BioShock 2 (Xbox 360)

Rated by Richard Webb, Brighton, UK on 9th February 2010

I waited with some degree of excitement to play this game, as the original must rank of one the most innovative and enjoyable 360 shooters ever created. In this sequel, Rapture remains a great place to creep around, kill splicers and slowly build an arsenal of retro weapons alongside futuristic plasmids. However, if we stack the vision required to create the original, covering its art deco aesthetic and pseudo-Randian philosophy, which laid the foundation for a frightening and anarchic post-utopian setting in which gamers could run wild , blow genetic mutants apart, and ultimately become one of them, this sequel doesn't really move the franchise forward much. It's fun, but the setting is essentially the same. A few new enemies and weapons are available, and the designers have picked a new philosophic bent around which to wrap the themes of the game which fits less comfortably in Rapture than that of the original game. Don't let that stop you buying and enjoying the game, as I did. It's just that I came away feeling like this was a massive DLC add-on to the original instead of a fresh new turn on the incredibly inventive original.

Rated by A. J. Parkes, Dudley, UK on 26th February 2010

I borrowed the first Bioshock from a friend, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The first time you went underwater in the elevator and saw Rapture was stunning. The first time you saw a Splicer from inside the elevator made me get a chill with anticipation. The characters and the story were excellent throughout. So when this was anounounced, I pre-ordered my copy. When it was eventually released and it arrived, I put the disc in with great anticipation. Although a brilliant game, it just did not live up to my expectation. The story is told from a completely different point of view, you are a Big Daddy. This time, you can help the little sisters to harvest the ADAM from the corpses and either rescue them or harvest them. Just like the first game, you should roughly get the same ADAM at the end. When you harvest them, you get it quicker, when you rescue them you get less, but receive presents of ADAM as the game progresses. I have played the game through twice, the first time rescuing the Little Sisters, and the second time harvesting them. It does change the game ending and how Eleanor will interact with you and others. I found harvesting them a little disturbing and felt awful for doing so ech time, especially when the Little Sisters kept saying Don't hurt me Daddy. The weapons you use are good, i particularly liked the spear gun. This will go through the enemy and pin them against the wall if they are light, like Splicers etc. You can then pick the spears back up again. You still have the launcher and ammo, machine guns etc. The Plasmids you have are the same as this first, ice, fire, telekinesis, hypnotise etc. To get all the tonics in the game and for easier killing of the enemies, you need to researching them first. This means that later on in the game you get a camera. You must equip the camera and take a photo of the subject. Then start shooting it and using plasmids on it to increase the points. When you have amassed enough points on a subject, you are rewarded with either a tonic or more damage against future enemies. There are 4 awards to each subject. Unlike the first game there are no films to find for the camera. Unfortunately it also means that you must take some damage whilst you photograph each subject, make sure you have plenty of health first. A neat feature is the remote hack. Whereas previously you had to be near an item to hack it, you can now shoot a dart and hack it from a distance. A great feature, especially with the auto hack whereby it is automatically hacked. The first game you played a pipe game for hacking, trying to get the flow of liquid from one point to the other. Now, a needle moved fast left to right and you must stop it in a green zone. Hit a red zone and the bots come for you, hit a neutral zone and you take some damage. The harder the hack, the more times you must get it right, between 1 - 5 correct stops will successfully hack the equipment. The setting in Rapture is the same atmosphere as the first, the same art deco and the same music. To upgrade the weapons you use the stations in the game to use them only once, so you have to think what weapons you want upgrading. A bonus I thought was the inclusion of multiplayer. However, playing it a few times I found it to be a little jerky and not as fluid as other online games such as MW2 and Gears of War. This could have been so much better and it does not make me wanting to keep playing multiplayer. The single story was far better. The story was a little confusing at first and only become clearer after much playing. It also feel a bit of the seen it and done it before genre, and question how many times you can keep playing the game to earn all achievements. Overall, it is a good game and a good sequel, but I was expecting something more from all the marketing hype and anticipation.

