I managed to make it through the end of the game, but, let me tell you it was a terrible experience. The game constantly crashes. I've loaded all patches and done everything support said to no avail. This game forces you to use Windows Live, which is likely the source of the problem. You can play without Live, but you can't save your games. Who would do that with crashes every 15 minutes?

Other griefs:

- Loads v-e-r-y slowly

- Saves games v-e-r-y slowly

- Takes forever to start up.

Once you get it to playing the game is not half bad. Again, though, continuous crashes are the norm for this game. Check the reviews here and elsewhere. Shame on the authors for selling out to Windows Live environment and destroying what could have been a nice game.

• from

I was a fool.

It's not always easy to admit, but in this case, I do so freely. I prepaid for this ripoff, blissfully assuming that it would be worth the money. It is not. Yes, it is an enjoyable game, eventually, but not worth the price in truth. It simply doesn't hold the power of the first to captivate and ensnare. The theme is no longer original, and the story is a stretch. Combat is passable, and bugs there are aplenty. That of course is not the worst of it though.

When will these idiots realize that DRM does exactly nothing to stop piracy? It was available on BitTorrent THE SAME DAY IT HIT THE SHELVES. Nice job with that copy protection guys. Wonder how much you paid for it. Sure didn't stop the pirates. What it DID do was irritate the hell out of anyone (like me) dumb enough to actually pay for your game. The pay version is inferior to the pirated version. Take 2 paid who-knows-how-much money for DRM that encourages people to pirate the game, because the pirated version doesn't have limited installs. It doesn't require an Internet connection to play. It isn't saddled with the horrific SuckyouROM. And of course it's free.

As a contrast, consider Mass Effect 2. Apparently, Bioware learned the lesson that Take 2 is obviously having trouble with. Ironically, I obtained that game in an "unorthodox" fashion, assuming that it, like its predecessor, would be laden with DRM. I was wrong. Upon learning of this, I actually went to Gamestop and purchased a copy that still sits unopened on my desk. That's right. True story. I paid for it, because it is a fine game with only the bare minimum DRM that requires a CD. I find this reasonable, if slightly annoying. Bioware deserved my business for their decision to not punish honest buyers.

Take 2 does not.

It will be interesting to see which game actually makes more money. I'm going to say it's a safe bet that ME2 will.

My copy will be returned.

• from

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

• from

My computer meets and exceeds the system & graphics requirements, but the game will only play for a few minutes until the screen goes black & the computer crashes. After ensuring that all drivers, etc., were up to date, I found that according to the forums at Take2 Interactive, many people are experiencing the same thing. Players are literally posting pleas for help with no reply at all from the developers. The support forum at 2K Games is "coming soon." Besides the Windows Live & DSRM concerns, buying this game is a definite roll of the dice. If you have money that you don't mind throwing away, you might give it a try. Otherwise, save yourself some heartache.

• from

I love the original Bioshock - it's one of my favorite games. I like the story set and appearance of Bioshock 2. Having said that, I'm ready to toss the disc out into the snow and purge the software as thoroughly as I can. I beg to differ with the reviewer who likened reviews similar to mine as complaining about buying gas for your car. From my humble perspective, it's more like buying a car that only goes when and where it wants. Rude surprise #1 -- I loaded the game fine, skipped the Windows Live profile build as I haven't the time to indulge in on-line play, and started Single Player. After about an hour of fun (I'll admit) play, I realized I'd seen no signs of autosaves. I tried to save the game and a message window said that couldn't be done unless I had a profile to save to. There's an hour of my life to be repeated due to no instructions and needless control. The game was auto-security checked without the need for a profile. Rude surprise #2 -- I resume the game (now with a save!) the next evening, and an update screen appears telling me that if I don't load the update, I can't play the game. Excuse me??? There's another fifteen minutes shot for download, execute, and re-boot. Surprise #3 -- the new update is even more unfriendly (just full of facist bytes!). The brightness adjustment made on the game has been tranlated to my monitor even when the game is closed, and windows tells me my setting security has failed. I have to reboot again to use another program without blinding myself!!! THIS RUINS THE GAME!!!!!!!

• from

The game itself was fun, but seemed quite a bit shorter than the original. It had the feeling of an add-on; nothing really new or unique enough to make it better. It was much more stable on my PC than the original, though. I had only a single crash at an oil refill station.

But this DRM stuff is really insane. People who pirate are going to steal the game. Period. I'm sure that an hour after it got released, the first cracked versions started appearing on the torrent sites. But for the honest people who pay the honest cash for the game, the idea of limited installs, mandatory on-line registration, and forcing a Microsoft account down your throat is too much.

