BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

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  • Flawless
    Bang-bang! Down-down!
    • Mar 2004
    • 16780

    #136
    Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

    Kotaku Preview

    BioShock 2's camera shoots video, sort of. If the player selects the camera option, points at an enemy and pulls the trigger to activate it, the enemy glows gold and a ticker on the bottom left corner of the screen begins to roll up a count of numbers. Those numbers roll faster if you engage the enemy in combat and kill it well. After the kill, the tally is graded (Did you get a C? An A?) and the numbers are added to the research total, advancing progress toward the next of four unlockables for each enemy. Those unlocked features, as with the first game, are anything from new powers to new player potency against the filmed enemy.

    The video system is like the new game's system for protecting a Little Sister while she's harvesting Adam life energy (I wrote that in the last single-player preview). These are well-designed additions and alterations to playing a BioShock game. They incentivize players to do the things the first game made possible: Fighting strategically without fear of being aggressive in the process. What was largely an optional style in the first games isn't quite required but certainly more amply rewarded in this sequel.
    Technology, further plot details and gameplay aside, what struck me most about the new levels I played was the mood. An early signal, seen in one of the game's first levels, is that this game does not allow backtracking to previous levels. The player takes a train through Rapture to each new level and is warned each time, without much elegance or narrative justification, that a return visit will not be an option. The elimination of the option to backtrack seeds foreboding.

    Forging ahead offers many of the comforts of a BioShock: The reassurance of radio chatter from supposedly allied characters and even the orderliness of radio contact from one's nemesis. There are more moral choices to be made. Pauper's Drop offers one decision of life or death that would seemingly be without controversy. Little Sisters found throughout the game's levels, always accompanied by increasingly powerful Big Daddys, can, at any moment after their Daddy's been defeated, be harvested or saved, offering more choice, more sense of player agency and control.

    Yet that inability to backtrack is coupled with something else that makes the mind wander to life beyond (after?) Rapture: The sights of the sea. The clouded green waters outside the Rapture of the first BioShock have been replaced with the unnaturally bright light blue aquatic jungle outside the windows of Rapture in BioShock 2. Sharks and squid swim out there amid sea plants on this Atlantic Ocean floor that are colorful enough to be inviting. And out into this beautiful landscape you will go, more than once and not by choice. The sea is inviting. It makes Rapture feel like a relic of the past.

    The sense I get is that I am not long for Rapture or Rapture is not long for me. If Rapture is the star character of BioShock, I wonder with this new game, as I did not with the first, if it can die.

    Misdirection is possible. If the first BioShock is any indication, misdirection might even be mandatory. The dread is there anyway, mixed with the joy that two more levels down, the new BioShock 2 plays very well, keeps doling out powers and weapons and new enemy types. It is a game that's coming together well even if there's something — in terms of its fiction and the future of its famous city — that seems like it could be on the verge of blowing apart.
    Go Noles!!! >>----->

    Comment

    • Flawless
      Bang-bang! Down-down!
      • Mar 2004
      • 16780

      #137
      Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

      <object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HTMCVhle724&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HTMCVhle724&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>
      Go Noles!!! >>----->

      Comment

      • frostbyte06
        Cold & Cocky
        • Sep 2004
        • 1219

        #138
        Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

        Guide to New Plasmids...put it in spoiler tags just to be safe

        MTV brings viewers the best in lifestyle and competition reality shows, plus live events featuring the biggest names in entertainment.


        Spoiler

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        • Flawless
          Bang-bang! Down-down!
          • Mar 2004
          • 16780

          #139
          Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

          BioShock 2 Director Explains Vita-Chamber Changes, Backtracking Prohibition

          "You can turn them off if you wish, making the game much more traditional." Thomas said. "Within that, you can adjust your difficulty to make it more or less of a challenge to get through an encounter. [For example,] you could turn off the vita-chambers and still play it on easy.... But the main criticism that we derived from the first game was the Vita-thrashing exploit, which was — because there were ammo-less weapons in the game and because there were consensual boss fights in the game — the idea of just using an ammo-less weapon and playing Lemmings over and over again until the cliff just disappears. [It was] was degenerate in many many ways... It was fun for no one. So now the Little Sisters will heal the Big Daddys a percentage of their health if you don't take them out. So you do have to invest in their demise."

