BioShock 2 Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 8 February, 2010

Water of discontent.

Version tested: Xbox 360

How do you make a sequel to the illusion of choice? However the developers of BioShock 2 chose to approach the production of their watery follow-up, they were destined to begin just as trapped within the framework of its narrative inheritance as the former citizens of Rapture are within their rusting cage at the bottom of the Atlantic. Such was the power and significance of that defining encounter with Andrew Ryan two thirds of the way through the original BioShock.

BioShock was very much about Ryan - a philosophical idealist who built a city at the bottom of the ocean to house people "for whom work is our wage", where no god or government could find or tax or spite them. BioShock 2 shifts from one extreme to another, exploring the circumstances that drew psychiatrist Sofia Lamb to the city and the role she then played in Ryan's downfall. The two ideologues don't have much in common, but they do both act as catalysts for the events that befall the rest of the cast, of whom you are one, while another is a little girl named Eleanor.

Once upon a time, as Ryan's Rapture fell apart in the hands of mere men and women, opportunists like the first game's Frank Fontaine rose to prominence in search of power. Through their endeavours the population became addicted to genetic modifiers called plasmids, developed with help from a substance called ADAM. As the people needed more ADAM to keep on splicing, so the city gave birth to Little Sisters, fever-dreaming girls escorted by lobotomised bodyguards called Big Daddies, who stalked the corridors of the city collecting the drug from those who perished under its influence.

BioShock 2 begins as you take control of one of the first Big Daddies, a prototype called Delta, who must find his way across the Rapture of 10 years later in search of Eleanor, the Little Sister to whom he was bonded. Along the way he is taunted by Lamb, who believes he is nothing less than a threat to the future of humanity, and like his predecessor in the first game the people he meets on the way help to explain his past, while your behaviour towards them has the potential to define the future.

'BioShock 2' Screenshot 1

You can still hack security cameras, turrets and "whirly birds" using the new hack gun, which replaces the old pipe mini-game.

Once again you are equipped with plasmids and standard weapons, but now you can use both at once, loosing genetic powers with one hand and regular projectiles with the other. You can cycle between alternatives in each category, or pause the action momentarily to change your loadout through quick-to-use radial menus. As a Big Daddy you have access to new weapons, too, including a drill, a magnificent spear gun that pins enemies to walls by their appendages, and a grenade launcher the size of a filing cabinet.

You can also gather gene tonics, which continue to act as status modifiers. Collecting and perfecting an appropriate selection of these becomes a compelling balancing act, where you plot to allow for sufficient offensive and defensive capabilities while also enhancing your stocks of consumables, and increasing the speed and safety with which you can hack into Rapture's security systems and vending machines.

'BioShock 2' Screenshot 2

Choosing which tonics to carry can be fraught. Sadly some of the more novel ones turn up a bit too late.

While the first game crisscrossed the city's bathysphere network in search of impetus, the sequel follows an old train line through other areas. You tour locations occupied by splicers and other horrors, gather tools as instructed by your contacts on the radio, and use a fairly intuitive map system to make sure you are scraping every level thoroughly for consumables, novelties and tape recordings.

And, of course, for Little Sisters. You need ADAM yourself to continue splicing, which means liberating the new Little Sisters from their Big Daddy companions. The Daddies ignore you until you attack, and then they ignore everything else until you are dead. The old archetypes return, rushing and shooting and drilling you, supported by a new recruit, the Rumbler, who attacks with a rocket launcher and deploys pesky mobile turrets. Once the fight is over and a Little Sister is liberated, you can choose to harvest her for ADAM immediately, or you can adopt her instead.

Adoption allows you to seek out specific corpses within the surrounding area and then set your little friend down to gather ADAM from them with her cute little syringe gun, and while she does this you must use your wiles to defend her from splicers driven to rage by the sound of the gathering. Far from repeating the frustrating missteps of the penultimate escort mission section of the first BioShock though, these showdowns are more in line with its excellent siege sections, like the battle with Ryan's forces at the labs in Arcadia, encouraging you to lay down trip wires, cyclones and other booby traps and use your considerable arsenal to defend rather than attack.

Once your Little Sister has done her quota of gathering for a level, you can then return her to a vent, where you are once again given a choice to save or harvest. Saving her offers less ADAM, but rewards down the line may be greater. Whatever you decide, once you have helped a few Little Sisters to escape from the area then Lamb sends one of her foot-soldiers after you: a Big Sister. Fast moving, skeletal and aggressive, they announce their impending arrival with a sequence of banshee wails, giving you just enough time to locate a suitable battleground where the terrain favours you. Or not.

These new overlapping systems add greater depth to the standard gameplay loop, but initially BioShock 2's mechanics and level designs struggle to stand out. Plasmids and weapons are different but largely familiar ideas, while environments are visually more detailed than their predecessors but functionally not, and the setups they use are equally worn: new splicers spawning to startle you when you pass back through an area, or hidden caches host to random side-stories caught on tape. Even the fact that you are a Big Daddy isn't really a change: after all, you became more powerful than the Big Daddies in the first BioShock.

'BioShock 2' Screenshot 3

You don't get to visit your old friends, but there is some excellent fan service hidden in the margins and some good jokes bottled up deep in the game.

There are even occasions in the first few hours of the game when you worry the absence of new ideas may be terminal, as the developers seem to rattle through almost exactly the same beats. There's the city rising out of the gloom for the first time in profile, there's zapping a pair of splicers in a pool of water with your first dose of electro-bolt, there's getting trapped in a room by the enemy, left to be disposed of by machinegun-wielding splicers only to escape more by luck than judgement.

But the pressure of repetition soon eases, and the new, modified rhythm beds down well as you scratch around for the means to take down the next Big Daddy, then to fight through the next gathering, then to tackle the next Big Sister. The key is the distinct combat situation each component of the cycle represents: the meeting of two lumbering giants decided by brawn and evasion; the careful planning and execution of a territorial defence; and the frantic scrabbling for sure footing and exclusive vantage points.

'BioShock 2' Screenshot 4

There are multiple endings depending on your decisions, and the game does more interesting things with the consequences than its predecessor.

These clearly defined sequences complement the ongoing battle against splicers - who are themselves supported by new breeds, including the extremely tough brutes - and the variety of circumstances carefully staves off boredom and encourages you to experiment within your richer arsenal. This is something the new video research camera also does, by allowing you to unlock new skills and increase capacities by rolling the film and then performing different takedowns without repetition.

