@2K Would You Kindly Stop Making Bioshock games?

Game: Bioshock 2

System: Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Release: February 2010

Bioshock was one of the best console FPS experiences of 2007. The perfect blend of atmosphere, gameplay, and story warranted numerous Game of the Year awards. Unfortunately the high critical acclaim and sales comes with a price. 2K is cashing in on the one franchise not under attack from EA sports. This means a number of sequels for a game that didn’t need any. Bioshock 2 is not a bad game. It just doesn’t have the same zesty zing of the first.

Let’s start with what 2K got right—combat and gameplay. The first game required radial menu navigation to switch between plasmids and weapons, and everything was performed with one of the character’s hands. The new streamlined combat has plasmids assigned to the left trigger/bumper and weapons are on the right. This results in faster paced action and strengthens the immersion. Hacking is also less cumbersome. The pipes mini-game is replaced with a quick time event. Players must observe a gage and press a button while the dial is over a green or blue square. Landing on a red square triggers an alarm, and no colors results in an electric shock. I did miss the pipe mini-game, but the new system makes hacking a room full of turrets, cameras, and bots faster. Like the changes to combat, this keeps the immersion factor high. Rapture is such a fascinating setting and the developers did an excellent job of keeping players in the city and out of menus.

Weapons and plasmids have seen only minor adjustments in Bioshock 2. There are very few new powers, and each of the old abilities has a new twist. Lightening, for example, can be charged at level two for chain lightening and a longer shock. At the max level a constant stream of lightening can be deployed from the hand. Because the main character is a Big Daddy, more on that later, weapons like the Rivet gun and Power Drill have been added to the arsenal. These additions make sense, but I didn’t utilize them as much as the shotgun or spear gun. The best new weapon was actually not really a weapon at all. The Hacking gun allows you to…yep you guessed it…remotely hack items.

Just about everything else in Bioshock 2, except multiplayer, is copied from the first. The plot is a different shade of dystopia. The setting is Rapture about ten years later. The villain is a communist version of Fontaine and Ryan. The main character is a Big Daddy, and that does not change the interaction with Little Sisters. These angels of ADAM are back, and just like the end of the first game players must escort them as they collect ADAM from corpses. After harvesting a few bodies you get the same old choice to save or kill the Little Sister. Basically they took the most boring part of the first game, and smeared it all over the second like too much butter over toast. The developers seemed afraid to branch out into the new and this creates a dull experience for Bioshock veterans.

A few gamers have argued the new main character is an improvement. The new weapons are awesome—agreed—and the idea of the Bid Daddy searching for his one and only Little Sister is daring or edgy—disagree. The relationship between father and daughter is not developed to the point where I felt anything for the later.For all I know she is just another controlling psycho from Rapture. The brief moments of mental spam didn’t thrill me in games like FEAR or Halo 3, and fails to elicit anything but annoyance in Bioshock 2. Another issue I have concerns plot holes. If you didn’t collect all the audio logs, then the connections between the two games can be lost. Even with all the tapes many questions were only answered with ADAM. How does Rapture, an underwater city, remain inhabitable after a decade of disrepair? ADAM that’s how! Why would anyone attempt to take over Rapture? ADAM is the shit yo! Why didn’t the first Bioshock mention anything about Lamb—someone who seriously threatened Ryan’s power? Dude, the ADAM made me forget to mention her. Sorry about that.

One thing that ADAM did improve was multiplayer. Taking place during the New Years Eve war between Atlas and Ryan players can choose between a number of different characters. Each has their own unique back story denoted through personal audio logs and advertisements from Sinclair Solutions. They also have custom weapons and outfits. The house wife, Betty Johnson, uses a frying pan for melee and fights in a 50’s style dress. The old southern bourbon salesman runs around in a suite wielding a golf club. The shit talking is hilarious, and the amount of detail given to each character is really impressive. Gameplay is also well done. Turrets and vending machines can be hacked to lay traps. Weapons and plasmids are unlocked as player’s level up—that’s also how you unlock more audio logs to complete each characters story. Everyone starts with the basics: fire, electric bolt, shotgun, and pistol. Eventually the entire stock of Sinclair Solutions is at your disposal: grenade launchers, bees, and traps oh my! The multiplayer experience is unlike anything on the market today, and 2K should be proud of what they accomplished. Bioshock 2 is a great game all by itself. The combat is smooth and streamlined. The story is excellent—especially if you ignore the first Bioshock—and the multiplayer is a great addition to the franchise. I can’t help but feel that if Bioshock 1 never existed Bioshock 2 would get a perfect score. The shaky connection between games and unanswered questions, however, are readily apparent and this hinders the experience. I also felt the story, when compared to the first, was lacking that something special. The zing, pow, zap, or whatever word you want to use from ADAM West’s Batman. As a result Bioshock 2 gets a respectable 4.8 out of 5.

