Bioshock 2 takes place ten years after the events of the original game and this time you play the role of a Big Daddy codenamed ‘Delta’. Delta is the very first Big Daddy ever created and for some strange reason he has awakened after over a decade long slumber. He must now venture through the Rapture in search for answers and his Little Sister, while going up against new foes. Sophia Lamb is the main antagonist of Bioshock 2 and she holds ideals and values completely opposite to what Andrew Ryan had in the first game.
If you thought the Rapture was a horrid place in the original Bioshock then wait till you see what it looks like in Bioshock 2. After ten years, Rapture has become more twisted and broken, which means players will be having a much harder time in Bioshock 2 despite playing the role of a mighty Big Daddy. The environments are far more devastated, more areas have become flooded and the inhabitants are more twisted and stronger than ever before. What’s even more interesting is that the protagonist from the first game is actually remembered and referenced strongly.
Missed the Rapture?
In terms of gameplay, Bioshock 2 is certainly a major improvement over the first game. Taking control of the Big Daddy, Delta, lets you use the trademark drill weapon. Delta certainly looks more human than normal Big Daddies, so he handles like a normal FPS character and is not heavy or clunky. However, his footsteps do make a heavy “thump” sound and there are plenty of cool visual effects (such as the helmet vision effect) to remind you that you are a Big Daddy.
Then you have some new additions that make the combat experience a lot more convenient and varied. The game allows players to dual wield with plasmid powers on the left hand and weapons in the right hand and this will allow for players to create some cool weapon combinations. Another new addition are the traps, where the game allows you to set up mines, freeze bombs and all sorts of ground traps for unsuspecting foes. It’s also worth noting that the tedious hacking mini game from the first game has been removed in favour of a more real-time and believable hacking system.
Little sisters return and they now have new and improved Big Daddies baby sitting them. Just like in the first game you can beat up a Big Daddy and steal their Little Sister but then you face a choice: do you harvest them for ADAM (Rapture's main resource) or do you adopt them as any Big Daddy would? By adopting a Little Sister you gain a valuable ally as she can sense Big Sisters (more on them later) and can also find and extract ADAM for you. Later on you face another choice, do you send the Little Sister over to Tenenbaum (the care taker for the Little Sisters) or harvest anyway? It certainly is nice to see that element of morality being retained in Bioshock 2.
Drill em away boys!
Seeing that you are controlling a big and powerful Big Daddy, it makes sense to have stronger foes in Bioshock 2. Over the past ten years the splicers have become stronger, faster and smarter than before and you will also face ‘brute’ splicers, which are essentially really massive and bulky splicers that have had one plasmid upgrade too many. Last but not least are the Big Sisters. If you thought the Big Daddies were mean then these ladies are even more intimidating since they are much faster, much more agile and much stronger.
Bioshock 2 retains the same visual and artistic style of the original game, which is great, since we loved the 1950s inspired art direction of the game and the design was incredible. Bioshock 2 uses a enhanced version of the Bioshock engine and believe it or not, it is still powered by the Unreal 2 engine. The build we saw ran smoothly even with a lot of action and particle effects on screen. The game certainly does run a lot faster and the graphics held consistently well with no anti aliasing issues.
Big Daddy vs Big Daddy...place your bets!
We were fortunate enough to hear the Bioshock 2 orchestral soundtrack in its entirety and we have to say it is quite impressive. The musical style is the same as what was heard in the first Bioshock game but it sounds more mature and evolved. The Bioshock 2 score is mid 20th century classical music featuring extensive use of violin, piano and cello. It certainly sounds very dark, saddening and mellow.
There you have it folks, our in depth look on the single player mode of Bioshock 2 but lets not forget that there will also be a multiplayer mode with it’s own unique storyline that takes place before the events of the first game. The multiplayer component however is being handled by Digital Extremes (known for the Unreal Tournament series) and we haven’t had any experience with it so far. In the single player side of things, Bioshock 2 retains everything that made the first game an instant classic while bringing in some really significant improvements.
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