As you prowl through the streets of the excellent Siren Alley, or pore over the storied halls of Fontaine Futuristics, you also realise that what's happening to you and to Rapture is more than a footnote to these subtle but measured improvements in combat and exploration. On the contrary, your violent encounters and treasure-hunting are the foundations into which an excellent story is being laid: Lamb's altruism may be an obvious counterpoint to Ryan's rational self-determination, but as one character points out in dialogue, Lamb's vision for the city is more startling and abhorrent. It takes you to far darker places.

Her senior lieutenants are often as interesting and haunting as Ryan's, to the extent that telling you who fulfils certain roles would do the game a disservice. Those hoping for encounters to rival Sander Cohen's residence at Fort Frolic, and calling cards to match "the Iceman f***ing cometh", may return to the surface slightly disappointed, but not much. And despite a few nods to the first game that fans will appreciate, all this has been done without recourse to pointless nostalgia either.

Where the developers take us back to the first game more directly is in the discrete multiplayer component, set prior to the fall of Rapture, where you and other splicer test subjects pick loadouts of weapons, plasmids and tonics, many of which must be unlocked by ranking up in public matches, and fight it out in arenas built from familiar locations like the Farmer's Market and Kashmir Restaurant.

Modes include standard deathmatch and team games with BioShock embellishments: hackable turrets allow you to master your surroundings, while researching corpses confers attack bonuses against that adversary, Big Daddy suits give you a temporary run as a slower but more brutal enemy, and in Capture the Sister there are Little Sisters to fight over instead of flags.

As well as a ranking system that provides bonuses when you cross certain experience thresholds, the game also sets you various targets such as achieving a certain number of melee kills, which give you things to think about in between and more impetus to experiment with different loadouts as tools become available.

'BioShock 2' Screenshot 5

The tape recordings aren't as dramatic as some of the originals, but there are some standouts, including philosophical debates between Ryan and Lamb.

There is a narrative element to the multiplayer component, too, but it would be an exaggeration to call it story-driven, especially as the single-player game's revelations leave the minutiae of Rapture's downfall to gather dust in relative peace. It's better to think of BioShock 2 multiplayer as a fast-paced, solid adaptation of the core combat system into a multiplayer setting - BioShock flavoured, though no more immediately memorable than other recent unexpected multiplayer components like Uncharted 2's.

The single-player campaign is still the main event. It will and should be damned for its long, slow start, during which the game struggles to make its intentions clear, but once past that the developers find a new tempo that wrings just enough extra quality out of the existing framework to justify your patience, even if the game still feels flat in the context of more daring and elaborate sequels like Mass Effect 2 and last year's Assassin's Creed follow-up. To its credit, once it does hook you in it propels you forward with the same urgency as its predecessor, and with just as much obsessive compulsion to cover every last coral-encrusted inch of rotting wood and drowning marble on the way.

'BioShock 2' Screenshot 6

Would you kindly come up with your own caption?

Moreover, BioShock 2 arguably does escape the shadow of that moment in Andrew Ryan's office two and a half years ago. Your passage through Rapture may not be a matter of free will - a challenge someone surely ought to take up with this series - but BioShock 2 argues even within the strictures of fate that mercy and compassion or bitterness and revenge ring loud enough to echo through the lives of those who follow. The result is a less openly provocative game than its predecessor, and one that will capture less attention, but while it may be damned for subtlety it is every bit as deceptive, and perhaps that's the greater of the series' illusions regardless of what else a BioShock sequel might have become.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (154) 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • harzo #1 2 years ago

    Kinda expected an 8... still gonna get this!

  • Peew971 #2 2 years ago

    Ordered.
    Let's be honest, when they announced a sequel (and not a prequel) without Ken Levine, played as a Big Daddy and with multiplayer, we all thought it was recipe for failure. So coming from that, 8/10 is a definite buy for me.
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 17:04

  • andywilkie35 #3 2 years ago

    Hopefully mine is waiting at home, can't wait to get involved

  • darkmorgado #4 2 years ago

    Instant purchase!

  • the_dudefather #5 2 years ago

    water way to have a good time!

  • cianchristopher #6 2 years ago

    8/10 - exactly as I expected! I'll pick it up at some stage, but I'm not in any rush to do so.

    I wouldn't have given the original any more than a 9/10 myself.

  • Syrette #7 2 years ago

    Not bad, not bad at all.

  • captain_Carl #8 2 years ago

    Hm, still don't think i will be buying it to be honest. Too many other games coming out at the minute, and this doesn't look anywhere near as good as the first (despite your review).

  • ChthonicEcho #9 2 years ago

    Not a 10? My, Eurogamer. Who would've thought.

    Edit: I'll bet this is an all-time record of negative ratings. I almost feel proud.
    Edited by 1 at 09/02/10 @ 15:17

  • Tomo #10 2 years ago

    I'm definitely buying it. Canny wait. Was hoping for a 9 (10 seemed out of the question), but this is plenty good enough!

  • vegard #11 2 years ago

    makes me wonder what happened in ryans office. maybe i should play bioshock 1 and find out

  • KDR_11k #12 2 years ago

    You cannot unsee Bomberman!

  • zisssou #13 2 years ago

    Better than COD 5.

  • makeamazing #14 2 years ago

    Getting this tomorrow, cant wait to give it a go :)

  • thedaveeyres #15 2 years ago

    Good review - sounds very interesting... sold!

  • Korpers #16 2 years ago

    If it's anywhere NEAR as atmospheric as the first game - I'm sold. I remember playing the first with the lights off and the surround sound turned up - jesus, it was scary being down ther under all that water.

  • stevetuck #17 2 years ago

    i never found the original that amazing tbh :/ do i buy or not

  • Retroid #18 2 years ago

    @ChthonicEcho: "Not a 10? My, Eurogamer. Who would've thought."

    Erm, why?

  • MaFlippinHeadHurts #19 2 years ago

    I'm surprised it didn't get a 9, however, an 8 is still good.

    I've put around 2 hours in so far and I can honestly say it's great to be back in Rapture again, thoroughly enjoying it.
    A 9 for me, however, I'm probably biased as I loved the first one.
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 17:28

  • morriss #20 2 years ago

    Good review. Is it any good? The game, I mean.

