When a bunch of us scruffy journos wrote our Bioshock 2 previews a few weeks back, this is the bulk of what we based it upon: a nine-minute scripted walkthrough, accompanied by an enlightening commentary from Creative Director Jordan Thomas. Included: Big Sister action, the Little Sister adoption mechanic, and horribly messing up splicers’ faces with your drill-arm. Make your own judgements and crazy theories about who or what’s really pulling Rapture’s strings below. And for the love of Roy Orbison don’t drag this thread into yet more tedious mouthing off about how Bioshock 1 disappointed you. Look not to the past but to the future, friends!
Click that widescreen button over on the right for a better picture. I’ll stuff a higher-res video in there later, if I find one. Things to possibly peer closely at are the odd way Big Sis stands and moves, how much freedom of movement is allowed in the underwater section, and your character’s ability to deal with multiple enemies.
Alternatively, here’s just a couple of minutes of voiceover-free action:
Related Stories:
Is that the bloke out of Dead Space in the first picture?
Also:
“set many years after Bioshock 1″
and
“you are the first Big Daddy”
?
Also, also: wot no Giant Haystacks references?
Anyone willing to bet this character is Jack from the first name with amnesia?
You could only harvest the Little Sisters once Tenenbaum threw you a special unnamed plasmid (or tonic?) canister
You could only save the little sisters once given that plasmid. I doubt you needed Tenenbaum’s assistance to rip their guts out, tbh.
Hi! “Press this button to see Ending A” and “Don’t press this button to see Ending B” does not qualify as a moral choices.
Hey, can someone explain why there’s always people which think that the first Big Daddy doesn’t make sense because the game is set many years after BS?
No matter how hard I try I can’t figure out their twisted logic.
That bottom video is broken :<
“Press this button to see Ending A” and “Don’t press this button to see Ending B” does not qualify as a moral choices.
@Reality I see you’ve never played Minuteman Tycoon.
@SirKicksalot, im guessing the assumption is, given the average lifespan of big daddies i met, the odds are he would have died by then.
Personally, im guessing the little sister is actually the character from the first game, and the big daddy you play as is actually phone.
Best twist ever.
Yeah, I didn’t quite get the “1st big daddy” thing, either. Didn’t the story say there were lots of problems creating them in the 1st game? Not like they had their own will, but that they kept dying (going insane and committing suicide, I believe). So it’s not likely you’re actually the 1st.
@ Jeremy: I’m the Jeremy with a link in his name and no photo :) Some time ago, I couldn’t remember if I used this name or my usual handle to comment on RPS, so I’ve just been doing it this way.
Eh, I’m placing my bets on at least “Tenenbaum is your mother”, however, I do have a certain sentimental fondness for “Tenenbaum is actually Big Sister”.
You know, somehow… these LGS-descended games aren’t quite as much fun… well… knowing that there’s going to be a twist somewhere. I spent my first playthrough of Bioshock literally grinding along, thinking… “Is it that moment yet?”
(Mind you, the twist in the cult level of SWAT 4 was nicely surprising – even if I did lose interest in finishing the game shortly afterwards.)
The underwater stuff looks great, although I am a little worried about murmurings that these sections will be entirely hazard free. While some kind of underwater splicer would be pretty daffy surely they could think of something so it’s not always a safe zone?
I really do not like the escort side of things and not for the usually reason that ‘escort missions suck by definition blah blah etc’. What I don’t like is that they become this triggered sequence. I was hoping it was going to be more of an open world type thing where what happened each time you went to harvest Adam was not pre-scripted and was instead based on actual splicer behaviour. So if there are none in the area, nothing will happen but if there are some they might come and attack upon hearing the little sister harvesting. This with a STALKER like system of spawning groups of enemies, somewhat randomly, at entry points of the level would be great and then you would never know what direction the enemy, or indeed what enemies, would come from, if they did at all. Add some dynamics to what you can do with the little sister in attack situations – eg you can pick her up (but there is a danger that certain weapons like explosives will damage her if they hit you etc), move her somewhere ’safe’ while you take care of the splicers – and I think you’d have some great escort gaming action.
I was pretty meh on Bioshock (6/10) but I think this could be better, especially if they
A) Don’t cock up the plot.
B) Give the weapons some more ‘ompf’. That was my biggest issue with Bioshock. I was perfectly happy to play a more action orientated FPS/RPG but the action just didn’t have the punch that a great FPS did which meant I found it to be a little lacking. It looks like they’ve got the drill down so I’m hopeful!
The dual weapons and different options for plasmid combinations (cyclone + fire looks pretty cool) might help the action side of things too.
This is better than sex!
BIOSHOCK HAD A UNITY OF THE FICTION WITH THE SYSTEMS OF PLAY BENEATH IT THAT HADN’T REALLY BEEN SEEN BEFORE AND IT ALSO OFFERED HARD CHOICES TO THE FIRST PERSON SHOOTER PLAYER
I am going to hunt Jordan Thomas down and explode into a million exasperated pieces directly in front of his face.
