It's Not You, BioShock 2, It's Me

[Nomanslander]

Yeah yeah yeah.

And for anyone that's played System Shock 2, even the first Bioshock was a bunch of silly bollocks.

I've seen enough people try and drive this opinion down this road before.

And I liked BS2 more than the first, but I guess that's just me.

If you want to read an article that doesn't whine so much about BS2, and really delves into what it is, read this:

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/107/1070382p1.html

 

[Nomanslander]

This was the attitude of a significant portion of Bioshock fan's and it's those who tend to see Bioshock 2 as nothing more than a re-run.

It's something I can't understand either, Bioshock 2 is the only game where I have heard the criticism of being too similar, even Left 4 Dead 2 didn't get that much flack for it and the games practically identical to the first with the exception of 3 new enemies and melee weapons. The Halo and Gears of War games add nothing significantly new in their sequels either beyond continuing their stories (stories which a lot of people claim to be non-existent). Let's not forget GTA either.

Don't think too much about it.

People in general are a bunch of hypocritical idiots.

 

[Dyp100]

I must be the only person in the gaming scene not played Bioshock 1, neither am I going to play Bioshock 2.

I have one on my PC, but it always crashes after I get the flame plasmid, so yeah...-Shrug- Plus, I already know what happens in the story so I can't just feel emotionally connected to it like others could going in fresh.

I must admit, the game did well at dragging my graphics card to it's full potential but my past experience with the game, plus the knowing most of the stuff about the story has really soiled me to it.

Maybe I should get it for my xbox instead, I much prefer console controls anyway, even if I suspect I won't really enjoy it.

Also, I don't understand what you don't like about it? Are you saying your just not as easy to connect, it feels samey, or you just expect it to be bad compared to the first and you can't help but feel that way?

 

[Caimekaze]

I think that as a gaming experience, I enjoyed Bioshock 2 more than the first. I spent a good part if it feeling disconnected, but as Delta's origin was slowly revealed and the story became more clear, I became extremely engrossed in it.
And then the last two levels. Oh my god, they were amazing.

Spoiler

I think the lack of serious boss fights helped too. There were a few challenging enemies, but for the most part it was just trying to deal with many enemies. It felt more real that way.

 

[Nunka]

I think the prevailing opinion (BioShock 2 has better gameplay than the first, but can never really match up because it lacks the emotional resonance and sense of wonder) is somewhat a case of rose-colored glasses. Yes, it was amazing to explore Rapture for the first time and meet its strange inhabitants. Yes, the plot twists were wild and very well-executed. But many people seem to have forgotten just how terrible the last third of the game was. It was almost enough to spoil the whole experience for me. A contrived final boss and a crappy FMV cutscene chosen based on my actions that doesn't really show the impact of those actions? That's all I get? Really?

BioShock 2, on the other hand, has a much more consistent narrative. Eleanor is established right from the beginning as the driving force of the story. As the game progresses, you start to feel a connection to her. And finally, in the absolutely brilliant last hour or so of the game, when Eleanor finally "materializes"...

Spoiler

...she becomes what you, through your actual in-game actions, taught her to be: a benevolent angel or a merciless force of destruction. And the end of the game reflects this brilliantly, showing you the impact and the cost of what you've done in a much more real way than BioShock the first could ever have dreamed.

I may just be a sucker for powerful endings (particularly those involving strong women doing not-so-nice things), but by the power of BioShock 2's ending alone, it will always be the better game in my eyes.

 

[wrightry]

Personally, the third act of Bioshock 2 made me feel those feelings of amazement that the original gave me. For the most part I agree (that it's fantastic, but the original was phenomenal) but finish it then tell us how you feel because the ending (the good one at least) blew my mind.

 

[Copter400]

I'm still playing my copy of BioShock right now and trying to figure out how to power up the wrench so i can beat Fontaine's ass with it

Sportsboost, Wrench Lurker, the tonic that specifically powers up the wrench...there's some more I'm sure, but between those you should be able to one-two-punch-kill many splicers, assuming you're researching properly.

 

[Spiner909]

I feel completely opposite this. I found BioShock 1 to be the worst game I had ever played, but found number 2 to be very entertaining.

 

[Tiamat666]

Considering how "serious" the story is, they should have tried harder not to make The NPCs look like ridiculous cartoon characters.

I think you're missing part of the point of it all though. It was a living space that was meant to be cheerful. If everytime you wanted a snack you were greeted by a chipper voice it might help you forget that you havent seen the sun in 280 days, even if for a moment. Rapture was meant to be upbeat and part of the horror there is just how badly its falling apart into decay as the last remnants of a positive existence there slowly die out. It's actually kind of depressing.

Just imagine yourself, personally, in a world so desolate of life that the only thing talking to you, other than the voices on the radio, are crazed people out for your blood... or diddies coming from a machine.

And they look like people who have used masks to cover their deformities. It makes as much sense as anything else to cover up what splicing has done to your once pretty face.

I did get that point. That's why I said that it all does make sense plotwise. But I'm talking more about the presentation, the graphical style of the game. The vending machines are not just "cheerful", they are "comical". The NPCs don't look realistic or threatening, they look like cartoon characters. There is this huge discrepancy between plot style (dark, serious, sinister) and the graphical/sound style (comical, silly, cartoon-like).

For example, I think it would have been possible to have crazed women in skirts wearing masks attacking me with crowbars, and have it feel genuinely freakish and terrifying, which would have fit very well in the mood of the plot. But due to the graphical style of the game, to me, they simply look ridiculous more than anything else.

I think BioShock could have been a seriously freaky and scary game if they had put more realism in the presentation instead of taking such a comical course with everything.

 

[dnose]

I think that part of the problem is that you've played through the first Bioshock three times. If you had just played it once or twice shortly after it had been released, you may have enjoyed the second one that much more.

 

[Fearzone]

It's not you. Bioshock works when you are an outsider looking upon the events of Rapture in horror. And only then.

Later on in the original, when you increasingly become more of a "citizen" of Rapture than an outsider doing what you need to do to survive, it falls apart. As you say, the third act isn't the same as the first two, even though the Rapture levels in the later game are as compelling as the earlier ones.

Bioshock 2 sounds like it combines elements that didn't particularly work in the original and stretches it out for the entire game.