Playing through Bioshock 2 for the first time

[TakingBackSunday]

The first game is one of if not the single best games I've played this entire generation, and I go back to it at least once every few months.  Never had the time for the second game, plus I wasn't really digging what I heard from other gamers about it.  Picked it up for four bucks on amazon the other day, and I'm a good 6 hours in.

A lot of the complaints I remember reading about are valid I suppose.  It's scenario is no where near as compelling as the first game's.  The level design is so-so, and I kinda wish I could go through some of the same levels to see what has changed/if any of what I did in the first game affected the levels at all.  However, I dig the gunplay a bit more in this game, and I like that both hands can be used at the same time for plasmids and guns.  Makes the game quicker.

I REALLY like being a Big Daddy and hanging out with the Little Sister's, particularly when she's harvesting.  It introduces a planning and strategy I haven't encountered in a FPS for a while.  When I let her off to harvest, I like to get out my trap rivets, create a perimeter defense, then switch over to anti-personel rounds on the machine gun to take out the splicers.  And when they get close?  Muthafuggin DRILL.  Shit gets intense but with good planning, you make it through pretty well.

I also think the battles are much tougher, thanks to the Big Sisters and Brutes.  Reminds me of, like, Left 4 Dead with Tanks and Witches.  The Big Sisters are awesome fights, especially if you counter her plasmids with your own.  Trying to light you on fire?  Freeze her.  She throwing shit at you?  Telekinesis that shit right back at her.

Haven't touched MP, probably won't ever.

The game is really enjoyable and I've had a good time with it.  Lamb seems like a stupid enemy, but eh, so was Fontaine.  So far I'd say it's not as good as the first but it's close enough.  Especially for the short turn around of development.

Cannot WAIT for Skyoshock.

[Great Rumbler]

Loved Bioshock 1, didn't much care for Bioshock 2. *shrugs*

[Verdigris Murder]

The gunplay in 2 was just obviously better than 1, sadly I lost my save game about 50% of the way through. Fatality.

[Bebpo]

2 is good, just not as good as 1 and that made people mad.

[king of the internet]

It did feel like a retread in some ways, but I wasn't against the idea of visiting Rapture again. It will always live in the shadow of the first game, but I enjoyed it quite a bit, the combat was fleshed out a good bit and I loved the Big Daddy weapons (especially the drill - wrrrrrrrr).

[pilonv1]

I didn't mind the first half of the game but I really didn't like the second half.

[MrAngryFace]

Minervas Den is boner inducing. I literally only played that- fuck the main campaign- whatever that was about.

[TakingBackSunday]

is that near the end?

[iconoclast]

The story in the second game was pretty crap in comparison to the original, but the gameplay was better, so I'd say it evens out. The Minerva's Den DLC is pretty good too.

[Stoney Mason]

Most people on here seemed to despise it from what I remember. I thought it was okay. I liked it despite some pretty obvious flaws.

Never got around to Minerva Den. They should have made it a standalone piece of DLC as its unlikely I would own the main game.

[MrAngryFace]

If you already own it, get Minerva's Den

[cool breeze]

Agree mostly with what's already said in this thread.  Combat is better and you can dual wield powers and weapons Jedi Knight-style, but everything else feels weaker and pointless.

If I could sum up the problems of Bioshock 2 in a few words they'd be: level design, dumb retcon story, tediously formulaic.
 
Minerva's Den largely fixes those problems.  Level design is up there with bests of Bioshock 1.  Game is still set in Rapture but doesn't make dumb logic leaps like "oh there was always this woman who was as or more powerful than Fontaine and Ryan, there's just some contrived reason we never brought her up in the first game; here are some audio tapes to prove it!"  It's a nice side story set in Rapture that doesn't try to outdo the first game.  And it's still a bit formulaic since it keeps the Big Daddy/Sister parts (kill big daddy, take sister to various spots, defend sister; once all daddies are dead, fight big sister), but again the levels are much better.  It's around ~4 or 5 hours of gameplay.

If you don't own Bioshock 2 and want to play Minerva's Den and have a capable PC, you can probably score both for ~$10 on sale.  Minerva's Den was $5 once and Bioshock 2 frequently drops to $5 on Amazon or Steam.  Well worth it.

[Great Rumbler]

I have Bioshock 2 on Steam already, how do I get Minerva's Den?

[Timber]

Super cool game. Better than Bio one in every respect, especially story.

[cool breeze]

I have Bioshock 2 on Steam already, how do I get Minerva's Den?

Games for Windows Live

yeah

[Great Rumbler]

I have Bioshock 2 on Steam already, how do I get Minerva's Den?

Games for Windows Live

yeah

[MrAngryFace]

lol

[The Sceneman]

The first game is one of if not the single best games I've played this entire generation, and I go back to it at least once every few months. 

  there are at least 50 games released this gen that are better than Bioshock

Game has not aged well

[Kabouter]

Kept putting off finally playing this (picked it up on Steam for €5 ages ago), but I think that thanks to this thread I might give it a shot after I finish Bulletstorm.

[TakingBackSunday]

The first game is one of if not the single best games I've played this entire generation, and I go back to it at least once every few months. 

  there are at least 50 games released this gen that are better than Bioshock

Game has not aged well

lol no.

[Mupepe]

Bioshock 2 has better gameplay but Bioshock is a more compelling game.  Both are still incredible.

[Great Rumbler]

Bioshock 2's biggest problem is that it doesn't do a very good job of being a sequel. Rather than offering anything genuinely new or compelling, it plays out more like a full-length expansion pack. Look at Bioshock Infinite, that's a sequel. I'm being a bit hypocritical here, because I thought New Vegas was amazing. Bioshock 1 just felt like a complete package all the way around and there wasn't that same kind of longing to jump back into the same universe and do the same things again.

[brawndolicious]

Bioshock 2 has better gameplay but Bioshock is a more compelling game.  Both are still incredible.

Pretty much, if you played the first game then you owe it to yourself to play the second as the gameplay has been improved the story is still great.  Just not as original.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations kind of made the same mistake where the setting felt too similar (same time period/protagonist/enemies) but the combat was better and the story gave you a much better understanding of the game universe.

They both look to have epic sequels in every way though.

[Yeti]

Wait, Minerva's Den wasn't just a multiplayer map pack?

[MrAngryFace]

nope, it was probably the best thing about Bioshock 2