Bioshock 2 - Playstation 3

I've been playing first person shooters for a long time, and lots of other games too. And I've been married. Twice. I'm no good, I tell ya', but I do know a little something about games. I've played Doom, I played Hexen, Myst, Dark Forces, Descent, Marathon blah blah. But none of them had It All. Some had great action and weapons, others had a wonderful story, some were lame but had a terrific soundtrack, and others were really good but crashed and glitched at every turn. Bioshock (1 and 2) is the whole package .... fantastic weapons and abilities; delightfully varied (but always creepy) bad guys and larger-than-life but believable protagonists; a cinematic, compelling story as the backbone for lush, evocative sets; a crazy fun soundtrack and dreadful (in the good sense) incidental music; and blessed stability. I would love this game if only for the fact that I can save anytime, anywhere, any number of times! (Why can't every game do that?) People who complain that the story and characters aren't as good as the first game are just whiners. Sofia Lamb is a fun villain, and the story of Grace, Stan and Gil's interactions with her are quite intriguing, and lead to some of the game's moral decisions, which in turn decide the outcome of the game (there are six possibilities). As in the game's first instalment, the voice actors are, without exception, superb. One of the key elements that adds depth to this game are the audio diaries one finds along the way, and they aren't limited to the main characters; there is the heartbreaking journey of Mark Meltzer, who chases down the abductors of his young daughter, and the tale of a young girl who was 'discovered' and brought to Rapture, the underwater world founded by Andrew Ryan (and inspired by Ayn Rand) in the 1940s as a libertarian haven for intellectuals. The music and the fashions and propaganda posters are from this era, and generous details render the sets lush and eminently explorable. I've spent many extra hours in the game just wandering around and finding all the supplies and enemies and looking at stuff. You could play the game through as merely a killing game and ignore the diaries and other details, and it would still be fun. I've played the two instalments a total of 5 times now, and I feel impoverished at having been away a week (though I've gotten some neglected housework done). There are also lots of machines (ammo, supplies, ADAM) which can be hacked; the hacking is of a different style than the first game, and I liked both. There are hidden passages, and a few allies, but mainly you're killing everything you see. New to this game are the Big Sisters, who resent your using their little counterparts to gather ADAM, Rumblers (Big Daddies with mini-turrets!), and Brute Splicers. All are worthwhile opponents. You will certainly grow to dread that piercing shriek! With Vita-Chambers available and limitless saves, you really cannot die, and I'm okay with that. The world is fascinating but it is, after all, a game, and should be evaluated as such. In this second outing you can use conventional hardware at the same time you wield plasmids, which is a vast improvement. I went back to play the first game after a couple of times through this second episode, and that was the thing that was hardest to give up -- using hardware and plasmids simultaneously. 'Conventional' weapons include a drill, rivet gun, machine gun, shotgun, grenade launcher, hack darts, mini-turrets etc -- each with three types of ammo, and plasmids (sweet plasmids!) include the abilities to shoot ice, fire or electricity, scout invisibly, set complex traps, hypnotize your enemies, etc, as you accomplish missions and try to rescue Sofia Lamb's daughter Eleanor, the little sister you are bound to. As in the first episode, there is a time when your perspective changes and you complete some missions in a new persona. This is fun and interesting too. You'll also be underwater a few times as leaks and floods (and perhaps a torpedo) plunge you into the briny depths, surrounded by marine flora and fauna, and occasionally an ADAM slug (?!) ... and oh, what was THAT swimming just behind those rocks? The first time I played Bioshock for about 15 minutes and then quit -- I thought it was creepy and confusing and I set it down for a few weeks, but when I picked it up again I didn't stop playing for weeks, and am itching to go back. I'm not brave enough to go into multiplayer, but single player mode has great replay value, three different difficulties (which vary in damage alterations and fewer supplies rather than the number of enemies). There is a place here for varied strategies, so you can play to your strengths whether you're a sniper, a setter of traps, or an in-your-face drill specialist. You don't HAVE to play Bioshock (1) first, but it would add to the experience to have done so. Is Bioshock 2 flawless? No. But that's like saying Citizen Kane was just 'okay' because the snow looked fake. Which brings up the environments -- breathtaking! One of the most difficult things to get right in computer graphics is water yet here, in a neglected underwater city, you're seeing leaks and stepping in mires of the stuff all the time, and it looks fantastic. I would really like to thank everyone on this team for making this magnificent game. Thank you. FYI, there's a great walkthrough at ign dot com This game is sublime. Highest possible recommendations.