Rated by Mr. S. Heptinstall, England on 9th February 2010

I have been looking forward to this game since i first heard they were making it and I am not disappointed in any way. In fact.... I absolutely love it. I wont go into much detail about the story line because I dont want to spoil anything (but having just completed the game I can honestly say I enjoyerd it thoroughly and am looking forward to my second playthrough. There were nice little twists and some really epic moments, I was genuinely gutted when it was over) So I will focus more on the characters, gameplay, graphics and overall experience of playing. Ten years have past since The fall of Andrew Ryan and we are back in Rapture, one of the most unique gaming environments you will ever experience. With it's dark and moody atmopshere and superb attention to detail it's hard not to appreciate just how much effort has gone into making this game. The graphics are really lovely, about the same as the first one only the characters and visual effects look better, the speckles of blood and water on your helmet look briliant. However, i must note the textures on some objects are not quite as crisp as they were in BioShock 1 making them look a little bland at times, but that's no reason to be put off. There is a nice little option to turn the helmet effect on or off to the gamers preference, the only difference is there are little edges in the corners of your screen which i found not to my liking so i simply turned it off so there are no obstructions what so ever. The game plays and feels very similar to the first BioShock so veteran BioShock fans will feel right at home with the controls straight away, apart from the healing button that has changed from B to -> on the D pad which can be quite odd at first, but you soon get used to it. A great feature in BioShock 2 is that you dont have to swap from your weapon hand to your plasmid hand, they're both right there on the screen which is so much better than before because you can dish out some real damage without having to slow the pace down. The Single player starts out with a nice little cutscene letting us know what has roughly happened since the events of BioShock 1, and who you are and why you're here. You are Subject Delta, a prototype Big Daddy never to have been seen before, and I will just say how well he fits into the game and how much of an excellent character I feel he is. It is great fun and a nice refreshing change to play as a Big Daddy, it puts a whole new aspect of feel and play to the game particularly with rescuing little sisters. Rather than rescue or harvest, you now adopt her with the choice of either collecting some ADAM from corpses containing this much desired drug, or simply returning her to a sister vent, then you can harvest her or let her go. The ADAM collecting is quite fun and can have some pretty intense battles with swarming splicers trying their best to stop you and the Little Sister. The weapons are brutally brilliant in BioShock 2 and can all be upgraded again at the weapon upgrade stations. The drill arm is so much fun to use, just drilling through the splicers torso never gets old! and if you run out of fuel you can simply whack them with a melee attack, and what is also nice is that you can melee with any of the weapons instead of just one (the wrench) from BioShock. I must say though I do miss the wrench simply for how fast it was, the melee attack on the weapons obviously is a touch slower, but does come in extremely handy when the splicers get too close for comfort (which does happen often when playing on hard mode) The story is very in depth again, and all the characters and voice talents are top notch yet again, they really make this game what it is and BioShock 2 is another truly epic and gripping story which will make you keep wanting more and more! The game as a whole is much creepier than the first BioShock, and because Rapture is in such a dreadful state (much worse than before) it adds to it being even eerier. And the game comes with a whole new tension factor, the fights with the Big Sisters can be so intense at times it makes your heart start to race as you battle away with this acrobatic, plasmid abusing lunatic! These guys aren't too easy to beat when you're playing on hard mode, and I do recommend all players giving this difficulty a shot because it will make your game last longer and give you more of a challenge, and if it's too hard you can lower the difficulty at any time. Some other intense battles are when you first encounter a Brute Splicer. These guys look like 3 Arnies all morphed into one and they will do whatever it takes to defeat you. They're really dirty brawlers, throwing things at you and charging at you, they fight very similar to the bouncers from BioShock 1, only they're even faster and stronger! We still have the Bouncer big daddy and the Rosie, and of course the alpha series (the test big daddys, which is what you are of course)and now there is a new Big Daddy called the Rumbler, but i wont give anything about him away, you will have to find out for yourself. The multiplayer mode is great, very addictive, very VERY fun rather than frustrating and will prove to be a huge hit particularly with true BioShock fans. Particularly fun when you get to wear the big daddy suit, you can do some real damage when wearing it! Anyway i'm rambling on now so to sum it up, this is an excellent sequel, possibly even better than the original game. It's not 100% perfect, but it's as good as it gets for me. I love it. And to all the people who are saying it is too similar to the first bioshock well... 90% of sequels are similar to their predecessors, they're not going to make a completely new and unique game all together, otherwise it wouldnt be a sequel it would be a brand new game. Bioshock 2 is an amazing sequel in my eyes and true Bioshock fans will love this. Thanks for reading.

