Bioshock 2

[Valigarmander]

BioShock 2 Preview for the PS3,Xbox 360 from 1UP.com

Rapture is a very different place than it was a decade ago. BioShock protagonist Jack's escape (or demise) left the underwater city disrupted, and the aftermath shaped the way the genetically mutated denizens adapted to their new, even harsher existence. With a fresh recruitment of Little Sisters to harvest the power-granting Adam also comes a new generation of enemy splicers -- some faster, and some stronger, like the heavyset "brute." But the girls also have a bigger and badder retinue of protectors, including the Rumbler, a new heavily defensive Big Daddy model, and, of course, the lithe and deadly Big Sister. Throw in some new powers and you've got a recipe for chaos.

Would Jack have survived BioShock 2?

Everything gets twisted here in good ol' Rapture, and even ideas that start with the best of intentions can go astray. As a newly awoken, old-school Big Daddy, one that isn't systemically integrated, you're no doubt in need of some guidance, lest you too wander far from the path...


It's Good to be Big

As a Big Daddy, you're ostensibly the king of the ocean metropolis. You're large and in charge, as they say. Jumping down from a ledge to stomp onto a splicer waiting below will satisfyingly crush him. If there's a downside to your size, it's that the bulky metal exterior weighs you down, making you a slow walker. Though it may feel unnatural not being able to run at first, you should grow accustomed to it over time. Or you can focus some of your upgrades into the speed department, allowing you to move a bit more swiftly.

Also be aware that while your armored helmet obscures your view slightly around the edges, the effect isn't obtrusive or as hindering as you'd think, though it does lend a slightly claustrophobic sensation to the atmosphere.

Reprogramming a security bot or vending machine also only takes a moment for your mechanically inclined self. Unlike Jack's need to manipulate a series of pipes for his hacking attempts, you need only time a series of button presses to stop a moving pointer when it passes over the properly colored zones (hint: green is good, red is bad). The better you do, the faster you complete your hack. It's a speedy and oddly engaging minigame that manages to keep you in the action enough that you don't feel like you've left a battle entirely if you end up needing to hack a health station or bot mid-fight.


A Special Kind of Toolbox

Your default weapon is your drill arm. While large, loud, and intimidating in show, in practice it's a bit hard to do sufficient damage to a splicer quick enough without making yourself vulnerable. The drill is meant for huge bursts of damage in close quarters, but the spin up time, ability to overheat, and very short range means it seems a risky choice when you could just as easily use a plasmid power or one of your many new shiny guns.

Given your size, you're able to grasp even the most sizable machines with only one hand, leaving you free to use the other for plasmid powers. Consequently, that also means you can no longer use any of the smaller weapons that Jack could. Though I doubt you'd miss them: your figurative toolbox contains (but is not limited to) a miniturret that will turn splicers to Swiss cheese, a rivet gun (your pistol or sorts), and, most satisfyingly, a harpoon spear launcher. Of course, each weapon also has its handful of various ammo selections, like anti-personnel rivets or rocket spears. The spears take a long time to reload, and finding ammo seems scarce, but it's a one-hit kill as the high-velocity rod will literally pin a splicer to the wall, or hell, another splicer. And being prudent as ever, always remember to collect and reuse the spears from their corpses afterward.

But not everything is for wrecking havoc. Well, OK, everything kind of is. But a discerning Big Daddy also makes use of the remote hacking gun, great for targeting that security camera or bot in the distance. Coupled with your new plasmid power that allows you to set an enemy as the target for your hacked security machines' fire, this makes having an army of bots even more manageable.


Stranger Danger

For those Big Daddies that take on a fathering role by saving the Little Sisters they "liberate" from the other Big Daddies, remember that they're a precious commodity. Expect splicers to come out of the woodwork at just a brief whiff of the sweet girl on your shoulder. Sure, you could have shown no mercy and harvested her yourself for a quick fix of Adam, but now that she trusts you, she's also willing to ignore child labor laws and work for her keep. Signal to your Little Sister that you wish to obtain some Adam, and she'll direct you to the nearest harvestable corpse via a wispy white trail for you to follow. Once you take her off your shoulder so she can harvest, things can get messy, fast, as she's vulnerable on the ground, and the Adam draws out a barrage of attacks from nearby splicers.

You should also be aware that Big Sister will be on the hunt for you since you've got a Little Sister in your possession. Though deadly and nimble, if you manage to stunlock her by alternating between electricity bolts and firing rounds, or continuously catching her on fire, she can go down easier than she might have otherwise. But don't think that once you've taken her down, you can rest easy; there's more than one Big Sister roaming around Rapture.


