Game Informer's latest cover story broke news of the sequel to one of this generation's most beloved IPs, Bioshock. Now, it seems most people out there had a lot more love for the underwater distopian shoot-em-up than I did, but even so, it seems some folks are concerned as to the direction the new title will be taking. Tracy John, an intern at MTV.com posted an interesting article on his reaction to the cover story here, and I have some thoughts of my own.
The biggest reveal of the GI cover story was that this go around, you'll be playing as a Big Daddy, Rapute's hulking deep sea divers on steroids peacekeepers. These are the alpha dogs of the Bioshock universe and one of John's qualms was it wouldn't be exciting if you felt like Superman. Indeed, Game Informer reports that "average splicers only pose a threat to you in large numbers; alone, they barely even rate a glance." Ho hum, sounds boring to me. Actually, sounds plodding, since it's clear developer 2K Marin will want to keep you busy, probably by constantly throwing room after room of splicer groups at you. I also agree with John that trying to make the player feel like a Big Daddy is problematic. They are lumbering beasts, and although they could be surprisingly past in BS 1, they are still bulky and ungraceful. Personally, it doesn't appeal to me to play as some 400 pound behemoth whose walk shakes the ground they walk upon. However, I can imagine I'm in the minority on this.
this time, you'll be on the other side of that diving helmet
My biggest problem with BS 2 is that it just seems like too much of the same, and rather stressful. You mind as well call it Bioshock 1.1 since you ended BS 1 doning a Big Daddy suit and protecting Little Sisters, just like what seems to be the case in the sequel. I found it extremely stressful to protecting the Little Sisters from savage mutants as she extracted Adam from corpses. Perhaps this is what 2K intended, but it was an unenjoyable feeling of stress.
Also to file under the heading of Been There Done That is setting. First, we're back in Rapture, the failed dystopian underwater city. It's ten years later, but it doesn't really look like much has changed. The dark, dingy, depressing environs of Rapture really weighed on me by the end of the first game and honestly I don't feel like spending another 20 hours in the exact same gloomy environment. While 2K Marin promises new areas to explore, they also stress that "there are certainly going to be elements of Rapture that you'll see and recognize, if not fully intact locations." Wow. Double yawn. I became bored quickly of all the similar locations in the first Bioshock and I can't say I'm stoked to be revisiting the same drab locales. John at MTV.com suggested a flashback level that showcases Rapture before all the wheels came off and I think this is fantastic idea. Rapture is such a richly imagined place and it's a shame you never get to see it in it's former glory. Please 2K, give us some variety - there is only so much leaky metal I can take.
Still another idea that feels tired that will seem to make a reappearance in the BS 2 is the "moral decision" concerning the Little Sisters. Basically when you kill a Big Daddy that is protecting a Little Sister in the first game, you could choose to either "harvest" (extract some kind of slug from the Sister thereby killing her and making you more powerful - yeah I never quite understood what was going on there) or "save" her. The main problem for me with this mechanic is that quite soon into the game I realized it didn't make a fuck's worth of difference which option I chose. If I chose "save" every time, Tenenbaum, the adoptive mother of the Sisters would send you a "present" basically filled with the same goodies you would get by harvesting the Sisters. Maybe the standard mode I played on was too easy, but I also never felt underpowered and therefore never was really hungering for more Adam; it felt more like a bonus than a necessity.
One thing I DO love about BS 2 is the Big Sister. Apparently she's one of the original Little Sisters who comes back to Rapture with a bad attitude and a giant fucking needle attached to her arm. She also wears a cage that the Little Sisters ride around in and have attached pink ribbons too. Adorable. While the idea of her being this all-powerful, unkillable huntress constantly tracking your ass down also seems like it might be unenjoyably stressful, overall she strikes me as one badass addition to the Bioshock universe.
Maybe I'm being unnecessarily harsh on Bioshock too. I guess it's just that I thought that the original game was a overrated and the sequal seems like too much more of the same. Still, the game is many months away and 2K may have a bunch more tricks up its sleeve. Here's hoping.
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