These ten minutes of BioShock 2 footage look awfully familiar
by Ben Gilbert 
{ May 14th 2009 at 2:15PM } 
While we can appreciate the hard-line stance you've taken, dearest reader, we highly suggest checking this clip out -- if only for the deep sea exploration and tactical combat. Sure, the underwater paths look a bit linear and the Little Sister's dialogue digs into our mind grapes like so many clog-footed wine makers, but hey, we've wanted flamethrower hands since we can remember. Is that so wrong?
Download HD BioShock 2 'Hunting the Big Sister' Gameplay Video (244 MB)
Gallery: BioShock 2
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
TheLionOfAzzalle @ May 14th 2009 2:21PM
Not to be an ass or anything but I've never seen this footage before...
Saria the Cat @ May 14th 2009 3:52PM
More like The Lion of ASSalle, AMIRITE!?!1
...A-hem. Carry on.
THE Ezio Auditore de Firenze (PSN slycooper_rocker) @ May 14th 2009 5:48PM
sorry for asking, but are you... sprinkles? what's up buddy? i missed ya! joystiq isn't the same without ya!
el serpiente @ May 15th 2009 1:29AM
Hmm, recently joined, profile set to private, first letter of each word capitalized, no 'holier than thou' included but....
SPRINKLES CONFIRMED!
Slayer @ May 14th 2009 2:22PM
I want this game.
Latin_Trident @ May 14th 2009 3:28PM
I have never pre-ordered a game before. This may be my first.
Storm Eagle @ May 14th 2009 2:23PM
"Sure the underwater paths look a bit linear..."
Well what did you think, Ben? They were just going to let you roam the whole ocean? I'm sure there's more sea exploration than the video let's on but the footage had to be demoed in a timely, but compelling fashion. I so can't wait for this game.....
Ben Gilbert @ May 14th 2009 2:39PM
It's the freakin' ocean. Come up with something better than high sand bars blocking the lumbering, metal-suited, drilling-arm having Big Daddy. Is that so much to ask? How about currents that carry you off? How about sharp cliffs built around the city? How about something that makes more sense than seaweed and sand stopping him?
adolson @ May 14th 2009 3:11PM
Don't underestimate seaweed. There's power in numbers.
Storm Eagle @ May 14th 2009 3:22PM
@Ben I don't think that, as Big Daddy Prime, your goal is to escape Rapture. So it really doesn't matter what inhibits his movements out on the sea floor. Besides, I would prefer to stop and admire a living breath coral teaming with life of all sorts, then to walk 15 feet only to stare out into the blackness of something reminiscent of Marianas Trench.
Saria the Cat @ May 14th 2009 3:27PM
@Storm Eagle: Admiring the coral is fine, it's just that as a Big Daddy you should be able to smash through that coral if you so please.
Storm Eagle @ May 14th 2009 3:33PM
@Saria Then clearly you are not aware of Rule of Gaming #253: "No matter the strength of the character being controlled, it shall not be permitted to smash anything not bearing a pre-designated crack and or tear."
Sorry for the 2x post. Meant to reply.
Saria the Cat @ May 14th 2009 3:50PM
Oh, I know what rule you're talking about. ;) I just think some of us consider that rule to be outdated and needsing a breakings.
Maverick Saturn @ May 14th 2009 4:03PM
Those were the rules of the PS1 days ¬_¬ Linear is boring, thats why Doom 3 got old VERY quickly
Jose @ May 14th 2009 2:25PM
You guys did it! You hotlinked the HD download from BigDownload, was that so difficult? How about some credit, though?
Ben Gilbert @ May 14th 2009 2:40PM
Just like every post we write, there's a source link in the lower left, just below the post. It's the button that says "Source" on it. Please allow me to point out that BigDownload is a Joystiq Network site, as well. :P
Anticrawl @ May 14th 2009 2:32PM
Hrmm.. I hope for the sake of gamers everywhere Bioshock 2 doesn't suck like the first one.
Reuben @ May 14th 2009 2:40PM
The majority of gamers actually loved the first one, and so did many gaming journalists. I certainly did...except for the end. The ending did not sit well with me; I felt that it was much too rushed and it didn't leave me as emotionally satisfied as the rest of the game did.
Pureshooter @ May 14th 2009 2:45PM
Dude, you are SO down voted.