  • Antaios #21 2 years ago

    Can't see anything else than this sodding Bomberman since I stumbled upon that photoshop cover the other day. :(
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 17:32

  • the_exile #22 2 years ago

    The first got a 10 despite being an 8 at best. So this is probably a 6

    Granted, Rapture was the boldest and most original setting i've ever seen invented for a videogame. 50's art deco city under the sea - brave and brilliant choice. The bid Daddies were also outstanding adversaries.

    The way this world was realized in the gameplay environments was very poor. Samey locations comprising multiple corridors. You rarely saw beyond these; outside of the buildings. There was no sense of the scale of Rapture. Why don't they let you drive a Bathosphere between locations? Why didn't they have more windows looking out onto the magnificent central business district you see in the opening? There was no sense of place.

    As an FPS it didn't work. A risible auto-aim made it too easy and when turned off, the poor calibration meant you had to strafe side to side to try and shoot anything. Either way it was a mess of an FPS

    Despite the cinematic location the story was a convoluted mess. The final scene with Ryan was dire. So too was the deus ex machina with which your presence in rapture and motivations were explained.

    Bioshock had many problems. Lack of MP was not one of them, yet from the sounds of this article is all that has changed.
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 17:59

  • Syrette #23 2 years ago

    Great logic at work there, the_exile.

    Your opinion of course is more fact than most.
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 17:27

  • darleysam #24 2 years ago

    Only 8 out of 10? This offends my haughty sensibilities! I shall be returning my unopenend copy with all haste!
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 17:31

  • Eisenstein #25 2 years ago

    For 25 € (Steam 4-pack bought by an American friend) I'm pretty happy with 8/10. Of course so shortly after ME 2 everything might be a bit disappointing though ;-)

  • Diogo_Ribeiro #26 2 years ago

    From experience, I'm leaning towards 7 but, admitedly, have yet to test MP.

    So far the biggest letdown is combat. For the most part it's the same system, tweaked and polished and slick, but one which generally makes the options you have more engaging than the times you have to use them. I've found at least two or three moments where I have oil spills, cameras and water right next to a corpse waiting to be drained of ADAM. I like choices but there's often this surplus that you can't help but wonder if it's not overkill.

    Also, the game often goes from surprising you - like when you set up a large number of perimeter defenses before egging a Sister to pump out the ADAM only to find out you forgot to think vertically and Splicers are coming from the ceiling - to boring you - like when you carefully lay out traps, mines and mini-turrets but the game spawns enemies inside a room rather than having them use the logical access points into the room. Y'know there's something wrong when 10 Splicers enter a room and none of the 20+ Mine Rivets you placed on doors went off.

    Although a good number of hours in I've yet to finish it but so far the game's levels - divided as in Dead Space - seem more like a hit parade of the first game than a logical progression. The small skirmishes arising between your defense of the Sisters and the Splicer mobs are the best parts but then, like the Sisters and Daddies themselves, these become routine quickly and the novelty strains itself far too thin.

  • captain_Carl #27 2 years ago

    @Korpers

    Really? I found the atmosphere incredibly dull and boring...Not really scary in any way at all, at least not until you heard a Mr Bubbles scooting around - even then it wasn't scary but it made me a little apprehensive at least.

    Still...

  • Quint2020 #28 2 years ago

    Smacks of rehash to me, I really don't like the idea of playing as a Big Daddy either.

    I always thought the original was a little overrated if I'm honest so I'll probably be giving this a miss, still got Mass Effect 2 and Darksiders to play and AVP is only round the corner.

  • morriss #29 2 years ago

    Only joking. I think only the most damning review would make me not want to play this. PC for this one, I tihnk.

  • Gaol #30 2 years ago

    This review suggests at the start that the first game was all about free will? Not for me, it was an enjoyable and atmospheric shooter with an undemanding narrrative and the usual 'good' or 'evil' absolute choices.

  • darleysam #31 2 years ago

    Sarcasm? No?

    People who are pissing and whining because Eurogamer gave it an 8 (and that's somehow seen as a low score), really need to read the review. The summary goes "the start is a bit slow and far too similar to the first, but it soon finds its own pace and is a really good game as a result".

    At its worst, where it's introducing you to the game (because some people will start here), it is like Bioshock 1. Oh calamity! However will I be able to play such a disasterous affair?
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 17:37

  • DanWhitehead #32 2 years ago

    Sounds like RoboCop 2. Same ingredients, slightly less interesting recipe.

  • Incarta #33 2 years ago

    8/10? so that's why it's £5 cheaper on amazon then Mass Effect 2...

    ...don't look at me like that...

    ;P 8/10 is still a good score. I shall buy it too at some point

  • darleysam #34 2 years ago

    Can someone explain to me how 8/10 is a bad thing?

    Someone who's read the review and isn't a thudding moron, that is.

  • zisssou #35 2 years ago

    Better than COD 4? ok 3..

  • Restart #36 2 years ago

    I thought this might get an 8, since every other review that came early gave it a 9. Guess you weren't prepared to sign the early review for a 9/10 contract eh?

  • MisterJim #37 2 years ago

    I lurrrrrve Bioshock. It's the game that opened up next gen gaming for me :) If you liked the first one, you'll probably end up buying this regardless of reviews anyway. Plus 8/10 sounds about right when you consider the initial shock of Rapture is gone and all that's left is expectation. High expectation. Even if it it doesnt stray too far from the first one I won't be heartbroken because I loved it first time around.

    There's a lot of sequels out there where "more of the same" hasn't hurt :)
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 17:58

  • Ryboy #38 2 years ago

    @EarlBassett:

    Are you completely fucking delusional?!

    Sit down and carry on with playing Fifa. Fucking cretin.


    @the_exile:

    "A risible auto-aim"

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!

    Auto aim? AUTO AIM?!

    Fifa awaits you too. Buh bye.
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 18:10

  • Vermillion3000 #39 2 years ago

    Do you think that Bioshock 2 seems less impressive a sequel than Assassins Creed2 or Mass Effect 2 because the originals of those two games didn't quite live up to their own promise - so there was a greater scope to improve? It seems unfair to judge Bioshock 2 harshly on that particular front since the first game was certainly more than a match for its own potential.

