joystiq article here and the picture below with the distinguishable colors.

Multiplayer

The Rundown: The Multiplayer is a new aspect of Bioshock and 2K Marin wisely exported it to Digital Extremes. Well it is essentially a giant clone of Call of Duty with perks, classes, challenges and attachments; the other features like damage bonuses and a random Big Daddy suit that anybody can get, makes it desirable to play. The normal game modes such as capture the flag and Team Deathmatch (Thanks Call of Duty) are cleverly turned into Capture the Little Sister and Civil War.

The multiplayer portion is experienced through the eyes of an ordinary citizen of Rapture before its explosive fall into chaos. The first step of multiplayer is to pick an ordinary citizen. As your character progresses through the level system, with 40 being the highest, he/she unlocks new weapons, attachments, plasmids, and tonics. Probably the greatest aspect of Bioshock 2 is the fact that you can dual wield a plasmid with a weapon. In your class, you can make the best possible 1-2 punch.

The other great choice by Digital Extremes is the choice to make the Big Daddy suit accessible to everybody. Instead of making someone get 10 kills in a row to get a reward, you have to find the suit first. Even if you are doing bad you can become the Big Daddy and bring impending death to the people who were killing you before. This evens out the playing field significantly, in that even if you’re wining the other team can still gain the upper hand if they find the Big Daddy suit. This extra level of pressure on the winning team ensures that every match, no matter how one-sided, will be an adrenaline filled match.

Single Player:10/10 | Multi-Player:9/10

Special thanks to Access Communications for providing us with a copy of the game for review.

Second Opinion

By: Andrew Dai

In perhaps one of the most anticipated sequels of 2010, a number of solid improvements combine with fresh gameplay and a unique multiplayer mode to give us Bioshock 2, 2K Marin and Digital Extreme’s newest creation. Gamers once again submerge into the dark depths of Rapture, and explore through the eyes of one of Bioshock’s most symbolic figures: a Big Daddy.

Single Player: Maybe it was the opening cut scene that gave me an unsatisfying but understandable glimpse into the upcoming storyline. Or maybe it was the experience of walking on the ocean floor for the first time, watching a Big Daddy defend his Little Sister through a glass window. Whatever it was, there was just something about Bioshock 2 that had me hooked from the start. This game truly embodies the notion of “quality over quantity.” Unlike most sequels which set up the same characters in a new environment, Bioshock 2 gives gamers a second chance. A second chance at that “Good Ending,” a second chance at understanding what went on in Rapture, a second chance to explore the failed-utopia that is Rapture. Audio logs feel more relatable than the first game, usually presenting the normal life of a citizen suddenly interrupted on New Year’s Day of 1960. However, it isn’t without its faults. Playing on normal, I found that despite having tough armor enemies could take a good portion of my health bar with a single swing of a wrench. Yes, the hacking can get tedious and feel like a necessary evil at times, but it is a great replacement of the hacking mini-game of Bioshock. In every sense, Bioshock 2 is a great improvement of the first game, and its few and minor cons certainly don’t match up to its pros.

Multi-Player: In one of the most unique methods I’ve ever seen a game “explain” the character customization, it certainly started my first multiplayer match off with a bang. In your player’s apartment, gamers are able to customize their weapons, plasmids, and appearance, glance at the leaderboards, and find a lobby by exiting. Centralizing the whole multiplayer experience into one room, it was only one of many things Bioshock 2 did well with its adventure into online multiplayer. Matches don’t feel crammed in at the last second and flow extremely well with the entire experience. A simplified hacking system makes setting traps at ammo stations or converting an enemy turret to your side fun, fast, and easy. But most importantly, the addition of a Big Daddy suit spawning randomly on the map accessible to both sides create a mini-Tug-of-War moment when it appears. On top of being a thrill to get into one, it can easily turn the tide of the match and give the losing side the advantage. All of this fits perfectly into one of the most enjoyable multiplayer experience I’ve had. Matches run smoothly and every kill is satisfying, even more so when you electrify someone for the first time.

Conclusion: Bioshock 2 has somehow taken the masterpiece that was Bioshock and improved a seemingly un-improvable game. The single player feels more “human” than the first, and the multi-player wraps it all up in a nice bow. Overall, it is probably one of the best games this writer has ever played… at least until Bioshock 3 comes out.

Single Player:10/10 | Multi-Player:10/10