Rated by K. D. Machell, England, UK on 4th August 2010

I played the original and must say this is better. Anyone that says otherwise is completely wrong, but I can understand the world of Rapture is less intimidating when you're a big daddy - even though its no less dangerous. The last time the player experienced Rapture was 10 years ago and its evolved! After playing through the events of Bioshock as a man you ceratinly don't want to jump into the sequel cautiously roaming the halls. You are a Big Daddy who knew the place, has no fear and an uncontrollable desire to track down his little sister. My main reasons for rating Bioshock 2 highly are gameplay aspects. Its a game afterall: Firstly the hacking system is smarter, better, doesn't detract from gameplay as it doesn;t pause, and makes more sense! You can choose to play as you did in Bioshock or do it remotely for stealthy cunning. It offers bonsues and is better (in my opinion). The dual wielding of plasmids and weapons is much, much better. This is undeniable. The weapons are cooler and fighting with the plasmids is more entertaining and fullfilling. In fact, upgarding of weapons and plasmids is something you will think carefully over from the outset and you can and will will use all of them in a combat situation (especialy on hard). The camera is better and fits into combat more successfully (I used to hate having to switch weapon just to take a picture, it really messed up the flow of the original game). The tonics make more sense and seem like true augmentations to your skills, plus the plasmids are more situational. Setting up traps and ambushes is a great aspect and moves on from Bioshock where you could only hack cameras, turrets and security bots. I also love the way the games story has developed and made rapture a more belieable place. This is effectivly why: It feels like Rapture has evolved in the ten years since Bioshock. Splicers have some kind of order amongst themselves, and you can see that Rapture is moving forward into an organised (albeit spiced out) direction after the civil war. The whole Rapture arms race of evolve or become extinct is very good and seems to have been devloping since the first game. Splicers have various plasmids and traits but the fact someone has won the hearts and minds of these denizens becomes apparaent and explains why they're not killing each other (quite cleverly in my opinion). Although the levels can get predicatble in their structure (its just like Bioshock in that respect - arrive somewhere, sort something out, move on again), you can break up the gameplay by choosing whether you want to take on the Big Daddies and get that Adam. Whatever you choose will be the experience you have, so people who didn't like this repetative aspect didn't like their gameplay style. Having said that I dont think I would have dared take on Rapture without being suitably spliced up. Your experience will change further depending on the difficulty. On the medium difficulty you really feel like a powerfully big daddy, who should be feared. On hard its far more challenging and you realise that a Big Daddy who's been in a coma for ten years isn't the top of the food chain since Rapture went to hell. I played on hard which was awesome and the logical progression for anyone that loved Bioshock - it makes more sense why you're a Big Daddy and not some mere mortal. A suggestion for the first (and maybe only) playthrough would be: play it on the hardest difficulty and don't harvest the little sisters, just have them extarct Adam and then release them - this is more fun and makes you think and explore more cautiously. I'm not taking anything away from Bioshock, which I'd advise playing before just to put the whole of Rapture into perspective. This is a true sequel, despite what some people have said, and ups the stakes by moving the franchise forward and developiong a believable and world under the sea, expanding on the previous ideas and lore. For me, the Bioshock franchise is about Rapture first and this is demonstrated very well. The two games should be played as one entity, with Bioshock 2 progressing in a logical way which is undertandable. Overall, its a Great game! The water effects are amazing, especialy when coming in from the ocean, when you stand under a leak and watch water plop on your dive helmet. The environment outside seems alive but not intimidating (you're a big daddy afterall and fish don't eat a hunk of dumbell, in fact it seems safe and serence outside). The sound effects are brilliant and create a great stmosphere. The audio visual aspects are so good I sometimes wich you could experience the internal and exteral ambience of Rapture rather than have to fight all those damm splicers. Texture maps have been argued as worse than Bioshock, I'm not sure of this but can say that sometimes the levels can seem a bit dull and dirty, but this is probably due to ten years of chaos and carnage - the streets are no longer shiny new. Depsite this, the textures in certain areas are arguably better.

Rated by Mr. R. Grealy, Worcester, UK on 12th April 2010

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!