    (Oh and I'm not suggesting that the review is being harsh or unfair on the game in general - it's clearly overwhelmingly positive.)
    Edited by 2 at 08/02/10 @ 18:07

  • menage #40 2 years ago

    Sold, just too freaking intersting to pass up.

  • the_exile #41 2 years ago

    Fable 2 - 10/10
    Bioshock - 10/10
    Hlalo 3 -10/10

    Dead Space - 7/10
    the Saboteur - 6/10

    Please never buy a game on account of what EG tells you

  • dsmx #42 2 years ago

    Can you still shock and burn/bash the entire way through the game?

  • Windypops #43 2 years ago

    First one was good but overrated (particularly by this site - Kieron's Bioshock: A Defence was a Eurogamer low-point) and this looks a lot like more of the same. I'll wait until it hits the twenty-quid mark.

  • Ryboy #44 2 years ago

    If the pair of you disagree with the EG reviews so much then what the fuck are you even doing posting here?

  • Windypops #45 2 years ago

    Probably best not to misspell the word "intellectual" when using it.

  • TRUTH #46 2 years ago

    I thought the 1st one was okay - it was waaaaaay to easy, and now BS 2 seems waaaaaaaay to familiar to the 1st one - just a different story and a few tweaks; but generally selling the same game with DLC added!

    I'll not paying full price for this!

  • UncleLou #47 2 years ago

    taking the piss. obviously.

    That's not working very well. You sound desperate and bitter.

    when games like Dead Space turn out to be awesome

    Well I thought it was a 6 at best. Sub-average corridor shooter with annoying controls, and as scary as shopping groceries most of the time. There you go, see? There is no true, objective score. If you've found another a site with which you agree all the time, good for you. I sure haven't.

  • Yossarian #48 2 years ago

    Dead Space sucks.

  • Xnoybis #49 2 years ago

    "I'm not trying to sound clever"

    Mission accomplished...

  • Windypops #50 2 years ago

    @Gat_Buster

    Cripes! I'm a gayn nerd! And I was TOTALLY on your side until you said that. DEAD TO ME NOW.

  • kendoji #51 2 years ago

    I loved the first one, but I'm not interested in going back and doing it all again.

  • thedaveeyres #52 2 years ago

    You don't sound desperate and bitter to me, to be fair.

    You sound like a windowlicking basement dweller who can't fucking type.

  • Ryboy #53 2 years ago

    These reviews would seem shit to me aswel, then again I dont ise words like 'bvetter', 'gayn' and 'FDon't'.

  • Ryboy #54 2 years ago

    @thedaveeyres

    Aw, man. Just creased hard at your post! Good work.

  • darleysam #55 2 years ago

    Singleplayer will, as always, take as long to complete as it does for any given individual to play through it. If you get through it in 6 hours, then that's how long. If you take longer, then add the necessary number of minutes or hours to this number.

  • Ryboy #56 2 years ago

    I'll insult 'byou' to your 'fvace'.

  • thedaveeyres #57 2 years ago

    I wish!

    Those guys can really play!
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 18:50

  • sfp_noodle #58 2 years ago

    a litle suprised at the score, but 8/10 is not a bad score at all. EG do tend to be a bit erratic with their final scores these days, but at the end of the day its jus one persons opinion. im into the game a good few hours now and i have to say tht its pretty much mre of the same so it will mostly attract fans of the original. haven't tried the MP side yet but will give it a go at some point. highly reccomended either way :)

  • patchbox360 #59 2 years ago

    6/10 review for what seemed a 7/10 game from the read but is given a 8/10 for the advertising revenue.

    of course im kidding

  • ChthonicEcho #60 2 years ago

    @Retroid

    Sarcasm. I found the defence article (concerning the review of the first) to be daft and unnecessary.

  • Markitron #61 2 years ago

    I wish!

    Those guys can really play!

    You just decided which episode im watching tonight :)

  • Retroid #62 2 years ago

    To me, Fable 2 was a 9 (really, really enjoyed it, as did Mrs Retroid) and Dead Space was easily an 8. I've even bought the Wii prequel, FFS!

    Really enjoyed the first Bioshock up until the end boss, basically - seemed like a horribly anachronistic way to end such an enjoyable game. Either way, reviews are just a reviewer's opinion and I've not agreed with a lot of EG's reviews in the past but I'm fine with that because I don't think I've ever based a buying decision on a single review, no matter who from.

    Well, apart from Zzap64 :)

  • MMJoe #63 2 years ago

    Dear Gat_Buster.

    You are a tool.

    All the best.
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 18:57

  • Retroid #64 2 years ago

    @ChthonicEcho: "Sarcasm. I found the defence article (concerning the review of the first) to be daft and unnecessary."

    Ah, fair enough. Just couldn't see your angle so I thought I'd ask, is all :)

  • darleysam #65 2 years ago

    mickey, the first one got criticised and marked down (that I can remember) in a lot of places for not having multiplayer. The number of people I saw on forums saying "it'd be perfect, you could run around, zapping each other with plasmids!" like that was some kind of innovative idea for multiplayer that would elevate it to must-have status.. yeah, I wasn't surprised when they said it'd be here.

  • comedian #66 2 years ago

    When did an 8 become a bad score?

    Did I miss that particular memo?

  • Boomerang #67 2 years ago

    Glad i waded through all that^ to find loads of relevant comments about the game and not a bunch of anonymous 5 year olds hurling limp abuse at each other.

  • Entity #68 2 years ago

    One question (my eyes glazed over until I got to the score):

    Does it have respawning gits, again?
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 19:04

  • Ryboy #69 2 years ago

    Has anyone had the pleasure of a private message from Gay_bus.., I mean Gat_Buster?

    Such a charming fellow.

  • Dizzy #70 2 years ago

    I think the original was a deserved 10 and yet I won't be getting this. For me the journey is complete, the mysteries solved, the place explored. An 8 is good, but some games can do without a sequel IMHO.

  • patchbox360 #71 2 years ago

    why would a city based on a perfect society and work need so many six shooters, tommy guns, shot guns, machine guns etc, such an arsenal could pose a little problematic being underwater and all, im just saying

  • Ywap #72 2 years ago

    Have the cap for physics based objects been removed for the PC version?
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 19:23

  • Ryze #73 2 years ago

    Nice - I've not read the article as I've STILL not finished the first game, and I've bee avoiding spoilers like mad while playing it in short bursts over the past week or so.