I came to BioShock a bit late. I bought a PS3 about half a year ago, and it was pretty much the first game I bought. I didn't play it right away, though, partially because I'd heard it was fairly long. (One estimate put it at about 20 hours.) I eventually got around to it a couple months ago, though, and I came away feeling it was one of the best games I've ever played. (I'd be tempted to put it at the top of the list were it not for the sheer bad@$$ery that is Batman: Arkham Asylum .) By this time, of course, the sequel was just about to come out. I must admit that I felt a bit torn; I knew I'd welcome a return to the world of Rapture, but given how self-contained the first game is, I didn't see how 2K could come up with a satisfying expansion to the story. When I first started playing BioShock 2, I felt as though I'd been right in doubting it would live up to the original. The good news, however, was that it was just as beautifully designed and fun to play. In fact, there were some changes to the gameplay that made it a bit more fun. First, this entry's hacking mini-game is far less frustrating. I did enjoy BioShock's hacking to a point, but considering the fact that I hacked pretty much everything that could be hacked, it got old as the game wore on. (I was also reluctant to use the auto-hack tools, since you could carry so few.) Also, the remote and auto-hack darts were a great addition. Second, the fact that both plasmids and weapons are available at once is the type of decision that seems like it should have been a no-brainer the first time around. Third, the plasmid/tonic changes greatly improved the experience as well. One of my favorite things about both games is the ability to hack security bots. There's just something about having NPCs who will fight by your side that I've always loved. In fact it was this element that had me feeling more affection for the bots than I did for the Little Sisters. When he discovered that one of the new tonics allows you to repair and name the bots, my roommate joked that I must have had some hand in the development. (Along similar lines, I also loved the mini-turrets. I only wished I could carry more than four at a time.) The funny thing was that, as I continued playing, I found myself being sucked in by the story more and more. It still doesn't quite live up to the story of the first BioShock, but it definitely justifies its existence. (Mild SPOILER: One of the elements that wowed me the most was a portion of a level in which you actually play as a Little Sister. While you don't actually get to do a whole lot, I was amazed by how the makers chose to represent the environment as seen through her eyes. The place essentially looks like a big, bright costume ball, and the corpses do indeed look angelic and peaceful.) Apart from seeing new areas of Rapture, you also get to hear new backstory. Obviously, it often feels as though they had to shoehorn it into what already existed, but that didn't really bother me so much. When all is said and done, I still prefer the first BioShock to the sequel, but BioShock 2 ends up being so much more than just the sum of its parts, making it nearly as great. I'll be interested to see if 2K makes another at some point in the future. I certainly wouldn't be adverse to that.