A meaningless moral choice of ridiculous black and white proportions was hard? Please.
…I could never kill the adorable mutated little scamps. ;_; Kinda sucks that its still an “x for good, y for bad” choice, but at least now there’s an actual difference between the two. Kinda headshake-inducing that they’re acting like its a huge leap in improvement, but then what else are you going to say if you’re trying to sell it?
e: Oh, though I do like how invulnerable one seems against the Splicers. And instead of a pistol, you get a giant gun that shoots ratchets! I approve.
It seems you were put to sleep, and given you appear to be quite full of adam at the beginning, so that when the big sister needle jabs you, you simply don’t die, so maybe all the adam in your system kept you alive.
Also, the presence of the big daddy has something to do with the vulnerability of the little sisters.
Mmm, I’d say something about Bioshock, but I admit the atmosphere in this thread is a bit creepy.
Feels like swarms of body snatchers are just waiting in the aisles, ready to hiss ‘ANGRYYYY’ at unsuspecting Donald Sutherland-lookalike PC game enthusiasts. (Game idea for indie platformer: the tumble ride of comment threads etiquette and peer pressure on RPS, with hammer-wielding End Boss Alec Meer.))
Who run Splicertown?
SisterBubbles runs Splicertown.
I’d be interested to hear more about the story. Original games can be more easily about larger things, which was one of the best things about the first one. But sequels are more often than not the fiction talking about itself, since they aren’t usually planned for thoroughly from the outset.
So I’m skeptical they’ll be able to make it as interesting in that regard. But it’s also a hard thing to sell “Uh, our writing and themes will be… uh, good. Really.”
You know, I missed Jilloff the first time it appeared. I mean, I saw it, but I didn’t play it.
God. Damn. You.
39m44s. The 50 jump spider room actually broke me. After so many tries, I finally get on top of the block to get out and my arrowkey finger twitches. Death, again. It took me nine tries just to get back into the room after that, but I was filled with… emptiness. Truly, JillOff is the Planescape: Torment of our time.
Back to your regularly scheduled “Bioshock!” “No, you mean Biosh!+” “You smell” “Your mom eats Adam”.
To reiterate what I say in every Shock 2 thread: would’ve been cool left alone, cautiously optimistic at the team’s work ethic, concerned about the integrity of the story in the face of sequelitis.
For whatever it’s worth, I have read RPS for a very long time, and Dracko and I usually hate each other publicly on a forum we both frequent. However, I strongly agree with his dramatic vitriol in this case, even when he quotes me without credit (asshole).
For one thing, RPS is in general an overenthusiastic and undercritical collective voice, which is not something that game journalism needs in the slightest. For another, it looks like you guys censored his post above, which is extremely uncool.
Bioshock is embarrassing, and this sequel looks to be moreso. It’s nauseating to bear witness to the extended hype and praise for this series and its developers when single player FPS experiences like Half-Life 2 and Call of Duty 4 are rarely spoken of any longer with regard to criticizing newer releases.
It’s not simply an issue of PRESS A TO HARVEST / PRESS B TO ADOPT bullshit masquerading as moral choice and meaningful gameplay. It’s not even about the ridiculous non-interactive first-person cutscenes that wrench control from the player so that we can watch ourselves unbelievably jam a gigantic needle into our arm and fall off a balcony. Even beneath these absurdly obvious problems, the game is just loose and clunky as hell to play. This is a game where the player sees a rigid arm tossing a wrench about and patting it into his other hand in the same pattern over and over regardless of camera movement or whatever else the player is doing. This kind of amateur work hasn’t been acceptable for ten years, I’d say.
The only thing for which I respect Bioshock is the level of detail within its environments, but that alone is of very little worth. I’m tired of people hiding behind the strength of majority rather than engaging in actual conversation about this game.
I wonder what your adopted little sister does when you find another one? If you adopt the second one does she get jealous and try to push her out of the nest, so to speak? (a hilarious on going hypodermic bitch fight on your very back!)
Alternately, what happens if you meet a new playfriend and, for want of dorsal real estate, elect to EVISCERATE HER BEFORE THE OTHER ONE’S VERY EYES! gargling and groaning like a delighted whale as you wring out that last drop of sweet sweet adam?
Conversation?
A: “I don’t like this game.”
B: “I do.”
A: “You’re wrong.”
B: “Go away.”
BioShock was released nearly two years ago. This post is about BioShock 2, which (the great many) people who enjoyed BioShock might be looking forward to and might like to speculate about.
Why do we assume Tenenbaum is actually Tenenbaum? Is there a point in any of the interviews and schtuff that said she was in it for sure? I’m just wondering, since they’ve done it before. Maybe she’s been dead for 10 years.
As for the whole “WTF MY RIGHTS?!” shenanigans… get over it? Seriously, let’s not start a civil rights movement. You apparently crossed the line, and I’ll assume that is the case since the actual number of censored comments I’ve seen here hits around the two mark. Personally attacking everyone here and RPS surely isn’t going to make your point more convincing.
