BioShock 2 Multiplayer Comments by Tom Bramwell

This could be most mighty.

Hmmh, well at least it doesn't sound like it would detract from the singpleplayer portion of the game, which is what everyone will judge it by. Actually sounds rather good to me.

I'm impressed. And I still think the first game is vastly over-rated.

Sounds like fun. But staying power over the upcoming Modern Warfare 2? We shall see.

It did always seem very odd that the splicers didn't use any real powers in Bioshock.

I love it as a setting and with the different setups it sounds like it could almost be a bit like TF2 in that people will adopt different loadouts and different rolls. The real problem they must be facing is balance, with that many combinations it'll be almost impossible to balance them all so their aren't one or two over powered loadouts and stratagies that people will end up gravitating towards.

In all honesty, anybody who played the first game can tell you the mechanics of the fighting was rubbish. Only once you compare it with something like Halo 3 can you begin to see how weak Bioshock actually was. People get sucked in by the nice graphics and presentation but fail to realise they are playing a turd.

Again; if you approach Bioshock as if it was a shooter, you're really not getting it at all.

I like the loose mechanics of this game it reminds me of timesplitters, where your ammo and aim make a difference.
Does sound a lot like TF2, no bad thing.
There are so many influences in this game it is much more than a pastiche.

Again; if you approach Bioshock as if it was a shooter, you're really not getting it at all.

That's like saying, 'If you approach Braid like a platformer, you're really not getting it at all'. BioShock is a shooter. A first person shooter, to be more precise, with some RPG elements and a pinch of action-adventure. But most of the time, you're shooting things.

Better way to phrase it would be to say 'you shouldn't concentrate wholly on the senseless shooting part of BioShock and appreciate other elements the game has to offer just as much'.

I'm sorry I lacked faith in the devs, this sounds really good now, and most importantly not tacked on. Though I agree with Chupakun, I can't see it staying in Xbox Lives most played when MW2 is out, I think this'll get played lots at the start but fade quickly.

Sounds very TF2.

Edit: lots of people have said that.

In all honesty, anybody who played the first game can tell you the mechanics of the fighting was rubbish. Only once you compare it with something like Halo 3 can you begin to see how weak Bioshock actually was. People get sucked in by the nice graphics and presentation but fail to realise they are playing a turd.

So, so wrong.

Well, in spite of my prior reservations, multiplayer sounds as if it could actually be pretty good - and I never play public multiplayer games because I suck too much.

I just can't see the point. Not every game needs multiplayer and I very much doubt this will topple Halo 3 or CoD 4/6, servers will be busy for a month or two then be forgotten.

"That's like saying, 'If you approach Braid like a platformer, you're really not getting it at all'."

Uh if you do approach Braid like a platformer, you really aren't getting it at all.

It sounds good, but I'm personally just not interested in competetive multiplayer. Its just not my thing. Coop is where its at for me, so games like L4D and RB6Vegas are my faves. If BO2 has co-op online I'll be as happy as a pig in poo.


As for the usual "Bioshock was overated" yarm. Allow me to join the crowd issuing a massive YAAWN at that discussion. Some people liked it, some didn't. If you didn't like it, I am barely interested in WHY you didn't like it, 'cos I did like it.

I also liked Halo, but for entirely different reasons because they are quite different games (I realise the logic of that may make Pro_Gamer's head explode.... with luck). On that note, starting a post with the words "in all honesty" adds no more weight to it you know. Its like writing "FACT" at the end of a sentence.

Recycle those Art Assets now

Excellent- sounds like it could be really rather good. I absolutely loved the first one.

Just dont get this. No need to patch on multi play as an after thought. It will never get the better of COD, Halo or even Gears.
Only making a noose to hang themselves

Sounds interesting, although the amount of times the guy swears in this preview is just tasteless.

Again; if you approach Bioshock as if it was a shooter, you're really not getting it at all.

That's why I don't get chess! I approached it as a board game. How stupid of me.

@itsfuzzy:

And how do you know that? And does it even matter. I personally am prepared to give it a chance.

I just can't see the point. Not every game needs multiplayer and I very much doubt this will topple Halo 3 or CoD 4/6, servers will be busy for a month or two then be forgotten.

What makes you think they are trying to topple Halo 3 of CoD in terms of multiplayer? Why can you not see they are just trying to add a new element to the game?

i only just completed bioshock 1 last weekend- it had sat in my to-play list since release date. it was absolutely brilliant, played the last few levels in one sitting. i was skeptical about the MP aspect and thought it was going to be a bit tacked on, but this sounds promising

@ Slipstream: 1) she's a woman, 2) she swears three times.

I actually like the sound of this; I thought BioShock multiplayer would be pointless, but they seem to be doing a good job of tying successfully into the narrative. Proof is in the playing, of course.

"Turrets are another f***ing great example of this," says Miller

"This is another f***ing example of Tourrettes", I think he meant to say.