Let me start off by saying that this game was in a very rough spot when it was being developed. The first Bioshock was and still is one of the greatest games ever made, and seeing as video games are a rare medium where the sequel is almost always better, the bar was set high. I pretty much had my hopes set rather low, as I knew it could never live up to the near-flawless first installment. So how accurate was I? Its about as good as I thought it would be. Bioshock 2 is by no means a bad game. Its still Bioshock, you're still in Rapture, and the gameplay is the same with improvements made here and there. But, as my previous statement said, there are things that hold this installment back. -The Pros- Even though this isn't the first time we've stepped foot in Rapture - and some of the mystery is gone due to that fact - it is still full of the same great atmosphere and art design that made the original so great. There are still flickering lights, leaky walls and ceilings, art deco goodness, and a general sense of a lost utopia in every area. There is still the same feeling of nervous excitement and slight fear around every corner. The gameplay is more or less unchanged, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The shooting is still pretty tight, as is the use of plasmids. You have your standard plasmids and gene tonics from the first game, with a few tweaks here and there such as the ability to use plasmids and weapons at the same time. There are also some small things that I took notice of and really enjoyed: - Subject Delta (your character) grew on me for some reason. I always found the Big Daddies to be oddly lovable, and this guy is no different. - The drill arm is a great addition to the weapon selection. I found myself using it even late in the game and upgrading it before upgrading my guns. - Guarding the Little Sisters wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I hate escort type missions, and thought I would hate this mechanic, but I wound up loving it. You can also just down the other Daddies and return the Sisters to the vents, without doing the ADAM harvesting part. The Little Sisters are also cute and sometimes funny in what they say, and it was a good choice to allow the player to interact with them more this time around. - (!!SPOILER!!) Later on in the game, you are able to see the world of Rapture as the Little Sisters see it, which is incredibly interesting. During this section, the real decayed Rapture is juxtaposed with the imagined Little Sister-vision Rapture, and it is very powerful when it happens. - (!!SPOILER!!) The Subject Delta/Eleanor relationship was well told, despite the fact that I have several complaints regarding the story. - The opening cinematic gives you a very brief glimpse of life in Rapture before its fall. I found it very interesting even though it barely lasts a minute. - The Cons - Before I go into the cons, just know that despite everything I say, this game is still good, and still worth playing. When writing reviews, I tend to focus on the negative too much, and the game is not as bad as these cons will make it out to be. While the fact that the gameplay is unchanged isn't really that bad, it also strikes me as a missed chance to really improve on it. There are really no new weapons or plasmids that strike you as being really "new", as most of them are either unchanged or rehashed versions of other weapons or plasmids from the first game. The fact that you're a Big Daddy also doesn't make that much of a difference. I found my health being depleted rapidly by average splicers, and my blows with weapons or the drill arm not being as effective as they should be. The game tries to write this off as the splicers growing stronger in the ten years since the first game, but it still made a bad impression on me. Music has seemed to have taken a backseat in this game. The first Bioshock used music to such great effect that I bought the soundtrack. Music is more or less absent in this game. I remember hearing music maybe 4 or 5 times throughout the entire game, compared to the literal dozens of songs heard throughout Rapture in Bioshock 1. The hacking mechanic being changed is a smaller annoyance I had, as I love the original games hacking minigame a lot more compared to the color/needle game you play in this game. Something that really confuses me is the graphics. They seem to have gotten worse since Bioshock 1. Low-res textures make several appearances, the water isn't as impressive, and the particle effects are rather pixelated. Graphics aren't really that big of a deal to me, but the obvious downgrade from the first game just confuses me. The areas explored throughout the game are also relatively lacking. There are no Welcome to Rapture Centers or Fort Frolics in this game. (SPOILERS ABOUND BELOW) My absolute biggest complaint about Bioshock 2 is the story. While I wasn't expecting something of Bioshock 1 quality, I was expecting something more than what was presented. Sofia Lamb, while being a decent antagonist, falls very very short of filling Andrew Ryan's shoes. Her speeches aren't as fascinating, her motives aren't as clear, and her malevolence isn't as convincing. She tries to be the omniscient voice of Ryan and the villain of Fontaine all at once, and fails. This is indicative of another problem: the characters. While the characters are still deeper than 95% of characters in other games, the first Bioshock still reigns supreme in this area. Sinclair is a likable character, but pales in comparison to Atlas (Sinclair more or less fills Atlas' role in this game). Grace Holloway plays the role of fallen artist in this game, but never lives up to the mad genius of Sander Cohen. Even the audio logs are lacking due to the characters not being as strong. The big reveal around the 75% complete mark in this game was also unremarkable. Expect no "Would you kindly?" or "Atlas is Fontaine". I didn't even understand the significance of the twist in this game. I was unaffected by it completely. There is also no final boss fight, no satisfying explanation for the Big Sisters, and no sense of closure that approaches the first games'. My last complaint story-wise is about Tenenbaum. Despite being the only character from the first game in this game, she makes one appearance and then COMPLETELY disappears from the game. You aren't even told what becomes of her. This really frustrated me. Despite all of my complaints, this is still a very solid game and worth playing. Especially if you've played the amazing first game. However, if you're new to this series, I highly recommend playing the first one to see if you like this type of game.

