Rockers Delight

Bioshock 2: Bring Back Jack

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 12:54 pm in General Gaming · Comments

Bioshock 2 is released in Europe today, which is odd given that it’s a Tuesday (we always get new releases on the Friday). I’m not that excited about it. Why? A couple of reasons, which I’m surprised to admit, especially as the first Bioshock was outstanding; one of the few games I will heartily recommend to anyone and everyone, simply because, from start to finish, it is consistently successful in creating a suspenseful environment with an unrivaled atmosphere. So yes, the original Bioshock was stellar, one of the 360’s finest exclusives. The sequel, however, has not only come at a wrong time for me, but it’s also the fact I can’t seem to muster up the enthusiasm to play as a Big Daddy.

What I particularly loved about Bioshock, was the entire story surrounding Jack, the character you took control of. He happened upon Rapture because of an airplane accident, and from the point you entered the lighthouse onwards, everything was unsettling and begging to be explored. Seriously, just thinking back to the first few moments of taking control of Jack and wading through the water towards the lighthouse is making me giddy. Big Daddies, as you know, are an integral part of Rapture. They were a familiar encounter in the original, and insanely fun to go up against. They were pretty resilient, but nothing a dozen electric bucks couldn’t take down.

The idea of playing as one isn’t as much fun. Firstly, Big Daddies are mindless drones, and I don’t see how progressing through the story at the hands of a drone can be as immersive as playing as a stranded human, fighting for his survival in a dauntingly surreal world. The original had a great means of beefing up the backstory in the form of dialogue tapes found throughout the world, and because you were so intent on helping your character survive, make sense of what has happened, and return home safely, these became items worth actively seeking out. While Big Daddies aren’t invincible, the matter of survival arguably isn’t as pressing as what it was with Jack. Maybe the sequel isn’t as rich in story, in which case there’s another minus point, but yeah… I can’t see playing as a Big Daddy rivaling the possibilities as lost human.

Another aspect of the original I dearly loved, and a reason that justified a second playthrough, was Jack’s relationship towards the Little Sisters. It was for you to decide how you dealt with them; the morally bankrupt Adam addict, or the hero who freed these girls from their possession. The trade-off was a perfect balance. If you saved the Little Sisters, you were every so often generously rewarded by Brigid Tenenabuaum, the creator of the Little Sisters. If you harvested them, however, you would grow to be more powerful at a faster speed as you fed off their Adam, subsequently making progressing through the game easier. As a Big Daddy, you have an allegiance with the Little Sisters, and so I doubt you will have to make any difficult choices in regards to their outcome. Hopefully this comes in another form, but nothing is quite so taboo as deciding whether to free or harvest a 7 year old girl. Odd sentence if taken out of context, but y’know…

If you’ve been following my blog / Twitter for a while, you may have noticed I refrain from spoiling any information on games prior to their release, that I like to approach them with a clean slate in a bid to be surprised. That means no reviews and no previews, but maybe the odd trailer if my curiosity gets the better of me. So, as you may have guessed, I know next to nothing about Bioshock 2 in terms of story. I’ve seen the new enemy, the imaginatively titled Big Sister, and I can only hope that she poses as much threat towards the Big Daddy’s survival as the Big Daddy did to Jack. I also hope the sequel throws moral choices our way, with interesting consequences as a result of our actions. With that said, however, I’m still not 100% convinced playing as a Big Daddy will be a lot of fun.

What about you? Do you think playing as a Big Daddy isn’t comparable to guiding Jack through Rapture, or is it possibly even better? Is everyone too busy with Mass Effect 2 to even care?

Tags: Bioshock, Bioshock 2