Anticrawl @ May 14th 2009 2:46PM
I honestly think most gamers only went out of their way to purchase the game and play it because of the "love" the gaming media had for the game, artificial or otherwise. Found the gunplay to be unsatisfying and moving through the story nothing more than a chore. The added gimmicks with the robot hacking and plasmids didn't do much for me either. It's one of three games on the 360 I had to take back. But I guess everyone has different tastes, I just honestly feel there was nothing special about this game and the only thing it did well was the creation of its atmosphere. All the components of a great game were present, but somehow they managed to fall short of my reasonable expectations.
Traceur_ryuk_shinigami @ May 14th 2009 2:48PM
Are you serious?? How could you not love the first one? Sure the ending was a little lackluster. But the whole game itself was terrific.
Taco_Hell @ May 14th 2009 2:48PM
Wait, since when was it internet consensus that Bioshock 1 sucked? I thought the consensus was that it raised the bar on story-telling in gaming and that it was an all-around great game. Damn you internet and you never telling me what you think anymore!
coffins outside the door @ May 14th 2009 3:07PM
I just never could get into the first one either. I thought it was a great idea, I just never really liked it. But hey, I'm glad other people did and will get a sequel.
Lurker28 @ May 15th 2009 2:25AM
I too didn't think the Bioshock was the great of an FPS masterpiece. It was a good game, but I don't believe it deserved all the 9 it received. I was quite upset they didn't take enough from the System Shock series. It felt like so many other FPS games I played. Great sound, great voice acting, great environments, not so great style (too similar to other game using the unreal 3 engine), and the game play was okay.
dastranger @ May 14th 2009 3:47PM
In your opinion, of course. In MY opinion, Bioshock *still* is the best single-player game on the 360. STILL.
Silencio @ May 14th 2009 4:58PM
WHAT YOU THINK IS WRONG! Just messin'. Seriously though, show of hands. who likes the game because it was awesome and who likes it because game media people thought it was awesome? You really think everyone that liked the game are just slaves to reviews? You're a condescending mother****er.
Anticrawl @ May 14th 2009 5:16PM
@Silencio
No just the majority of people. I do have some faith in humanity's judgment. Every developer has their turn in the media spotlight and their sales and public opinion are affected positively because of it. If the majority of humanity had a mind of its own do you really think any country would be in the shape it is in? Most people know what they know is the best for them and the best there is because someone told them to think that way. Whether that truly applies to this game or not I can’t say for sure, but in my opinion it does. Part of the reason I posted that comment is because I figured it would bring out the legions of undying fans to surface for a fun back and forth. I’m suppressed however at the maturity of some of the responses.
I personally wasn’t swooning over all the smoke and mirrors in Bioshock. Sure it was pretty, and sure the atmosphere was great but after that there wasn’t much to the game.
el serpiente @ May 14th 2009 5:19PM
Yeah, I only enjoyed the game cause the gaming press told me to.
I wish I had the strength to formulate my own opinions, like Anticrawl. He is the lone voice in the crowd, the "maverick", who will not bend to the influences of the ignorant majority. Truly, he is a hero among gamers everywhere...
...at the local elementary school.
Anticrawl @ May 14th 2009 5:30PM
Oh yay el serpiente is here, the maturity ends here. This is now a flame only zone.
coffins outside the door @ May 14th 2009 6:03PM
HEY! I said I didn't like it either!
el serpiente @ May 14th 2009 6:04PM
"Hrmm.. I hope for the sake of gamers everywhere Bioshock 2 doesn't suck like the first one."
"Part of the reason I posted that comment is because I figured it would bring out the legions of undying fans to surface for a fun back and forth."
Yeah, I really wonder who the flamer is...
Silencio @ May 14th 2009 11:19PM
You're a total wannabe elitist.
"If the majority of humanity had a mind of its own do you really think any country would be in the shape it is in?"
Are you seriously trying to talk about the state of "any" country? Ridiculous blanket statement ftl. If you ask me a big problem with our country is nobody is willing to retract dumb-ass comments they make.
Ihavepants @ May 15th 2009 7:03AM
Just throwing it out there that I didn't enjoy Bioshock for the same reasons AntiCrawl listed, but I don't believe the people who did like it were brainwashed. Personally I think I DIDN'T like it because of how highly it was praised and maybe I was expecting too much.
