Bioshock 2 - Better Than The First?

I was a big fan of the first Bioshock, but never played the second one...until now. I heard many people saying that Bioshock 2 wasn't nearly as good as the first, so I kept putting it off. I have already beaten Bioshock Infinite (which I loved), so I decided that I would complete the series and play through this one.

Bioshock 2 takes places in the city of Rapture 8 years after the events of the first game. You play as one of the original Big Daddies. Through a mind manipulation plasmid, you were forced to commit suicide 10 years prior. Somehow, you survived and begin exploring the city of Rapture in search of the little sister you were designed to protect. Once it is discovered that you are back in Rapture and in search of your little sister, your enemies begin hunting you down.

I absolutely loved playing as a Big Daddy. After being scared shitless by Big Daddies in the first game, it was an exciting feeling being one yourself. Interacting with the little sisters from a Big Daddy point of view was a great experience. You get to kill other Big Daddies, then carry the little sisters on your shoulder and track down bodies to gather Adam from. After watching that happen so many times in Bioshock 1, it was a unique feeling to do it yourself.

So not only are you fighting Big Daddies, but you also get to battle with Big Sisters. Big Sisters are older versions of little sisters, designed to kidnap girls from the surface to create new little sisters in Rapture. They are the female form of a Big Daddy. They are incredibly fast and fight completely opposite a Big Daddy. My heart was racing like crazy each and every time I ran into one of these terrifying creatures. Just hearing that one is approaching you is enough to set you into a panic. If you try and run, they will hunt you down and you cannot progress until you kill it.

In Bioshock 2, the controls felt better and the combat was smoother. You also got a ton of fun plasmids and weapons to mess around with this time around. I was bummed I didn't have my trusty wrench, but being able to drill enemies as a Big Daddy was far more than satisfying. In terms of gameplay and combat, Bioshock 2 was much better than the first.

Also, the pace of Bioshock 2 was great. It didn't lose my interest at all throughout the entire game, which happened a few times in the first game. My biggest complaint is that there were a few plot points that weren't covered very well and I also ran into a pretty major glitch which resulted in me losing 2 hours of gameplay.

If you have not played Bioshock yet, definitely go play them! All three games are incredible and I'm happy to have completed the series.