BioShock 2 Review

Post by Steve Farrelly @ 01:13pm 10/02/10 | 53 Comments

It's out and about, and we've waded our way through the murky, flooding depths of Rapture 10 years on from our last visit. The big question on everyone's mind though is, 'is it worth it?'.

The short answer is yes, with a very long but. That's what we do so well here at AusGamers though, and so if you haven't dived in yet, or are awaiting our verdict, you can check it out now, in all its depth (the puns are getting old now). Be sure to drop a line about your thoughts if you've been playing it also.

Click here for the full review.

bioshock 2 review 2K Marin bioshock

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Latest Comments

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DM
Posted 01:43pm 10/2/10

Wow pretty crappy score you gave it.

You're too weak as a Big Daddy

Hardly. Drill + slam move = nearly instant kill for anything but the toughest bad guys.

Visually aged

I thought the graphics are great and it runs silky smooth as I expect some lower speced PCs will as well. This is a good thing.

Underwater sections are underwhelming

Yeah you got me there. I expected some free roaming going on. Mabye #3 will fix this a bit and have you leave rapture in order to swim around and go somewhere else?

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Steve Farrelly
Posted 01:47pm 10/2/10

Hardly. Drill + slam move = nearly instant kill for anything but the toughest bad guys.

you don't have that move out of the box though... takes too long to be what you should have been from the start - negates the entire idea of being a Big Daddy in the first place.

Also, an AusGamers 7.3 is actually pretty good

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paveway
Posted 01:54pm 10/2/10

i've not played the first one

but i'm looking for a game to play

i read where you said you get thrown i the deep end, does it matter that much?

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Steve Farrelly
Posted 01:59pm 10/2/10

paveway - nah, not really

just need to know it's all in an underwater city, you look after little kids who poke dead people with syringes and beat the s*** out of weirdos trying to get them

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Trauma
Posted 02:20pm 10/2/10

Eh never played the 1st, only a 9.0+ would have convinced me on this one. Far too many titles coming real soon to waste money on this imho.

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groganus
Posted 02:25pm 10/2/10

I completely agree with your review Steve... except i wouldn't recommend people spending money on it.. and i would of given it a 6 at the max... But all the floors/cons you covered were exactly what let it down for me.

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Methz
Posted 02:27pm 10/2/10

I quite like it tbh. the combat is s***loads more intense than the first.
Theres a big emphasis on defense,and when I take the time to set up turrets,traps etc it's really quite satisfying.
The strength of the big daddy is in the thinking/planning. He's weaker but smarter
they even hint at that when you make certain decisions in the game

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Decepticon
Posted 02:30pm 10/2/10

haha I knew this couldn't possibly compete with mass effect 2.
they(2k games) were lucky to have a first game that was as good as bioshock, would have been too good to be true to repeat the same success. I always thought the first game was over rated and that a sequl would be a stupid idea.

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groganus
Posted 02:34pm 10/2/10

The strength of the big daddy is in the thinking/planning. He's weaker but smarter

See that's all nice and all.. but the big daddy was originally sold in the first game as a brute with one purpose(to protect little sister).

Id expect a concept like this to be released as a weak expansion or DLC for the original... kind of like the lame yet entertaining enough expansions to half life... Blues*** ect..

Whilst i admire the fact that the dev's have gone to the effort of making a complete full game... i personally found it was a weak attempt at a cash grab which is a real shame given how solid and decent the franchise could of been.

"YOU GET TO PLAY AS A BIG DADDY!()&(@&%!@" is something my 6 year old would tell me, to get me to buy the game.. very similar to "YOU GET TO PLAY AS PIKACHU"... a novel concept... but really quite boring.

I could rant for hours on how much i dislike bioshock 2.. all stemming from the amount of shear disappointment the game has given me... Kind of like ep 1,2,3 of starwars.

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rawb
Posted 02:40pm 10/2/10

I found in bioshock 1, the part where you play as a big daddy was the worst/most annoying.

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greazy
Posted 02:43pm 10/2/10

how the hell can you be disappointed when you got the game for free?

seriously any game i get for free (you know, borrowing the game from a friend), should at least give me SOME enjoyment and what little enjoyment it gave you should be multiplied many times over because it was free!

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Steve Farrelly
Posted 02:49pm 10/2/10

greazy who are you talking to?

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greazy
Posted 03:22pm 10/2/10

gorganus.

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groganus
Posted 03:27pm 10/2/10

seriously any game i get for free (you know, borrowing the game from a friend), should at least give me SOME enjoyment and what little enjoyment it gave you should be multiplied many times over because it was free!

I never said i got the game for free... what kind of madness is this.

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Dazhel
Posted 03:33pm 10/2/10

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Viper
Posted 03:41pm 10/2/10

@ Steve

Have you had a chance to play the pc version, does it feel like a bit of a console port or does it handle pretty well?

