Review: Bioshock 2

Rapture, an underwater paradise gone wrong, is again the setting in Bioshock 2.

The intended utopia, set in 1960 and perverted by human weaknesses and quests for power, was first introduced in the original Bioshock in 2008. The second game takes place 10 years later.

Was a return trip worth it?

Well, the first game’s high quality visuals and distinctive music are back. So are all of the Plasmids and Gene Tonics that give the player enhanced abilities and Adam, the chemical source of the powers.

But this time around, you play as a Big Daddy, a slightly different viewpoint in the shattered Rapture armed with heavy weapons and a powerful drill.

In the original game, you played as a traveler stranded in Rapture. You were faced with Splicers – humans mutated by overexposure to plasmids – trying to kill you.

You also encountered Little Sisters, girls who harvest Adam from corpses to recycle before Splicers could get to them. Needless to say, the Splicers had a problem with that, which necessitated the help of Big Daddies, who defended the Little Sisters.

This time around, as a Big Daddy, you can adopt Little Sisters and help them gather Adam. While the Little Sister is working, you must defend her by setting up traps and strategizing the best way to anticipate attacks. Splicers are still a big concern, but so are the new Big Sisters – lightning fast overseers who dislike your involvement in the Little Sisters.

Once a Little Sister has finished her rounds, you are given the choice of harvesting her (more Adam, but the girl dies) or rescuing here (less Adam, but the girl is freed). Your choices have some bearing on the ending of the game.

Back also are defensive weapons in Rapture – turrets and security cameras and flying bots. You can again hack them to turn them against your foes.

The game also likes to take the player by the hand to keep the action moving forward, with a prominent arrow pointing the way to the next goal, useful when trying to navigate the many corridors and tunnels in Rapture.

One game mechanic dropped from this game was the ability to find spare parts and build new weapons or items. It was not missed.

New to the series is multiplayer action, something that most game companies these days feel is a must.

Bioshock 2 offers seven online game types, mostly standard fare – team deathmatch, free-for-all, capture the flag, etc. – only with a Rapture-specific sheen.

Players can choose from several player models and can equip both weapons and plasmids, with only a few available initially. More and better options are unlocked as gameplay time is accrued.

One player can also become a lumbering Big Daddy during a match, wreaking havoc on other players or the other team.

But over all, the multiplayer seems lackluster and has a slight “tacked on” feeling.

So was Bioshock 2 worth the ride?

Some of the newness has worn off the franchise by the second time around. There’s not much of the joy in discovering a different tack on the genre.

But the level of quality carries over and the added multiplayer contributes a bit to the table, although in a mostly pedestrian way.

Bioshock 2 feels like a comfortable suit -  maybe a suit with a diving helmet and a big-ass drill.

Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Rating: Mature Manufacturer: 2K Games Score: 8.5 Big Daddy chilies