Uh if you do approach Braid like a platformer, you really aren't getting it at all.

Oh? How am I supposed to approach it, then? Like an MMORPG? A first person shooter?

"Oh? How am I supposed to approach it, then? Like an MMORPG? A first person shooter?"

In essence it's a puzzle game. It just happens to have a platforming control mechanism.

Great idea, sourcing the multiplayer to Digital Extremes. They have great pedigree in multiplayer gaming and it will be in good hands. It will also mean the inclusion of multiplayer will not detract from the single player experience.

Well, Braid is a puzzle game, isn't it. I've not even played it, but I know that.

Mmm, traditionally single player games with a multiplayer element added are not so good.

The first game was good, but not Deus Ex-ey or thief-ey enough for my liking.

Leave BioShock alone!!!

In essence it's a puzzle game. It just happens to have a platforming control mechanism.

That's not my point. Okay, it's a puzzle platformer. My point still stands, though - if a game is a racer, you approach it like a racer. If a game is a shooter, you approach it like a shooter. Whether you appreciate what else the game has to offer, though, is another matter.

I remember thinking why at one point, and also how everything would work. Looks like they've thought about how everything is going to work in some detail. Definitely looking forward to playing both single player and multi now.

Apart from actual multiplayer gameplay, what I really fear that they will completely mess up (like so many other developers do) is the server browser when it is a conversion from console (or side-by-side development) to PC.

The lack of options is something can become very, very annoying. Use filters (with custom values, not some predefined crap) and it might actually become a success.

What I want is a server browser like the Half-Life based games (with the exception of Left 4 Dead, which is a crap way of doing it), one like Battlefield's as well. What I do not want is something like Gears of War, Kane & Lynch (Kane & Lynch failed in other ways than just the server browser) or Far Cry 2.


The game might be brilliant in multiplayer, but that won't help a bit if you can't find the servers you want to play on - it can be so very frustrating dealing with a bad server browser.

BioShock "fails" as a pure shooter because of a poor weaponfeel, it is like shooting paper bullets out of extremely light cardboard guns all the time. And the stupid respawns and vita chambers. It ain't a pure shooter of course since it offers more stuff than just weapons but I don't think it's enough, it certainly doesn't justify the hype nor the high scores.

Hopefully the sequel gets the basics right as well now, in multiplayer too pls. And get rid of the SecuROM stuff, even now that monstrous thing is still plaguing the original game despite the patches/deactivation tools. At least switch over to Steam authentication or so.

Rather than changing the FPS mechanics I would prefer if they put more effort into forcing people toward using alternate combat strategies.

They could achieve that by giving enemies in the game JRPG-style elemental resistances or physical resistance so you have to pick the correct elemental plasmid or enhanced weapon for the enemy at hand.

I'd like to see the amount of combat toned down slightly too. Make it more about the environment because Rapture really should be the star of show rather than just a setting.

I like Bioshock a lot, but this article seems very one-sided; where's the criticism? The "stories" they tell at the start are downright mundane - just wait til the end of any multiplayer Mario Kart race to listen to 4 people excitedly shouting much better ones.

i enjoyed Bioshock, but have to agree its controls/ FPS system really werent what i would want if i was playing a FPS deathmatch.

I'm really proud of my comment up above; It's a proper Badum-Tsss joke! come on guys, where's the props? ;-)

Ok. Very well done.

You may choose a biscuit from the tray :)

Except that Tourette's has little to do with spontaneous cussing. Ill manners and poor vocabulary, on the other hand...

cant wait!

"In all honesty, anybody who played the first game can tell you the mechanics of the fighting was rubbish. Only once you compare it with something like Halo 3 can you begin to see how weak Bioshock actually was. People get sucked in by the nice graphics and presentation but fail to realise they are playing a turd."

Someone talking sense, on here!?

Well, I never.

I imagine that a lot of the people complaining about the shooting were playing it on PC, this is strangely,
a game that works a lot better on console, because as mentioned it is the combination of attacks that is most interesting
not the point and shoot.
I was very lazy once I realized I could freeze and shatter(with the shotgun in one shot), there was no going back.
All the comments about Halo and COD are very random, this is not a sniping game and most of the time you can get away without shooting if you have interacted with the environment. (Hacking)
Plus I feel that MP is a gimmick to attract users to the core, which is an RPG?
If you really want to make an inappropriate comparison,
how about Crysis that was bloody brilliant. Or Super Mario Galaxy?

@Slipstream: In PC Gamer's preview, they all come across as really obnoxious, yes. The option to harvest little sisters is described as the 'superdick' option, they chuckle with glee about how phallic the Big Daddy drill is... not good.

Well having just seen the video of the mp, I think we can safely mark this down as looks-like-a-reallyl-crap-mp-implementation. Really incredibly disappointingly bad from such strong developers. Feh.