Last time we covered a game I didn’t like all too much, so I figured that the best way to get the bland aftertaste out of my mouth would be to revisit a game I haven’t covered for this site. What better choice than the second entry to one of top five video game series of all time, BioShock 2. A sequel to what is considered one of the greatest games ever made and for good reason. I don’t get to talk about BioShock a lot, but it holds a special place in my heart because it’s one of few first person shooters out there that aims to do more that offer some good bullet flying action. It has a unique setting with a 1930s aesthetic, interesting sci-fi horror elements, political themes that are worth analyzing, an engaging story that handled said themes really well, sandbox-esque levels that rewarded exploration, and much more. All brought to you by the amazing Ken Levenee who was also the lead designer to cult classic immersive-sim System Shock 2, which BioShock was attempting to be a more modernized spiritual successor to. That isn’t to say BioShock is perfect. Compare it to a majority of immersive-sims you find out that it has some of the weakest elements for one. Everything after the two biggest plot twists seems to be somewhat weak, and the driving factor as to whether you got the good ending or bad ending was pretty dumb as it wasn’t all too well accounted for.
Despite that I do think BioShock is a masterpiece. The pros are so strong that they blast away the cons and I wish I could forget everything so I could experience stepping into Rapture for the first time again. When BioShock was first released Irrational Games, the developers, were afraid it would flop since it was a new IP competing against other 2007 shooters like Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4. Turns out the game was a massive success and was chosen as Game of The Year by many outlets. It did well enough that Irrational began working on a sequel to capitalize on the success of the new found property. Released three years after the original is BioShock 2. Same city, gameplay, and this time you get to play as a Big Daddy, one of the most iconic enemies in the game. There was a lot of hype when BioShock 2 was first revealed. Controlling a Big Daddy, living an epic power fantasy, and getting to see a whole new perspective of Rapture. Hopes were high, but when the game finally came out reception was all over. Critics loved it because it was more BioShock, but that was kind of the problem with fans. It was just more of the same with very little being done to innovate. Used the same engine, reused assets, and your arsenal of tools was literally the same just with a whole different look.
I wouldn’t say reception for BioShock 2 was mixed, but more that it was confused. The studio obviously put a lot of work into it more so than most developers, but at the same time they were playing it safe. That’s why a majority of fans call it BioShock 1.5 and honestly I do agree with them. Again, this is just more BioShock…. And I am totally fine with it. I love the first game and we aren’t gonna get another game like it ever again. I would rather have more of something that barely comes out and no one has managed to replicate since than a game that is either trying to pump out a new entry each year like Call of Duty or throws in elements that contradict what made the formula great originally like Halo 4 and Halo 5. That’s why I defend BioShock 2 and upon finishing it again recently I gained further appreciation. It’s still not the first game and has a fair share of problems, but I think it’s amazing and makes a lot of quality of life improvements. In fact, I would say it’s much better than BioShock Infinite and in some cases a much better video game than the first BioShock. It’s a fantastic game and today I want to talk about why it deserves your attention. Take another trip to the deep blue.
Story
If you don’t know anything about the universe of BioShock then let me give you a brief rundown of how things work. Andrew Ryan, formerly a businessman, got tired of both government and religious shenanigans and used his fortune to construct a city along the ocean floor. Ryan’s goal was to create a place where artists, scientists, and thinkers alike could express and sell their ideas without having to be taxed or restricted. People of all races and cultures were allowed into the city if they figured out its existence, but once they were let in they were not allowed to leave or tell anyone of the outside world about it. Of course this created a problem and Ryan’s reign slowly started to anger the public. Scientists soon discovered some weird slugs on the ocean floor and these slugs contained a chemical. They began to test it and discovered when put into human bodies it could rearrange their genetic code. Allowing them to do things human beings normally wouldn’t be able to do like ignite fire in their hands without a lighter, levitate objects, or summon bees out of nowhere. This substance was called Adam and Plasmids, the powers which Adam gave, became a hot product in the city. Of course things went horribly wrong, the city fell apart, Ryan died, and it’s all left abandoned.
Before the fall of Rapture there existed a special Big Daddy. The early concept for these fierce giants were more like human divers rather than round tanks. You were one of these earlier Big Daddies, named Subject Delta, and you protected a Little Sister named Eleanor. You loved her for all she was. A cute daughter who looked to you for guidance and protection. You were always by her side day and night until one fateful day. She is attacked by a gang of thugs and Delta springs into action to save his daughter. One of the thugs is carrying a new Plasmid which is designed to mind control Big Daddies and walking into the room is Eleanor’s biological mother. Sofia Lamb, one of the top scientists in Rapture. Her daughter has been missing for quite some time and she was shocked to find out that she had become a Little Sister and that she had grown attached to a monster. So she uses a Plasmid to control Delta and the first thing she does is forcefully make him commit suicide in front of Eleanor. Traumatizing the little girl and never to be seen again. Until now, because we need a plot for a 2nd game!