          The other design decision Thomas detailed for Kotaku was the recent discovery — in the preview build I reported on yesterday — that players won't be able to backtrack and visit any of the game's large levels once they leave them. While I suspected a narrative reason for this, Thomas said the decision was more of a technical one.

          "A lot of people don't know this, but the amount of backtracking most players physically did in BioShock was minimal. The amount of effort that went into supporting it was immense. We came down to having to choose between supporting backtracking and much more interesting, readable features ...and decided to invest in things we thought people would actually notice. We also got some knock-on benefits like shorter loading times because of the way the memory was structured once backtracking was no longer an issue."

          Thomas said that the game will adapt to make the prohibition on backtracking not as punitive to players as they might think. While the player might miss out on some collectibles in the levels they leave behind, they won't miss out on accessing any Little Sisters and the character-enhancing Adam that they provide access to.

          As with the first game, Bioshock 2's levels contain Big Daddy - Little Sister tandems that the player can interact with, killing the Big Daddy and then either rescuing or harvesting the Little Sister for energy. If you don't get to all the Little Sisters in a given level in this sequel, you won't miss out. "When you leave an area, your number of available Little Sisters travels with you," Thomas said. The game will just put more Little Sisters in subsequent levels, and while this could lead to a case of there being lots of them in a late level — should the player not go after many of them early in the game — he doesn't think most people will play the game that way.
          Go Noles!!! >>----->

          Comment

          • Flawless
            Bang-bang! Down-down!
            • Mar 2004
            • 16780

            #140
            Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

            First reviews:

            CVG

            PSM3 awarded the follow-up 93%, saying it "tops the original in terms of storytelling and combat."

            PC Gamer meanwhile went with a lower but still impressive score of 90%, concluding that "the mechanics that made the original BioShock such fun return, better than before," and "it's still better written than pretty much anything else out there."
            Go Noles!!! >>----->

            Comment

            • teamgt
              Banned
              • Apr 2009
              • 59

              #141
              15min of Bioshock 2 Gameplay

              Ten years after the events of BioShock, Rapture is now in the hands of the sinister Sofia Lamb, whose collectivist ideals directly clash with her predecessor’s guiding principles. As the prototype Big Daddy, you awaken without any knowledge or understanding of what has happened in Rapture since you were put into stasis--your only desire is to find the Little Sister with whom you bonded. Defend your underwater utopia from Sofia and her army of Big Sisters or take the fight online in multiplayer modes set during the fall of Rapture. Would you kindly check our BioShock 2 launch center for the latest news, previews, movies, and more?






              GameSpot is the world's largest source for PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PS Vita, Wii PC, 3DS, PSP, DS, video game news, reviews, previews, trailers, walkthroughs, and more.

              Comment

              • Seymour Scagnetti
                Banned
                • Oct 2006
                • 2489

                #142
                Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

                I don't know. Seeing some gameplay footage on GS it just looks like more of the same. The graphics don't look better and it looks more like DLC of the original rather than a bonafide sequal. They even play the same music. I was expecting more creativity.

                Comment

                • Flawless
                  Bang-bang! Down-down!
                  • Mar 2004
                  • 16780

                  #143
                  Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

                  <div style="width: 480px;"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="392"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=61530"/><param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=61530" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="true" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="392"></embed> </object><div style="font-size: 10px; font-family: Verdana; text-align: center; width: 480px; padding-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; background-color: black; height: 32px;"><div><a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com" title="GameTrailers.com">Video Games</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/game/bioshock-2/10456" title="BioShock 2">BioShock 2</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/video/launch-trailer-bioshock-2/61530" title="Launch Trailer">Launch Trailer</a></div><div style="padding-top: 3px;"><a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://xbox360.gametrailers.com/" title="XBox 360">XBox 360</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://ps3.gametrailers.com/" title="PS3">Playstation 3</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://wii.gametrailers.com/" title="Wii">Nintendo Wii</a></div></div></div>

                  ...

                  Toys R Us Rewards Members deal - $10 Gift Card plus Big Sister and Little Sister 2-pack action Figures with purchase of BioShock 2.