Cowboy Space Opera 2

Game: Mass Effect 2

System: Xbox 360 & PC

Release: January 2010

Commander Shepard is back in action for another epic Bioware RPG adventure. The second in a trilogy, Mass Effect 2 begins a few years after the events of the first. Human colonies are disappearing on the out skirts of Citadel Space, and the Normandy is mysteriously attacked on a routine mission by an unidentified species. More could be said, but this is one of the few games where I won’t spoil the story. Besides it’s Bioware so you know the game will have good writing, voice acting, and forty plus hours of RPG action.My two biggest critiques of Mass Effect 1 were mediocre combat and boring planet exploration. The sequel suffers from the later, but enhanced the gunplay significantly. Let us start with the crap. The galaxy map is back and remains the ships navigational hub. Explore various star clusters filled with space stations, moons, planets, and massive stars. Instead of landing on a planet for resources the Normandy scans the surface from orbit. The scanning mini game makes players hold down the Left Trigger to activate the radar. A graph denotes when minerals are detected. Pressing the Right Trigger will launch a probe to collect the goodness.

Occasionally a mission based on the scan will necessitate a landing party. Piling into a shuttle Shpeard’s party lands and the side quest begins. This means there are no more lego vehicle sections and crappy cut n’ paste planets. Now players get cut n’ paste bases and a few oddball exceptions. The side quests offer nothing worthwhile, which is a mix blessing. For those not interested in exploring every corner of the universe not needing anything from the side quests is a blessing. For the rest of us it feels like a waste of time. Where’s my super bad ass reward for being a completionist?

Combat has seen a significant overall, and many of the RPG elements have been stripped away. The sequel is more akin to an action game like Gears of War.It is easier to get behind cover, return fire, and give squad commands. Powers can be set to a hotkey which minimizes the need to pause the action and access menus. The powers themselves are more effective, and a variety of heavy weaponry—rocket launcher, mini nuke, laser beams—are available to help take out larger enemies. Loot is limited to upgrades of existing weapons, armor, and abilities. Veterans of Mass Effect and new comers will find this new streamlined combat RPG a welcomed change from the usual bloated menu system and unsatisfying action segments.

Speaking of veterans, if you have completed the first Mass Effect your character and deeds will be transferred to the sequel. This is a fantastic feature that PC gamers may be familiar with, but the poor console folk rarely see. Bioware does an excellent job incorporating Shepards past actions. Major events like deaths and romantic involvements are an obvious must, but it’s the smaller touches that really enhance the experience. All of a sudden an NPC will come up to Shepard and praise/scold him for his past deeds. My personal favorite is the return of Conrad Verner. The single greatest achievement of this series is the continual development of this fictional galaxy. I can’t wait to see how my actions will affect the final installment.

As mentioned above the main plot, character growth, and writing reflect the quality you would expect from a Bioware game. I am, however, getting a little tired of the same old formula. The majority of quests involve gathering an elite team to take on a threat and save the galaxy. Each team member has a rich past that can be explored through various dialogue segments and one side mission critical to the teammate’s survival. In Mass Effect 2 the main hub for the beginning the quest is the Normandy. There are four levels each with their own load screen. If these issues are so dam important to the crew then why aren’t they coming up to the Capitan’s quarters? I don’t mind doing these quests, but this was the majority of the game. After gathering a team in the last dozen Bioware games it would be nice to have one ready to go with no side issues/quests. Just an open galaxy with various missions that aren’t necessarily related to anyone aboard the Normandy.

