First of all, I have actually finished the game. Having done so, and having played the original, I was underwhelmed. Had I never played the first Bioshock, this sequel would have felt far more impressive. But as I played the game, I couldn't get past three simple thoughts:

1. Unless I used the drill, which is pretty limited by the need for drill fuel, I never felt like a Big Daddy.

2. While plasmids have some new upgrades, they're basically the same as before, as are the Splicers.

3. Most of my time was spent beating other Big Daddys, adopting their Little Sisters, then escorting them around to gather adam.

I opted to adopt and rescue Little Sisters to get the good ending (don't worry, no spoilers here). Once a Little Sister is done collecting adam it is needlessly hard to pick her back up. I also routinely had trouble picking up ammo and other items. The game demands near perfect aim of the camera to acknowledge an object at your feet, which didn't ruin it but was a constant annoyance.

Then there's the fact that despite being a Big Daddy, a tough Splicer could bring my health to near empty in three seconds on the normal difficulty setting. Why are you so much weaker than the other Big Daddys you have to defeat? For that matter, why do security systems attack you but not any other Big Daddy? No explanation is ever offered. A number of major elements in this game simply defied logic and felt glossed over, which was hugely disappointing considering how tight the story was in the original. Where did the Big Sisters come from? Why do they show up and attack you AFTER you have saved or harvested roughly every third Little Sister? Early in the game Dr. Tenenbaum (the woman who acted like a nanny to the sisters in the original) appeals to you to help stop her work from being continued, but then just disappears for the last 90% of the game. Given that this game's release was delayed, it's stunning how many such holes there are.

While overall Bioshock 2 is worth playing, it feels very unfinished. Given that 2K used the same game engine as the original, that is inexcusable. It seems like they decided to just shove something out the door to cash in on a popular franchise. With so many big games out right now, I'd wait on this one until the price comes down. Fortunately I got great trade-in value for it, and couldn't get rid of it fast enough since it certainly doesn't merit a second play through.

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I'm a little late to the Bioshock 2 bandwagon but I wanted to make a few comments for those that are considering purchasing the game. It is not necessary to play the original Bioshock but you will probably enjoy it more. Since this is a sequel and the original was extremely popular, it is inevitable that the two are compared. To be honest, that probably accounts for the majority of the negative comments but here are what I feel are the pros and cons:

Pros:

~ The atmosphere of the game is every bit as good as the first. While you are still within the city of Rapture, you explore different sections and I found accessing areas to be more straightforward with far less back tracking. For those that played the first one, it is true that some of the shine has worn off Rapture. The art work and details just aren't as interesting and exciting as the initial playthrough of Bioshock but overall, the game holds true to the atmosphere of the original and it still looks good. While there was no noticable upgrade to the overall graphics, some of the enemies and moving parts look cleaner and more defined. The PS3 version looks polished and complete and I saw no issues with clipping, etc.

~ The story line, while not nearly as intricate and detailed as the first game, still holds your interest throughout. Don't expect a lot of twists and turns and you won't be disappointed.

~ I really enjoyed playing as a Big Daddy. Its just more fun and more original. Also, I felt that the Little Sisters were more engaging this time around and the developers did a good job of making you want to protect them. You still have choices that will directly effect which ending you get and there are 4 total.

~ The mechanics and movement are essentially the same as the first game but thankfully, the peripheral vision has vastly improved.

~ You have both your plasmid and your weapon accessible simultaneously. The first game forced you to choose which was armed at any given time.

~ Hacking has changed. In my opinion, this is the greatest improvement in the game. While some may find it too easy, I detested the pipe reorganization in the first one. It just felt like it ripped you out of the game and it was tedious and annoying. Now you just stop a needle in a colored portion of the dial and you are good to go. You also get bonuses for stopping in the blue sections and its well worth your while to make the effort. I also didn't have a problem with the remote hacking darts, which apparently caused some players problems.

~ The first game had your default melee weapon as a wrench, which I used frequently because there is nothing like getting up front and personal. This time around, you get a drill, which can use fuel to actually drill into things or you can just swing it and beat the crap out of someone. Its quite effective, especially as you progress through the game and get upgrades. I used it more than any other weapon in the game. Keep in mind that you can use any weapon as melee but there is just something about that big old drill. Muhahahaha.

~ Controls are fine. While some players complained that the controls weren't responsive and they couldn't pick up items, I didn't find this to be an issue at all.

~There are TONS of pick ups. First aid kits, money, eve, ammo, etc. In fact, if you spend a little time looking around, you often find more items than you can carry. I really don't understand the complaints unless other reviewers are just plowing through the game without even looking. There are also lots of plasmid upgrades and level up items around. Take a few seconds and search!