Just to give you an idea of the hoops you need to jump through, my game is fully installed, yet to play it I need the original DVD in my drive, plus I need to be online, plus I need to be logged into Windows Live. Remember the good old days when all you needed was a serial number or looking up the 4th word of the 3rd line of page 78 of your users guide? Well, you STILL have to enter a 25-digit key as part of a lengthy installation... Seriously, if you have to be logged on and monitored during your entire gaming session, what's the point of having the original disk in your drive or entering an authentication key?

Is the next step of "copy protection" monitoring my specific playing style so that the game can be shut off remotely if my friend starts playing it? How about forcing me to buy a (Microsoft, natch) webcam and keep it trained on my face to ensure a legitemate user is playing? I've probably said too much...sorry if this happens on Bioshock 3.

Big Daddies? Big Sisters? This is Big Brother to an unpleasant degree.

I recommend the XBox version over the PC version just because of the intrusive Securom.

• from

My son has a high end PC with well beyond the minimums for operating this video game....BUT IT WILL NOT WORK!!!! Stay away from the PC version....will be returning this worthless version of likely a good game....the previous version was reportedly OK.

• from

I had to decide between the PC version of this game and the Xbox version. The PC version was $20.00 cheaper. Man do I wish I had spent the extra $20.00 on the Xbox version. I can't even play this game because it keeps crashing. Lemme restate:

I AM UNABLE TO EVEN PLAY THIS GAME!!!!!!!!!!!

I wasted my money. When I finally got the game to load, it crashed 10min into it. I can't save my progress because you MUST pay for an online profile. If you try to play with no online profile, the "Save" button is greyed out. It got to the point where I just packed it up, and now I have to wait how ever long it takes for a patch to come out. This is the LAST PC version of any game I will buy.

Don't blow it like I did.

• from

Basically, when you install the game another program(SecuRom) will be installed with it. Here is a simple list of why this is bad.

1. The SecuRom program may cause problems with your computer(Slow downs, and some have had parts of their computer break)

2. The publisher can use SecuRom to download information about you and your computer

3. You cannot delete SecuRom(very easily) even if you delete the game the SecuRom program still is running on your computer.

4. SecuRom can/may open up security holes on your PC.

5. SecuRom STOPS legitimate software from working

• from

If they spent as much time completing the game (finding the many bugs that are present) as they did locking the game down with RIDICULOUS DRM, it would be fantastic.

I wrote them the following email to explain my disappointment:

Dear 2KGames,

Bioshock 1 is my one of (if not THE) best games I've ever played. My wife and I have purchased any Bioschock related swag we can find, and genuinely think it's an amazing work. So naturally, I preordered Bioshock 2 for my wife and I to play. I ordered it for the PC so we could install it on 2 computers and play at the same time (you know, like how you've been able to do it since the beginning of PC gaming). My first issue: Windows live forces you to sign on before you can SAVE YOUR GAME?! Not only that, but it appears as though you MUST be connected to Xbox Live while you're playing (which means you MUST have an internet connection) and can only sign into an Xbox live profile on one computer at a time (I give that more leeway due to the nature of multiplayer).

Now look, I don't expect to be able to give the game to all my friends who can install it to give it back and I wouldn't expect you to be able to play online on multiple computers under one gamertag, I get that. But to force GFWL AND an active internet connection in order to play single player content is absolutely ludicrous.

The game (aside from the install/gameplay bugs that we experienced, and should have been caught before release) seems great so far, and meets all my expectations, however the experience of managing this ridiculous DRM has soured my experience to a point extreme frustration. Anyone involved in writing/designing/programming the Bioshock series I give two thumbs up and a pat on the back, no knock to them. But whoever makes the decisions about DRM just doesn't get it! When it's more convenient to pirate your content rather than pay for it, YOU'VE GOT A PROBLEM!

I would gladly cut these artists a check for a job well done and leave Microsoft and the 2K execs out of it. I love Civ, Bioshock, etc but clearly you guys are out of touch. I've already purchased Bioshock 2 so there's not a whole lot I can do about it, however I CAN assure you that I will not purchase another 2KGames title that has such ridiculous DRM.

I will be expecting a meaningful response to this email. I hope this helps your future endeavors, feel free to contact me anytime.

Thank you

I have not yet received a response.

• from

I wanted to love this game. The simple truth is that Bioshock 2 was released far too buggy. If you go to 2k's website you will see the various issues people are having with this title. Personally I have finally given up. The game crashes too often. As of 2/23/10 a new patch was released. This was supposed to make multiplayer playable. It does not. This is a 12 hour game with broken multiplayer. The single player will also crash often.

Someday if you see this game for five dollars it may be worth it.

• from