So far, BioShock 2 is proving to be just as compelling as our first visit to Rapture.
Sure, the novelty has worn off a little, but the familiar deco style and font, period music, mesmerizing score and gameplay elements suck you right back in. If you've been off enjoying other shooters for the past couple of years, the game's tutorial eases you right back into your oversized boots.
The game does devolve into brief escort missions, but they are quite short and most of the time you carry your young companion effortlessly. You may even forget she's there, so it's really no trouble. The developers have also turned off the monotonous "Circus of Values" chatter from the vending machines.
A few tips:
- Whenever you achieve a major milestone (or right before), stock up on first aid kits, Eve and ammo.
- Hacking is greatly simplified. When there's a blue section, nab it for a bonus. If you fail twice, you'll set off an alarm but if you're quick and immediately start another successful hack, it's disabled.
- If you're setting up for a siege, make use of trap bolts and hack anything that can be used for defense, even health dispensers. You may recall that hacked health dispensers shock an enemy, who will fall if already weakened.
- Check the map! On the Ryan Amusements level, don't leave until you've opened the maintenance doors. There's an extra gene tonic you can get if you examine every nook and cranny. Look for unexplored areas of the map that you CAN get to.
Multiplayer is very involved, though we're sad to report there is no split-screen or LAN. It's all over Xbox Live. Also, the smallest match requires 4 players, so be prepared to wait awhile for a large enough group to gather during non-peak play hours (and once the game has lost all but its hardcore base). You'll have to work to unlock better gear and slots for loadouts, aka sets of gear that you can switch to on respawn. There are lots of game types, and the intro/set up for multiplayer is colorful and fun. Give it a try, even if multiplayer isn't normally your thing.
We have seen some reports of sporadic multiplayer game freezes; 2K Games ihas confirmed that it is working on a fix for this. We haven't had any freezes in our brief online sessions - and the single player game has been solid for us, at least.
When BioShock came out, we complained about the missed multiplayer opportunity. Now that BioShock 2 delivers a deep, rich multiplayer, you'd think we'd be happy. But no, we now have the split-screen bug (thanks in large part to Borderlands' excellent co-op).
So, if it's not to much trouble 2K, would you kindly deliver a splitscreen mode…