Toop @ May 14th 2009 2:42PM
Putting the player in the shoes of a Big Daddy is a great move. They have had a whole previous game to establish this type of character so there is a lot of background to who you play right from the start. Being able to walk the sea floor is a great chance too, most of my favourite environments in Bioshock involved allowing the player to see the wealth of activity happening outside of the city. Even though they will probably need to be fairly linear, I am really looking forward to that.
The Big Sister character also looks like she can provided some really tense/frightening situations. Providing the player with so much power no only allows them to have fun dominating the simpler splicers, but your own power being dwarfed by that of the Big Sister give the player a sense of what they are really up against.
I'm not sure about the "defend the sister" gameplay though. Those king of the hill situations aren't usually my favourite and if that occurs too often... well its too early to tell. Given a wide range of powers those situations could become a dream for player who really like developing strategy and overcoming the odds.
Author X @ May 15th 2009 12:24AM
To be fair, I assume you don't have to protect any little sisters if you harvest the ones you save. While it's not good for a game to be frustrating, I do think it's cool that this time around, making the "right" choice actually involves more work. I was kind of disappointed that, in the long run, there's not much reason to be a bad guy except for the sake of it, so it's less a difficult moral decision and more like a no-brainer (at least, for people like me who default to the good option and need incentive to be bad). Now, it's a choice between instant gratification (at a price) or having to go through all that trouble to keep your conscience clear.
On the other hand... I'm impossible to please when people try to claim depth in their game mechanics. So it doesn't matter too much either way ;)
Jerses @ May 14th 2009 2:44PM
This looks...a lot like the first one... no graphic upgrades? Why not make DLC for Bioshock 1 and call it.. a "a sea of we are to lazy to upgrade the engine" Lol i kid.
I will sure buy this game when it comes out!
Traceur_ryuk_shinigami @ May 14th 2009 2:56PM
I know you were just joking but I just feel I have to get this out there. Why is everyone complaining about the same engine? I'm just gonna list some sequals using the same engine.
Zelda: majoras mask
MW2
Gears of war 2
...actually I don't really know where I'm going with this.
CubeGuy @ May 14th 2009 4:22PM
If you're gonna list Majora, you may as well list Twilight Princess. It used the Wind Waker engine.
nickux @ May 14th 2009 2:44PM
"mind grapes" 30 Rock reference FTW!!!
Freeze @ May 14th 2009 2:52PM
I have a feeling that the protagonist from the first game is the big daddy in this one. you heard it here first
Brucie_K @ May 14th 2009 3:06PM
Jack is the first ever Big Daddy created in Rapture?
Does not compute.
james @ May 14th 2009 3:32PM
don't forget Jack was supposed to go to Rapture in the first game. It was planned, he had been there before yet didn't know it. I agree with you Freeze.
james @ May 14th 2009 3:37PM
sorry i meant to use the word returning.
Blaggers @ May 14th 2009 3:45PM
If I recall correctly, Jack's biological age during the main events of Bioshock was around three years old. His aging was accelerated because he was a clone... or have I got that wrong? I really need to play the first game again. Anyway, if I'm right then that means he can't logically be the first Big Daddy.
Silencio @ May 14th 2009 5:01PM
Absolutely not possible. Your prediction is FAIL!
Matthew @ May 14th 2009 2:58PM
Does it make me a girly girl for saying that it looks like this sequel has too much action?
Chas Winterbottom @ May 14th 2009 4:26PM
I know what you mean.
The footage of your character running and gunning makes it feel a little too "shootery". If the whole game plays out like that it might risk losing what made Bioshock so different from the other FPS's out there.
BUGz @ May 14th 2009 3:11PM
if i have to do that every time i need adam its gonna get annoying at times
Maulok @ May 14th 2009 3:15PM
Bioshock was a great experience, so I'm definitely in for a purchase, but PC or PS3... hmm...
Adopting and collecting Adam looks a bit too much like the later levels of Bioshock (OMG SPOILERZ) when you become a Big Daddy and had to protect the harvesting Little Sister. In fact it looks exactly like that.
I hated that section with a hot molten passion, so I will probably harvest all of them instead of adopting.
Saria the Cat @ May 14th 2009 3:25PM
I've never been a fan of escort missions, ever since the stupid Zora princess in OoT.