Underwhelmed by Bioshock 2

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Bioshock was a great game.  The mood and tone evoked was something magical the first time I experienced it.  I uncovered the city of Rapture slowly and discovered it's mysteries.  One of the most powerful scenes I have encountered in gaming was the meeting with Andrew Ryan in the original Bioshock.  Bioshock was new, innovative, and did all sorts of interesting things in engine without taking away player control.

The problem with Bioshock 2 is probably that I have already played Bioshock.  I know Rapture and its secrets.  I have killed these enemies and seen these sights.  Bioshock provided a comprehensive story arc with a solid ending but going back again seems like a ploy to milk the game for more money.  It evokes the same tone and feelings as the original, but I have already felt them and they are much less interesting the second time around.

Bioshock 2 is more of the same.  The same game engine.  The same enemies.  The same powers.  The same guns.  The same tactics.  The same city.  I think you get the idea.  Some of these things are reskinned, but they don't seem different at all.  The guns - for instance - are all Big Daddy weapons but they feel like the weak weapons from the first game, they simply look different.  The main character is supposed to be a Big Daddy - which is a huge powerful creature in the city of Rapture - but controlling the Big Daddy felt weak and ineffectual.  It is explained away by the plot, but I wanted to play as a Big Daddy not as a puny version.

I was really hoping Bioshock 2 would offer something new, but - at best - it is an expansion pack.  It doesn't deserve to be a sequel.  It doesn't refine or innovate.  It does more of the same.  Maybe it would have been better suited as DLC for the original game.

My hopes were high for this game and they were not met.  I hope that 2K games gets away from the Bioshock series when it creates its next FPS.

Comments

  1. B.J.April 20, 2010 at 11:04 PM

    My concern with BS2 is this: can I use ice and a crowbar (or other whacking implement) to freeze the enemies and smash them to bits. If yes, I'm sold. If not, then I am going to be one sad panda.

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