Rated by blakpoison, south west london on 24th March 2010

Overall this game is a fun and exciting sequal to the Bioshock series. As you will probably know, you are a big daddy searching for Elenor, your little sister. Bioshock 2 generally has a good storyline with more moral choices introduced in comparison with the first installment. There are moments in the game where you meet some of the characters you hear over your radio and have the option of sparing there life or blowing there head off with a shotgun and looting there body. These choices all add up to one of 6 possible endings you could have. There are numerus additions to the Splicers you have to kill as well as a different form of Big Daddy known as Subject Alpha. Subject Alpha is fast, strong, and comes well equipt for a fight. Usually armed with a machine gun it can easily kill you on Normal or Hard mode. The second new addition is the Brute. This guy is huge so you won't miss him at all. He is incredably strong and won't hesitate to pic up the nearest object and hurl it at you at great speed. Be sure to have your telekenesis plasmid equipt when this guy is around. The final new addition is the Big Sister. She is concerned with the welfare of the little sisters in rapture. In the story she appears roughly 4 times (can't really remember), but if you save eery little sister in the area your in one will appear so if your about to put the last little sister through the vent be ready because a minute later all hell will break loose and the Big Sister will be after you. Big Sis is so fast you'll feel cheated and WILL kill if you don't have plenty of heath packs on you. she also has a massive telekenetic power which involves most the objects in the vicinity so when you see loads a crap flying around the air either hide or use your tele' plasmid to throw it back. The splicers of old have also undergone a make over, the spider splicer look alot more menacing and you do panic when it draws nearer as it is stronger than in the first wander around Rapture. The new weapons are very powerful things to use. The Rivet gun if directed towards the head can often kill an ordinary splicer in 2 or 3 shots (if playing on Normal or Hard. Easy is one shot kill). As you are a Big Daddy you are also epiquipt with the drill which can be fun at first but i found myself not useing it half the time because i would take alot of damage getting to the splicers to use it. A very good feature of the weapons in BS2 is that you can melee now which is handy for well your up close and personal and you need to re-load. it's also EXTREMLY satisfying when the big sister is on low enough health and you melee her in the boob to finish her off. Teh weapons in BS2 in my opinion aren't as good or as fun to use as the ones in the first game. The long awaited Multi-player of Bioshock 2 includes several modes which we all know and love from other games. These include: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST - A Free-for-all Gameplay Mode CIVAL WAR - Team Deathmatch style mode with 2 teams which are team Ryan vs Atlas (you will know Atlas if you've played BS1) LAST SPLICER STANDING - This is a variation of Civil War but with no respawns. CAPTURE THE LITTLE SISTER - This one sounds obvious and is. It's a variation to Capture the Flag we've seen almost all multiplayer games. ADAM GRAB - This is a Free-for-all Varient where one little sister is placed on the map and players must fight to gain possesion of her. Similar to Odd Ball in Halo 3 TEAM ADAM GRAB - same as above but 2 teams are formed and TURF WAR - This team based mode is similar to Land Grab in Halo 3. You must capture and defend point on the map until the time runs out. Other parts of the multiplayer experience is that you choose what character you are from the start. Once you've chosen you can't change so choose wisly. On All game modes bar capture the little sister a big daddy suit will spawn in different locations around the map. putting this on will gift you with the rivet gun, big daddy stomp, melee and throw proximity mines. If no player finds the suit it will be offered to one player at random. Becoming the big daddy means no plasmid use though. All in all this is a good game. However when you compare it to the first Bioshock it is a disappointment. Not to say that it's not worth buying because it is. The multiplayer can get repetative and the after attemping the achievement to get to lvl 40 i realised Halo was much better at that aspect of things. I would recomend getting this game. But maybe waiting for a drop in price. Hope this helps anyone. Jack Davey Shaw blakpoison

Rated by Holy Smoke, Somewhere in Time on 3rd March 2010

Bioshock 2 is another feast for those with a richer taste in gaming. I've read countless reviews that state it's perhaps a little too similar to its predecessor, which I can't understand as a negative. To me that's a huge positive, for those that loved the first, another dive into Rapture is something to be relished. This is a completely new premise and plot though. Now you get to experience the might of the Big Daddy (with dual wielding plasmids and weapons). It's a heap of fun, and definitely more action packed than before. You'll be protecting the little sisters as you would have seen in the previous game. Your role is that of the first Big Daddy to be paired with a little sister, however it just so happens that little sister was no ordinary girl. Again the game has you digging deeper into it's rich story and eventually gives you another hugely rewarding ending. The game play is much faster than before, more difficult with deadlier enemies (i.e, Big Sisters and upgraded Big Daddies). However to meet this your combat system is so much better than before. Tons of new plasmids, loads of weapons, the fun is finding which one's you like best. For me I love to send a swarm of bee's into the splicers then pin them to the wall with a spike. Not only that but there are times when you'll need to protect little sisters while they are harvesting Adam (the substance that makes your plasmids). Here you'll have to be smart and plant traps to defend your spot. The graphics are once again amazing. Some of the locations aren't quite as interesting as the first game, but they're still very impressive. Bioshock 2 also goes multiplayer with a fleshed out experience that utilizes the games frantic combat and espionage tactics. There are a variety of options (from free-for-all to protecting the little sister etc). It's an absolute blast with enough customisable options (both character and weaponery) to keep you coming back. This certainly isn't some mini-game tacked onto the main story. Although the developers haven't pushed the boat out to any major degree it's a well accomplished multiplayer. Overall this is truly a worthy successor to the best game I've ever played. I'm taking this one to the desert Island as well.

