Preach! I wrote this about Bioshock 2 a few years ago because I was getting sick and tired of people just dismissing it out of hand, as if it was just automatically inferior. Now that Infinite’s been and gone, I reckon BS2 is quite easily the best in the series, especially with the excellent Minerva’s Den. What you say about the pacing and structure of the game allowing you to really capitalise on everything at your disposal is absolutely spot on though and just one of the many things which elevates it.
Geggis, broken link? I’d be curious what you have to say about it, bought it on super steam discount, I gave it about an hour and thought it was a bit too similar to the original to be worth the time invested, and gave it a pass.
Unfortunately, the beginning is very similar to the original Bioshock (might be the weakest part of the game) and that familiarity turned a lot of people off. If you give it some time it starts developing a character and identity all its own and has one of the best structured and paced narrative arcs with one of the better endings in the world of videogames. I would add that Bioshock 2’s mechanics are much more refined and elegant over the first installment with better hacking and much better combat. As others have pointed out the Minerva’s Den DLC is a tour de force on its own. Minervas Den provides a nice short story with all of the skill advancement and upgrades of Bioshock in a much more compact time frame.
Bioshock 2 is the best Bioshock of the entire series. It offers more nuance, more cohesiveness, and very refined mechanics.
-Todd
Bioshock2 was amazing, my favorite in the series. Too bad the multiplayer was so half-assed with horrible p2p code.
Is it just me, but does anyone else find it weird when you use a keypad, or other interactive object, while visibly holding a weapon in both hands?
Well NOW I do!
Telekinesis, Telefrog, telekinesis.
Fixed the link spiffy, looks like I copied the link out and took a comma with it. http://tap-repeatedly.com/2013/03/my-idea-of-fun-bioshock-2/
Todd nailed it though, my article just goes into more detail.
I replayed both fairly recently and strongly disagree about Bioshock 2 being superior to 1. I found the “defend the little sister” bits incredibly repetitive. I still haven’t played Minerva’s Den, though-- it’s on my list.
As for the Shock1 remake, the graphics look too shiny and I’m concerned about them “toning down” the awesome electronica music from the original. It was rockin’!
451 again, folks.
[ul]
[li]Deus Ex: 0451[/li]
[li]System Shock 1: 451 [/li]
[li]System Shock 2: 45100[/li]
[li]Sanitarium: 451[/li]
[li]Bioshock: 0451[/li][/ul]
Do you think that originates in Fahrenheit 451?
There’s a number that pops up in two Looking Glass titles: 451. It first appeared in System Shock, as the code to open a locked door. In the sequel, players use the number again, although it’s different — 45100.
And the number isn’t confined to Looking Glass games. In Ion Storm’s Deus Ex, the code 0451 unlocks an armory. In Irrational Games’ BioShock, it leads to a hidden room. The digits open a file cabinet in a father’s office in The Fullbright Company’s Gone Home. In Cambridge, the same code was once used to unlock Looking Glass’ real-world office door.
“That 0451 code has become kind of a signature that developers use to align themselves with Looking Glass,” Tim Stellmach says. “It is itself, of course, a nod to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, as dystopian science fiction was naturally on everybody’s mind during System Shock development.”
In Bradbury’s story, the number is a reference to the temperature at which books combust. The novel’s government, intent on suppressing dissenting ideas, orders firemen to burn any books they find. Because without culture, there can be no memory.
But Looking Glass, and the people it inspired, lent new meaning to the number. With it they celebrated a culture, a way of thinking, wherein rules are questioned and the status quo challenged. Looking Glass is gone, but its philosophy is alive — in BioShock, Dishonored, Gone Home and many others. It’s set in digital stone. It’s tattooed on Gone Home designer Steve Gaynor’s arm.
From:
AHEAD OF ITS TIME: THE HISTORY OF LOOKING GLASS
Internet rumors also suggest it was the door code to the Looking Glass HQ building. (Whoops, just noticed that this was mentioned in the quote above)
-Todd
we never used that code for anything.
:)
And that is a pretty mostly accurate article.
Still need to write that book…although the story isn’t done yet now is it?
Mind bullets, geggis.
More repetitive than Pipe Mania every time you hacked something? :-)
As for the trailer, I’m impressed. They’ve struck a great balance between the old and the new. Looking forward to seeing more.
Much more repetitive, yes. I didn’t mind the pipe game, it went fast. Although I must admit that hacking was much better in the sequel.
Considering what they had to work from, it’s not bad. The original humanoid mutant’s eyes were the size of billiard balls.
I think this trailer is fair warning that this remake is going to have a very stylized look. Which I’m fine with.
Stylized is the only way us small outfits can even attempt to compete with AAA mega studios. I guess Borderlands showed us the way ;)
I have the weirdest boner right now.
Ha, I noticed the keypad thing, too! So if the dude is holding a two-handed weapon, I figure he’s just poking the buttons with his nose. It’s the prudent thing to do. You don’t want to let loose of that weapon in case something comes at you!
Are people just dismissing it out of hand? I thought the conventional wisdom was that Bioshock 2 took everything established in Bioshock 1 and ran with it. I think it’s a brilliant game. If I were pressed to name the greatest game yet made, it would be Bioshock 2.
I suppose that’s another way to press the buttons on the keypad.
-Tom
Maybe not in this forum, but the general opinion is (unfairly) not very favorable to Bioshock 2. More than being considered bad or anything, it’s game very forgotten by the gaming community.