Mass Effect 2 is another great Bioware game with all the usual features. This is also one of their most polished games. Importing your character from the first game is simply awesome and enriches the fictional universe. Fans will be enthralled with the new combat system, but saddened by another round of boring planet exploration. Bioware veterans may also be getting sick of the same old formula, but let’s not kid ourselves. Until some other company comes up with something better Bioware will continue to sell and score well. Snerts Snazzy Score for Mass Effect 2 is a 4.8 out of 5.

Down Down Down the Ring of Fire

Game: Dante’s Inferno

System: Xbox 360 & PS3

Release: January 2010

Dante’s Inferno is a God of War clone and proud of it. God of War is an action adventure hack/slash. Kratos is the main character, and his travels take us through all the major sites of Greek mythology. The combat helped to define a genre by including quick time events during cinematics and a solid combo system. Besides his main weapon Kratos uses magic, and he would have to solve the occasional puzzle. Replace Kratos with Dante, and Greek myth with Christian myth and you have Dante’s Inferno.

Dante’s Inferno (DI) is loosely based on the historic poem of the same name, and follows Dante’s decent into hell to save his dearest Beatrice. Unlike the poem Dante is an Italian crusader returning from the third crusades lead by Richard the Lionheart. Richard is the king that Robin Hood loves, but that is an entirely different story. Dante was a bad boy during his tour in the holy land. To show off his sins he made a tapestry and stitched the fabric to his chest. Unfortunately his wife and father wouldn’t be able to see his new found body art. They were murdered in their home, and the killer finished the job by stabbing Dante in the back.

Anyone who has played video games knows death is a joke, and DI takes that concept to heart. Apparently Dante is a super bad ass. He steals the infamous Scythe and kills Death. Not sure how a universe is suppose to go on without death, but who am I to judge? Armed with an unholy weapon Dante begins his decent into hell to save Beatrice who apparently made a deal with the devil. She bet her soul that Dante would be a good Christian during the Crusade—hahaha stupid girl. Nine circles of hell, and some obvious sequel foreshadowing, Dante absolves his sins to save his love.

Combat in DI is very similar to God of War. Dante wields the scythe mentioned above and a holy cross from his beloved Beatrice. The cross is a projectile attack, and the scythe can perform light, heavy, and throw moves. Magic is discovered in the game world—just like in GoW—or can be learned by gaining experience to purchase upgrades. Four spells can be equipped at one time, and are crucial to surviving the more difficult encounters. Dante will also find relics that enhance a wide variety of abilities. There are so many good relics that players can really customize a play through by focusing more on magic, defensive, or offensive combat.

DI has another unique feature that is not found in God of War. The upgrade system is divided into two groups unholy and holy. To level up Dante can either Punish or Absolve enemies and famous historical figures found in hell. I did enjoy absolving Atilla the Hun and damming the Queen of Troy. Unfortunately there is little incentive to punish anyone after unlocking all the unholy moves. You get more experience from absolving via a minigame, and these xp hubs do not affect the main story.
The last few things worth mentioning about DI are the art design and frame rate. The entire game runs at an average of 60fps. That is fantastic for this genre and creates smooth combat experiences. The art design is also well done. The environments are detailed and eye catching. You will never forget that you are in hell, yet each level has a distinct theme. The gluttony level has Dante traveling through demonic digestive system with vicious worms and hungry fat asses that try to eat you. The greed area has liquid hot gold to torture the damned. Visually the average enemies are nothing too special, but the numerous bosses are a hoot. The boss in the Circle of Lust has tongues for nipples, and Lucifer has cock and balls. Oh and encase you cared Satan’s package has physics.

The main campaign will take about eight hours. After completing the game a new mode called the Gates of Hell is unlocked. This is a series of challenges that were previewed in the games demo. For people who do not own a PS3, and will never own God of War III, Dante’s Inferno may be a good buy. There is plenty of fun to be had, and the art design is very appealing. I am also a history major and I thought the game captured the brutality of the crusades well. For Xbox 360 owners I’d recommend buying the game but don’t pay full price. PS3 peeps should just wait for God of War III, which is coming out in March. Snerts Snazzy Score grants Dante’s Inferno a 4 out of 5.