Bioshock 2

This review is intended to help educate potential buyers of Bioshock 2 about a few of the major downsides of the way 2K has decided to sell the game. If you've already made up your mind to buy it, or already own it, this review isn't for you. If on the other hand you're on the fence, I'd love to point out a few things that are very troubling about Bioshock 2:

1) The game REQUIRES online activation. If you are a serviceman/servicewoman stationed in Baghdad (or anywhere in the field without internet) you're totally screwed. Requiring an internet connection to activate is offensive in itself, but coupled with the other major issues with this game's DRM scheme, it just keeps getting worse.

2) The game limits the number of times you can install it. I don't care if they give me 1,000 installs, any limit on how long I can use a game I paid for simply isn't acceptable. I'm not paying for the 'privilege' of installing how ever many times 2K or anyone else thinks is appropriate. If I buy a game, I want to actually BUY it, meaning I OWN IT and CAN DO WHAT I WANT WITH IT. If I buy the game and don't like it, how can I resell it? How can I verify to the person I'm selling it to that it has installations left? This is just a petty and insulting way to treat paying customers. I don't want to have to come crawling back to 2K or Microsoft to explain why I might need more installations for a game I already gave them forty or more dollar for. And what if they close their doors at some point in the future? How can I be guaranteed I'll still have access to my game?

3) Securom, the DRM package used by Bioware, installs with the game and there is no option to install it without Securom. That means you get a program running in the background when you play the game that can create issues for other programs on your computer. Don't believe me? I experienced all sorts of issues with the Securom that installed with Mass Effect I including it screwing up my drivers for my optical drives because it didn't like the fact that I has DeamonTools on my computer. I don't want crapware or potential security threats loading on my computer alongside the game!

4) You MUST create a WindowsLive account if you want to access certain parts of the game. I hate WindowsLive and everything to do with it and don't want to create accounts to play my game. I want to install it, run the game, and be on my merry way. Forcing creation of an account is what marketers call "forced opt-in" and it opens you up to all sorts of information mining so that Microsoft or whoever collects the data can sell it to marketing companies. Forced opt-ins just flat out suck and I hate when companies force you to jump through their hoops to play their game.

SO WHY DOES THE GAME COME LOADED UP WITH THIS NONSENSE????

2K would say its to fight piracy. I say bull-****. DRM doesn't affect pirates as they're already downloading the widely available and free versions of this (and any other game) from torrent sites. To the inevitable idiots who will spam the comments of this review accusing me of being either a pirate or too poor to buy the game: 1) I own literally hundreds of games and paid for every single one of theme and 2) if I was a pirate I'd already be playing the game from a torrent site without any of the limitations of DRM. Bottom line: if you want to pirate the game, it's pretty amazingly easy. I don't pirate because I'm honest, but neither do I give my money to game makers who like to insult my intelligence by telling me DRM is 'necessary' or that force me to install crapware on my computer.

Thanks but no thanks. I'll take a pass on this one.

**********UPDATE 02/17/2010**********

I had the opportunity to play Bioshock II on my friend's Xbox. Frankly I wasn't impressed with the game itself. It's very much a copy of the original game with very little that is new. I thought the game would center around being an all powerful Big Daddy. You do play as a Big Daddy, but you're not any stronger than the human character starting out in Bioshock I. I expected them to let you be more powerful but also introduce more powerful / numerous opponents. Instead, the same collection of splicers come in twos and threes just like the original game. So as a Big Daddy, it takes 2-3 melee hits (with a huge-*** drill bit mind you) to kill a splicer. It takes them 4-5 melee hits to kill you. That's just simply stupid considering when you fight another Big Daddy it takes a HUGE amount of firepower to bring one down. The whole concept of being a Big Daddy is diminished because you really are not any more powerful.

It's like they took EVERYTHING from the first game, just tweaked it a bit, and called it a new game. There is nothing new that feels significant. The weapons are not exciting, and some of them feel almost useless (the shotgun for one). Only the spear gun and rivet gun have a satisfying quality to them.

