I absolutely loved the first Bioshock and thought that a sequel set in Rapture, albeit eight years later, was going to be far too similar to the first. Initially, my first reaction to the new game was just that. However, as I played the game and got deeper into it I began to really appreciate the differences made.
Firstly, the weapons are quite different, the most interesting addition perhaps being the drill. There is also the rivet gun and the spear gun. A funky new addition is the remote hacker, which is used to shoot darts at remote units to hack them, but can also deploy turrets to help defend areas. The shotgun makes a return but is still rubbish in my opinion although the special rounds are a little different and can be quite effective. Also returning is the machine gun (though more like a gatling gun), the rocket launcher and the research camera, although it works like a movie camera this time.
I loved actually playing as a Big Daddy. Of course the player in the first game had to turn himself into a Big Daddy, but this did not affect the gameplay at all. In the new game, you sound, move and attack like a Big Daddy should. It always spooks me a little when the Little Sisters refer to me as 'Daddy' and look at me lovingly with those vacant eyes, but it does make the player feel more like a Big Daddy. I like the fact that the player actaully takes the Sisters to 'angels' to extract Adam. It can be quite difficult fending off enemies in this process, but the turrets, rivet traps, rocket launcher mines and spear traps all come in handy.
I found the new hacking game so much better. The old one, where you had to rearrange pipes, was pretty fun to play but was so repetitive and time consuming, and after 50 hacks or so I began to hate those blasted pipes. The new game features a skill stop game - you must stop the needle on a green area or a blue one, which gives a special bonus that could be a first aid kit or extra cash in a safe.
It was a little disappointing that so much was the same in the new game, such as the vending machines, most of the plasmids and tonics, and most of the denzien types. But how different could a game environment be that is set in the same underwater dystopian city. I found that Bioshock 2 was as addictive as the first in terms of gameplay. I also found the new storyline very good, but thought that the Dr Lamb character was fairly redundant. I think perhaps if the player had a direct affect on her outcome, as opposed to the actual indirect affect, then she may have felt more relevant. I'm not saying that she has no effect on the storyline at all, far from it in fact, but the developers could have made the relationship between her and the player alot more interactive.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. I think those who love a good story and an addictive gameplay will love it. Those who expected a game which was totally new but at the same time a clear sequel to the first were perhaps expecting too much. I thought that the game was a fantastic sequel to the first and moved the Bioshock franchise forward - for example, we know now what it feels like to be a little sister and a Big Daddy, and we know more about the power rivalrys in pre-civil war Rapture.
I can't wait for Bioshock 3!
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The multiplayer mode features a completely different story and even developer
Will you save the Little Sisters or exploit them?
As a Big Daddy you can now venture outside of Rapture and onto the sea floor![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
