Bioshock 2 is the sequel to the very popular and always recognizable Bioshock.
Gameplay: 9.0
Bioshock 2, like the first, is a 1st person shooter allowing the use of weaponry as well as plasmids, which are very similar to magic abilities, such as fire, ice, lightning, hypnosis, etc. Bioshock's greatest gameplay feature was the varying loyalty of the enemies, and being able to take control of enemies, shut them down or just pit them against each other. Bioshock 2 continues along this line of thinking, making for very interesting fights throughout the game.
I guess the worst part of Bioshock 2 is that it's just not that different from the 1st. It might as well be Bioshock: The Expansion. Bioshock's gameplay has always been really good, but I expect more progression through a sequel.
Bioshock 2 also has mini games for hacking machinery, which are significantly less interesting than the original. In the original you would have to solve a puzzle that was timed and involved quick thinking. It was fun. Bioshock 2's method is "stop the cursor in the right spot by pressing 1 button". It might make battles more frantic since the mini games take place in real time instead of stopping gameplay, but the intricacy of the mini games was really nerfed and that was a disappointment for me.
Presentation: 9.5
Again, Bioshock looks wonderful and has a style all it's own. It's dark, twisted and very unique. Not too many complaints can be registered here.
The character models are a little stiff and the facial modeling could be a lot better. I don't know if it was intentional to fit their sort of doll-like models, where everyone looks like a broken down mannequin or something, but it still felt like the quality of the work could be a tad bit better.
Theatrics: 7.5
Bioshock's story, as I've already pointed out, doesn't seem to make very much sense. It's hard for me to accept what I'm seeing and playing as reality, and maybe I shouldn't, so it approaches this gray area of whether the developers didn't really use much common sense and I'm not supposed to consider this world real, or whether they tried for a very abstract story that not a lot of people are going to understand or take seriously.
It's unclear as to whether you are the same character from the first game, and what relevance this story has to the first game's. The story details are really unclear and actually pretty shallow throughout. Most of the story is the typical shooter story of "hey, do what I tell you" except with less deception and less important information than the first one. At points it feels as if story twists and characters are tacked on for the sake of adding a level.
Still, their story isn't terrible, the voice acting is pretty top notch and personally the bad points in the story are pretty easy to overlook as it takes a back seat to the gameplay.
Controls: 10.0
Bioshock 2's controls are actually superior to it's predecessor, which is to be expected. Their biggest improvement is switching between plasmids and weaponry (or more specifically not having to switch), similarly to how Shadowrun does it. In Bioshock 1 you had to press the plasmid button once to switch to it, then again to cast it. It was cumbersome, and Bioshock got rid of it.
The game plays pretty fast and pretty smooth. It's very hard to find a complaint about their controls.
Replay Value: 6.0
Bioshock 2, since it didn't change very much from the original, wasn't a game I was begging to go through again after I completed it once. It felt like barely more than Bioshock 1, so it's hard to consider #2 it's own game and want to explore everything within it. I would have been really disappointed if I bought Bioshock 2 (and I did buy Bioshock 1) and only got about 9 hours of play time out of it, when Bioshock 1 gave me about 25.
Fun: 9.0
Bioshock 2 is still fun, and still worth playing, particularly if you haven't played the first. If you've played the first, it's still fun to go through the game once. Their ideas obviously centered around the original and they didn't stray much at all from that success formula. There are very rare points of frustration, but for the most part, it's a game that's easy to pick up and enjoy.
My Overall Rating: 8.8
Appeal and Recommendations
Fans of more complex shooters should love this game's gameplay. The varying loyalty of enemies makes for more interesting gameplay than running and blasting whatever you see.
The art style will also attract a lot of gamers looking for something that just looks cool. I haven't heard many people say they didn't like Bioshock, so if you haven't played it, now is a good time to start.
Gameplay: 9.0
Bioshock 2, like the first, is a 1st person shooter allowing the use of weaponry as well as plasmids, which are very similar to magic abilities, such as fire, ice, lightning, hypnosis, etc. Bioshock's greatest gameplay feature was the varying loyalty of the enemies, and being able to take control of enemies, shut them down or just pit them against each other. Bioshock 2 continues along this line of thinking, making for very interesting fights throughout the game.
I guess the worst part of Bioshock 2 is that it's just not that different from the 1st. It might as well be Bioshock: The Expansion. Bioshock's gameplay has always been really good, but I expect more progression through a sequel.
Bioshock 2 also has mini games for hacking machinery, which are significantly less interesting than the original. In the original you would have to solve a puzzle that was timed and involved quick thinking. It was fun. Bioshock 2's method is "stop the cursor in the right spot by pressing 1 button". It might make battles more frantic since the mini games take place in real time instead of stopping gameplay, but the intricacy of the mini games was really nerfed and that was a disappointment for me.
Presentation: 9.5
Again, Bioshock looks wonderful and has a style all it's own. It's dark, twisted and very unique. Not too many complaints can be registered here.
The character models are a little stiff and the facial modeling could be a lot better. I don't know if it was intentional to fit their sort of doll-like models, where everyone looks like a broken down mannequin or something, but it still felt like the quality of the work could be a tad bit better.
Theatrics: 7.5
Bioshock's story, as I've already pointed out, doesn't seem to make very much sense. It's hard for me to accept what I'm seeing and playing as reality, and maybe I shouldn't, so it approaches this gray area of whether the developers didn't really use much common sense and I'm not supposed to consider this world real, or whether they tried for a very abstract story that not a lot of people are going to understand or take seriously.
It's unclear as to whether you are the same character from the first game, and what relevance this story has to the first game's. The story details are really unclear and actually pretty shallow throughout. Most of the story is the typical shooter story of "hey, do what I tell you" except with less deception and less important information than the first one. At points it feels as if story twists and characters are tacked on for the sake of adding a level.
Still, their story isn't terrible, the voice acting is pretty top notch and personally the bad points in the story are pretty easy to overlook as it takes a back seat to the gameplay.
Controls: 10.0
Bioshock 2's controls are actually superior to it's predecessor, which is to be expected. Their biggest improvement is switching between plasmids and weaponry (or more specifically not having to switch), similarly to how Shadowrun does it. In Bioshock 1 you had to press the plasmid button once to switch to it, then again to cast it. It was cumbersome, and Bioshock got rid of it.
The game plays pretty fast and pretty smooth. It's very hard to find a complaint about their controls.
Replay Value: 6.0
Bioshock 2, since it didn't change very much from the original, wasn't a game I was begging to go through again after I completed it once. It felt like barely more than Bioshock 1, so it's hard to consider #2 it's own game and want to explore everything within it. I would have been really disappointed if I bought Bioshock 2 (and I did buy Bioshock 1) and only got about 9 hours of play time out of it, when Bioshock 1 gave me about 25.
Fun: 9.0
Bioshock 2 is still fun, and still worth playing, particularly if you haven't played the first. If you've played the first, it's still fun to go through the game once. Their ideas obviously centered around the original and they didn't stray much at all from that success formula. There are very rare points of frustration, but for the most part, it's a game that's easy to pick up and enjoy.
My Overall Rating: 8.8
Appeal and Recommendations
Fans of more complex shooters should love this game's gameplay. The varying loyalty of enemies makes for more interesting gameplay than running and blasting whatever you see.
The art style will also attract a lot of gamers looking for something that just looks cool. I haven't heard many people say they didn't like Bioshock, so if you haven't played it, now is a good time to start.
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