Zero Punctuation: Bioshock 2

Xaxsays...

Yeah. BioShock didn't need a sequel. I played through most (?) of BioShock 2, but couldn't be bothered after a certain point. It really doesn't bring anything new to the table.

Sarzysays...

Same here. I got a very overwhelming feeling of "meh" from Bioshock 2, and haven't played it in days. This is despite the fact that the original is one of my favourite FPSes in ages.

Deanosays...

His criticisms are bang on; playing as a proto big daddy doesn't make any kind of sense to me. I'm not really feeling it with this one and I loved the original. I presume not having Ken Levine on board has steered it in the wrong direction.

I felt a bit short-changed by Mass Effect 2 as well. Hasn't been a good year for sequels so far. Think I'll go for an original game next.

Draxsays...

I skipped buying this too. I was excited at first till I heard this is being made by a whole new development team. I guess the other guys ran off to start a new studio.

"It's like playing a sequel to Half-Life where you get to play as a gun turret." lol

Djevelsays...

I barely made it through Bioshock one. The story could not maintain the relationship between plot and waves and waves of bad guys and cheesy puzzles. The only thing that kept me going was that this was the "spiritual successor" to System Shock, of which I never played. I had to see it through to at least experience what I could. Now, some oddball story after the closure of the first tiresome run through? Yeah...not gonna bother.

RedSkysays...

I didn't mind playing through it to be honest, the philosophical warblings on objectivism versus collectivism were interesting enough to keep me going.

Not to mention the gameplay mechanics mix of FPS and RPG was great in the original and somewhat improved in the second with minor but meaningful touches such as the hacking system and being able to dual wield weapons and plasmids.

But he's right that it didn't bring enough originality to the table. I wouldn't write it off with the likes of other bad sequels though, I think it's still a step up from that.

rottenseedsays...

You know, I always start watching these things thinking that I'm not going to upvote because his shtick isn't new, but then he says something like "a snickers bar taped to a lobster" and I have to upvote.

NinjaInHeatsays...

I hate when he just slams games for the sake of slamming, I really liked Bioshock 1 and I absolutely loved Bioshock 2, most of the things he points out as annoying/pointless/unoriginal are simply not... gathering with the little sisters is an absolute blast, it also compliments the improved combat system and the level design, setting up an area for a fight is much more satisfying than in the first game, especially when playing on harder difficulty levels. The dynamic between yourself (as a big daddy) and the little sisters is plain awesome, walking around with a sister on your shoulder and hearing her comment on things you do never gets old. The game is much longer, the levels are interesting, nothing feels repetitive, the finale is great (it sucked balls in the first game), I could go on and on about the great dialogue and the new weapons/plasmids but the point is: this game rocks, it's more than a worthy sequel and you'd have to be retarded to dismiss it the way he does (an observation I remember making about him after seeing his review of Demon's Souls).
Ranting can be fun, but when you're doing it from a so called "intellectual" point of view there's kind of no point to it when you wouldn't be able to recognize quality if it crawled up your ass.

rabidnesssays...

Bioshock 2 was very good. Yahtzee just likes to be a whiney tart. As far as I can tell, the real reason why people don't like the sequel is the fact that they're taking part in an established universe. Really, what made Bioshock incredible was the fact you're in a totally alien atmosphere. Once that initial feeling of wonderment has worn down, the story WILL seem less original and the game less inspired.

The action(with prep for little sister harvesting fights) took a great improving leap from the original gameplay. The change to hacking is understated in this video... since changing it to quicktime events means that the hacking is realtime in game, making hacking more challenging. The point of the sequel was not to expand on the universe but to offer more depth of the world, which was certainly done. It wasn't as long as I hoped but it was certainly very entertaining.

I never take Yahtzee's reviews seriously and I wish more people would do the same, he is objectively one of the worst game reviewers I know of. He's very entertaining(!) however he (1) nitpicks like a bratty kid, (2) reviews games without regard to the game's merits(i.e. multiplayer) and (3) ALWAYS comes off negative because well, hey kids, that's why Yahtzee is popular and that's how he's making those dollar bills.

budzossays...

My biggest complaint about Bioshock is that the splicers just won't shut the fuck up. Aside from big daddys, every single enemey you fight in the game spends the entire encounter spouting insane gibberish. Even when they're on fire they just continue with the gibberish, it doesn't even phase them.

Repetitive voice in games is my current pet peeve with just about every game I play. Whenever I fire up BF2 after not playing it for a while, the constant radio chatter that is louder than anything else in the game drives me nuts (don't tell me to go into the setting and turn it down, no shit I tried that in 2006).

entr0pysays...

I'm surprised that Yahtzee didn't mention that, shortly after the sales figures of the first game came in (huge success), the publisher (2k) immediately took the franchise away from it's creators (Irrational Games) and gave it to a different developer (2K Marin) to knock off a hasty sequel. He notices who the developers are when it comes to Silent Hill games, why not now?

Speaking in general that's a trend that really bothers me among the gaming press. Publishers want to push the idea that the developers don't really matter and are interchangeable, and everyone should just refer to games as being from the publisher. And somehow the gaming press has signed on.

Think about it, have you ever read a book review where the author is never mentioned but they just say it's by Penguin books? Or ever been got caught up in the hype about that new album everyone wants "Rock Music" by Sony Music? (after all musicians are a dime a dozen)

But I'm just venting about that. Otherwise all his points were spot on. I don't think Bioshock 2 is badly made, it's pretty well made, I just think it's soulless. And a disappointment compared to the true sequel that Irrational could have delivered a few years from now.

Shepppardsays...

Alright, I've skipped over a couple posts due to walls of text, but I don't think it's been mentioned as to why you play a big daddy.

*Spoilers*

The basic reason is that when the city was built, the first big daddys were just plain old volunteers, they were people that had parts of the suit intergrated onto them, however, they still contained all the downsides of mankind (Greed, fear, etc.) and were later scrapped for the current big daddys.

The big lumbering oafs are basically suits that have had parts of humans intergrated into it meaning, there is no head inside the helmet, the helmet IS the head. These things basically had every instinct except for "Protect the little sisters" removed, and therefore were far more efficient at their tasks, and weren't smart enough to lead a rebellion should they get the urge.

When a big daddy is created, it's partnered up with a little sister (No explination as to how this is done) and they are then a pair, able to talk to each other through a psychic link (As the big daddy couldn't communicate otherwise, due to its ability to only make "Grunts")

Hope that explains a little bit.

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