BioShock 2
Preview
Big Daddy returns with an amazing multiplayer
by IvorySoul
previewed on PC
Multiplayer Rapture
You remember BioShock right? That great game where you're underwater in the 50's trying to fight Andrew Ryan and escape Rapture with it's many mysteries? Well, it's coming back this November, but that's not all that people are excited about. Rather, much of the excitement is because of the new multiplayer mode. The first outing didn't support this and no extra add-on was released for the purpose, so this is both a surprising and an exciting addition to the sequel. But what does multiplayer in Rapture feel like? Let's find out.
Single Player
Not much has been said about the single player campaign, story wise, except the fact that you play as a Big Daddy. Not just any Big Daddy, though, but the original one. The Big Daddy you play can use his drill and rivet gun, but there are a ton of new an old plasmids that are intended for combat purposes. Whereas in the first BioShock, the plasmids seemed to be more of an afterthought and were mainly used in the environment or to set traps, they can now be used for actual combat enhancements.
BioShock 2 takes place ten years after the events explored in the first outing, so you can expect some crazy things to have happened during those years. Dr. Tenenbaum is reportedly back due to some little sisters having been kidnapped by big sisters. We only know a few details about the main story, but Dr. Tenenbaum seems to be involved with one little sister and there's a big sister seeking some sort of revenge.
Multiplayer
It seems Digital Extremes is trying to do something clever with the multiplayer, and they start out with a pretty fancy hub. You can jump into multiplayer via two ways: A regular screen or the apartment of welder Jacob Morris. Who is this, you may ask? Well, the multiplayer has a story of its own and it is set one year before the first game, taking place during the civil war. Not only is the action hectic, but the story for multiplayer unfolds as you access plasmids and unlock things. This may be the first time that a story is mixed up with a multiplayer shooter game, and hopefully, it won't fall short.
In Jacob Morris' apartment, you can customize your load and mix certain weapons with plasmids, so you have immediate access to them without having to switch menus in the heat of battle. To balance out multiplayer you only get to start out with one plasmid, such as quick fire or a charge shot. Obviously, this takes up Eve and this can be replenished by finding Circus of Value machines and just walking into them. This saves us from having animations hinder our ability to fight, and the same goes for hacking turrets since you just wait a few seconds and its yours. A big surprise is that every map has a Big Daddy suit, and while this makes you slow and lumbering it makes up for this in brute strength.
Shock me now!
The game looks fantastic and the engine has been clearly upgraded from the previous title. In addition to a new story and a multiplayer, you can look forward to the same great voice acting, storytelling and great tidbits here and there with the incredible attention to detail that are all familiar from the original title. Overall, this looks to be something that you simply cannot miss and still call yourself a gamer!