    It's good to know that the sequel is decent also. I wouldn't expect them to award it much more anyway, unless it's AMAZING and UTTERLY groundbreaking - simply due to the fact that there was so much backlash to the first game's score.

    I do love Bioshock though. As much as I'm likely to love any right-stick-aiming FPS-style console game in 2010.

    Lovely art, story, gameplay and experience overall. I can't believe that I actually bought Bioshock in late 2007 but didn't spend the time finishing it.

    Must try harder.

    /blog

  • welshben23 #74 2 years ago

    I wish people would stop jumping on the "Bioshock was over-rated" bandwagon! It wasn't over-rated and is/was a brilliant game apart from the final boss.
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 19:20

  • Drpwnage #75 2 years ago

    @Dizzy I feel the same way, I devoured the first game and feel no need to return (at the moment). Tom's comment that there are no areas of the same quality as Fort Frolic is off putting as well, and I have had enough of following trainlines thanks to Fallout 3!

  • Syrette #76 2 years ago

    Gat_Buster is obviously 13, to be fair to him.

    He'll look back at his comments and cringe one day, maybe when he's encountered puberty.

  • sirtacos #77 2 years ago

    To be honest I don't feel the need to come back to Rapture, as much as the first game wowed me (in retrospect, more than it should have). The way I see it: everything has been said already and the sequel is just coming back for another sweep at the backstory. Which is fair enough, but not sufficient to warrant a full price purchase on my part. Bargain bin purchase it is.

    Still happy it manages to stand on its own, judging by the review.
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 19:28

  • trip919 #78 2 years ago

    foreverafternothing please, have some respect, we’re clearly dealing with the next Isaac Newton.

  • Eraysor #79 2 years ago

    I don't know why people find that one bit in Ryan's office in the original so amazing. It's not like there were any other routes open to the player to give you the illusion that there were other choices you could make. It was still a linear game. I thought that whole "Would you kindly" thing was a bit of a joke.

  • smelly #80 2 years ago

    Thanks Tom!

    Nice to see an honest review for once and not one paid for by advertising dollars.

    I'd much rather see good reviews like this than ones which brush over all the faults and give it 10/10 and then feel like i've wasted my money after i rush out to buy it and realise it's not the best thing since sliced cake.

  • Nikanoru #81 2 years ago

    So of the original was a 7 to me at most, does that mean I should consider this a 5 in my case?

  • Ryboy #82 2 years ago

    No, the first game thoroughly deserved a 10/10, No. 2 was always going to be slightly inferior as it's more of the same whereas the first was so original.

  • ibenam #83 2 years ago

    Don't know whether it was just me but this review bored me too death. Usually a fan of Tom's writing but the first page was just a bore and inst forgettable

    Since the first game was all about the story i wanted to know how it "felt" playing the game.

    After reading this review i still don't know whether to buy or not!
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 20:33

  • Ryboy #84 2 years ago



    You started reading Gat-Busters posts... and then what?

    You couldn't think of anything remotely as useless as him and then gave up? Sounds about right coming from someone who doesn't think the first game deserved 10/10.

    Fucking moron.

  • JayKwon #85 2 years ago

    I expected the 8/10. Good it's still a great game then:).

  • septimus #86 2 years ago

    One for later once I have been through Mass Effect 2 a couple of times. That and finished ACII.

  • Pinky_Floyd #87 2 years ago

    8/10. Excellent. By all accounts a great sequel to an unforgettable game.

    I'll quite happily take the chance to drill splicers in the face while locking horns with a big sister.

    The rest of you moany gits can keep arguing here while I'm off having fun.

    :)
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 20:59

  • TRUTH #88 2 years ago

    Basically it's the same as the 1st game with added weapons, a few new enemies, streamlined control and an average multiplayer. Also game is fairly short & being a prototype BD is basically no difference from the original character!....Oh! and it's in the same place again...1st one was decent but flawed (too easy, samey esp half way through, graphics became samey too, not much variation in enemies) which was probably overrated as all it really was a fps that just used a different interface for weapons!. Only the story was good - though I couldn't really be bothered with it at about half way!

    I'll wait for Metro 2033 - looks so much more interesting then Bishock 2 (or 1 with a different story).

  • immateriaux #89 2 years ago

    "The result is a less openly provocative game than its predecessor"

    That would make this "minus" provocative then?

  • Syrette #90 2 years ago

    Where does it say it's short, TRUTH?

    Just for the record, the devs of Metro 2033 have said that game will last you about 8 hours on average, with no MP. Thus relegating it to a rental in my eyes.

  • man.the.king #91 2 years ago

    @Retroid

    "Either way, reviews are just a reviewer's opinion and I've not agreed with a lot of EG's reviews in the past but I'm fine with that because I don't think I've ever based a buying decision on a single review, no matter who from. "

    While I don't go by any single review as well, I do think that "reviews are just a reviewer's opinion" should not be the consensus. The way I see it, a professional reviewer (emphasis on the "professional") is paid to properly execute his/her responsibility of properly playing through a game and judge it based on its merits/demerits (while letting the game stand on its own) without giving in to any prejudices or pet peeves (like genre, platform, etc), and not offer such inane comparisons like "offers little new to preceding titles" or "visuals not as good as PC version" as justification to rate a game lower.

    Sure, if you are just writing on a blog/forum, you are allowed to be as broad or narrow-minded as you wish, but they are not posting on a forum/blog here.

    My two cents/pence :)

    ON-TOPIC: Can't afford to buy new games right now :( , so will rent for now, and buy it later. This review sounds fine to me.
    Edited by 2 at 08/02/10 @ 21:00

  • local_celebrity #92 2 years ago

    I'm finding it increasingly hard to read Tom's reviews these days. His style has become so turgid. Still can't make head nor tail of those last two sentences, for example. I know he's the editor but someone should tell him to rein it in a bit. You don't need to resort to convoluted sentences to make subtle, nuanced points (as people like Parkin prove time and again).

    Sorry, but this has been bugging me for some time.
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 21:12

  • kobashi #93 2 years ago

    this the second review I read which left me wondering should I bother. I am hooked on Mass Effect so I am not gonna buy this you know. 8/10 is not a bad score and if Mass Effect 2 was not in my 360 I probably would buy this as I did love the first game!!