You still have the same simplistic moral choice (harvest or rescue Little Sisters), the same voice over the radio guiding you, and the same antagonistic voice prodding you along as you progress through the game. You get plasmids in the same order (electricity, then fire, then ice) and use them to solve the same problems as before (opening doors with electricity, melting snow with fire, etc...). Really it feels like they just redid the first game with less compelling characters and a less compelling storyline.

I'm actually VERY glad I didn't buy this game, even if it were DRM free because it isn't that interesting. It's a rehash of the first and doesn't have anything really remarkable to distinguish it. Honestly, I've played MODS that were free that provided a better gaming experience than this. A good example would be the BT MOD for Oblivion which made Oblivion feel like an entirely new game. For the price 2k is asking (full retail for a new game!) it's just ridiculous.

There are much better options out there. Go get Mass Effect II if you don't have it yet, or even Call of Pripyat from the venerable STALKER series. Both are a lot better than this.

Final thoughts:

It doesn't bother me if you want to buy this game and install it. I just want you to have all the facts before you do. If you don't agree with my perspective that's fine--this is a free country (assuming you live in the USA). Bottom line: some people do care about protecting consumer rights and I'm one of those people. Agree or disagree, I think everyone should have the right to information about the product they're buying. Especially when the game itself isn't even that great.

My first encounter with GFWL was when Bethesda decided to release some addons through this miserable route. I swore then never to deal with anything GFWL. I was excited when Bioshock 2 was announced and, going against my better judgement, preordered the game, got it, loaded it up and....

1. The game would not go past the opening videos. Made a restore point, updated my video drivers, game would not even launch. I restored and for some bizarre reason the game actually got going...great joy.

2. Short lived. I have battled since then with game freezes, screen going blank, and some crashes. Looking at various other forums tells me I am not alone.

3. When I could play I enjoyed what the game gave me. Very similar to the first game but I liked that. For me the battles were tougher that Bioshock 1 at normal hardness level and the addition of the brutes and big sisters...well I got killed a lot. Without the problems I would have given a much higher rating. If you are looking for a good, non-buggy experience try Dragon Age or Mass Effect 2

Taken in tiny chunks Bioshock 2 is, on a purely superficial level, almost indistinguishable from the first game. The graphics and fast-twitch combat are just as good as the first game, it's a competent shooter with an inherently cool setting, and it does make a handful of tangible improvements over its predecessor - like being able to wield plasmids and weapons simultaneously, and some improved water effects. But it doesn't really rise above its predecessor so much as it tries a little too hard to copy its most successful elements, and never really finds a voice of its own.

Gameplay is straightforward, to the point of being simplistic; it's pretty much a run around and shoot things game, which works fine to a point, but the game is also stuffed full of padding - mostly the sub-missions where you guard Little Sisters while they harvest Adam, which start out harrowing but quickly get repetitive and dull. A handful of levels are total knockouts (one memorable one involves escaping a building while it's in the process of flooding, in what feels like real time), and the weakest levels are still competently done. A handful of new enemies liven things up, in a way, mainly by having annoying special abilities that make them harder to kill. In terms of gameplay it's a competent game, really, with a few standout points of excellence. Bioshock 2 just doesn't really bring anything *new* to the table, and doesn't improve on the existing stuff enough to make much of an impact. And even with all the padding it's still a surprisingly short game.

The real problem with Bioshock 2, though, is the story and plot elements. The first game had all the same flaws as the sequel (except perhaps the repetitiveness), but the straightforward on-the-rails shooter elements were disguised behind an absolutely masterful loyalty to the themes of the plot. All layers of the game - the vending machines, the insane splicer enemies, the creepy Little Sisters, the ubiquitous journal recordings, the characters themselves - were direct reflections of the central themes of the game. All the characters - even the insane ones - had their own motivations and objectives, and the conflict in the plot even down to individual levels always came from variations on those same central themes. That, coupled with an exceptionally strong opening and some truly creepy environmental design, made for a deeply involving game. Bioshock was scary and threatening and made the player feel constantly in danger, even though it was next to impossible to actually lose, and that was what made it work.

