Actual Grade 8.5 After playing through both Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite, I was literally hooked on this series, the lore itself made me truly want to play the second installment right away. When you look at the reviews for the bioshock series all the glory goes to both Infinite and the original Bioshock, nobody really talks much about it's second installment don't get me wrong this game is not hated by any means but like I said this is definitely not the most talked about game in the series.
Story:So in Bioshock two eight years have passed in Rapture and a woman by the name of Sophia Lamb has taken control of rapture, her and a couple of other people in rapture are known as the family, they have specific areas in Rapture where they control. We start our story as a big daddy known as Delta, he is after a little sister, who was originally his little sister, her name was Eleanor the basic main plot of this game is finding Eleanor and saving her from Sophia Lamb. Tenebaum is also still here in Rapture because she hears that little sisters are still being captured, and there is another man in the game by the name of Sinclair who helps you find Eleanor and wants to help you get out of rapture too, his motives are to be honest are a bit confusing but he is a great character in the game. The story so far is pretty good nothing out of the ordinary.
Presentation: When it comes to Bioshock two's presentation their isn't a whole lot that has changed from the first, you are still in rapture like you have been in the first Bioshock, instead of rapture being a darker art style it's actually more of a colorful style in this one in fact its much more nicer to look at in this installment, however I do miss that darkness to it from the first one, I also wanted to mention that in certain areas you can go in the water to go to the next section of rapture, these area's are simply beautiful and an enjoyment for the eyes. The characters in this game like all other Bioshock games are interesting and always have great things to say as usual the voice acting is superb and the characters are memorable. The soundtrack isn't bad but again nothing memorable like the Bioshock soundtrack. The presentation is great as usual.
Gameplay: Nothing really changes when it comes to Bioshock two's gameplay, Your basically doing the same thing as you were doing in the first Bioshock, harvesting or saving little sisters and going to the destination you are supposed to go to. You still have the same choices with little sisters in this game harvesting them or saving them, as I mentioned in my first Bioshock review if you choose to harvest them you should literally be ashamed of yourself and the scene showing this is a lot more brutal then the first Bioshock. You are also now able to get more adam with the little sister by letting them lead you to a splicer that has adam that can be taken, in this segment you must protect the little sister while splicers try and attack you, this can be a bit of a pain to do since you are going to need a lot of health for this but the adam you get from doing this is well worth it. When it comes to weapons in this game their really isn't a whole lot of new weapons or even eves for that matter you are able to use a drill since you are a big daddy which is kind of cool and you are even able to use a rivet gun as you progress but that's really about all that's new when it comes to guns, the rest of them have been in the previous installment, and same thing with eves theirs not much that are new with the exception of a few. Hacking is still in the game and it is as satisfying as ever, they overhauled it completely and it is quick and simple like it's supposed to be, all it is. Is a pointer that goes back and forth in a straight line, their our certain times you must stop the pointer by pressing X their our three colors on this line green, blue , and red Green is a successful hack, blue is a successful hack and you also get a random item from the machine, and red is a non successful hack and security bots will come after you, also if you don't hit either of the colors you will just get shocked and lose health, this is how the hacking should have been in the first Bioshock, done beautifully. After you save or harvest three little sisters you will enter a battle with a big sister, that's right basically a big daddy, but I would probably say even stronger, I hate battling big sisters cause you are never ready for them and not only that but when you die you have to fight them until you kill them, I don't get why they did it this way, couldn't they have just left her on the map so you could go after her when you are ready, because after every time you die you have to wait for her to come after you so you can get a few shots in with the low ammo and health you have so you can die again and repeat, this is probably the only flaw I can find with the gameplay, I wish they would of done a better job with this. Weapon upgrades are still in Bioshock two, there isn't a whole lot of them which is a bit disappointing but they still help out a huge bit and are always a joy to find. You also have different decisions to make in Bioshock two, not only about just the little sisters, but certain people in the game who are after you because of Sophia Lamb, you can choose to forgive these people and walk away from them or kill them, this adds more depth to the choices in this game and you do get a different ending depending on how you handled these situations. The gameplay is very similar to the first Bioshock, but it still works well and is a joy to play.
(Spoiler Alert) As you reach the end of the game you finally get the chance of helping your little sister Eleanor you can actually summon her as a big sister to help you using an eve she gives you, it's pretty useful and cool. As you and her try to escape Sophia Lamb somehow controls Sinclair in a Big daddy suit and unfortunately you have to kill him, this was definitely a bit sad, but after this you must free the rest of the little sisters and go away with Eleanor, as you and Eleanor are crossing a corner to get to your escape pod, their our explosives, Eleanor is able to get away but Delta suffer from most of the blast, the blast actually knocks him onto the escape pod and this is where the ending comes into play, if you chose to save most of the characters in this game like I did Eleanor will save Sophia Lamb by giving her oxygen while they are underwater saving her life, however if you killed most of them Eleanor will let Sophia Lamb die. This is where the real ending comes now. If you chose to save the little sisters Delta will die and Eleanor will take his adam, not to use but to keep in remembrance of him because he was such a kind person. If you choose to harvest them Eleanor will basically curse you throw you into the ocean and be done with you, not the ending I would recommend to be honest just like the original Bioshock endings these are a bit underwhelming, I know their wasn't a whole lot they could do with the ending but it felt just like the original Bioshock's ending, and not only that but it just wasn't that satisfying of an ending to begin with. The story to Bioshock two is just alright nothing to write home about but not terrible either.
Overall Bioshock two is definitely not the best in the series but I still think it's a great game, even for a Bioshock game, it's still a lot of fun to play even if the formula is a bit similar. I would definitely recommend adding this to your collection you can get it for ten dollars on Amazon, that right just ten dollars, it's more then worth that price.