  • FIGHT #94 2 years ago

    i think this:

    - short
    - no big boss battles
    - it needs more enemy types
    - needs more destroyable things
    - you can use all... perfect soldier :)) no limits
    - monologue
    - the train and outdoor parts (no imagination - nothing happens) Even old doom3 beats this stages easy. :D
    - the levels need more variability... all feels like B1
    - too much loot & vending machines.

    8/10 from EG is ideal score from my view ::: because NOTHING really changed in that game.
    They done the game on safety... why change winning formula ?
    progress! :D 8/10 is ideal = noone likes stagnation.

    + improved gameplay
    + big sisters
    + same + as B1
    ...

    btw: im no bioshock fan so i really think 8/10 is ideal other sites hype it too much suxx

  • Ryboy #95 2 years ago

    "The result is a less openly provocative game than its predecessor, and one that will capture less attention, but while it may be damned for subtlety it is every bit as deceptive, and perhaps that's the greater of the series' illusions regardless of what else a BioShock sequel might have become."

    Makes perfect sense to me.

  • local_celebrity #96 2 years ago

    May I recommend late period Henry James to you then? It'll be right up your street.

  • Ryboy #97 2 years ago

    Thanks, my old Where's Wally's are in the post to you.

  • Verwandlung #98 2 years ago

    "In which truth resides surely much of the interest of that admirable mixture for salutary application which we know as art. Art deals with what we see, it must first contribute full-handed that ingredient; it plucks its material, otherwise expressed, in the garden of life—which material elsewhere grown is stale and uneatable. But it has no sooner done this than it has to take account of a PROCESS."

    Henry James

  • AphoticCosmos #99 2 years ago

    Expected an 8, but I still can't fathom why Bioshock needed a sequel.

    Some games are best left as standalones. Bioshock was one of them. Any sequel could only disappoint, at least to me, and consequently, 8/10 or no, I won't be getting it.

  • thefishmonger #100 2 years ago

    I received my copy in the post today and have been playing it for a good hour or so. I liked the original and this is just more of the same allbeit with slightly improved combat. It is sooo linear though. Alas, I'm putting up with it to enjoy the story and to trap-bolt my way through the splicers. I haven't touched multiplayer yet. I'd agree with the 8/10
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 22:13

  • Gunzberg #101 2 years ago

    [link url=http:/ /www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/bioshock-2/review/bioshock-2/a-2 010020516721925010/g-2008101692342654074
    ]http://ww w.gamesradar.com/xbox360/biosho...[/link]

    10/10

    Don't regret only paying £20 for this via the Steam 4pack...now to wait for the unlock
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/10 @ 22:34

  • mkreku #102 2 years ago

    I bought the Collector's Edition of Bioshock based on the 10/10 review from Eurogamer. It was not a 10/10 game. I will not be burnt twice. But the Big Daddy action figure is cool to have on my bookshelf, at least.

  • local_celebrity #103 2 years ago

    "In which truth resides surely much of the interest of that admirable mixture for salutary application which we know as art. Art deals with what we see, it must first contribute full-handed that ingredient; it plucks its material, otherwise expressed, in the garden of life—which material elsewhere grown is stale and uneatable. But it has no sooner done this than it has to take account of a PROCESS."

    Makes perfect sense to me.

  • anss123 #104 2 years ago

    I had expected a 5/10 from reading the Fear 2 review on this site. In any case, I've pre bought BS2 and I'm now just waiting for Steam to let me play.

  • smelly #105 2 years ago

    @Rdysn5 : Take it your pirated it then?

  • GrandMasterRamrod #106 2 years ago

    It was this or Heavy Rain for me this month and I think Heavy Rain is going to win out. I really enjoyed the demo.

  • Stoatboy #107 2 years ago

    I loved the first game, but have to agree with the folk that reckon this is an unnecessary sequel. I didn't need more. The first game, despite its flaws, did everything it needed to. Sequels bore me - give me new and different every day of the week.

  • TheSnotGoblin #108 2 years ago

    Alec Meer's review over on Rock Paper Shotgun is worth a read.

    http://ww w.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/02/...

  • Lamb #109 2 years ago

    Lamb was here!!! :D

  • Killerbee #110 2 years ago

    Been playing this this evening - it's good, but that's mainly because it's more Bioshock and I liked the first game. I'm only a couple of levels in, but it's pretty much exactly the same game as the first Bioshock, right down to the order you get the first few plasmids in. Sadly, I think it lacks a bit of the wonder and atmosphere that the first did so well simply because of the familiarity. It's good and I'll be playing on to see what the story delivers, but it's more "more of the same" good than "innovative and exciting" good. Disappointing, especially when Mass Effect 2 is showing how sequels should be made.

    Dabbled briefly with multiplayer, but suffered very annoying network errors in the two games I played. It works well enough, although the Big Daddies seem horribly overpowered which turns fights against them into wars of attrition rather than anything remotely tactical. In a team deathmatch finding that the other team has found the Big Daddy suit basically turned the game into a steady procession of spawn / find Big Daddy / chip away a bit of health / die / respawn and repeat until eventually it died.

    Hmmm... On the plus side, it does hold out the prospect of being the Big Daddy yourself which I suspect is excellent fun but haven't been lucky enough to experience yet.

    Jury's out for now, but on first impressions I think 8 is a fair score.

  • TheJuriel #111 2 years ago

    The first one was a simplistic shooter, so... pass.

  • Pinky_Floyd #112 2 years ago

    Gotta have a wry chuckle at all the people who are refusing to play this because Bioshock 'didn't need a sequel'.

    What are you? Gamers or philosophers? If the former then all I can think is WTFLOL wise up :)

  • BigNickUK #113 2 years ago

    With all the comments about the Eurogamer 8/10 score, I actually think Bioshock is a bit like marmite. Some people adore it and some people cant understand what the fuss is about.
    I personally love Bioshock 2 and got the Rapture edition. Been playing it yesterday and love the familiarity.
    I guess you could say COD MW2 is the same as COD MW1..its the same argument.
    The biggest problem to me is no dedicated servers for multiplayer...all the games I tried to get on were so laggy it was unplayable. Hope they can sort this.

