When I first played the original Bioshock I was on the edge of my seat. The dark, creepy atmosphere tugged at your nerves as you explored the underwater abyss known as Rapture. Splicers could attack from anywhere, Big Daddies were intimidating and the story was a riveting and unique experience.
My venture through Rapture a second time wasn't quite as intense. The environments are still foreboding and in ruins, but for some reason I can't help but feel like I've been here before. Which I have. Not necessarily a good thing in a highly successful game's follow up. Through 3/4ths of the game Bioshock 2 doesn't deviate from it's predecessors path. It's almost the exact same experience. And it's not as good this time since I've been here once before. New enemy types are good and the hacking minigame is different and a mere okay.
For those who don't know, Bioshock 2 puts you in the giant shoes of the very first Big Daddy, and your tasked with finding a special little sister, to which you are bound. Unfortunately, you don't feel like a Big Daddy at all. Your just as vulnerable as you were in the first game. Plasmids and gun play here are just fine and things like the Power To The People machines seem to be placed better.
Multiplayer is interesting to say the least. Customizing loadouts utilizing plasmids and guns and getting new ones when you level up is reminiscent of Modern Warfare knock off. The levels here are okay and the various modes do their job. Capture the Sister in particular is loads of fun. But the multiplayer still feels cheap and to me anyways, feels like it lacks polish. The matchmaker takes forever sometimes and the whole experience feels rough.
I got to give Bioshock 2 a 7 out of 10. Its a really good game, it just doesn't stack up to it's predecessor in the single player story mode and it doesn't stack up to other multiplayer beasts like Modern Warfare. It's definitely a good game to play, and you won't regret playing it, but Bioshock 2 is not the best first person shooter experience you'll play this year.
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