                  Go Noles!!! >>----->

                  Comment

                  • LingeringRegime
                    Hall Of Fame
                    • Jun 2007
                    • 17089

                    #144
                    Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

                    The MP looks very fun in this game.

                    Comment

                    • Flawless
                      Bang-bang! Down-down!
                      • Mar 2004
                      • 16780

                      #145
                      Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

                      How to Deathmatch in BioShock 2

                      We're about one week away from the launch of BioShock 2, the sequel to one of the most critically acclaimed games of the modern era. On February 9th in the U.S., those who play on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or their PC will get a chance to dive back into the underwater city of Rapture and experience a different story from the perspective of a Big Daddy. Quite a bit of how that plays and feels has been covered previously, which you can check out over on our BioShock 2 information page. For this feature, we're going to talk about multiplayer.

                      To some it's probably still a little weird to think of BioShock and deathmatches since the first game didn't have an online mode at all. Instead, there was just the story of Jack and his struggle against the freakish forces that patrolled Rapture's halls. For the sequel, developer Digital Extremes was tapped to build out the multiplayer component, and as it turns out it's pretty fun. Below you'll find all the details on how this mode works, the way things are unlocked, and the type of gameplay experiences you can expect.
                      Multiplayer Orientation:

                      <object width='480' height='270' id='ignplayer' data='http://media.ign.com/ev/embed.swf' type='application/x-shockwave-flash'><param name='movie' value='http://media.ign.com/ev/embed.swf' /><param name='allowfullscreen' value='true' /><param name='allowscriptaccess' value='always' /><param name='bgcolor' value='#000000' /><param name='flashvars' value='vgroup=bioshock2_spc_multiplayerOV_020210&o bject=14240341' /></object><div style='width:480;'><a href='http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/14240341/bioshock-2/videos/bioshock2_spc_multiplayerOV_020210.html'>More BioShock 2 Videos</a></div>
                      Go Noles!!! >>----->

                      Comment

                      • frostbyte06
                        Cold & Cocky
                        • Sep 2004
                        • 1219

                        #146
                        Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

                        Well crud, I was hoping we would get a demo announcement today.....oh well

                        Comment

                        • Beantown
                          #DoYourJob
                          • Feb 2005
                          • 31523

                          #147
                          Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

                          I had completely forgotten there was even multiplayer in this game.

                          Damn, I'm even more excited now.

                          Comment

                          • Flawless
                            Bang-bang! Down-down!
                            • Mar 2004
                            • 16780

                            #148
                            Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

                            GameSpot Video Preview:

                            <object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_8IwyqkTtA8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_8IwyqkTtA8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

                            3:26 where the Little Sister sticks the syringe.
                            Go Noles!!! >>----->

                            Comment

                            • LingeringRegime
                              Hall Of Fame
                              • Jun 2007
                              • 17089

                              #149
                              Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

                              IGN Review is up...(9.1)



                              February 5, 2010 - Take a moment to consider how bizarre this game world really is. It's set in an underwater sprawl of surface-style skyscrapers, a city called Rapture. Filling the pressurized space is a society founded by an industrialist named Andrew Ryan with the notion that there'd be no limits on what the individual could accomplish. It was all a spectacular failure as the civilization that developed on the ocean floor turned to genetic modification. Gradually their sanity was devoured by their unrestricted experimentation as they ripped each other to shreds and withdrew into private pockets of insanity. It was a city so rotten and morally oblivious it spawned Little Sisters, girls who roamed Rapture's leaky halls performing the repulsive task of plunging needles into the dead and extracting and ingesting genetic material. Between all the twists of plot was woven an entertaining style of gameplay in the first BioShock, making for a mix of powerful play mechanics, mood, and joy of exploration rarely seen, and one that wound up resonating with the public, making the game a critical and commercial success.
                              Last edited by LingeringRegime; 02-05-2010, 01:29 PM.

                              Comment

                              • LionsFanNJ
                                All Star
                                • Apr 2006
                                • 9464

                                #150
                                Re: BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

                                If anyone's been watching the something in the sea site, it looks like Mark's found Rapture, but his condition...
                                HELLO BROOKYLN.
                                All Black Everything

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