Bioshock 2, on the other hand, trades in the thematic elements in the plot that supported the atmosphere for new central themes - what sounds like a mushy version of Socialism and a take on fatherhood that's difficult to relate to. There are a few good minor surprises, but the game's story just feels forced, and none of the characters - including the PC - ever really came alive. Without any sense of connection with the characters, the game lost any particular sense of urgency, and even the game's legitimately well-done attempts at creepiness and horror mostly just sort of fizzled. There are also a few glaring logical flaws inherent in the premise of the game - it's set ten years after the first one, which means there's really no explanation for how exactly Rapture still has unlooted containers, people or even air still in it, considering the condition it was in in the first game. It also undermines the sense of imminent doom that Bioshock 2 tries to emulate from the original game, where it felt like the city was going to literally collapse around you at any moment; after all, it's lasted ten years with conspicuous leaks in every room and no discernible food sources, and you're playing as a nigh-invulnerable tank.

And of course, the control scheme is an annoyingly direct remapping of console controls. The only nod to the PC's vastly more versatile control options are weapons hotkeys; you can't even scroll in menus using the arrow keys. It mostly didn't bother me outside of trying to use vending machines, but there's really no excuse for game companies to continue using such awkward interfaces for game menus on a PC.

I also have to mention that the game has some deeply annoying copy protection systems, not least of which is the still-broken Games for Windows Live. I have yet to play any game with GFWL where the program actually works with any consistency, and Windows Live managed to keep my version of this game unplayable for the first two days thanks to mandatory login and overtaxed servers. There's also Securom and limited activations to contend with. If the game had opt-in Windows Live and a disc check instead, I'd be able to recommend it, if only to shooter fans... but this game is simply not worth the DRM issues it creates. I wouldn't have bought it myself if I'd thought to do the research beforehand on the DRM it came with.

Overall, I can't shake the feeling that there's a great game hiding somewhere under Bioshock 2. But it's bogged down by needlessly padded gameplay, a lack of engagement with the setting and plot, and a few gaping plot holes. It's not a bad game, and shooter fans will find something to enjoy in it, but it just doesn't live up to its predecessor... even to the point that it's unlikely anyone going back later to replay the first game will miss anything they added for the sequel. It's a good game, but it's far from a great game, and once you factor in the disastrous DRM it's just not worth buying.

I've seen that quite a few people have given this game one star for DRM or the like. I will admit, I was NOT thrilled that you had to activate it, run through Games for Windows, etc, etc. I've never been a fan of GFW, as it seems that a company steeped in PCs is stuck on consoles.Personally, I haven't had any problems running the single player experience, with the DRM and all, but the multiplayer is flawed by design. (EDIT: I've been having problems with the game freezing, but I have no proof that this is due to the DRM functions). But if you are willing to put up with it, then this is a great game to play.

Of course, I was a deep fan of the first one. The problem with #2 is that it's a LOT like #1, from the general game mechanics down to the videos that come with new plasmids. (Example: the "Enrage" plasmid is now the "Hypnotize" one, but it's exactly the same except for the name)

GRAPHICS: 4/5
About the same as the first one, don't expect realism. Perhaps the slightest of boosts in quality from the first.

SOUND: 3/5
Identical to first.

PLOT: 4/5
Good plot, as to be expected from a Bioshock game

GAMEPLAY: 4/5
As I said before, I was a big fan of the original game, and 2K seems to have improved every part of it. Hacking is now MUCH simpler, rewarding, and fast. The guns are take-or-leave. Collecting research and adam is also a much more involved task. The reason that I didn't give it a 5/5 is that, once again, the game is lacking *originality*. Frankly, the hacking is the most evolved part of the game, and that's just the method for doing it and adding extra rewards for doing it really well. Meh.

CONTROLS: 0/5
I don't know what drunken monkey made up the control schemes for the game, but they are completely idiotic. While they can be easily fixed on single player, there is no easy way to choose a weapon in muliplayer, it's all one button press (I'm used to hitting the number keys, why change it?)

MULTIPLAYER: 2/5

It's MW2's multiplayer just without the skill.

