Reviews of Bioshock 2

[Sir_Brizz]

IGN has laid out a video review of Bioshock 2, which you can view on Voodoo Extreme.

You can also view the activity on Metacritic with Bioshock 2 PC having one review at 90/100 and Bioshock 2 360 having several reviews with an average of 90/100. Common complaints include a less memorable story, and common praise includes classic gameplay.

 

[Quaglax]

Like I've always said....I dont think its game deserves a "Bioshock 2" title. To me it should've been more of an expansion or Bioshock 1.5 but not "2". I mean the first game was so nuts and I just feel like this really isnt that much of a leap from the first.

I mean the difference and leap between HL1 and HL2 was HUGE. I felt this should've been done with Bioshock but, imo, it just wasnt.

 

[Kyllian]

I've been catching gripes on how the MP portion is supposed to operate, can't remember the method tho

 

[Lruce Bee]

Like I've always said....I dont think its game deserves a "Bioshock 2" title. To me it should've been more of an expansion or Bioshock 1.5 but not "2". I mean the first game was so nuts and I just feel like this really isnt that much of a leap from the first.

I mean the difference and leap between HL1 and HL2 was HUGE. I felt this should've been done with Bioshock but, imo, it just wasnt.

A fair point as I'm pretty much in the same mind with this.
I dunno, I'm just not feeling the love for this atm.

 

[UBerserker]

Seems to be similar to the first one; at least this is enough to make me not buy it.

 

[Beelzebud (Satanas)]

Uninspired single player, and multi-player that doesn't have dedicated servers.

I'll definitely pass.

 

[Sk.7]

Assassin's Creed vs 2
CNC3 vs 4
COD series
Fallout 3 vs New Vegas
FEAR vs 2
HL2 vs Episodes
Left 4 Dead vs 2
Mass Effect vs 2
STALKER vs etc.
...

And Batman AA 2 will do the same, so will Borderlands 2, Crysis 2, Dead Space 2, FarCry 3

So what? Recycling is necessary. This isn't like going from some 1000 polygons to 10000 polygons like UT2k was compared to UT3.
We wan't new content and fast and developers to make that happen will not want to necessary ditch the stuff that's already been done well enough and no so disturbingly "last gen" in the eyes of their consumers. Of course there always will be people who will say "I'll not buy this book because it has words that I've already read in another one".
Well think about it like this: your girlfriend's favourite flower are roses. You will give her roses no matter how many times you do, she will still love it - and that's also exactely how most consumers work

Not to mention when players hunger for more about a certain game and there's no expansion coming! They all overreact to the years passing and remember to the first game as "OMG AAAHWSUM" and will jump right after to the new title with open wallets

Oh just stop protesting and get over it! Noone cares whether you love the game or not but we all know that YOU GONNA PLAY IT, sooner or later, that is


In no particular order, I'll get my copy because of the:
- New guns
- New levels
- New plasmids
- New enemies
- Same atmosphere

 

[matw]

Like I've always said....I dont think its game deserves a "Bioshock 2" title. To me it should've been more of an expansion or Bioshock 1.5 but not "2". I mean the first game was so nuts and I just feel like this really isnt that much of a leap from the first.

I totally agree. I know most people won't agree with me here but Bioshock personally for me rates up there as one of the worst games I've played, mainly due to a complete lack of compelling story and annoying melodrama. Pretty much Bioshock was all about 'hey this bad guy did some stuff, now lets go find him and kill him' - the story happened before you get there and you're just the cleanup guy :S. For me, if they are going to redeem themselves, it would have to come down to story and this new game should be an 'expansion' where they introduce some in-game story. Like I said, I know not everyone will agree with me.

I can't understand why FPS has do be about reduced, thin and dumbed down story lines where you feel very little for the characters. There are some exceptions but for me it seems to be the rule. Just my personal opinion.

From what I've read, Bioshock2 won't deliver where Bioshock failed. Let's hope for better.

 

[nELsOn]

I'll probably get it Tomorrow already. The Main reason why I want it is the great atmosphere and that I want to try the MP

 

[UBerserker]

So what? Recycling is necessary.

I'm not against it.
In this case of Mass Effects 1-2 or maybe Fallout 3-New Vegas, I have nothing to complain since I enjoyed a lot their "first" games, so if the formula doesn't change for their sequels I'm pretty safe to expect similar great experiences, especially if many of the flaws are being fixed (and I'm enjoying ME2 more than the first).
My problem is that I didn't like BioShock 1 at all in this case. And since the story in the sequel seems to be worse, I have almost no reasons to buy it anymore.

 

[hal]

It's interesting to see how polarizing this game seems to be.

 

[Sjosz]

Interesting indeed. There is either a lot of love or complete dislike for the game. I suppose that's a good thing.

Sadly, I'm in the dislike camp. I loved the first 20 minutes or so, where everything was dark and creepy, and gave me a really cool sense of place. And then came the plasmids, the respawn tubes, psychopath bullet sponges, and the atmosphere was largely thrown out the window. (not really, because it would drown)
A lot of stuff before you actually encounter a big daddy is a great build-up and I love the tension that is there, but when you finally face that first big daddy, it's frustratingly unforgiving, and no real way of dodging that charged drill attack. A bossfight without a cool way to beat him that makes the player feel cool or smart. Same with that first doctor/plastic surgeon boss, that guy took 3-4 magazines of tommy gun ammo to the face and still ran around shooting.