Your Journey

Isn't it always the case that when one evil power dies, another rises up to fill its place? Following the end of Rapture's founder Andrew Ryan and the machinating Frank Fontaine, altruist Sofia Lamb rose up under the banner of recruiting the city's spliced-up citizens into a religious effort, which, this being Rapture, is more like a cult than a family, twisted and corrupted. Not much else is known at this point, but it seems as though Lamb's followers worship one Little Sister in particular.

Just as Jack had Atlas talking to him via the radio, you will have your conversational companions as well. In fact, you'll even run into one of them face-to-face within the first third of your journey through Rapture. You're stuck in a train station's toll booth behind unbreakable glass while he monologues on the other side for a while before eventually hopping into a railway pod and suggesting you do the same.

So, what do you think -- friend, foe, or frenemy? Given that one of BioShock 2's prevalent themes has to do with change and metamorphoses (butterfly imagery can be seen all over), you probably shouldn't rule anything out. It's much better to be prepared.

Looks good so far. This'll come out for the PS3, 360 and PC. Check the link for videos and screenshots.

[Robotazy]

I have high hopes, though that Big Sister seems like it'll be a problem navigating Rapture sometimes.

[LASER BEAR ASSAULT UNIT]

Pre-ordered.

[X-3]

I'll have to check this out eventually. I shall enjoy playing as a Big Daddy.

[lkermel]

Given your size, you're able to grasp even the most sizable machines with only one hand

niiiiice !

[CodenameV]

At last, the day we've all been waiting for! Last night, I was able to pick up my nifty special edition of the game. Just looking at the big special edition box gave me the chills. In a good way, of course. After taking out the awesome record of the Bioshock 1 soundtrack, the CD of the Bioshock 2 soundtrack, Rapturian propaganda posters, and a massive artbook, I was ready to chart my return to Rapture.

It was my first experience with a PS3 game that needed to install, so I passed the time looking at the artbook. The amount of detail put into that thing was fantastic. It had artwork of every character, and various concept art and things that almost were put into the game but weren't. Makes me wonder what other novel ideas the people at 2K Marin had up their sleeves for possible DLC.

And much after you could say Jack Robinson, the game started up. I dived straight first into the story mode. I won't give anything away about the games opening, but it freaked me out. In a good way. It also does a great job of making you completely hate the main antagonist. Afterwards you get the typical bioshock tutorial, getting lightning, using it on switches, etc. etc. etc. But what is a great gameplay mechanic is to be able to use plasmids and guns at the same time. My favorite strategy is to shock splicers still, then get one nice well-aimed rivet shot right between their eyes.

And before I knew it, I had adopted my first little sister (After being almost pummeled to death by her Big Daddy- They are much harder here.) Her adorable cooing led me to a corpse chock full of ADAM, which she started to drain as I set her down. Here's when you want to set some traps, because the splicers will come at you in droves. And they're bigger, badder, and uglier since you saw them in bioshock last. However, if you use your scenery to your advantage (Gone is the pipe-hacking minigame, in its stead is a much more streamlined "Stop the needle in the green" system) and it becomes easy to weather the storm. But I've found that you can only run-and-gun in this game if you're on easy. I play it on normal, and if you go into a large encounter expecting to shoot your way to victory, they'll be sweeping up what's left of you for shark bait.

Also, first aid kits and EVE hypos are few and far between. Sure, you find them regularly, but at the rate of consumption you have you find yourself plum out of both when you could use them the most. There's easy fixes to this, but you don't get them until further down the road, where you have more ADAM to your name. And since I'm a goody two-shoes and saving all the little sisters, ADAM is a bit scarce right now. Now there's a wide variety of different snack foods to munch on and beverages to chug; but they all follow the same mechanic where you eat anything on sight. But, this is fine, because if you don't want it, don't eat it, and it gets rid of the need to have an inventory, which of course, you don't need or want in a Bioshock game.

After I had gotten a taste of the story mode, I moved onto the multiplayer. Which is a blast. Adding Plasmids to the usual multiplayer FPS is a great touch, and researching corpses for a damage bonus serves as a new, useful form of teabagging your dead adversaries. (Of course, if you wanna be all nooby and teabag anyways, the crouch button is always open to you.) Also, you need to keep tabs on the machines around the map; they are hackable and people will turn them against you. The scenery in the multiplayer maps is great. They took all the familiar locales of Bioshock 1 and revamped them; Rapture was a beautiful city before the fall, and you can definitely see that here. The individual character models are great too; each character is funny, over-the-top, and totally memorable.

So what do I think of my return trip to Rapture? Just as dark, haunting, gripping, heart-pounding, fun, memorable, enjoyable, and all around fantastic as the first one; if not more so. Ladies and Gentlemen, Bioshock 2 has replaced Bioshock 1 as my favorite game of all time.

[Rainbow Dash]

got it off steam with the original bioshock for $33.75, game owns