~ The Power to the People stations are in this game so you can upgrade your weapon of choice but the U-Vent machines are gone. Personally, I didn't miss them or the requirement to search for 7 different parts to make one weapon or item to continue. Finding those parts involved even more back tracking which bogged down the original game.

~There are plenty of Trophies for those perfectionists out there.

~The multiplayer games are surprisingly fun. There are plenty of on-line players and it adds a different aspect to the game. There is player customization and a ranking up feature that unlocks trials and weapon/plasmid upgrades. You can play as part of a team or in a match where it's every man for himself. One room allows you to play a capture the flag type game where the flag is a Little Sister. While the gameplay does not change, each match occurs in different areas from the original Bioshock...ah, nostaglia. You can easily get sucked into the on-line games and end up wasting hours there. There are Trophies to be earned in the multiplayer games as well.

~ Like the original, during load screens you will get hints on gameplay. They can be helpful for players that have run into problems and you can fast forward or reverse through them as needed.

Cons:

~ Just like the first one, the initial load is PAINFULLY slow. I mean, like 20 minutes long. Come on, seriously.

~ The plasmids and weapons (except the drill) are also about the same. There are a few upgrades here and there but nothing stellar, which is disappointing and really a missed opportunity.

~ The over-hyped "explore outside Rapture" is a joke. You move along a very linear path for about 15 total minutes of game play. There are Adam slugs to look for but no enemies or challenge so it is gimmicky at best.

~ While the overall story is fine, there are plot holes. Dr. Tennebaum makes a reappearance but then suddenly she just disappears, never to be heard from again. Also, for some reason the Big Sisters feel the need to attack you even if you rescued the Little Sisters. Another issue is that despite the fact that you are a Big Daddy, the amount of damage you take is the same as if you were a puny human. A few smacks from your averge Splicer and you're toast. As you level up your max health, the enemies get more difficult obviously so that aspect doesn't really change much.

~ The music is not as good or as original as the first.

~ Most of the enemies that you encounter are almost exactly like the original game. They've added a few new ones like the Big Sisters but another missed opportunity. There is also repetition with the Adam collection process and you'll see the same enemies with the same comments repeatedly.

All in all, Bioshock 2 is an exceptional game. If it wasn't compared to the orignal, it would get rock solid reviews all around but as a sequel there were a few disappointments and missed opportunities. Still, I found the game to be very engrossing and enjoyed every last minute of it. It's one of those games that once you finish, you want to start all over. Definitely fun and definitely worth the purchase!

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I was very hesitant about this game because more times than not, sequels do not hold up the bar set by the first. This game is an exception though not as good as the first. It has a descent story line that keeps you wondering and engrossed till the end. The game play is just as good if not better than the first and the replay value is very high. I highly recommend this game to anyone who even slightly enjoyed the first one.

P.S. The mulitiplayer aspect is actually done very well. Yet another part I was plesantly surprised with.

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Bioshock was above all a story-driven game. Average controls were easily overlooked when presented with a stellar soundtrack, great characters, fantastic writing, and an amazing and gorgeous environment.

Bioshock 2 is a real wasted opportunity to improve on an incredible game. Marginally improved gameplay doesn't excuse a vastly inferior story and it certainly does not excuse the very obvious downgrade in texture quality. What were they thinking? The hyped underwater sections "exploring the ocean outside Rapture" do nothing of the sort. They are restricted, linear walkways to the next indoor section.

I wish they had just tacked the same gameplay improvements onto the original Bioshock, given you the option of which hacking game you wanted (or a nice mix of both), and improved the framerate on the original. They could have released it as a Special Edition. Bioshock 2's framerate is noticeably faster on the PS3 version-- I noticed lots of clipping on the first Bioshock.

This is a story driven series, and nearly every aspect of the story in the first game was much better thought out (see J. Harmony's review). Ken Levine's absence proved to really hurt the series. Garry Schyman's music work here is weaker.

Also --- I can't BELIEVE I had to wait 20 minutes AGAIN to install Bioshock 2. You'd think 2K would have at least corrected that after having made the same mistake with the first game.

Overall I can't recommend Bioshock 2. After three hours of gameplay, I'm not even sure I'll bother finishing it. And who wants to play Bioshock multiplayer when MW2 and BC2 are infinitely better online shooters? The controls (also unchanged) feel like I'm still playing a PS2 shooter.

At least we can look forward to the next big release from Irrational Games. In the meantime, I'll be playing the first Bioshock again from the beginning, and pretend this sequel was never made.

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semi interesting twist on the original with Nazi online regulation from LIVE, the catch up to STEAM from Micro-suck Live. Constant long slow updates really suck. No choice BUT to endure them too.. nice job Live by Micro-suck.

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Just finished playing Bioshock 2 and it has it's ups and downs. Having been a big fan of the first Bioshock, I, like most loooked forward to this game and found it lacking.