Subject Delta awakens a few weeks after the events of the first game. Ryan is dead, Fontaine has been slain, and all that is left are the crumbling ruins of Rapture. Lamb is still around though and now she has full control of the city. She never agreed to Ryan’s view of objectivism, but instead saw a world driven by collectivism. She wants to share her knowledge equally with everyone, but to do so they must follow her commands and give her what she needs to achieve these goals. Eleanor is alive and well, but is fearful for what her mother will bring upon them all. She is able to resurrect Delta using a vita chamber, and sends him on a journey to find her. Stop Lamb and hopefully be reunited with your former daughter. Along the way you’ll meet Tenembeum, the creator of the Little Sisters who ask you to free the remaining ones, and Sinclair, a bright eyed man who's willing to help you along your journey. The plot is pretty simple, but as you know this is BioShock and we all know there’s more secrets lying under the surface.
Gameplay
If you played the original BioShock then you should know what to expect of BioShock 2. Explore a series of open-ended levels, fight any enemies thrown your way, try to survive the hostility of the world, scavenge for resources, and try to reach your objective. You can be attacked at any time and some enemies will be setting up ambushes for you. There’s six weapons for which you can use to defend yourself and knowing when to use specific tools can make some encounters a bit more trivial. The Drill is a powerful melee weapon and can spin to deal continuous damage, but it’s short range and more of a fall back option if you run out of ammo. The Rivet Gun is like a pistol in that it has decent range, decent attack power, and can be easily reloaded. Chaingun is basically a machine gun that rapidly fires away, but easily uses up bullets. Shotgun which has two barrels deals heavy damage up close, but has a low ammo capacity and long reload time. The Grenade Launcher can deal heavy damage in packs as long as you don’t stand in the blast, and finally the Speargun which serves as a replacement to the crossbow can deal heavy damage from long range and its ammo can be retrieved from corpses. Each gun also has two different ammo types outside the basic ones. Much like the weapons themselves, knowing when to use certain ammo types can make combat more trivial. Special ammo is often rare so use it very sparingly.
If you are low on health you can either use a health pack in your inventory, eat food found in the environment, or use a healing station. Ammo and health packs can also be bought from vending machines using cash looted from foes or in the world. Guns are the only option you have though as you also have those trusty Plasmids. The thing BioShock is a signature for. With the power of Adam you can now shoot lightning from your hand, which is very useful as it stuns foes for a certain period of time. Fire to burn foes with time, telekinesis to throw objects about, freeze your foes, launch them into the air with a draft, summon murder hornets, and much more. Some of the powers you obtain can even be used on the environment like electricity to shock pools of water, fire to ignite oily surfaces, or telepathically throw a barrel of gasoline. It’s fun stuff, but uses a resource called Eve. Think of it much like psy energy in Prey or the magic meter in Dishonored. Eve drains whenever you use your powers and has to be refilled by either using an Eve Hypo or consuming certain items. Plasmids can also be upgraded at Gatherer's Gardens using Adam and you can even purchase maximum health upgrades, maximum eve upgrades, and one of numerous tonics. These are basically perks and they grant Delta passive buffs and skills. Increase the might of your drill, lower the rate for which security cameras are alerted, gain even whenever you are hit with an elemental attack, and much more. Adam is special though in that you cannot loot it off basic goons. You instead have to locate Little Sisters, carriers of Adam, and they are often being protected by the Big Daddies. What are basically boss enemies roaming around each level. They are often hard to miss, but fighting a Big Daddy is tricky. They will pummel you, shoot as many projectiles as they can, and rush towards you if you try to run away. Come well equipped if you want to fight one and keep the pressure up.
Unlike the first game where you have the option to save the Little Sister for a partial amount of Adam or go harvest them for a ton you now have a third option. Since you are a Big Daddy you can now adopt the Little Sister and ride them around to find more Adam. Locate a body which contains more Adam and defend the Little Sister until she harvests it. A barrage of foes will then come your way to halt the process and if you die then you have to start all over. Much like the Big Daddies you want to come prepared, set up some traps, and initiate the sequence when you are ready. Once you save or harvest all the Little Sisters in a level a new type of enemy spawns in. The Big Sister, an agile fighter who can deal tons of damage, is super aggressive, and wields a lot of the Plasmids you use. They will pursue you no matter what so do your best to survive every confrontation you have with them. Besides that there’s nothing really much else to say. I can talk about things like hacking or the Power to The People stations which upgrade your guns, but overall this is a pretty fun and straightforward game to play. Pursue your goals, get stronger with each upgrade you obtain, and hopefully find Eleanor.
