STORY:	7.5 out of 10
GRAPHICS & DESIGN:	9 out of 10
SOUND:	8 out of 10
GAMEPLAY:	8 out of 10
FUNFACTOR/TILT:	8 out of 10
OVERALL SCORE:	8.5 out of 10

The first BioShock was one of the first games I felt truly showed off the power of the XBox 360 (and later the PS3). The 2007 release had incredible graphics and sound but what really made the first game so special was its freaky, horror-like atmosphere. BioShock 2 is the sequel to that amazing first game. The big question is will your second trip to the underwater city of Rapture be as memorable as the first?

When Rapture began to fall, Andrew Ryan brought in a psychologist named Dr. Sofia Lamb. His hope was that this doctor would be able to calm the crazed minds of the people. However, after the events of the first game Dr. Lamb developed a group of cult-like followers and eventually took power over the decaying city. This time around, you play as Subject Delta, a Big Daddy who was protecting a little sister known as Eleanor. Eleanor is captured and Subject Delta is forced to kill himself. However, ten years later you awaken, ready to get your little girl back! Unfortunately, you’ll quickly begin to realize that the story that made BioShock 1 so compelling is nowhere to be found. The story in BioShock 2 is decent enough for a video game storyline and will keep you playing to the end but it feels so… inserted and thrown together. While I understand it may have been difficult to follow up on the first game but the story just feels like such a step down rather than a step forward.

If you liked the graphics in BioShock 1, you’ll find much of the same here. The graphics are colorful (god forbid an FPS has more colors than gray and brown) and though rapture may be falling apart it’s still an amazing looking place. However, I don’t feel BioShock 2 has the variety of cool areas that were found in BioShock 1. That’s not to say that there aren’t some memorable locations such as a mechanical train museum that glorifies Andrew Ryan. But again, the atmosphere (like the story) is just not as good as the first and a lot of the areas look the somewhat identical. To be frank, the designs simply aren’t as good as the first.

The gameplay is however a bit better than the first but it’s hampered by the fact that you’re playing a Big Daddy. The drill is frankly… stupid. I kept wishing I had my wrench back from the first game (I should note that you do get some guns that are thankfully a decent alternative… but it’s no wrentch)! You don’t feel any more powerful as a Big Daddy than you did as a human in the first game and while the plasmids (like the last game) are cool, none of the new offerings are anything memorable.

On the plus side, the online mode is really well done! It’s not going to replace Modern Warfare for hardcore die-hard FPS fans but for people who enjoy BioShock there is really a TON of fun to be had once the single player campaign has been completed. Upon selecting the multiplayer option you’ll be see a cut scene. From here you’re taken to your apartment where you’ll select your character, customize their attire and much more. In BioShock 2 you earn ADAM (known as experience points in Modern Warfare 2). With these experience points you can level up your character by completing certain actions within the game and then customizing your character with a variety of different skills. As good as this mode is though, I can’t help but wonder if this mode would have been left out would the single-player game have come out better. I don’t understand why companies feel they all have to have these robust online modes. There’s certainly something to be said for a terrific single-player game like the first BioShock.

I know it might sound like I’m down on BioShock 2 but I should say that I sat down and finished this game in just two sittings. Perhaps I’m so hard on BioShock 2 because the first game was just so magical and so revolutionary to this console generation. So in closing, BioShock 2 is not as impactful as the its predecessor but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth playing. If you enjoyed the first game you owe it to yourself to at least give this one a rental.

-Jason “Yuen Fei Lung” Glasco 云飞轮