Take Two Disappointed With BioShock 2

[TsunamiWombat]

Take Two boss Brian Feder believes that the familiarity with the setting afforded by the first game meant that much of the sense of wonder was lost, which in turn hurt sales: "The surprise factor is always going to be there," he said. "Sometimes they work for you and sometimes they work against you. Our goal is to have them work for us, more often than not."

Oh man, cut him a break guys, it's not like EVERYONE ON THE INTERNET EVER was saying the same thing when they announced it.

Oh wait.

 

[dochmbi]

If I was new to the internet I might dare ask, "am I the only who thought Bioshock 2 was better than 1?".

I thought Bioshock 2 was better, not because of story or gameplay, but because Bioshock 2 actually had bearable mouse control. I mean yeah it was still botched terribly, but at least it was somewhat playable.

 

[jamesworkshop]

Bioshock 2 did a lot of decent things it was never going to blow Bioshock out of the water (pun intendid) but otherwise how many other games can compare to it, Bio 2 still had new audio diarys from Andrew and Atlas just like the first but had a much better second by second story with much better pacing and a far better ending

I would say Bioshock 2 actually made the first game better which is far better than what most sequels end up doing

Richard Cobbett sums up my feelings quite nicely


"What stuck out the most for me is how this fatherhood element doesn?t simply add a theme to the game, but completely changes its tone. Subtle as a brick it may be, but in pushing you towards the good path, Bioshock 2 ends up with arguably its most dramatic inversion ? replacing its predecessor?s cynicism with optimism."

http://www.narrativeflood.com/2010/bioshock-2-and-the-big-daddy-experience

 

[ItsAPaul]

Cheap ripoffs don't make as much as the original? Man, that guy earned his pay for the day.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

Bioshock was never meant to be a series. It was a solo act and worked perfectly well alone, it was tightly written and left no hanging ends. Any attempts to wring more money from the property are just watering down the original product.. an appropriate image really.

 

[Luke5515]

I hope they make a game that isn't connected to Bioshock in any way where you... I don't know, I'm not a story writer. And then at the end you find out that your father was the hero from the first game. No one will know it's a sequel to Bioshock until they play it or until it hits the internet. That way, it can be in a different setting with a different motif and still be Bioshock storyline.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

I've always said that Bioshock was a perfect stand-alone game. Turning it into a franchise only diluted the magic.

Plus if memory serves me it was released around the same time as Mass Effect 2, possibly the game of the year, so not the best strategy.

 

[twm1709]

What made bioshock 1 good was that it was NEW. The usual sequel formula of doing more of the same just wasn't going to sit well with the fans in this particular case.
This I fear for Portal 2 as well. When being innovative is your greatest feature, sequels should be out of discussion.

 

[Zhukov]

Allo me to translate.

"We made a sequel to our awesome game. It didn't do so well. So we think the best thing to do is make another sequel."

Sheer genius right there folks.

Although the worst part is that I'll probably still buy it.

 

[Trogdor1138]

Bioshock was in my opinion the finest game of this generation by far, a rare combination of where a game gets everything so right that it reminds me how amazing gaming is and even though I saw elements from other games, still felt like something I'd never experienced before.

I haven't played the second because from the get go it looked completely uninspired and useless to me and an obvious cash in, it never needed a sequel even though I knew all along the grubby execs would push one inevitably. I'm sure I'll play the sequel one day, but I haven't had a single good reason to go out and get it.

 

[MDSnowman]

Yes, Bioshock 1 handled like a pile of wet ass, but I ate the setting up with a spoon and was hungry for more (even when the game fell apart in the third act). Fixing the control issues and making it a more compelling shooter is great and all, but in the end the sequel's story couldn't live up to the setting being a known entity.

Not to mention they took the one of the worst parts of the first Bioshock game (dressing up like a dig daddy), and made that the crux of the sequel.

 

[ark123]

I think he doesn't understand the "2" part of "Bioshock 2".

Yes, some of the wonder vanishes when you make more of the same. Duh.

 

[JakeOfRavenclaw]

I really loved Bioshock 2--the story took a while to get going, but once it did I found it to be the equal of the first one (Really! The places that they took Lamb's philosophy were wonderfully disturbing, and the way the game is resolved, with regards to Elenor's fate, is really cool. One of the few games that really forces you to consider the consequences of your choices, I think). So, I would welcome a Bioshock 3, as long as it's developed with the same level of care that Marin brought to 2. It could work as either a sequel or prequel, IMO. There are a lot of story possibilities in either direction.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

I like how he blames the low sales on the fact that people are already familiar with Rapture, so there's less "Wow factor", and completely ignores factors like fans avoiding the game due to things like GFWL.

 

[addeB]

I ain't disappointed with Bioshock 2, and a Bioshock 3 would be awesome... as long as it stays in Rapture.

 

[Indignation837]

I'm too lazy to read through all the posts in this thread, but I'm probably mimicking just about everyone before me when I say that I could have seen this coming from a mile away. One of the things that made the original BioShock so great was that it was completely self-contained, didn't beg for a sequel or a prequel and did what it came to do with incredible atmosphere and storytelling and left having accomplished its goal. I was hoping that, for once, a game company would have the balls to forsake the cash cow and realize that a game, although quite successful, did NOT need a sequel. But alas, I even tried to hold out hope until playing it that it would be a worthy successor to the first game. Until I found out that it wasn't.

Edit: I don't mean to offend anyone who did enjoy Bioshock 2. I just personally found its story incredibly lacking.

 

[Super Jamz]

The guy was probably right about people being less surprised this time around, but I suppose it'd be hard to lay another golden egg like Rapture again without feeling like you're running out of ideas.

 

[NotAPie]

Come on I wanna see a prequel.
I want to see the city alive.

 

[Jared]

Ill be intrested how they will innovate the series. Ill admit, I enjoyed Bioshock 2...but, if its more the same next time im not sure how I will think