Subscribe to and follow T3ch H3lp
Brandon Davenport
Visit Brandon’s website
Ricardo Trejo
Nick Mahar
Kristen Perez
Daniel Carey
Alex Tretrop
Darryl Cobb
Jason Tsay
Sean Zahrae
Latest stories from T3ch H3lp
Latest stuff we wrote
Our top 5 commenters
Trending Tags
Exclusive Content
More exclusives
Featured content
How to do that
Subscribe via RSS
Editors on Twitter
Ricardo TrejoBioshock 2 ( Xbox 360) Multiplayer Impressions
The first Bioshock was a game of absolute substance; with a mesmerizing hard exterior and an oozing jelly filled center, it never let up - err, well... that is until the campaign was over. I remember playing through it twice and loving the experience, but was saddened, like many other players, to find there was no multiplayer - local or online. This was a big deal, especially at the time of its release since it was going up against Halo 3 and COD4 - games weighted with massive amounts of online gameplay. Because of that one lacking feature the game's price tag of $60 seemed too steep, and a purchase didn't feel justifiable.
2K is not letting that happen again. They've added a 10 player free-for-all, as well as 5 on 5 various team match making modes. I was able to get my hands on it at CES this past week and give it a good 20 min run through; here's what I thought.
There weren't many people in my game - only 3 on a free-for-all match - so we were quite limited when it came to running and gunning in every direction. There was more strategy than anything during my playthrough since we were short a couple of players. As for the style and speed: it feels slower than most shooters but I think that all goes into account that Bioshock isn't your average FPS. I mean, not many games in the genre give you a gun in one hand and plasmid abilities on the other, which can make for some interesting combinations. Additionally, there are hackable turrets scattered through out the maps (hold A and wait for a bar to load while you stand there defenseless) to tip the scales in your favor. And if that wasn't enough, Big Daddy suits will appear randomly in different spots turning you into a walking powerhouse of man and machine.
One cool aspect of the gameplay is that there's no regenerative health that show up in so many shooters nowadays. Like in the actual campaign mode you are given a health bar to watch over - adding some difficulty and strategy when you think you can just Rambo everyone in your sight. And once you go down as a glorious hero, which you inevitably will eventually, you can choose a different spawn point - each having different weapons you can spawn with.
To sum it all up, Bioshock 2's multiplayer felt just like the original game but with more people in it; It's not revolutionary, but it is a different FPS experience than what we've come to expect. Although, I have to mention that the visuals were a bit disappointing - looking as if nothing had been changed since the first game, and it was just added in at the last second to humor the player. The trailers for the campaign, especially those with the Big Sister look polished and refined, but the multiplayer lacks that type of extra care and detail. It also looked like your appearance is handled randomly, with everyone being varying types of splicers with masquerade masks on.
The Bioshock series will be remembered for its narrative, not for its take on the multiplayer scene, but now players can't moan and groan over the feature not being integrated into the final product. 2K realizes its all about the green so give the fans what they want, right? Anyway, Bioshock 2 is due out February 9th.
More Articles Like This One
Enjoy more gadget news
Follow T3ch H3lp Gadgets
Become a Fan on Facebook
Subscribe to Gadget news via RSS
Enjoy more Mac, iPod, iPad and iPhone news
Enjoy more web videos
Enjoy more T3ch H3lp reviews
Enjoy more Gaming reviews, news and previews
Reader Comments