Reviews: BioShock 2 Video Review

The Bioshock franchise sucks, like it just isn't fun. 

Hmmmm, I won't buy it, but I'll definitely try this game out one day... one day.

WHAT'S THIS? WHAT'S THIS? WHAT'S THIS? 
 
SHUT UP

I have to go for Heavy Rain over this one.

4 out of 5 (stars) thats an insult for the 1st bioshock. wich is a classic............

dis game is jank

Thanks for letting me know I can wait for the cheap Ultimate Bioshock release. ( I only rented the first to beat it and haven't touched it since)

can't wait! the gameplay improvements sound good even if the story might not be up to snuff

" "Bioshock II is a successful package", says the website with a promotion deal. "

" "Bioshock II is a successful package", says the website with a promotion deal. "

Might as well reinstall and play the first game until I get the money for the second. 

After the small amount of time I spent with Dante's Inferno last night blasting through five circles of Hell...I kind of wish I had bought Bioshock 2 instead.

" "Bioshock II is a successful package", says the website with a promotion deal. "

lol at people thinking Jeff Gerstmann isn't being honest with this review 
 
people don't know their internets history

" "Bioshock II is a successful package", says the website with a promotion deal. "

Seriously guys? The comment was dumb. Somehow I think he just wanted to turn this entire comments section into replies to him. I think we all know he was being an idiot, we can move on. 
 
Good review, but I'm still going to pass on this game. I'm content with the existence of the first, and I want Heavy Rain more. Sorry Bioshock!

""Bioshock II is a successful package", says the website with a promotion deal. "

do want!

Agreed, I'd rather have the new protagonist running into more areas to revisit where you were in the first game to see what things look like now or explore new parts of that first game (where you're walking around the outside of the first flooding area in bioshock1). Not sure if it's there in this sequel but the museum exhibit pieces look interesting in this. Will probably follow many other people in forgetting completely about the MP when this comes through gamefly unless I get it earlier than that.

" I love watching the Bioshock 2 ad while waiting for my Bioshock 2 video review to load so I can see how good Bioshock 2 is, Bioshock 2. "  

" Glad to see Bioshock has gone the funky trip hop route with the sequel. Why is there a backing track to the review is what i is saying. "

Good to know that it's not total shit but I still have no interest in playing it.

I ordered the Special Edition right after I saw the unpacking, without any hesitation. I'm really relieved this review is even this much positive. MP seems to have at least something in there, some exping and unlocking stuff at least.
 
 Jeff nailed it, definitely well reviewed.

" @Zaapp1 said:

" I love watching the Bioshock 2 ad while waiting for my Bioshock 2 video review to load so I can see how good Bioshock 2 is, Bioshock 2. "  

No one is making you watch the review dickhead. Giantbomb has some of the least intrusive ads in the video game journalising business. "

Priceless ending it was pretty funny.

Is it just me or did the review sound like review of a 3 star game. Good review though.

I remember having high anticipation for the first Bioshock. This time I just didn't feel as excited.
 
I trust Jeff's assessment on the value of the Bioshock 2 package, and one day I want to check it out. For now though, I want to hold on to my gaming dollars.

So now any review for a game that has an ad deal on the site spells conspiracy? Give me a break. The review is fair. Would you have rather him given it a 1/5 to prove he isn't influenced by ads? If the game deserves this review then it doesn't matter if there are ads for the game on the site or not.
 
Great review Jeff.

Wow, fantastic video review. I haven't played the game yet, but Jeff really nails the problem BioShock 2 faces against its predecessor. It is the issue of the game that did it first against the sequel that refined everything (except maybe the story in this case), but doesn't feel fresh anymore. Even more so when the first game was all about exploring this uniquely enthralling location and unravel its mystery whereas, from his review, they crammed the fiction of the second game into what was there and not everything is plausible.

Could've said it better myself Jeff!  Hats off to another great review!  
 
I wasn't personally hoping for a "better" story than the first Bioshock so my expectations were pretty low even though I thought the big daddy was a better protagonist than the silent "Jack".   What I was hoping for was better combat and a lot more to do and this game delivers the goods tenfold.  I love the new combat system so much I don't think I can go back to the first and enjoy it as much.  I haven't played the multiplayer yet (Damn you Dante's Inferno!)  but it does look promising.