I just beat bioshock 2 not too long ago. Overall I would say it was a great game. To put it simply, its like the first, only its more action oriented. Seeing as how you play a big daddy, you get heavy weapons and stronger plasmids. The story feels a bit more personal this time around. Each big daddy is assigned a little sister for life. Yours is taken away from you by her real mother (who is a real nut), and you have to get her back to safety. Thats the story in a nutshell. One complaint I have about the game, is that sometimes, the buttons would not respond either right away, or not at all. I could still movie, but when I pressed X in a menu, I would have to press it a few more times to get something to work. Also, there was a moment where I could not shoot my plasmids. Just my plasmids, not my guns. Pressing the start button and going back to the game fixed this. Then again, this only happened ONCE the whole time I played. Although, when you're buying items from vending machines, it takes a while for the game to respond to your button presses when you buy something. It's minor, the first one didn't have this problem. I'm sure they will release a patch soon to fix it, so its nothing to even worry about. Multiplayer is great. Its the standard stuff, with a bioshock theme. You get the plasmids, a big daddy suit as one of the power ups, and it actually has a story. It takes place before the first game, during the riots and everybody tearing down rapture on new years 1959 (you may remember the one room you went into in the first bioshock, and some audio dairies describing the event). The graphics are amazing too, although some parts do look a bit funny. I was looking at a dead body from one angle, and the edges and textures on it were jagged an flat. I moved to the other side of the body and it was back to normal. I have not seen the 360 or PC version so I don't know if its just the ps3 that has this issue. Once again, its minor, and I can see a patch coming out to fix it. All the issues I've listed are just me nip picking. Its an amazing game, and if you're a fan of FPS's, great stories, and in depth worlds, by all means, pick this up.

The original Bioshock had one of the best stories of any game in the last few years. The overall experience was gripping and suspenseful and even frightening at times. Well, Bioshock was a huge hit, so I guess there had to be a sequel (even though the story didn't really call for one). Here it is in a nutshell: Story--ok, a bit uninspired, but decent enough...in any case a huge step down from its predecessor Gameplay--pretty solid...if you liked the mechanics of the original, you'll like this Bottom line: If you were a huge fan of the gameplay (rather than the experience) of the original, you'll probably love this. Otherwise, it's just a fairly standard shooter featuring the mechanics from the first game. Not bad by any means, but nothing extra special.