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DM
Posted 04:04pm 10/2/10

Well I just finished the game going the good route and i'm hoping that they take the obvious direction they were aiming toward. Don't wanna spoil anything so won't say what that is but it's kinda sad but at the same time pretty cool. Bring on bioshock 3!

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Steve Farrelly
Posted 04:16pm 10/2/10

Viper - yeah have checked it out. The PC version is still very much a stand-alone PC-feeling game. In fact you can tweak stuff on the console version to make it feel more PC (seriously), which is a first as far as I know... obviously looks much better on PC as well, though I still think it looks aged compared to many other games

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Viper
Posted 04:31pm 10/2/10

@ Steve

That sounds pretty cool, nice to hear it doesn't feel like a cheap console port *cough* AvP *cough*

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deadlyf
Posted 04:46pm 10/2/10

Meh I got the pre-order from UK mainly because I never played the first. From what I have played of the first one so far it's pretty underwhelming compared to how much people raved about it so I'm already geared up to be disappointed by the sequel.

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konstie
Posted 04:51pm 10/2/10

@ SteveThat sounds pretty cool, nice to hear it doesn't feel like a cheap console port *cough* AvP *cough*

are you sick viper?

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ctd
Posted 04:54pm 10/2/10

Fark I fell asleep playing the first so damn boring was really only going to give this a go if it was super awesome.

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Steve Farrelly
Posted 05:05pm 10/2/10

i'm pretty amazed at how many people here didn't like the first... I absolutely loved it

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Viper
Posted 05:10pm 10/2/10

@ konstie yea I seem to of caught the "console bug" making my "pc gland" all flared up.

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paveway
Posted 05:25pm 10/2/10

i believe it's called aids viper

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Viper
Posted 05:32pm 10/2/10

@ paveway

Damn first consoles start messing with my pc games then they charge for dlc and now they are giving me aids too....when will it end?

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kettels
Posted 05:37pm 10/2/10

personally i loved the first one, but i never liked the idea of a sequel. Bioshock built up a wonderful and complete world that had a definitive ending and changing it would sort of ruin the first (for me at least).

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Tim Tibbetts
Posted 05:41pm 10/2/10

As someone who loved the first Bioshock I am rather disappointed with the second. I think the allure of the first one was it was different, something new...this isn't.

I agree with the review, and the rating. The 'mainstream' gaming reviews have giving it 9.0-9.5, um, no thanks.

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Obes
Posted 05:49pm 10/2/10

2k games ... that means it will cost more in Australia on Steam then everywhere else in the world. That's pretty much where this review should have started and stopped.

But it didn't even get a mention.

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ctd
Posted 05:50pm 10/2/10

Yeah kudos to our man Steve. Copped some heat on da street after the infamous Far Cry 2 and Deadspace reviews but it is a real Cinderella story now.

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Khel
Posted 05:55pm 10/2/10

I bought it from UK steam, ended up costing me about $40 australian cos there was some discount for pre-ordering. F*** paying our prices here for it.

Haven't actually tried it out yet though, too much Dante's Inferno and MAss Effect 2 to still play.

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neffo
Posted 06:17pm 10/2/10

@ twitter f***

Seriously, just say the person's name followed by a comma. The @ thing is f*****g gay.

Also, Steve's review is bang on. The game kinda blows.

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Viper
Posted 06:41pm 10/2/10

neffo,

I'll assume you are talking at me, just to clear up I have never even been to the twitter website EVER!!!!!111!!! just saw some people do it assumed it was the way to be done, your point is however noted.

Also your desire for me to be a homosexual is flattering but I'm afraid that your dream won't come true sorry.

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Crash
Posted 10:04pm 10/2/10

I finished it a few hours ago, i thought it was an enjoyable game.

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greazy
Posted 11:35pm 10/2/10

the speed at which you people finish games astounds me.

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Viper
Posted 10:47am 11/2/10

greazy

maybe its not the speed at which people finish games but more the length of games.

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boba
Posted 10:49am 11/2/10

I played this for about 5 minutes and really couldn't stand it on the pc. Played the original on 360 and it was awesome. Remind me never to buy a console sequel on pc again =(

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trog
Posted 10:49am 11/2/10

Seriously, just say the person's name followed by a comma. The @ thing is f*****g gay.

I actually thought that came from blogs before twitter

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Viper
Posted 10:58am 11/2/10

boba,

you might find it supports a 360 controller like the first one in which case you can play it with the best visuals and a more comfortable control scheme for you.

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boba
Posted 11:04am 11/2/10

no controller support on the pc version http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=636333&postcount=68 (looks like the 2k forums are getting hammered or broken)

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Dazhel
Posted 11:18am 11/2/10

One of the best scripted sequence in Bioshock was in a waterlogged basement of
one of the shops in Fort Frolic.
You have to go up to the end of the basement to flip some switch and when you look back the plaster figures are gone...