  • muscleblade #114 2 years ago

    Bought it yesterday. Played a few chapters and its more of the same really. The multiplayer is great though. If you dont play online i wouldnt bother and play through the original again instead. I actually bought this for the multiplayer. Its like Timesplitters. Feels great and is very rewarding imo.

  • iwantmynameuk #115 2 years ago

    I completed Bioshock 1 last week, really enjoyed it and would be playing through it again but thought i`d save my thirst for 2.
    more of the same suits me fine :)
    It would be interesting to know the ratios of pc gamers like/dislike of it to console owners. However the likelihood is the same conclusion as always in these recurring situations.

  • Rizo #116 2 years ago

    eurogamer 8/10 is not good enough for my monies.

  • Gecks #117 2 years ago

    @Ryboy
    given that system shock 2 exists, bioshock 1 was not original or a 10/10 game. The only improvements came with the benefit of time (sound, graphics); everything else was worse.

  • Douche #118 2 years ago

    Looks good. Too much to play at the moment though. Will pick up later me thinks.

  • figgis #119 2 years ago

    Why is Bomberman on the front cover of the game?

  • iwantmynameuk #120 2 years ago

    @gecks

    Maybe EG scored it for each platform individually, then democratically used the majority score.
    As for console owners it seems to have hit the spot.

  • DiamondIce #121 2 years ago

    I loved Bioshock and a lot of that came down to the wow factor of Rapture, the atmosphere and the inhabitants. It was so different to other FPS games. My 2nd playthrough never felt quite the same because I knew what to expect, though.

    Will probably get this when it is a bit cheaper. ME2 is still taking over my gameplaying time too much!

  • Gecks #122 2 years ago

    @iwantmynameuk
    i am a console owner. i played bioshock on my xbox (i haven't had a gaming pc in years), but still...system shock 2 exists :) of course, few people played it so you can hardly blame the team for using the same plot (including the twist that this very review devotes so much space to), same gameplay, same mechanics, et al, but it's not cool that they made every single element slightly worse (nb: not necessarily simplified, just slightly worse), given the amount of development time and the fact that system shock 2 wasn't without its flaws.

    if film critics can reference works half a century ago, then IMO game criticis can't ignore a decade old PC game, not least one whose devoted fanbase were presumably the primary incentive for bioshock the 'thematic sequel'.
    Edited by 1 at 09/02/10 @ 10:27

  • iwantmynameuk #123 2 years ago

    thanks, i get where you are coming from......I get to go in a bioshock category that puts a positive spin on lack of knowledge "ignorance is bliss" ;)

  • makeamazing #124 2 years ago

    Im confused if i selected hard or not... how can i tell? I thought if you died you would not be able to use the v-chambers? What happens when you die?

  • UncleLou #125 2 years ago

    @Gecks given that system shock 2 exists, bioshock 1 was not original or a 10/10 game. The only improvements came with the benefit of time (sound, graphics); everything else was worse.

    While I greatly prefer System Shock 2 to Bioshock, in all fairness, the art style, independently of the technological progress, (and the shooting mechanics) of Bioshock were far better.

    The biggest disappointment for me in Bioshock was that, while it had atmosphere, it just wasn't scary, while System Shock 2 is in my top 3 of scary games.

  • muscleblade #126 2 years ago

    "@Rdysn5 : Take it your pirated it then?"

    Its not hard to get hold of retail copies of games a week or so before release. If you work in a gaming store or know somebody that does its no problem. Shops usually get games a week prior to release. I usually get my games a week early for this exact reason.

  • SuperNashwan #127 2 years ago

    It does amuse me when people bother to log onto a forum to post that they won't be doing something (ie buying this game). Why stop there ? Do you phone up blockbusters to advise of what DVD's you will not be renting tonight ?

    (This only applies to posts that state "...won't be buying this" If you want to explain' why' then that would be great and might add something to the discussion)

  • Vasenor #128 2 years ago

    Yup, Bioshock is undeniably Marmite. I loved it and consider it a solid 10 as did my friends but the amount of bile it also generates is astounding.

    As far as comparing it to System Shock 2, the two games have a very different feel for me. SS2 is far more bleak and gritty survival horror while Bioshock is all about delusions of grandeur, baroque excess. SS2 was more evenly tense and "good" but many of the Bioshock set pieces and scenes were real things of beauty.

    Anyway, shame that it sounds like those set pieces aren't matched in B2. Chalk up another person too involved in work and Mass Effect 2 to play this at the moment. I'll pick it up later when I have more time and it will have dropped in price.

  • bratmandu #129 2 years ago

    It's no System Shock, and it's no Deus Ex, and it's no Thief.

  • bodypopper #130 2 years ago

    @Supernashwan

    The thinking seems to be that if you type 'I won't be buying this' the games company will be hurt in some way if it reads it. It's a bit childish really. Unless you are a child of course.
    Nothing in Bioshock 2 sounds worse than the cheesy House of the Dead climactic boss battle that blighted Bioshock for me.

  • Zerobob #131 2 years ago

    Literally no idea why the first Bioshock scored so highly. It was samey, in terms of puzzles, enemies, scenery. Must have been the story I suppose.

    I somehow knew this would be more of the same and hence score an 8, but certainly doesn't tempt me to buy it. Too many other better games to play basically!

    @bodypopper

    LOL@ HotD ending reference. "At last you've come....fwends."

  • Waldo #132 2 years ago

    A lowly 8 means we won't get a pissy defense from Keiron Gillen.

    I'm disappointed.

  • mukki #133 2 years ago

    well written review

  • TRUTH #134 2 years ago

    The 1st Bioshock was very samey esp half way through - the graphics start to look the same esp the atmosphere and actually get boring, the enemy repeat themselves way before half way with simple AI...all you seem to do is collect plasmids which most where useless as all you needed where the same 3 in all (most) cases to clear the screen. The tape collection just wore thin very quickly. The game was very repetitive too!...Bioshock 1 was way over hyped and was really just a fps with a different theme!...Bioshock 2 is way to similar to the 1st one; just tweaks and added weapons. Yet asking full price - THIS IS A RIP OFF!
    Edited by 1 at 09/02/10 @ 19:53

  • Grayvern #135 2 years ago

    Really in two minds whether to buy given my current financial situation. Also given that I put 42 hours into Mass Effect 2 and around 20 on a Fallout 3 semi replay. I should probably take a break.

