BioShock 2 (2010)

Thank you Steam sale!

*spoilers*

The first game ended with our mute hero on his deathbed, surrounded by the family he rescued. Who will the story be about now?

Of course, you start out as a Big Daddy, somehow resurrected. The poster on the wall of the city founders, with a new founder inserted to shoe-horn in a new character to this episode, is right out of Half-Life 2. It's nice to get a rivet gun, but why do opponents carry rivet ammo? Why is there drill oil ammo lying around, when nothing of the sort was in the first game. Only a few minutes in, and this game reeks of console nerfdom. Head down, plow straight ahead to Bioshock 3.

2014.12.26

After trying the game, I kind of forgot about it. Getting back into it, I'm hit with the instant visceral reminder of my arm drill that I am playing a Big Daddy in this game. Now I am chasing a newer model of Big Daddy through the ruins, one that seems much faster and deadlier than me. It might not even be human.

There's no easy way to take a screenshot. There's nothing in-game, Steam won't do it, Print Screen yields noise, and Fraps gives a black screen. There's supposedly a way to edit the ini and bind dumping a BMP, maybe I'll do that later.

I like the general sense of decay, but it strains credulity that this city hasn't completely imploded by now, let alone that there are even any humans left alive. There's just no point in thinking about this stuff anymore, just enjoy the rusty atmosphere and the music.

The new character, Lamb, who made me shoot myself, won't shut up and I'm getting visions of someone name Eleanore? I already forgot most of the intro.

I love eavesdropping on conversations in game; its such a natural way to introduce some exposition. Unfortunately with this mash of wacky accents, I can't make out all of what they're saying. I turn on audio subtitles, but it doesn't seem to work for everything.

Anyway, I overhear some splicers talking about the protaganist of the first game, how he freed a bunch of little ones and took off, and there's some other info that I can't quite make out. Something about can-can girls and a bomb. How could this information filter all the way back to these psychotic savages?

Is there any dumber light source than candles? Especially in places where I will come back this way later enough that they should be spent. Who is even making candles down here? What's keeping the oxygen flowing well enough to even use candles down here?

I really appreciate the vending machines not screaming their catch phrases at me any more. Favorite thing in the sequel so far.

2015.01.02

Now I'm taking down other Big Daddies, so I can adopt their kids. Sounds wrong to say, but it makes sense in the game.

I remember taking out the first Big Daddy in the first game, and its very difficult and stressful. You have to use up most of your resources to get the job done, and I got it wrong often, and had to reload from save a bunch of times before coming up with the right tactics. This time around I find I barely have anything to fight with, get killed and step out of a very nearby resurrection booth. The game doesn't care, and now finally I don't care. I win with only that one resurrect, and feel only a little pang of cheating.

A little later, and I fight my first Big Sister. This is a much tougher fight, but it feels more fair. I'm better armed, better equipped, and a little better practiced. I barely survive the encounter, and I'm out of almost everything, but I got her fair and square the first time, no reloads. That was an exhilarating fight, nothing like the terror and button mashing of fighting a Big Daddy, or the tedium of fighting slicers.

I do like how a swing of my Big Daddy drill arm does massive damage, just like in the first game. It fits that this should be my staple attack.

Meeting Sinclair is typically awkward for this game, and conducted through a glass wall. Betrayal is inevitable.

I'm enjoying this game more, if for no other reason that I know what I'm getting myself into. It's an atmospheric fantasy console game, and as long as I keep that in mind, it is an enjoyable ride.

2015.01.24

I drop in again after almost a month absence, surprised that there is no difficulty to get right back into the swing of it. I get back to the grind of exploring, collecting photographs, leveraging whatever power I have to rescue Little Sisters, so I can gain yet more power.

I just realized that if in the first game I play as a human, in this game I'm a Big Daddy, then in the third game I will likely play a Little Sister.

I get a bug where I take out a Big Sister but her intro music never stops. I search, and its been a known bug since 2010. They  never fixed it. Fortunately moving on to the next level fixes it.

2015.01.27

Snow day + no power outage = game time.

Why is there a painting of the airplane crash of the character from Bioshock on the wall? Who knew about this event, and had the talent and drive to make a painting of it, and then hung it up in Siren's Alley? Its probably just an easter egg, and while pretty, it is dumb.

More paintings of scenes from Bioshock the first. Whatever.

