Bioshock 2 Remastered: Back from the Depths
Before we get to the topic of Bioshock 2 Remastered, it must be said that there will be spoilers for the first game. If you haven’t already played BioShock Remastered and are interested in the story, please do complete that game first, would you kindly.
Bioshock 2 originally released back in 2010. Three years after the release of Bioshock, it brought players back into the world of Rapture, with plenty new to see and toys to play with. In 2016 2K released the remastered collection. Sporting its spiffy new coat of paint, the question remains, is Bioshock 2 Remastered worth your time?
“The Rapture dream is over”
Welcome back to Rapture. Its been several years since the events of the Bioshock and the city has not faired well. The majority of the city has fallen even further into disrepair, with many areas flooded. Similar to the general deterioration of the city, the surviving citizens have not fared much better either. Their ravenous appetite for Adam, the substance necessary to rewrite one’s DNA, along with the aging population of Little Sisters, has required the kidnapping of children from the surface to fill their role. In the absence of Andrew Ryan, a new despot has risen in his place. Sofia Lamb now rules what remains of Rapture, her plans for the City, its inhabitants and Eleanor are the reason for your resurrection.
“In that suit, even the ocean cannot harm you”
You play as Subject Delta, an Alpha series Big Daddy. Revived ten years after his death, he must find his Little Sister, Eleanor Lamb, before the pair bond conditioning they share kills him. As a big daddy, Delta has access to powerful weapons and abilities, allowing him to survive in the crumbling city. With his diving suit, he can take quite the beating, as well as traverse the ocean floor, moving between locations or surviving a sudden hull breach. Given his size, Delta can wield a wide variety of heavy weapons accessible only to big daddies. This, paired with his ability to use plasmids at the same time, makes him a force to be reckoned with. Delta’s sound design really drives home the feeling of being a walking tank. His footfalls and his landings are thunderous booms reverberate against rapture’s walls, reflecting the giant that the player controls.
“If the world were reborn in your image, would it be paradise or perdition?”
Playing as a Big Daddy in Bioshock 2 Remastered is a huge leap from Bioshock 1. Whereas in the first game you were given a wrench as the starting weapon, here you are given access to a powerful drill arm. In general, each weapon is more versatile and powerful than weapons from the first game of comparable roll. A major improvement is the ability to dual wield both weapons and plasmids. This greatly eases their use in combat and allowing the player to quickly combo their attacks. Another is the fact that Eve and health Packs are fed directly into Delta via tubes. This eliminates injection animations from the last game, allowing for more fluid combat engagements.
Due to the improvements to the player’s abilities and armament, the enemies also got an upgrade. The old roster of enemies from Bioshock returns with a few new additions. For instance, the Big Sister is a new boss enemy type. As strong as a big daddy but with high mobility and a slew of powerful plasmid abilities. Overall the roster of enemies remains quite good and fun to fight.
A small annoyance I found was the change to the little sister interactions. Previously you would kill their protector and be able to either save or harvest the little sister for her Adam. In Bioshock 2 however, you are able to escort rescued little sisters to gain more adam. This is a vital resource, especially for the higher difficulties which compounds the problem with it. The issue is that the player must engage in a number of defence sections while the little sister gathers adam from specific corpses. This will greatly diminish the player’s stockpile of ammo and items and can get stale as the game progresses. Another nitpick is, unlike in Bioshock 1, the inability to backtrack to previous areas, so if you missed something you must either start a new game or load a previous save.
Decision
A definite improvement to Bioshock’s formula with a few issues. Bioshock 2 Remastered is a good game with an enjoyable story and yet again wonderful world-building. If you enjoyed Bioshock 1 then it is well worth the return to Rapture.
Review by Shaun Elders
Great
Bioshock 2 Remastered is an overall improvement of the formula of the first game, providing a fresh experience of Rapture, with plenty of new abilities and weapons for the returning players to enjoy.
Game by 2K. The Beta Network uses affiliate partnerships, however, this does not influence reviews or any other content published. The Beta Network may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links that are on the website.
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