We’ll stop pretending we’re not as obvious as every other “outlet” as soon as you stop pretending you’re not as insipid as any other nameless troll to hit the net. You hate the mainstream? Shocking.
I would hardly call this thread a call to praise for Bioshock 1, we actually were engaged in discussion about Bioshock 2, strange little thing that it is, and were just opining on that, not Bioshock 1. So, maybe we can get back to that little discussion, but only if it’s okay with you and Dracko. What say you?
Dracko, Skye Nathaniel: There were some articles on RPS a while back that dealt with journalism, objectivity, reviewing and related issues. The upshot being that at least one of the RPS crew (can’t remember which) recognizes that total objectivity is a myth. And so, while censorship does suck, it’s no more valid for you to hate Bioshock than for others to love it; let’s at least act pleasant about our opinions:)
[Edit] Jeremy: what you forget, my friend, is that RPS have all !CONFESSED! to being in publishers’ pockets. Like every other games journalist. They’re part of the conspiracy. The horror!
Clockwork, I already know of those articles and reject the conclusion that objectivity is a myth. It is an ideal to strive for, and if one has a mind to evaluate game design and refers with the benefit of hindsight to past works as examples of successful and failing ideas and implementations, there is no good reason why we can’t reach towards an objective point of view. There are different and equally legitimate schools of game design, but those who are cognizant of their favored principles need not fear bias.
Jeremy, this video about Bioshock 2 mostly compares the sequel to the original game. I’d say that discussion of its predecessor is very relevant. Also, the video opens by laying down a baldfacedly bullshit claim regarding the supposedly novel, deep, and successful relationship between the game and narrative elements of the original, which is just infuriating when you consider that there have been brilliant games that this charlatan apparently refuses to recognize.
I would like to point out that fully half of this video’s content appears to be of the type of non-interactive cutscene I described earlier. I will watch it again and try to describe which sequences seem to be forced player movement. But more importantly, the PRESS X TO HARVEST / PRESS Y TO RESCUE ‘choice’ of the first game clearly has received no formal thought since. I can’t stand this. Imagine the impact it might have if, rather than killing a girl in a frozen menu moment, you actually aimed your weapon at her and pulled the trigger using the very same game mechanics through which you tear apart splicers. And, conversely, imagine the impact it might have if rescuing her similarly took the form of a mechanical action. As it is, these moments are analytical and false, regardless of whatever repercussions they may have on further gameplay and story. This was one of the biggest offenses in the first game for me, particularly since so bloody much was made of this gigantic moral decision.
I know that the rigid seaweed has been mentioned, but doesn’t it bother anyone else that the furniture and even the air bubbles appear suspended in time during the underwater segments, even moments after the Big Sister floods the room with a huge torrent?
I upgraded my Video & CPU, and Bioshocks sound stopped working. It just sends out crazy loud screeches to my speakers. Found out browsing the inter web that this game is riddled with sound problems that they have never fixed.
I worry the sequel is going to have the same problem!
I think that most Bioshock haters really wanted to love it. They got all excited about it, looked forward to it, held their expectations high, pushing through the first parts of the game. They tried, but Bioshock let them down, betrayed their enthusiasm with false promises and disappointing gameplay. It came so close to love but fell to hate.
So when the sequel comes along, and looks a bit different we briefly have hope in our hearts. We look at the trailers and feel a glimmer. But it’s too soon, the hurt’s too raw and we can’t help but remember the pain. Some of us realise that, and try to keep quiet of feelings unshared.
But you must see? That bitch’ll turn on you too at some point. Then you’ll rave in threads too.
Nathaniel – of course we’re not objective. This is an independent project run by four gamers in their spare time – we post about what personally interests us. We don’t post about what doesn’t. Oh, and Dracko got censored because he’s a troll, not because he doesn’t like Bioshock. Differing opinions are fine, but not when it drags threads into unpleasantness that spoils everyone else’s fun. Though whinging about the same thing for two straight years also does that.
Would it be possible to introduce a troll dumping ground, where deleted offensive comments could be displayed and responded to (if people could be bothered), or will that effectively remain the Eurogamer forums?
@Chemix, at a guess, I’d say either this video is just specifically made as a demo and won’t be used in the game, or it’s representative of the opening “tutorial” area in a similar vein to the recent Metroid Prime games, where you start with some abilities, then lose them somehow, only to slowly regain them. I’d guess the Big Daddy wakes up and is still badass, does his stuff, then meets big sister who sucks out all his strength juice (hurr hurr hurr) and leaves him drained and weak, just so you can spend most of the game getting strong again.
I’m more happy that it seems like it’s easier to use plasmids and weapons almost at the same time, perhaps a bit closer to oblivion so that you can go around doing your normal stuff and don’t have to change weapons to whip out plasmid attacks.
I guess its a pure fps again.
Not sure about this, looks a bit like they tried to bang it out the door as quick as possible. It has quite good pedigree given the project leader, I really hope it doesn’t nose dive after the big reveal like it did in Bioshock.