Thoughts
BioShock 2 is a wonderful trip down memory lane for me. For the most it gives me more of what I liked about the original with quality of life improvements. The combat loop is still great, but a few shooter fans may not like how much slower paced these games were. A lot of shooters now seem to put a ton of focus on fast paced action, hounding you from all sides, and spectacle. I say that should not always be the case with shooters and BioShock reminds me why. It feels like an even blend between old school shooter design, new school shooters, and some survival elements. Scavenging your surroundings can be incredibly important especially in the early game where ammo is sparse and you don’t have a lot of cash to afford everything you need. Make every shot count and use environmental hazards to your advantage. Know when to use certain guns, but try not to abuse your power and tools too much as the resources they utilize can run dry. Your guns pack a lot of weight and I especially love the thud of the double barrel shotgun. One of the best I have ever shot in a shooter. Then there are of course the quality of life improvements. For one you can melee attack using any weapon now. In the first game, the wrench was the only weapon that could do this. It’s fine, but if you are in a stressful scenario where you just need to do a quick melee up close then you can’t. BioShock 2 lets you do this which is great for if you just don’t want to waste a shot or don’t have enough time to reload. You can also wield guns and Plasmids at the same time, because in the original you had to swap between the two. Logically it made sense because Jack couldn’t wield two handed guns easily and Delta’s tools are actually designed to be used one handed. However, it created a lot of inconveniences and the button mapping did not help either. Sometimes you waste an Eve Hype because it’s mapped to the same button as the reload button, medkits are surprisingly mapped to a circle on a Playstation controller which is used for crouching or melee, and again stressful scenarios. Here it's convenient, which I like.
One major change is how you can now only carry five health kits and Eve Hypos whereas in the previous game you could carry nine. Personally, I don’t mind this because it makes you consider your encounters more carefully and honestly in the first game if you played your cards right you were basically unkillable. Now one complaint I hear a lot about are the Little Sister activities you can do for more Adam. Personally I like them and what a lot of players don’t realize is that they are optional. You can rush a Little Sister to a vent and free her instantly for less Adam. The devs didn’t want to make this a grindy game and I respect their opinion for doing so. Exploration is still well rewarded like the original and in some cases is better as there are a lot of corners of the map that are easy to miss. Level design is great and there’s a ton more areas with verticality. The character progression is fun as you unlock better tools, Plasmids, and upgrade their capabilities. I had fun unlocking a jack ton of tonics by the end and feeling the strength of Delta as the final section where you face an on barrage of enemies becomes really easy. You get the power fantasy of being a Big Daddy and while some people might complain the game becomes easy by the end I honestly loved it. The setting is still one of my favorite aspects for these games and getting to discover new parts of Rapture and learn new stories through logs lying around was exciting.
The biggest complaint people have for BioShock 2 is its main story and I understand where they are coming from. Sofia Lamb is not a very interesting villain compared to Andrew Ryan, there are a couple characters that could have been developed more specifically Sinclair, and the game plays the theme of family a bit too hard. However, that last point I think has a point because what BioShock 2 is ultimately about is machine learning to become human. It’s another one of those plots but I love these kinds of stories. One of the first game’s biggest problems was the morality system and how it affected the ending by the end. Spare all these little girls and get the good ending, but harvest a single one and somehow you are the devilish person in the world. The second game does this too, but now you are offered three moral choices in the game. Each will involve a different character with a complex history and you have to decide what to do with them. There are now six different endings in the game and they all depend on whether you let the Little Sisters live, made the right choice during all three scenarios, both, or none of them at all or at least that’s what I got from my playthrough. Still not the best moral choice out there in a video game, but much better. The ending is much more satisfying and thankfully it wrapped up at the right time.
I’d say BioShock 2 is a nine to eleven hour long game depending how skilled you are or know exactly where to go. That’s great because it doesn’t feel too short, doesn’t overstay its welcome, and feels right for the scope of it. If you want more content though you can hop over to the Minerva’s Den DLC which is basically its own campaign and has a whole new unique tale to tell. A couple more things I also like is how Plasmids can be upgraded to unleash charge attacks which makes investing in specific ones rewarding, and the hacking minigame is now a real time timing game instead of a weird pipe arranger. I love BioShock 2, you can tell that by now. Not as much as the first, but I love it a lot more than most first person shooters. It is by all means pretty underrated and almost a masterpiece which is a high recommendation in my book. In the end I am going to give BioShock 2 a 9/10 for excellence at best. I love this series!
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