Bioshock 2 has been simmering out there for a couple weeks now, and still getting mixed reviews hot from every press. True, exploring the city of Rapture is not as mysterious as it once was. I now know what to expect when roaming through leaky hallways, due to my experience from the first Bioshock. Splicers and daddies, each getting progressively annoying to fight until some point near the end where you have your favorite uber-plasmid and can safely walk around plugging holes in things without the fear of being decimated in seconds. One thing about the game I absolutely love, is how much the experience fluctuates. One minute you think you're doing good. Got your medkits, some eve, a good chunk of money and enough ammo to survive a good wave of splicers. Until that wave of splicers comes. Sometimes the shoot-out goes flawless and every mutated mofer in the room hits the ground, no problem. Other times, you're getting pelted from both sides, you accidentally blast a Big-Daddy with the spray of your shotgun, and he drills a gut-spilling hole in your stomach. You might go from fully loaded, to in the gutter within 3 minutes. And that's what I like about the game! You feel constantly tense traveling through the first few chapters, hoping to god you can actually get the snoop on some baddies before they do you.
I noticed a lot of people don't like protecting the Little Sisters. Are you kidding me? That's one of the most enjoyable parts of the game. You typically have a chance to set up in a good position, and your arsenal well endows you with a good variety of defenses. Not to mention hacking bots, which is constantly helpful. (Though slightly more challenging in this one than the last.) So you sit there, blasting any stupid sap that thought he stood a chance against your mad skills. Keeping the girls from harm certainly isn't hard. You don't have to worry about hitting them, so feel free to blast all your plasmids away. Not to mention their super-cute dialogue. How can you not want to kick ass for a little girl who thinks you're the coolest dad ever?
Sadly, I was unimpressed by the ending. Truly, the story told in the game is amazing, and almost as well written as Bioshock 1 (Only this time, lacking most of the mystery aspect in terms of what the Hell Rapture is, and why everyone is so corrupt. In this one, you just kind of accept everything is screwed up, no one is anywhere near sane, and they should all fall under your wake.) And though you can make a few decisions in the game that alter how the game ends, I'm not quite interested in making a full second play-through so I can alter one thing or the other. I ended up getting the, or one of? the good endings, by sparing "Aunt Grace", killing "Uncle Stanley", and 'rescuing' all of the little ones. I ended up taking on some wave of chumps, blowing up some tubes, and dying. So my "daughter" Eleanor could live on the surface, and lead a better life.
However, I did greatly enjoy this game. Don't get me wrong, it was falling short in some areas, but over-compensating in others. I love the detail and history of every inch of Rapture, and would continue to explore it endlessly.
Eleanor, and all of the Big Sisters, easily the coolest enemies in the game, kick ass. I actually had a hard time playing in the dark the first night or two, because at that point anything could jump out at you. Anyway, I did a quick sketch of Eleanor from a screenshot I captured.
I got bored and didn't come close to finishing it, but it was fun. I'll probably do a couple more sketches or something from the game later.
