Who saw this coming? I mean becoming the thing you loathed and hated in the first game. Oh well, MR.BUBBLES!
-Story-
No longer that man with the figure eight symbol on his left hand, you are now the infamous Delta, a prototype Big Daddy apart of the Alpha assembly line. Alpha's gave up the bulkiness of a normal Big Daddy, to be leaner and faster but still retain the mighty strength of the fearsome diver. Alpha's are special in not only size, but also with their bond with the Little Sisters, because they are specifically bonded to one single Little Sister. Your bundle of joy is Eleanor, a normal Little Sister with a interesting history. One night you are walking with said Sister, when Eleanor's "Mother" takes her away but not before commanding you to do the unthinkable: Killing yourself.
10 years later, you fall out of a Vita-chamber and Eleanor begs you to come save her, so guess what you're doing?.
*The story is heartwarming nonetheless, but it isn't really 'powerful'*
-Gameplay-
Returning fans should know that nothing has changed in the way of gameplay. You can set traps and cast nasty plasmids as before. Newbies are obviously intrigued by the amount of nifty weapons and plasmids to utilize and should have no problem entertaining themselves while staying in Rapture.
Fighting is as easy as right trigger and right thumbstick, but naturally you're going to want more than a drill, correct? The right tab cycles through the weapons you have procured during your... not so 'Sunday afternoon' walk through Rapture. Unlike Jack in the first game, Delta is able to have more heavy weapons on hand, like the rivet gun and spear gun. After cycling to a desired weapon, you may even have alternate ammunition like anti-personnel rounds or trap rounds. These all make the 'Sunday afternoon' walk become easier, but sometimes it may go real bad without a little help. Plasmids are the turning point of Raptures tranquility. The once pretty city, became the 9 circles of hell just from a substance known as ADAM. With Adam, one may learn plasmids that may allow the user to cast bee's from their hand, freeze an enemy solid or even protrude a decoy of themselves. These plasmids are handy and just when you think it's over, it's not. Gene tonics upgrade Delta even more, from empowering his Drill, to allowing him to hack the various mechanisms (Vending machines, security bots,camera's,turrets,etc) easier or faster. Delta really does have it made, but naturally the inhabitants of Rapture are no pushovers (I mean where is the fun in that?) as they are powerful in their own right. Splicers have different traits and skill and Big Daddies still pose a threat to you, so don't expect a big hug from them. But, Rapture has a new inhabitant, a foe more agile and deadlier than any splicer or Big Daddy. The Big Sister, this fearsome mistress of death is all about stopping you from toying with the Little Sisters ( Which I forgot to mention you can adopt and escort to corpses to farm for Adam, and posed with the same options from the first game : Harvest or Rescue). Again, there is hardly any differences in gameplay but new elements that may intrigue players or ward them away.
The game is linear but not completely linear as certain things you do during certain events will shape the inevitable future. Rescue all the Little Sisters and spare the lives of the NPC's you meet and you may end up with a good ending but doing the opposite will possibly darken the days ahead. It's good that these choices are back but I still think there should be heavier consequences that a 'bad' ending, like a loss of a weapon or a gained power that is so bizzare and evil that it twists the mind of others to join in on your mindless skull-bashing fun? That's IMO though.
-Visuals-
The people at Take-Two outdid themselves this time, because this game is just PRETTY. I mean very very pretty. Everything has a story to tell in this game. Furniture show signs of wear and dead corpses that lie dormant, from burn marks or blood trails. Water acts as water should and makes Rapture look and even FEEL dark and damp. It's been awhile since the first game and you can tell because marine plant-life (Coral and seawood) has begun to take over Rapture, and Rapture is literally falling apart. But on the otherhand, the splicer's look as if they been recycled and placed in HD all over again, looking as original as they always have. The only decent character models is the Brute Splicer (large, Incredible Hulk looking splicer) and the intimidating Big Sister.
Quick point, I really like the additions you can make to your guns via "Power To The People" upgrade stations. Once you add an option you can visually see the addition, pretty cool.
-Audio-
Sits as high as the visual department does. The audio breathes the life of Rapture right into your ears, whispering every drop of water and step of a Big Daddy. Doors creak, pipes clang and systems that are being overworked are steaming and pressurizing. But, it's just like the first one. Returning fans may be swayed to think that it's just another day in Rapture.
-Multiplayer-
The online play for this game is surprisingly fun! I must say that I personally enjoyed it. I was given the privilege to freeze somebody and place 3 shots from the shotgun to their head. The game modes are numerous and I only played the Free for All variant , so I can't really speculate but I should assume that it's not like Modern Warfare BUT still holds a charm all it's own that spells fun for players.
-Summary-
Bioshock 2 is a welcome ticket back to the undersea world that we all love to visit but returning players may be vexed as they might think from the same gameplay mechanics and recycled images, that Jack never left Rapture but put on a diver's suit and decided to go on another adventure. Very ingognito Jack...
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