Rated by Thomas Cremese on 9th May 2010

Bioshock 2 is very similar to the first Bioshock. Plot wise you are propelled 10 years forwards. After a disturbing video introduction you awaken as a prototype big daddy. Even though you are percieved as a resilient and powerful giant, you immidiately find that smaller ennemies in large groups can easily overwhelm you and bring you to your knees with fire arms and the big sisters will get rid of you in an instant. I won't spoil anymore of the story, all I will say is that the ambiance is very similar to the first bioshock. It is less scary but still just as crazy. The fear factor comes from the ennemies who will gnaw aat your healthbar repeatedly. Despite the stress it creates, few other games recently have given me much of a challenge so I really welcome Bioshock 2. However, newbies to the FPS genre should definately consider training on the easy mode or getting a simpler game. In terms of gameplay, the plasmids are back and they are great. Most of the time you're out of amo so you really have to work out where and when to set traps. There's many moments where you'll have to defend little sisters from screaming hordes of splicers. The controls are smooth and easy to get to grips with. The graphics are very nice but i couldn't notice any major improvements over the first game. I was a bit dissapointed because when I firstloaded bioshock into my xbox 360 it was a visual treat. Two years later I expected, in light of other games coming out, a couple improvements, especially regarding the water behaviour and textures. I also found that femal characters who are barefoot have their naked feet shaped like a high heeled shoe, it is very ugly. Exept for a few special charactersmost ennemies look similar and you'll often encounter the same looking guy at least 20 times before you start meeting new foes. I don't mind similar clothes, but similar clothes added to similar heads in claustrophobic environments is not my cup of tea. I find this strange as you don't meet more than 20 ennemies at once and given the console's power, I thought it would be possible for developers to work on the variety of characters displayed. Nevertheless, most people will just enjoy shooting with the new weapons, using the better long distance hack tool, new plasmids and Big daddy perks such as the infamous giant fdrill to plow through splicers' chests. I really enjoyed playing the game and discovering a whole new story arch. I nag at a few details but only because i love the game and extra polish would have definately made it a 5 out of 5 stars for me. The soundtrack and voice acting are amazing and immersive and you always get a sense of purpose and urgency. Naysayers will unevitably argue that this is yet another linear corridor driven FPS with a lot of mindless shooting and a few voice prompts to justify the bloodshed. However, I really enjoyed going through new sceneries within the city of Rapture, rediscovering old places. Even if some events are clearly scripted and leave you no freedom, it really makes you feel like you're immersed in a interactive movie and the story is engaging enough that you always want to know what happens next. For the fans, this game is more of the same with wellcomed gameplay improvements and new gear to toy around with. For new comers, all this madness of a derelict underwater society gone crazy, homicidal and addicted to EVE substance after a bitter civil war might be too mmuch to bear. I strongly suggest that newcomers play the first game (twice to get both endings) before undertaking bioshock 2. If you like single player shooters: get this game, you'll love it. If you don't like shooters, or being scared or seeing people ripped appart or crying over a recorded tape how their baby got murdered, do yourself a favor and skip it. Whatever you do, don't gift this product mindlessly to the kids, they'll get nightmares. If you like really deep multiplayer experiences, i would suggest going for other titles like battlefield bad company 2, Modern Warfare 2, ghost recon 2 and the halo games because they have really big communities of players and great multiplayer modes. Bioshock 2's online seems like a tacked along mode which will give you a few smiles but will grow old fast. Also, most people rush to activate turrets and then bombard you from hidden spots with plasmids. It is also a shame you have to pay extra money to get all characters and unlock the later levels. Also, the controls, in the way that they are designed (plasmid and gun selection) aren't good for quick and reacive online gameplay. When played single player, the game pauses and you have plenty of time to choose your next weapon and power to carefully plan you attacks. Online, you end up shooting with whatever you got as soon as you see someone or else they'll whack you to death before you can switch to the gun you really wanted. Overall Pros: Excellent single player experience Great story in a horror atmosphere New gear very well implemented and balanced good graphics excellent sound effects and voice acting neutral: more of the same wierd multiplayer mode that feels tacked on you have to buy DLC to unlock everything the tough difficulty on normal and hard modes slow character and movement (but it is appropriate for the setting) lots of scripted events cons: some ugly models/textures that stick out (underwater scenes, women's feet) a couple glitches here and there not as engaging as the first installment feels déjà vu very linear