I like when I have a Little Sister in tow she makes commentary on my combat, especially when I light someone up and she says "ooh marshmallow!".

2015.01.28

Oh no, Big Sisters are Little Sisters all grown up. Too old to reliably harvest ADAM from angels, they are brainwashed, weaponized, and armored up. I was kind of hoping they were just poor schlubs like the ones shoved into Big Daddy brainwashing, which is horrible enough. This game is always finding some new grim angle, and I love it for that.

Eleanore's dedication to my character seems to go above and beyond even that of Big Daddy conditioning. Sofia Lamb seems to hate me with more venom than just some random Big Daddy. Maybe my character is Eleanore's real father, who Sofia just shoved into the Big Daddy program to get rid of? Except it didn't quite take, as my character seems far more aware than any normal Big Daddy.

Not much further on, you find out about Delta's origins as some deep sea adventurer, and Stanley's role in it. And far worse, Stanley's role in mass murder, and getting Eleanore sold into the Little Sister program. At the end, I was hoping there would be some way to redeem or spare him, but the game offered no such opportunity.

I find a tonic that makes plasmid use really cheap, if you limit yourself to the drill. At first I thought who would want to do that, until I thought about how my fighting style changes as I get further into the game. More and more I am softening targets up with plasmids and letting a pet security bot finish him off, sometimes closing in with my drill if they seem distracted enough. Could work.

2015.01.29

* i already said spoilers, but you really want to experience this late game development for your self *

I love where the story goes, as you approach what should be the final boss battle. It seems so unexpected, yet it feels right. If you accept the crazy world of Rapture, as you must to keep playing, then all these new developments play within the rules, and stretch and expand it in believable yet fantastic ways.

My favorite part is Take Your Daughter to Work Day, though why this plasmid has Ryan Industries marketing on it does not make sense. I can't wait to see where this is going.

2015.01.31

I think its really cool that even though Eleanore has been kept in a coma for years while her mom pumps her full of ADAM to make a demi-god out of her, Eleanore's mind has been travelling through the bodies of all the Little Sisters, and she has been influencing events from behind the scenes, not only to wake up her Big Daddy, but to overthrow her mother. It must feel great to get back to your own body, and then into the dangerous and agile Big Sister suit... oh no. Big Sisters are the product of mental and physical conditioning. Eleanore's been in a coma, and her muscles should be like jelly now, she's going to need some long therapy to get normal, let alone turn into a killing machine. Unless... of course, magic. ADAM is the magic in this world, and it can be shaped into may different magic spells, i.e. plasmids, and Eleanore was kept well-supplied with it, so why not. It would be nice for the story to give it a nod, though it is not necessary.

A while later, and I'm done with the Sinclair portion of the map. Same thing, you don't just stick someone in the Big Daddy suit, and all of a sudden they are a Big Daddy. Its very clear in the first game that there is a lot of conditioning involved, not just shoving someone in the suit. Bioshock 2 seems to fetishize the trappings of this world and ascribe them powers above that of the first game. Still, its a neat dramatic hook to turn one of your last allies against you.

A couple more really easy fights, then one last big fight that's surprisingly difficult. And then some long long cut scenes. What follows all makes sense except why did Eleanore feel the need to absorb Daddy? Was he near death or dying? That would make sense, but it doesn't seem clear. If she absorbed him just because, that makes little sense. But I really like the idea that Eleanore, a true superhuman, is ready to take on the world, and she considers this episode just the beginning. It feels good, it feels right, and its a heck of a story.

There's really nothing much more to do now than to move on to Bioshock 3, "Infinite", except what's this about Minerva's Den that I keep seeing? I assumed its a DLC for Bioshock 2, but I didn't want to know anything, for fear of spoiling. Time to look it up. Seems kind of interesting, but not necessary. I'll put it on my wishlist, and check it out maybe later.

2015.02.05

Days later, can't game right now, but I've been thinking about the Bioshock 2 ending and the lingering image I have is Eleanore standing amongst her sisters, but I still can't get past why she absorbed her Big Daddy. Everything would click into place if it was demonstrated that he suffered a mortal wound, and this was the only way to save him. Which is exactly what should have happened when you see the cartoonish pile of dynamite that you are treated to at the end, and Big Daddy's desperate struggle to cling to the wreckage.

