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Feb 21, 2010 Web Exclusive By Nick Hyman

The original BioShock did two things right. It told a brilliantly atmospheric story that borrowed heavily from Ayn Rand's dystopian novel Atlas Shrugged. And it married that story to a first person shooter, a genre that was hitting its peak in 2007. There was really no way that BioShock 2 could match the originality and surprise that the original possessed, but it comes close.

It's 10 years later, and you're back in Andrew Ryan's underwater city of Rapture, which is now run by psychologist Sofia Lamb. This time, you're playing as a prototype version of one of the hulking Big Daddies from the first game. This simple change allows you to use the powerful drill that killed you several times in the first game against mutated Splicers and other city denizens. You can also wield several Plasmids (fire, freezing, telekinesis, etc.) and a weapon (shotgun, rivet gun, spear gun, etc.) at the same time, giving you a tactical advantage against those trying to harm you. While the twisted and compelling narrative isn't as strong here as it is in the original, the gameplay has been improved and is much easier to control, though unfortunately, there's still no way to dodge attacks or whip around to quickly fire. Thankfully, the tiresome hacking mini-game from the original has been streamlined and fixed.

Another change to the second game is the addition of multiplayer. It might not please those that are hooked on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, but by setting you loose in Rapture, the combination of brilliant Art Deco design and online play is appealing and fun while not entirely profound. All in all, this is very straightforward sequel that doesn't stray too far from what worked in the original. While it's intriguing to return to Rapture, here's hoping that the third go-around decides to take a few more risks and opens up the series to a wider universe that shares the same twisted sense of story, great level design, and engaging gameplay. (www.bioshock2game.com)

Author rating: 8/10