Rated by MS on 21st February 2010

Bioshock 2 (1000 word review, give or take) I loved the first Bioshock and like many others questioned the sense of a sequel for such a tightly woven narrative which seemed to need no expansion. So does the follow up stand tall with the first or is it just cynical cash in? I've broken this review down into Pros and Cons and just to let you know I've completed the game once and played briefly on the multiplayer. You'll note that the majority of my pros and cons below are mixed (i.e. where I believe it's a con I've tried to find positive elements within this where possible) as you can't beat a bit of constructive criticism! Cons: - Whilst the story is good and works there are story driven gameplay elements that are just too similar to the first game (no spoilers here but you'll know them when you see them) and a little bit more imagination could have gone a long way. - Seeing Rapture for a second time doesn't quite hold the awe and wonderment it did when you went down the Bathysphere at the start of Bioshock 1. However this is an unfair criticism in that it's familiar and as such could never hope to replicate the first steps into Rapture. Though it's still a beautiful underwater city. - The Research Camera. I like this idea and the concept of researching your foes to do greater damage to them and receive other fringe benefits. However it is a pain to have to manually select it every time and start it then switch back to a weapon. This isn't a big criticism but I don't see why it could not have been incorporated into your helmet and automatically switch on when an enemy is within range. - I liked the idea of the sections in the game when you're underwater but they feel largely redundant and I didn't really see the point to them. If they were to provide a lull in the action (calm before the storm) this could have been achieved by other methods. They're few and far between which also makes me wonder what their purpose really is. - Please stop putting in multiplayer achievements. Especially on a game which is very much single player focussed. Pros: - The combat is significantly improved over the original game. The ability to wield both plasmids and weapons at the same is a revelation and really enjoyable. There are some great combos you can come up and as always the developer's strategic placement of water / oil puddles etc lets you have great fund with the electro / fire plasmids. There are parts of the game where you have to fend off multiple enemies all attacking for a single purpose and especially later in the game this becomes a real test of your ability to set traps, anticipate splicer routes of attack and know your environment. When you get it right and you can destroy a wave of enemies without actually firing your weapon in combat it's very satisfying. - Story - It's an interesting and intriguing story that keeps you wanting to learn more. However, as in the first game, there is a reliance on audio logs to further the story. Whilst this approach is commendable (like the Half Life series where they try to keep cut scenes to the bare minimum / non existent) and keeps you within the story and immersed it does mean those without the patience to search for the logs or listen to them properly will do themselves a great disservice story wise. - The graphics and sounds (especially the universally superb voice acting) are great though no moment compared, for me anyway, to the moment early in Bioshock 1 where you approached the pram to see a splicer silhouette. You know the part I mean. - Multiplayer is not really needed and to be honest I've not spent much time with it but it's surely the icing on a beautiful cake. The way it's done and fact that it was farmed out to another studio shows that it didn't interfere with the main game. If you don't want this aspect then don't play it. The rounds I did play were fun but I'm afraid I won't be rushing back as my multiplayer fixes are far better satisfied elsewhere. In summary: It's a fun, fascinating and beautiful game. I've not sat down with a game and completed it basically in 3 or 4 sittings for a long time and that tells its own story. It's not that it's a short game but that it's compelling and you constantly want to see what happens next. I thought the game's length was well judged and this is far from cynical cash in but a lovingly told, measured story combined with some great set pieces and fabulous combat. I know there's a few cons here but they're minor and in no way detract from the overall game. I merely include them for completeness. Dare I say it but bring on Bioshock 3.......

Rated by Ben_1975 on 6th September 2010

Good game, much like the first with a few twists but overall well worth the price