I loved Bioshock; I became immediately immersed in it and spent well over 20 hours completing it during my first playthrough because there was so much to explore in the game. Bioshock 2 is no different. What a cool game Bioshock 2 is so far. Let me say up front that I haven't finished it, and I don't want to be finished. I have played for over 6 hours and I don't get the impression that I'm remotely close to finishing. After 6 hours, I'm sure that I could have gotten a lot farther in the game than I am a lot faster, but you can prolong the game by exploring areas that may not be the most direct route to your goal. And I spend a lot of time exploring. These little explorations are usually fruitful, because hidden throughout the expansive game are all kinds of weapons, perks and information about where you've once again suddenly found yourself captive: In the underwater city of Rapture. (Edit 3/1/10: Finished the game and the game is as good as the rest of this review suggests. Spent, I'd say, well over 15 hours playing. Extensive searching kept my ammo and "Eve" full at all times.) The game begins with a flashback cutscene with you as a Big Daddy protecting a Little Sister apparently just before the events of the first game. The cutscene ends badly for you, but you are suddenly "reactivated" about 10 years later within Andrew Ryan's utopian city of Rapture now under the control of a woman named Sofia Lamb, and Lamb is not happy to see you. Did I say utopian city? Well, that may have been the original idea, but the Rapture you ultimately find yourself in is the antithesis of a utopia and in even worse shape than in the first Bioshock. I believe the term is dystopia. Anyway, a familiar name contacts you and helps guide you, a Big Daddy, to your goals. The good news is that in Bioshock 2, unlike Bioshock 1, your peripheral vision isn't limited like it was by the Big Daddy helmet. Remember that part in Bioshock 1 where you became the Big Daddy and you had to escort the Little Sister? That was one of the tougher parts on the game, no? Well, it looks like we're in for a lot of that in Bioshock 2. You are given goals and roadblocks o'plenty to prevent you from easily reaching your goals. The few people (called Splicers) left in Rapture that you run into have all gone (are still) stark raving mad, and they'll ruin your day or the Little Sister's day that you're trying to protect if you let them get too close. And don't trip a security alarm; it'll summon armed drones and more Splicers. At the beginning of the first level you get a quick glimpse of something that looks a lot worse than a Splicer, and it becomes clear that the gene altering that was going on in the first one has been taken to the next level in this one. At least it's easier to hack everything from security cameras to drones to vending machines to safes in Bioshock 2. Not only can you hack from a distance by firing a "hack dart" at a machine like a gun turret, the hacking itself is a new timed system that is based on stopping a needle that moves back in forth over a color coded grid versus the first game's complete the puzzle before time runs out system. You get all kinds of weapons and occasional opportunities to upgrade your weapons. You're well equipped. And this time not only do you get the Big Daddy's Rivet Gun, but also his oversize drill. The drill is quite effective so far on Splicers and saves on precious ammo; there's a new melee attack added to your defense system and a melee with the drill equipped is almost as effective as the drill itself. You get the a camera again too to take pictures that allow you to conduct research on your foes to increase the damage you can inflict on them and lessen the damage that they inflict on you (don't worry...all you have to do is take the dang picture; the research is done automatically). In addition to the corpses strewn throughout the game that can be searched for goodies, so is ammo, money and other knick-knacks that will help you progress. Just be sure to search everything if you want to maximize your strength. And speaking of maximizing your strength, one of the first things you get are, just like the first game, Plasmids...or put another way...special abilities. Telekinesis. Pyrokinesis. And a bunch of other Plasmid "kinesises" are unlocked pending your ability to find or buy them. Try picking something heavy up with your telekinesis and throwing it at your enemy...better yet, plant a few Trap Rivets on that thing before you toss it! You're also granted "tonics" to customize your character with. Stuff like armor, various strengths, first aid boosts, and secondary damage on your enemies from your weapons or from just plain old being attacked. Really cool stuff. Unlike most games, but just like Bioshock 1, the game lets you save at any time, and when you restart play it starts you at the exact place you last saved...not at the last checkpoint. Nice. Very nice. So right before you get to what you think might be a tough part...save! Cuz if you play "poorly", you can just quit and try again. Like any game with redundant enemies (think RE4's ganados or Uncharted's pirates), the Splicers become quite annoying, but I suppose that's the idea. And yup, you even need to battle with other Big Daddies again. And as tough as they are, wait until you have to battle your newest foe, the Big Sister. My first battle with one of these didn't go so well. Thank goodness for the save anywhere feature! You have GOT to remember to hit that first aid button before your health runs out. You reload automatically, and your Plasmids will recharge automatically (if you've got some Eve), but you don't heal automatically. Your goals change all the time. Just when you think you've attained a critical goal...it backfires or you're immediately given another that requires backtracking...and then backtracking again. But rest assured it never gets boring. The eerie atmospheres and creepy environments that Bioshock's creators have put together are more than effective. Some areas are really creepy, and there's nothing worse than not being able to find your way out of those which isn't always easy. But that's the fun! Oh yeah, and now that you're in the Big Daddy suit, you're even required to make it through some underwater (or should I say in the water) adventures. If you like shooters or survival / horror games...Bioshock 2 is for you. The first game is really cheap here at Amazon, and I'd highly recommend that you play it first for chronology's sake. But chronology is completely unnecessary for Bioshock 2. Come to think of it....play Bioshock 2 first then play Bioshock 1 as a prequel! Because one thing that Bioshock 2 has that Bioshock 1 doesn't is Multiplayer mode. This is really fun. Ya know how Modern Warfare 2 was really a multiplayer game with a bonus single player campaign? Well, Bioshock 2 is a single player game with a bonus multiplayer mode. Think Modern Warfare 2 combined with World at War Zombie mode combined with, well, Bioshock. I tried Multiplayer last night and in my first sitting got almost all of the Trophies (for anyone that cares about that). I really bought Bioshock 2 for the single player mode. But the addition of Multiplayer only adds to the hours of good times to be had with this game. Multiplayer is an interesting story driven mode where the player takes on the role of a citizen of Rapture before the events of the first Bioshock. So is there anything bad about Bioshock 2 so far. Well, if I had to come up with something it'd be that the graphics seem to have received no upgrade whatsoever. After games like Uncharted, you'd think that 2K would have made some improvements in this department, but I'm not seeing it. The Splicers look as cartoonish as it gets. And my only other complaint would be the familiarity that Bioshock 2 has with the original. But that's the idea, right? You are "reborn" into Rapture. I've heard some talk about how Bioshock 2 is a carbon copy of the first game. And that talk is just ridiculous. Again, take my review for what it's worth since I'm only just getting into it. But after 6 hours I'd say that there's no question here...add this to your cart. This is a 5-star game...whether you've played the first already or not. (P.S.--I know that video game to big screen conversions mostly seem to fail, but have you heard that there's a movie adaptation of Bioshock with the 28 Weeks Later Director at the helm?)