I borrowed the first one from a friend, played part of it, enjoyed it and forgot about it.
The other day, however, I went to my local Gamestop to get rid of some crap that've been cluttering my shelves for a long time. Long story short, thanks to a special offer i ended up pre-ordering Bioshock 2 (special edition cause I love me some vinyl) the day before release and found my self spending the entire night finishing the first game. Just to be ready for a game I bought on impulse.
 
Now, due to my playing the first game in two intense sittings nearly a year a part, the finer points of the story was sadly lost on me. I probably missed out on a lot of the back story, but I enjoyed what I got. I liked the setting and the gameplay, but If it wasn't for the special offer, I probably wouldn't have bought the sequel, or even finished the first one.
 
But boy, am I happy I did. Even though the twist couldn't be more obvious if hit you in the face with a wrench, the first game won me over big time. And IMO the sequel improves on what was good, and does away with much of the minutia that annoyed me with the original. Since I literally finished the game mere hours before picking up number 2 my judgment is not clouded by nostalgia, and I'm looking forward to spending many more hours in Rapture, both through single- and multiplayer.
 
If you enjoyed the original, you'll probably not be disappointed by this one.

This looks like a good game but from what Jeff said (and I do trust Jeff) the game doesn't really hold up where I want another Bioshock game to hold up. The gameplay sounds great and I'm happy the multiplayer came off so well because I was very skeptical of that, but without a really strong story and characters and a feeling of really exploring an amazing new environment it won't feel like Bioshock to me. It's a shame because I thought with Rapture under the control of someone with a philosophy opposing that of Andrew Ryan's there was a lot of room for potential there.

Missed opportunity, the story feels really flat.  
 
Still, great review Jeff. 

" "Bioshock II is a successful package", says the website with a promotion deal. "

Lol, i love the poeple who think he is being influenced by an ad deal. Pretty sure he would rather get fired for being honest before censoring his opinion for a promotion. Yes I see the irony that he would have to fire himself.

This review matches how the game looks to me. It's seems more like a expansion patch  than a serious sequel. Too bad.

" @JeffGoldblum said:

" @Zaapp1 said:

" I love watching the Bioshock 2 ad while waiting for my Bioshock 2 video review to load so I can see how good Bioshock 2 is, Bioshock 2. "  

No one is making you watch the review dickhead. Giantbomb has some of the least intrusive ads in the video game journalising business. "

Wait, there are ads before the videos? I think they are regional then. Haven't seen any video type of ad over here in Europe. Starting to get a feeling that this review could be a bit biased... oh well, that's the way it goes. "

finished it, gameplay is much improved but the story ain't as good as the original

The whole advertisement issue is weird to me. I don't see how anyone could so blindly correlate the fact that just because you have an ad deal it means you can't be impartial. Yes, I realize it does happen, but by no means is that the truth. Advertisements keep these things afloat, more specifically, money does, and I'm willing to bet it cost 2k a decent amount of money (relatively) for all of these advertisements, and I don't blame them (GB) one bit for accepting it. 
 
I trust GiantBomb, of all people, to make the best decisions with their advertisements, and so far all of their decisions concerning ads have been within reason. Ads don't bother me, we need them. I fear what would happen to tv without commercials actually, better they stay a separate entity than find their way into the actual show.

"I borrowed the first one from a friend, played part of it, enjoyed it and forgot about it. The other day, however, I went to my local Gamestop to get rid of some crap that've been cluttering my shelves for a long time. Long story short, thanks to a special offer i ended up pre-ordering Bioshock 2 (special edition cause I love me some vinyl) the day before release and found my self spending the entire night finishing the first game. Just to be ready for a game I bought on impulse.  Now, due to my playing the first game in two intense sittings nearly a year a part, the finer points of the story was sadly lost on me. I probably missed out on a lot of the back story, but I enjoyed what I got. I liked the setting and the gameplay, but If it wasn't for the special offer, I probably wouldn't have bought the sequel, or even finished the first one.  But boy, am I happy I did. Even though the twist couldn't be more obvious if hit you in the face with a wrench, the first game won me over big time. And IMO the sequel improves on what was good, and does away with much of the minutia that annoyed me with the original. Since I literally finished the game mere hours before picking up number 2 my judgment is not clouded by nostalgia, and I'm looking forward to spending many more hours in Rapture, both through single- and multiplayer.  If you enjoyed the original, you'll probably not be disappointed by this one. "

RSS feed trickery! I was expecting a quicklook at the Heavy Rain demo. Drew, to the gallows with you!

Ah, I see Heavy Rain is based around game journalism, very clever.