Bioshock 2 Preview

By Gaetano Prestia

Bioshock 2 brings us back to the underworld city of Rapture. After our first adventure a few years back, the world has aged ten years – not only is the city itself decaying, but also the creatures that roam the hallways have evolved dramatically. With the first adventure we were introduced to this world through a compelling narrative and interesting characters. Now, after having checked out the sequel in action, I can say with great pleasure that Bioshock 2 seems to have the same intriguing pull that made the original so memorable. It’s not through it’s FPS elements that have propelled the Bioshock name into gaming history, but rather its moral dilemmas, complex narrative and incredibly detailed environments, all of which help the argument that games can indeed be art.

During our presentation of Bioshock 2 we were shown the level Siren Alley, an area shown in detail in a trailer released a while back. The developer’s decision to show this area is interesting, considering the conclusion opens many doors for where the adventure goes next. Without spoiling too much, you can venture outside of Rapture in the real world, and I got to see why.

Yet the presentation was more about the creatures inhabiting the area than the progression of the plot. And one thing is for certain: Rapture is now infected with even more disturbing individuals. Considering the world has evolved by 10 years, it’s good to see the team at 2K Marin seemingly balance things out a bit, especially when you consider you’re now controlling a massive, metal Big Daddy.

In the first game, the Big Daddy was essentially unstoppable. You’d waste a hell of a lot of firepower on one and sometimes it just didn’t seem all that worth it, no matter what the prize. Now that we will be taking control of one, it was interesting to see how the world will react to it, as opposed to a vulnerable and very-killable human. Thankfully, everything we remember from the first game is now bigger and stronger, whereas the Big Daddy, which is one of the first ever made, is over a decade old and is not quite as powerful as it used to be.

As level designer Alex Vancomerbeck mentioned, everything has evolved by ten years. Splicers have evolved, and the Brute Splicer may even be stronger than a Big Daddy. It’s clear that the team has sat down and started from scratch, as opposed to just rehashing the same environments and enemies. What we will see is an evolved world in every way, shape and form, an evolution that will perfectly counter the main protagonist in ways we just didn’t see in the original.

Yet all of this evolution just wouldn’t matter if the combat itself couldn’t offer something new. Thankfully, it seems to. While each weapon has the ability to be upgraded twice just like in the original, there is a smaller third upgrade available once you max it out. Furthermore, your Big Daddy can now control a weapon and plasmid at the same time, removing the tedious and often frustrating technique of switching hands to use either one in the first game. This seems to allow for a far more tactical approach in the gameplay, allowing you to counter the far more aggressive and challenging Splicers.

As for the enemies themselves, they move and attack differently. Firstly, Splicers tend to move in groups and attack in formation as opposed to individually. So if you make enough noise and attract their attention, expect several to come at you, unlike in the first game where you would occasionally come up against one on its own. This is a way in which the development team has balanced out the difficulty, so don’t think you’ll be this unstoppable, metal beast. The Big Daddy is just as vulnerable as our protagonist in the first game, mainly because he has twice as much to deal with, both in reference to the amount of enemies he’ll face, as well as their actual strength.

Moral dilemmas and emotional choices make a return from the original, and it was always going to be interesting to see how they were integrated into the story, seeing as though now we’re essentially on different teams. In the first game, you could either harvest the Little Sisters for their A.D.A.M., which in turn allowed you to upgrade and get new plasmids, or you could rescue them. Either decision had repercussions on the character and the RPG elements actually made for an engaging and thoughtful experience. Seeing as though you’ll be a Big Daddy this time round, you’ll still have the option to either harvest or rescue a Little Sister, but you can also adopt them. Adopting a Little Sister will allow you to harvest the A.D.A.M. from corpses around Rapture.

However, no matter what decision you make, the Big Sister will always be watching. Her main aim is to get as much A.D.A.M. for herself as possible, so whatever choice you make, you’re essentially taking A.D.A.M. away from her. This is where we see the evolution of the moral dilemmas in the title, as your decisions are far more influential on the experience this second time around. You’re going to have to be constantly on your toes, ensuring you’re ready for whatever comes your way, because each of your actions typically has a consequence, no matter how good or bad that decision is.

The one and only concern I have coming away from seeing this game in action is its ability to differentiate from the original. When I spoke to Martin Slater from 2K last week, he mentioned that a sequel “shouldn’t be a completely new thing” and that “there are plenty of great things from Bioshock that people loved and we want to drive the good things up.” That’s encouraging, because we all know the saying: “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” But gamers still need that new experience. However, when you factor in the multiplayer, as well as the evolved enemies and tweaked gameplay, we may have an experience completely different to the original. While the setting may essentially be the same, that’s not a bad thing, because the narrative is strong enough to make us want to visit it again. As long as it’s just as deep with enough new things balanced out next to the old stuff, Bioshock 2 has the potential to be the game of 2010.

Article by: Gaetano 51371Kudos 18/01/2010

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