As of yet, I've not seen any Bioshock 2 footage. The game doesn't seem to be pushed hard marketing wise, mostly haven't even seen a single banner on any of the gaming news websites I frequent. I'm not going out of my way to find stuff, but I've read some of the reviews, and it doesn't encourage me to go pick it up. I guess I'll watch one of my friends play it first.

 

[hal]

Same with that first doctor/plastic surgeon boss, that guy took 3-4 magazines of tommy gun ammo to the face and still ran around shooting.

I'm pretty they'd explain that away with Plasmids - healing, absorption or something.

 

[Hedge-o-Matic]

I just started playing Bioshock 1 last night, since it took a couple of months to get it working. It seems neat, if only the experience weren't clouded by the ever-present danger of hanging, crashing, or blue-screening my high-end system.

I hope 2K has somehow addressed the massive technical problems of Bioshock for the sequel. No game is worth the amount of effort it took to get the game running, and 2K must know that. But the fact that everyone agrees that it's a great game in spite of the tsunami of problems getting it to run presents is the reason I've perservered this long.

The game must have more going for it that is immediately evident, so I'm still open to the idea of getting the sequel.

 

[[NBK]Rattman]

I just started playing Bioshock 1 last night, since it took a couple of months to get it working. It seems neat, if only the experience weren't clouded by the ever-present danger of hanging, crashing, or blue-screening my high-end system.

I hope 2K has somehow addressed the massive technical problems of Bioshock for the sequel. No game is worth the amount of effort it took to get the game running, and 2K must know that. But the fact that everyone agrees that it's a great game in spite of the tsunami of problems getting it to run presents is the reason I've perservered this long.

The game must have more going for it that is immediately evident, so I'm still open to the idea of getting the sequel.

I'm surprised you have so many problems running it...I never had any issues with it on my system..

I liked the idea of the game but when it came down to all the RPG elements in the game..They lost me at that point. I kinda like my shooters to have a great story that pulls me through the game but i don't want them to be complex at all. Go from point A to Point B and kill everything..that's for me!!

I will say that after playing so much Borderlands and really getting used to an easy to get into RPG shooter...I might be more into a game like BIoShock now then I was before.

 

[Mclogenog]

I enjoyed Bioshock 1 a lot, though mostly for the story and atmosphere. Bullet sponge splicers and less-than-lethal firearms killed the gameplay until the player gets the crossbow, which is the only dependable weapon. From what I've read about Bioshock 2, it sounds like an inverse of Bioshock 1: gameplay is tight, but the story is weak.

That said, I haven't decided whether or not to buy Bioshock 2. I'm still playing Mass Effect 2, and I only have a budget for so many games in one year, a budget that I don't wish to exhaust in the first two months.

 

[Sk.7]

BioShock 1 difficulty settings been poor and the AI was somewhat dull, yeah it's a mediocre shooter, not too satisfying for the expőerienced gamer I must admit...

...then again I switched ammos and zapped with plasmids and rock on! Plus hell yeah, I friggin' loved the Bee Plasmid, because it's been fitting right into the corny, grotesque sci-fi story and atmosphere of the game - and for crying out loud, just think of it this way: it's the wannabe-city of Atlantis with crazy mutants and diving suit mechs, psycho girlies digging up the dead just to be vomitting back Adam so you could buy more toys to set stuff on fire! Damn you gotta love the sick twisted art design in that and it's not even japanese

P.S.: An easter egg with tentacle rape is still missing, maybe in the 3rd game, I wanna shoot giant tentacles and not only those boring Necris ones

 

[Sk.7]

Just to add, because this worths double-post and even a slight chance of ban:

The Limited Edition artbook is BEAUTIFUL! I'ts a pity they don't sell it in stores because it is pure art! I haven't been this excited about art-stuff going on for like a year now

Hard cover, 180 beautifully printed A4-sized pages of utter awesomeness (yes, europeans are allowed to use that word, too)

It's so easy to define the shape and feel of something with talent, and the boys and girls working at 2K Marin are kickass artists I must say, they can define whatever they can ever come up with

 

[hal]

Yeah I saw that video of the 2k PR chick opening the LE box and the artbook looked really outstanding. I can't recall the last time I've seen one of that quality bundled with a game.

 

[Kantham]

Yeah, from the video review the guy said improved gameplay. I'm not quite sure what ecxactly makes it that? I first of all, completely despise their health/plasmid system to death (which is still clearly 100% ported over in BS2). Especially the health one. I simply grew bored with their "Carry-Insta-heal-packs-around" concept that kind of killed the survival thrill in the game. It was just about how many of them you can carry around, or lose during a hackdaddy fight.

It's clear that everything seems to be 1.5 from here. I'd have to play it in order to judge. It's simply not appealing me. If they ever revamp Bioshock I'll show some interests. I always liked the plasmid gameplay.