When I get a chance I need to watch the ending video again. I'm not paying ten dollars for Minerva's Den right now, and from what I read, its not essential. I'll just move right on to Bioshock 3 (i.e. Infinite). I've seen art from Bioshock Infinite, often with the person who I now know to be Eleanore, and knowing what she has become, the Infinite part makes sense.

2015.02.09

Going to watch the end of Bioshock 2 one more time, see if I missed something about why Delta, Eleanore's Big Daddy, got absorbed at the end.

OK, I think the signs are there that Delta is dying, and is using the last of his strength just to hang on to the rapidly rising wreckage. Between the explosion and the rapid ascent in a probably compromised dive suit, its a wonder he stayed conscious long enough to see Eleanore one last time. And then suddenly he's inside Eleanore, who doesn't seem to see his transition as death. Or maybe she's just taking it really well, considering all the changes she's just been through.

I don't feel like I can review Bioshock 2 much, I feel like I need to move on down the road to the next installment to make sense of it all. And yet this game deserves some individual mention. As many frustrations as it kept from the first game, it smoothed over many others. It benefited from having the world mostly explained already, and had the luxury of telling a new story. And I love the ending more and more, as it stays with me days and days after finishing.

As hopeful as the ending of the first Bioshock was, the second is almost giddy with hope and excitement for what this new world can bring. That's kind of a magical place to bring the game player to.

status 2014 December

I finally knocked BioShock off the list, and it feels great. I want to clear even more titles off the bucket list. Before I move on, I wonder if I can activate this on Steam. Open client, Games -> Activate a Product, copy key, Invalid Product Code. Oh well, would have been nice. Its still $20 on Steam, and I don't want to buy it again at that price. After 7 years, it should be further down the bargain bin in price. As should the rest of the Bioshock series; maybe I will pick this up again later.

While reading various game forums, I see a notice that Good Old Games (now gog.com) is giving away a copy of Age of Wonders. I'm not sure what that even is, something like Civilization or Age of Empires? I've been meaning to sign up with GOG, but I still have such a backlog of stuff in boxes and on Steam that I haven't gotten around to it. This is a good a time as any. Should be a lot of sales coming up this holiday. I already have Torment and Arcanum, but its nice to know I could replace them for $3.99 and $1.49 respectively.

Because I have such a backlog I haven't been keeping up with game sites, or game sale sites. I check out CheapShark, and what do you know, Bioshock 2 for $4.99. That's quite reasonable, but most of my library is in Steam, and I'd like to keep it there.

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2014.12.23

I had high hopes for this year's Steam sale, and Steam delivered. The whole Bioshock series $10.19; they're practically giving it away.

Mass Effect 1 and 2 are available for $17.49; it would be really nice to be able to pick up all three, but I heard there's some business reason why 3 wasn't released on Steam. I'll make a note on my calendar to purchase it before January 2.

There are no achievements for Bioshock (1). The runway is clear for Bioshock 2.

Bioshock review

Bioshock is a must play, and a good game, but I've mostly forgotten about in the week since I last played it.

It was too much of a console game, with its resurrection booths, hint button, and ease even on difficult setting. It was too much of a System Shock game, with its everything and the kitchen sink inclusion of so many different ways to do similar things. It was too much of a cultural and technological mash of retro futurism, which makes the Fallout series (and Portal 2) use of it seem restrained.

The Big Daddy and Little Sister are iconic and memorable, and I'll probably never forget them. I like the overall mood and atmosphere of the game, even if most individual components didn't bear much scrutiny. The voice acting was hit and miss but overall OK. The art work and graphics were mostly good. The characters and writing were not very believable, and the world was mostly unbelievable.

The ending seems tacked on, but I like the sentiment a lot. Part of my dissatisfaction might be due to not yet having played the next two games in this series. This is somewhat annoying in that I have to still avoid spoilers, and I can't even go read the tvtropes page yet.

I feel like I can't even properly review this game yet without having played the next two, but as a stand alone product, Bioshock is worth playing once, but I don't think I'll revisit it.

I don't understand why this game received so much praise, or such high scores. It is good, but there isn't really anything in here that hits you with originality or depth. And I do mean even for its day, as even in 2007 this game doesn't do much that hadn't already been covered by the System Shock and Half-Life series. Maybe it helped introduce a new generation to FPS with RPG elements, but that can't account for all the hype. I look forward to more answers as I play the sequels.