The good things about this game, first.. Beautiful graphics and atmosphere

Expanded storyline

New sections to explore

The introduction of the Big Sister which is ten times more scary and harder to deal with than the Big Daddy from the first game and in this one ever was.

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The bad things about this game... Same song, different tune. It basically follows the concept of the first game to par which is rather sad. Basically it's the same wake up in a weird place and have someone come over your radio and guide you the entire way to a single goal. Meet people along the way who you need stuff from and eventually get to your goal and be beaten, captured and start again after capture and then be betrayed by the person guiding you on the radio (sure this time it was forced).

Other minor things... Not much enemy variety. The same splicers with better graphics with a few new ones added for kicks.

All of your plasmids are the same as in the first game. Huge disappointment.

NPCs never seem to miss, even on the easiest level; but the slow, clunky targetting system makes it easy for you too.

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So, in conclusion it is a good game. But the game play is basically the same, the enemies are basically the same, the storyline of betrayal and cloak and dagger politics is basically the same and the setting is basically the same.

Overall, it feels more like an expansion pack than a new game in the series. Fun to play but don't expect anything too different, just more water.

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It uses the same Unreal Engine as Bioshock 1, but the textures, lighting, and movement in Bioshock 2 is the worst I've seen in any game, ever. Everything appears to be 'zoomed-in'. Impossible to describe how bad it looks at 1080p. Not even sure I see the point of putting 'Full HD 1080p' on the box art. It looks like a PS1 game... I feel totally ripped off and am putting my copy on eBay. If you've ever played a normal DVD and hit the 'Zoom' button on the remote, you'll have a sense for what this game looks like. Just... totally unbelievable that the 1st game could be so gorgeous and this one could be so bad.

Game play is fine. Multiplayer is good, not great.

I just can't believe the graphics. 2K... what happened?

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If you have never played Bioshock, then you will probably have a ball with this. But having recently played the original Bioshock, I just was bored to tears by more of the same. Plus, the voice acting (characters talking to you as you shoot the same things over and over and over) is so lame. I traded it in after about 4-5 hours of play. Just did not care enough to pick it up again, figured I would cash in while there is still a buzz on about the game.... So if you already played Bioshock, do yourself a favor and buy this used....

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I loved BioShock 1 so much I actually bought it for both my 360 & PS3, this time around I only will review the PS3 version.

Yes the game installs to the hard drive. Now I personally like games that install to the HDD as they run faster during game play. It's a bit longer than 10 minutes for the initial setup, I didn't time it with a stop watch, but the DualShock had turned off, which it does after 10 minutes.

I waited on ordering this until I saw at least 3 reviews on reputable gaming sites. They had some big shoes to fill after BioShock 1, and so far I think they've done an awesome job. I really enjoy exploring the maps making sure I've covered every inch. Most of the enemies are the same so far, with two new additional Boss type monsters that I've encountered so far.

The graphics and sound effects are great, only a few glitches here and there, but nothing worth even really mentioning. No crashes so far, and I've played at least 12 hours, collecting as many trophies as I can.

I'm very much enjoying this, maybe not as much as the first, only because BioShock was so unique at the time. If you liked BioShock 1 you should love 2. There are many new weapon enhancements, and the great plasmid system is still intact.

I've not yet tried the multiplayer, or really have any desire to, and sometimes wish developers would just forget about it and make a longer single player experience.

This will be one of the few "shooters" that gets 3 or more playthroughs. 95% of shooters I play once and move on, so for me it's that good.

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So I have to admit I was more then a little disappointed with my first day of Bioshock 2. After about 5 hours of playing I finally accepted the fact that really nothing new was going to be introduced in this game. That's not all bad, Bioshock 1 was a very fun game... The environment is still one of the best conceived for a video game. The game play is dark and twisted which I enjoy it just felt like for a sequel there wasn't much new content that will keep me playing this game.

The new Hacking is too easy but at the same time they give you a pain in the a$$ gun to shoot hacking darts. ( I hate that gun personally, switching to it in the middle of a fight causes serious frustration). The new weapons they have are nothing to write home about. And to me the graphics looked the exact same as the last bioshock. After seeing how Mass Effect overhauled graphics from 1 to 2 I was kind of hoping for the same thing here. That's not the case.

All in all the game feels like a clone of the first one with a story that doesn't pull you in the same way. If you were a fan of the first bioshock then you will appreciate this game but doesn't expect the single player to give you anything more then the first. The multiplayer is fun but by no means addictive like many others game out there today. So I would give this game 4 stars for fun factor, 3 stars overall. I just wish it had a little more content for the money we shell out.

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I can't say much about this title, is good, but is just as good as the original or even a little less, I was disappointed because they used the exact same formula and the story line feels like it's forced just to sell a second game. It's not a bad game I repeat but if you expected something different or more innovative don't buy it, the multiplayer online sucks, they should have left it as a great single player FPS.

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