I hope Bioshock 2 has some moments like those, seriously freaky.

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Crash
Posted 01:31pm 11/2/10

the speed at which you people finish games astounds me.

I'm reviewing it for the website i write for. 2K sent out debug review copies a little while ago, for the reviewers without one they received standard copies the day of its release. Thats how / why i managed to get through it so quick.

maybe its not the speed at which people finish games but more the length of games.

Took me about 12 hours to get through, i think the length was just about right.

I recently had this discussion on my podcast, on one side of the fence you have a game like Halo ODST, that takes like 4 - 5 hours to finish. I did not like this game at all, thought that it was slow and unexciting for a 4 hour game...
On the other side we have something like Modern Warfare 2, which also took me just under 5 hours to get through. Although it was short in length, the game was action packed and extremely entertaining the whole way through.

I played this for about 5 minutes and really couldn't stand it on the pc. Played the original on 360 and it was awesome. Remind me never to buy a console sequel on pc again =(

I played the BioShock 2 on PC and didnt have any real issues, what was your problem with the game? Was it that you couldn't use the 360 controller?

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Twinsen
Posted 01:38pm 11/2/10

I picked this up yesterday, I absolutely loved the first game to death - with this one; allot of the time I feel like I am playing Sys Shock 2; atmospheric wise... so far nothing much has happened which has made me go wow and sadly I went back to Mass Effect 2 after about 2 hours lol.

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Khel
Posted 01:42pm 11/2/10

You have to go up to the end of the basement to flip some switch and when you look back the plaster figures are gone...

Yeah, that bit freaked me out, there was a few bits with those mannequins that were freaky, like where you'd look away and hear some splashing/noises, and look back and the mannequins had moved or were getting closer to you. Something about mannequins just freaks me the f*** out.

last edited by Khel at 13:42:14 11/Feb/10

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Khel
Posted 01:42pm 11/2/10

allot of the time I feel like I am playing Sys Shock 2

You say that like its a bad thing?

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groganus
Posted 01:51pm 11/2/10

Bioshock had in my opinion one of the most awesome starting sequences to a game since half life... that plane crash was f*****g epic, then swimming up to the statue and taking a sub down to the city... was just so f*****g cool... Then you got your first power and you felt like you could f*****g take on anything... and you were going to get to the bottom of this mystery...

It was a build up that made you want to learn everything you could about the world you were in... the characters were interesting and each one had a cool story... and then once you learned everything you thought you could know the throw a twist in there and your draw drops...

Bioshock 2 has you putting a gun to your head and blowing your brains out... from that moment.. i really couldn't care what was going on... It wasn't captivating enough, it didn't give me any real reason to want to find out what was going on... and from that moment there is where i lost complete interest in the game.

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Dazhel
Posted 02:11pm 11/2/10

allot of the time I feel like I am playing Sys Shock 2
You say that like its a bad thing?

His song is not ours!

The Many sings to us...

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Maccas
Posted 02:06am 12/2/10

The story was average and unnecessary.

The gameplay was much, MUCH better and actually quite a lot of fun.

It isn't really worth buying, go get ME2 instead. Also the single player can easily be clocked in 10 hours, so a rental could be the ticket.

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Thundercracker
Posted 09:57am 12/2/10

The story was average and unnecessary.

The gameplay was much, MUCH better and actually quite a lot of fun.

I haven't finished it, but this it my impression of it a few hours in. The actual gameplay and the surrounding mechanics are more fun that bioshock 1, and in my mind that's more important.

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boba
Posted 10:07am 12/2/10

I played the BioShock 2 on PC and didnt have any real issues, what was your problem with the game? Was it that you couldn't use the 360 controller?

the controls felt sluggish using keyboard/mouse even though I was getting a constant 60fps running it with everything on.

i'll probably give it another crack on the weekend

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Crash
Posted 12:30pm 12/2/10

the controls felt sluggish using keyboard/mouse even though I was getting a constant 60fps running it with everything on.

i'll probably give it another crack on the weekend

fair enough, i played it with keyboard and mouse but didnt have any issue's. Only thing i really had to do was drop the sensitivity down to 1.

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Thundercracker
Posted 12:53pm 12/2/10

I found turning off vsync to help but then you get tearing

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Viper
Posted 03:09am 15/2/10

Just got through it, in one solid playthrough.

Must say its very slow paced also kinda reminded me of doom 3 around the beginning with all the trains.

As for length I started at like 430pm its now 306am so thats like about 10 hours 30 minutes or something like that, forgive me if its wrong its 3AM.

Overall its pretty fun and would make a great gap filler between some of the bigger releases this year.

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