I do give them credit for trying, and it's an interestingly done idea. The problem? Take all the problems that people had with Modern Warefare 2, apply a bioshock skin, and you have the multiplayer. No servers, just automatching (WHY DO PC DEVELOPERS DO THIS? Servers are one of the reasons why playing on a PC is so much better than consoles. Instead they want us to play on a console with a keyboard, where you say you want to play a game and it responds "Ok. Sit down and shut up while I spend half an hour finding 6 random people for you to play with). It really detracts from the game experience.

Oh, and that includes the whole "hosting the game on a player's computer" idea. I tend to get host (unfortunately) because I have a fast connection, but for reasons unknown I lose connection frequently. Thus, whenever I lose connection the game stops. But I don't mean everyone has to stop for a second to regain their link, I mean it STOPS. It reads it like everyone simultaneously dropped and ends the session. And god forbid if you're not the host, because if the host drops then the game still ends, unlike MW2 where it finds a new one. It's simply game over.

As for the actual playing of multiplayer, its so-so. Unless you are lucky with a headshot (rare with these guns) then the firefights invariably end up with a bunch of people circling around with shotguns and trying to melee each other. I can see it getting mediocre quickly. While you do get better weapons and plasmids, I can see the game devolving into a grenade-fest quickly. Although there is a nice ranking system, almost identical to the aforementioned MW2.

Overall, do NOT buy this game for the muliplayer. You will regret it.

OVERALL: 3/5
I'd love to give this game a 5/5, but there are simply too many flaws that cannot be overlooked, such as the Games for Windows (I shudder to even type that accursed name), the DRM, etc. Do not pick it up expecting an entirely new experience, because you really won't find one. But if you want to play the new and improved version of Bioshock 1, then this is the game to do it with. That includes BS1's complete lack of muliplayer, because for all intents and purposes you don't have it in 2 either.

I suppose to summarize it, if you loved the first one, you'll probably like the second one. If not, then stay far away.

I probably have over 100 PC games that I have purchased through the years starting with Myst and ending with this one and ME2. If you liked the first one you'll probably like this except for the additional stuff like a NON-TRANSFERABLE LICENSE CODE. When I installed the game I was told the install code I entered was permanently attached to my GFW Live account and non transferable. This is on top of the other stuff that has been complained about. My take on this is they just killed the used PC game market for Bioshock 2. This offends me and helped me decide to never purchase another PC game that requires Games for Windows Live, non transferable license codes, or an always on internet connection like C&C4 will require. I think if PC games are moving toward this type of anti-piracy nonsense it's time to call it quits. There is a very disturbing trend in DRM that really does punish the honest people and seems to energize the pirates every time they crack a new game. This one was cracked the day it was released. It really is too bad 2K took a beautiful and fun game and ruined it like this. I guess I'll just wait for the used console games from now on.

I loved Bioshock 1 and was anxious to part with my cash for the sequel, but unfortunately I echo what has been said by many - I will put my money elsewhere because of the insulting "protections" of this game. Requiring an online Games for Windows account to save your game? Get serious.

Bioshock 2 comes off as little more than extra content rather than a full on sequel to the first. Basically, the story continues 10 years after the events of the first with the protagonist being one of the hulking "Big Daddies" you so loved.

In the end, the story is simply not as good. It could be that the first one had a character you could almost relate to, for a while at least. The city of Rapture was new and interesting. As you learned the history of the city, you started to piece together an underlying plot to it all that became something very good and sinister by the end. In this one, you play as a character that you really don't care about. I just never felt myself getting into it at all.

Bioshock didn't hit game of the year for any reason other than creativity and story. Unimpressive graphics, sound, control, exploration, nothing amazing there. The second had little to work with, and it didn't even use what it had well.

Enough with history though, I'll try to lay out what impressed and did not impress me.

Graphics:
Nothing new here. Looks exactly the same as the first. The water looks nice, but you can see the sharp edges on the shores and you can see how non-dynamic and 2d everything really is. Bioshock couldn't compare with the games of the time (Crysis, Timeshift) and it still doesn't years later. If you are looking for some nice eye candy, it wont be in here.