    But still I really loved the first. Now I'm thinking About it I want to buy it, balls.

  • oldgreg #136 2 years ago

    bioshock 2 hmmmm more like biosuck 2 - seriously disapointed got home from work and thought that id have a quick go starting at 5 - at 9.30 i competed the game (on medium) the first 3/4 of the game are just a rehash of the first game with charcters no were near as intersting as the first game - then FINALLY when things start to get good its the end - no end of game boss. the story of the big daddy had potential and could have been scoped into a longer game. a lot of things you learn at the start arnt even used really. eg the first thing you learn to do is use the drill of drill some coral to get through objects - u never really have to do this in the game after that point!! color me disapointed :( only hoping AVP next week aint a big dispointmnt!

  • TRUTH #137 2 years ago

    Grayvern

    I know four mates so far that enjoyed the 1st Bioshock game but have felt the 2nd game is just toooooooo familiar to the 1st...Not getting that buzz they did from the 1st outing in Rapture (Though personally I always thought Bioshock 1 too overraterd!)...If I was you, I'll wait and see how Metro 2033 (makers of the excellent S.T.A.L.K.E.R) turns out; this games looks/sounds way more interesting then Bioshock 1 or 2.

    AvP seems like a disappointment from the previews so far!...Looks like Metro 2033 is the last hope!
    Edited by 3 at 09/02/10 @ 22:13

  • Rusta #138 2 years ago

    The last paragraph made me weep

  • muscleblade #139 2 years ago

    "AvP seems like a disappointment from the previews so far!..."

    I liked the 8/10 review in OXM UK.

    http://www. oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=17192

  • SlackMaster #140 2 years ago

    Played it for about an hour yesterday and I really like it. Story is good, about as good as the original.

    I've heard complaints about the game being too hectic and it being difficult to listen to the video logs because of this but I just drop the sfx and music to a lesser lever than the voice.

    It may be more linier but then the first wasn't all that open. It's the combat that makes it fun and they're improved it upon the original. I'd highly recommend this game.

  • jebus #141 2 years ago

    @the_exile

    I totally agree with you about the first one - good but nothing special really. The environment was superb and the Big Daddies were nice.Gameplay wise it was "ok".
    Although I'm still a bit miffed that they dumbed down SS to what is essentially an average FPS, because you can never have enough of those eh readers?
    Also the USP of playing as a big daddy doesn't really sound that interesting to me. I'll borrow this one from work I should think.

  • DAN.E.B #142 2 years ago

    played a bit seems ok .
    your Big Daddy character appears to be a hell of a lot weaker than the human from B1 which is odd!
    I was expecting alot more to be honest, 8 sounds fair!

  • Ben86 #143 2 years ago

    Love it!!! Havnt tried the muliplayer yet

  • riz23 #144 2 years ago

    Who is john galt?

  • kazmac77 #145 2 years ago

    I haven't actually purchased Bioshock 2 yet but I know I will very soon once I get a few other games out of the way. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion but as far as I'm concerned anybody that thinks that the original is anything less than a classic is a moron. But hey...... That's just my opinion.

  • Collymilad #146 2 years ago

    Played it for 3 hours so far.

    Loving it. Of course it's not as mysterious as Bioshock 1 but that's pretty obvious given you've already been to rapture. The developer succeed in making it just as interesting though in my opinion and the combat has been tightened up a bit. Like the new mechanics and ideas too (the little sister stuff, new weapons) and it has that same great style as the first. It's great to see more of the city.

    Tried the MP too and it was surprisingly fun, seems quite sold too. A good change from faster online games (e.g. CoD) since you can actually have a fight and it's not whoever shoots first wins if you are both semi-decent shots.

    I'm actually enjoying this more than i thought i would after reading the reviews, they were good but had a weird downbeat tone.

  • Talbot #147 2 years ago

    It was amazing going from absolutely loving Mass Effect 2 to utterly hating this. Just crap; absolutely hated everything about it from the design, handling, drab backdrop, stupendously idiotic and forced weirdness of the story.... just utter rubbish.

    Rapture is quite possibly my worst gaming universe and it is easily the most overrated.

  • PsychoPriest #148 2 years ago

    Here's my review of the game. Gave it a 9/10 and found it to be a better game than the original (which was an 8 in my mind) I got the Good ending and it was easily one of the best endings to a game I've ever come across. - http://videogamesatemybaby.wordpress.com...

  • bifbert #149 2 years ago

    Brilliant game! Although I think it could have been better, to me it does feel a bit rushed. I'm in two minds whether they should make another one because I love the franchise but its maybe run its course now.

  • muters #150 2 years ago

    I get the impression I'm near the end of the game and although I wouldn't say it's worse than the original (which I liked), it's quite a disappointment. It plays fine, it looks fine, but it's involved nothing but minor variations on what's already been done, the weapons feel just like re-skins and the Plasmids don't offer many new ways to play (the ones that do like Scout are fairly pointless, considering the mountain of ammo and items you find) If this was the first game in the series it'd be fine, but I'm finding it such a shame that they've done so little with BioShock's potential, instead opting to rehash a game that relied heavily on its distinction and sense of discovery - things that the sequel just doesn't have.

  • Nikanoru #151 2 years ago

    Ryboy, you're a fucking retard.

  • JayKwon #152 2 years ago

    I completed it, and I thought this game was fockin brilliant once again. The story is awesome! But then again, I've only completed Bioshock 1 once at launch, so that this game would feel as new as possible. Very wicked.

  • gerrard75 #153 2 years ago

    Just spotted Bioshock 2 for £19.95 on PS3 so have just ordered myself a copy from here http://ww w.thegamecollection.net/bioshoc... I'll let you know what I think once I've given it a blast!

  • peppergomez #154 2 years ago

    how in bloody hell do i install the patches?? i have the pc version for windows 7, and despite my irritation with MS's stupid GFWL, have that running. GFWL makes no attempt to install any updates (pathetic) so i manually downloaded and attempted to install 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 patches. They appeared to have installed but the in-game menu screen still has version 1.0. furthermore, GFWL, despite me being signed it, rendered error code 80070426 when i tried to download some free updates to the multiplayer game. it seems to me that MS is doing their utmost to kill gaming for PC/

    anyone have any suggestions, short of pirating this shit so i can play the game I PAID FOR?