Bioshock 2 Remastered
Bioshock was recently remastered, and I decided to play the 2nd Bioshock, being that I played the first game 3 times and the 2nd game only once. The first time I played, I thought it was okay. I loved the Bioshock series for a long time, but I thought that number 2 was a deadweight. But now going back, even though I still prefer the first Bioshock or Bioshock Infinite, I find myself enjoying this game way more, and even though the remaster took out the multiplayer mode (which I certainly do not miss) it gave a protector trial mode (which I haven't gotten too deep into). So let's get into the review.
Bioshock 2 takes you back into the screwed up world of Rapture as Subject Delta, an early stage big daddy who is revived and set to find the little sister he was paired with. The only problem with that is that the sister you are paired with is none other than the daughter of Sofia Lamb, a revolutionary who takes over Rapture, and also hates you for turning her daughter into a little sister (even though nothing is your fault). You then fight an uphill battle against, well, nearly everyone; from splicers to big daddies to important figures of the Rapture like Simon Wales and Gil Alexander. You also make new friends, Eleanor Lamb (the little sister you are paired with), and Augustus Sinclair. You travel from one area to the next via the train system with Sinclair; fighting, looting, gathering adam, and learning the lore of the city with audio tapes placed all around (and boy, are their a lot). Now let's really get into the review.
Before I begin, let me say that even though I love the Bioshock series, I was disappointed with the collection, as for even though it came with extra content (except for multiplayer, and Minerva's Den wasn't free for me, which I didn't buy) I felt that the game was buggy on launch and that their were not any major graphical or overall gameplay improvements. But my feelings on the remaster vs the original will not have any correlation with my final review.
Despite what I said, I still had a fantastic time going back into the underwater city of Rapture. The environment was fantastic; as this eerie, dark place ready to collapse in on itself, whether it be the structural integrity, or the drugged up people who roam the buildings. The story was engaging, with the audio files bringing an extra oomph to the story. The characters (other than you, as for you talk in the game) are interesting, whether it be the classiness of Sinclair, or the fieriness of Simon Wales. The gameplay is fun, as for their are some fun weapons and plasmids (a sort of magic) to use, and the enemies will always keep you on your toes, as for they will always be around the corner, even places you have already been to. Unlike the first Bioshock, this time, you can use plasmids and weapons at the same time, which was a great addition to the game. Small parts of being underwater was also cool, seeing the vibrant colors of seas life and and having a small break from the nightmares of within the walls, and a new thing to do in the game where you can adopt a little sister, and have her gather adam from dead bodies (adam is used to purchase and upgrade plasmids, tonics, which are passive upgrades, and health and eve upgrades, which eve is used with the plasmids) and have enemies thrown at you, which I felt was more fun than just killing the big daddy and choosing whether to harvest the little sister for max adam, or to save her from her disease, even though that is an option in Bioshock 2 also.
Their was a lot of upsides, and even some I missed, but now I want to talk about some of the downsides, and that was in the level design and the endings. Even though they put a lot to do into the open ended levels, whether exploring, trying to get all of the little sisters, and trying to get as many things as possible, like gun upgrades and audio files, I still felt that the levels were repetitive. A lot of the levels I felt was just go into the area you where at and obtain an item that would help the train you were on keep moving until you got to Eleanor. Another thing I felt was weak were the endings. Now I won't say the endings, but I felt that the endings themselves were good, but didn't do a great job distinguishing themselves from each other; they all felt very similar, which made me think why I should do certain actions in a certain way when the ending I achieve will be just like any other one. Plus, I personally feel that six endings is too much.
Even with its flaws (which were not very big), I still feel that even though this is not as good as the first or third title, it is still a fantastic game, a fantastic story, and something that you should play and something that will be remembered as a classic game in a classic series in the years to come.