Gameplay:
Control is nothing new here. Move around with the keyboard, point with the mouse. Works well enough for me, and I still prefer it over a controller. The biggest issue that I hated here was the killing of quick save and quick load. I never used the respawn chambers of the first game, with a quick load there was no need. Take 2 must have noticed this and broke that aspect of play. More likely though, this is an Xbox port and they simply never added that function. After all, your escape menu is still referred to as the "Pause" menu. Other obvious carryovers from the console are still evident as well.

I wasn't happy with the new weapons here either. No pistol, just the rivet gun instead. Takes about 5 shots to take something down with it and it doesn't aim well. No machine gun, you get a gatling gun looking thing instead, that is somehow weak and horribly inaccurate. Many portions of the game require you to hold an area against a flood of enemies, but the lack of good powers and weapons as well as near useless traps you set makes this a terrible chore to go through every time.

Install:
I usually dislike talking about DRM in reviews, I leave that to the other few thousand people here. While Windows Live is about as broken as Steam, it isn't as invasive as other options out there. One good aspect here, you can actually play single player without creating an account and doing that little activation dance. Unlike Steam, you can make a remote account and handle everything on your computer. Makes me wonder what the point of this DRM is if they practically built in a work-around.

This is good for me since most of my gaming these days is done on the go with a laptop. Internet is not always there and having to try to connect to play single player is a painful and spiteful chore.

Multiplayer:
Broken and bad. If you ever tried the MW2 pc multiplayer, well just think of that. No options, slow, painful and ends for no reason. Don't expect to get anything multiplayer for your money here.

Conclusion:
In the end, I can't give more than 3 stars for this lackluster performance. For everything here, Take 2 should have released this a month after the first as an expansion. The story is unimpressive, the graphics scales with what I expect from 3 years ago and while some of the mini-games (hacking) have changed to be faster and less invasive, most of the other gameplay was broken in the trade-off. If quick save and quick load are taken away, something better than the re-spawn chamber needs to be used. Even the simple checkpoint system of Halo is preferable. Even a timed autosave would be nice rather than a save at the start of each area (aside from the manual open the menu and save one).

Grab this when it goes on sale in a month or two. I see drastic price drops in the works for this.

For those who spend time disconnected from the net, you cannot save your SINGLE PLAYER game in progress unless you are connected to Windows LIVE. I have no problems when I am connected, my LIVE account works and the ability to save works at that time, but I'm not connected all the time, especially while traveling. So as a warning that was not given prior to purchase, do not bother unless you will be connected full time to the net while playing. This causes me to give it a single star review as it is completely unusable to this road warrior.

The game play and graphics are as beautiful as the original, just disappointed that single player mode requires an Internet connection to save the game. Works great on my HP dv6 laptop. Unfortunately I will never get more than an hour into the game, and with no save due to no connection this game is going bye-bye.

***update, see K. Black's comment for single player offline save game work around***

I have played dozens of games on the PC over the years; probably a hundred. I have rarely failed to get a game to run. Bioshock 2 has beaten me. I was able to play Bioshock 1, but not 2. I spent the day on Sunday with tech support and looking over the forums, and the thing is just too buggy. There are sound issues, but most importantly, the thing just crashes, randomly, OVER AND OVER again.

This game is a disaster. I suspect that a patch will fix it, but do not buy this game until the issues are fixed. Some seem to be able to play the game, but many cannot.

I am running good old XP 32 bit. I have heard stories across the board, it is not just XP, Vista or Windows 7. This game was released way too early.

An interesting sidenote: There WAS a patch; it was issued on February 12, 2010. It was so buggy that the patch was pulled! That's right: TAKE2 ISSUED A BUGGY PATCH FOR A BUGGY GAME! If you compare the ratings of the PC version of this game to the others, you can, in my opinion, see the slow death of computer gaming. The money is going to the consoles, and the PC versions just aren't getting the support.

If you want this game without DRM (Digital Rights Management for those who don't know), download a stolen copy. That way you can install the game on all your computers and any computers you may have in the future. If you want to limit the number of times you can install this game BUY it. It's that simple. AND, I too am like another reviewer who said I am not a criminal, I have the money, and (generally) DO NOT steal games. I am a proud owner and consumer of maybe 150 games. Don't treat us like criminals please... and I won't rate your game with one star.