I like the easier hacker games in this game. The original Bioshock had difficult hacker games that were numerous. I often times used a buy out for the first one. In the sequel, I loved the replacement. It is easier, quicker, and still challenging (but not frustrating). the story is suspenseful and interesting. I have more confidence being a big daddy protected by armor and having WAY more slots for your spices. Fighting the big daddies was hard enough in the first without stumbling with the controls; switching from plasmids to weapons. You can use both in the sequel. I loved the choices you have to make throughout in dealing with little sisters and various characters. There are consequences with your actions and it is sometimes challenging to be good. You can harvest little sisters; which is especially cruel being that you are a big daddy. I had the most fun adopting little sisters and protecting them while they collect Adam. It took some strategy before hand, something that i did not enjoy as much as in the first. There is no lack of freshness in this game, which is too often the bitter cries from the fans of the original. It adds to what we know of Rapture, and it further involves us in confronting the political shake-up and all out civil war that made Rapture synonimous with plagued insanity. It involves the moral tale that man in never truely happy, and he seeks out to destroy his own creations. All this talk about the sequel must make you think that I didn't like the first. I loved the first Bioshock immensely! This series is my new favorite. It's dark, and scary, and very suspenseful. The first time I saved all the little sisters I heard a bone chilling scream. I really scared me. I knew it was the big sister, but still it took me off guard. I felt cornered and trapped. Desperate to survive. She moved quick. Damn quick! And jumped everywhere in ways I couldn't. Only by playing smart, and hitting hard, did I survive. I had so much fun playing this game.

The game is good. People complain that it's almost like the first Bioshock with a few changes. But what did you expect its PART 2? They set up Rapture to go along with the story. It's 10yrs later not that much should have changed. If you thought everthing was suppose to be different and still keep the same story, it can't. Rapture had to stay the same and just show a 10 year deteriorating period. You get to use your Plasma and weapon at the same time(which you will need in order to handel what seems like even more aggressive and crazier groups of Rapture residents) no more back and forth between battles. New tougher, much faster enemies that come at you out of no where... (I LOVE IT). And a really good story.(in my opinion anyway) The would be humans show the effects of the doctors death in the part 1 in the way they look(not more quick fixes and face jobs to look human). I must admit I haven't beat the game. But from what I have seen so far this is a wonderful addition to the franchise. It would be hard to top the 1st game the only thing you can do is go from there and build on it. 2k/Bioware did a good job adding to it. If my opinion changes so does my rating. As of now it's 5 star bound. The people that gave it a 3 have a right to there opinion. I just think their imagination about what to expect when this came out got the best of them. They did it to themselves. Bio2 delivers on what it promised. 4 star... I can take that. But 3-1 stars? no way.

Da gusto jugar a un título tan sólido, sin errores, estéticamente cuidadísimo y con una narración muy intensa. Lo peor sería que queda eclipsado por su predecesor, del que bebe en gran medida. No obstante, al menos para mí, después de haber dejado pasar algunos años entre un título y otro, el Bioshock 2 me ha traído de vuelta a Rapture de manera emocionante y sin bugs, interludios narrativos aburridos, ni falsas expectativas como muchos otros títulos de PS3. Aquí se trata de salir adelante, sobrevivir y, de paso, decidir quiénes queremos ser. Recomendado para jugar a máximo nivel de dificultad (así es como más se disfruta).

Pour le prix je m'attendait à un truc en anglais ou en chinois il n'en est rien le jeu fonctionne parfaitement en français pour le rapport qualité prix c'est idéal.

Great game.

武器の水中銃を使うと 槍が射出され敵に刺さり、壁までぶっ飛んで 昆虫標本の虫状態になります。 これがすごい爽快感。 ゲームのユーザーへの配慮は 1より格段に良くなっています。 ただ1よりかは探索性がありません。 ほとんど1本道です。私はそこが1の不満点だったので無くなって良かったです。

The product is very good.Delivery is very fast.Thanks.