Bioshock 2 Catch-All

Just finished Minerva's Den. Great stuff. I like the new weapon and plasmid quite a bit, as well as the new enemy types.

I have to say, though:

Spoiler:

I wish they hadn't introduced the idea that Sigma would have to have his genetic identity verified until right when he tried to restart The Thinker. As soon as they said that, I knew what was going to happen. If they had just waited, that would have made it much more of a surprise.

That quibble aside, the voice acting was really great! I didn't recognize Carl Lumbly's voice and had to look him up when I read his name. He did a great job, especially...

Spoiler:

at the end when you are headed to the bathysphere. The recording of him talking to The Thinker as Pearl was very well done. As was the voiceover of the ending sequence.

Good stuff!

I may have just set a new personal record for shortest time with a game ever.

I watched the intro sequence in which

Spoiler:

creepy lady forces big daddy to kill himself in front of little sister

And.. I'm done with this for now. I recall being disturbed by the first game but nothing that creeped me out this much.

Maybe I'll try again in another year or two...

Redherring wrote:

I may have just set a new personal record for shortest time with a game ever.

I watched the intro sequence in which

Spoiler:

creepy lady forces big daddy to kill himself in front of little sister

And.. I'm done with this for now. I recall being disturbed by the first game but nothing that creeped me out this much.

Maybe I'll try again in another year or two...

I would strongly suggest you reconsider; Bioshock 2 is one of the best games of this generation. It does have a much more personal story than either of the other Bioshock games, and I find it much more compelling. NOT REALLY A BIG SPOILER:

Spoiler:

The person who shoots himself? It's you. Clearly, you come back.

Bioshock 2 starts slow, but once you hit Siren's Alley or so (a few levels in), it begins to pick up, and then end of the game is pretty phenomenal. Very exciting, gripping, and drew me in like few other games have. Give it a chance. Also, Minerva's Den is probably the best DLC I've ever played.

Yes, I'll try again another day. I have Minerva's Den already downloaded. It's obviously just not the right game for me to be playing right now..

Agreed, Milkman. The Big Daddy/Little Sister relationship (one of the most intriguing aspects of BioShock 1) is very touching, and is able to pull those emotional strings in ways that most games don't. It's easily the most emotionally compelling of the three BioShock titles, and plays extremely well to boot.

Try it again; you won't be disappointed.

Minerva's Den just got added to steam and it looks like people who owned BioShock 2 *might* be getting it for free, but even if you aren't it's only ten dollars on steam and likely to be on sale this weekend as part of the 2K games sale anyways so if you've been waiting to pick it up now may be the time. Plus it looks like they might be removing GFWL from it pretty soon so that will be a nice bonus for people who have had trouble with that in the past.

Minerva's Den was absolutely great!!

IHateDRM wrote:

Minerva's Den just got added to steam and it looks like people who owned BioShock 2 *might* be getting it for free, but even if you aren't it's only ten dollars on steam and likely to be on sale this weekend as part of the 2K games sale anyways so if you've been waiting to pick it up now may be the time. Plus it looks like they might be removing GFWL from it pretty soon so that will be a nice bonus for people who have had trouble with that in the past.

About time. I've been checking the update history frequently on SteamDB hoping this was happening.

EDIT: Steam discussions are reporting the Steam achievements are working and they dropped GFWL + SecuROM.

shoptroll wrote:
IHateDRM wrote:

Minerva's Den just got added to steam and it looks like people who owned BioShock 2 *might* be getting it for free, but even if you aren't it's only ten dollars on steam and likely to be on sale this weekend as part of the 2K games sale anyways so if you've been waiting to pick it up now may be the time. Plus it looks like they might be removing GFWL from it pretty soon so that will be a nice bonus for people who have had trouble with that in the past.

About time. I've been checking the update history frequently on SteamDB hoping this was happening.

EDIT: Steam discussions are reporting the Steam achievements are working and they dropped GFWL + SecuROM.

As someone who recently played BS2 and Minerva's Den, GFWL was one of the worst things about the port.

I was about to post that steam just randomly updated Bioshock2 for me... seemed like a pretty big download as well. Not sure what that was about! Minerva's den for free, you say?

Went to the store to wishlist it and saw THIS:

Bioshock 2: Minerva's Den wrote:

You already own BioShock 2: Minerva’s Den

Hot damn. Downloading Bioshock 2 again.

This is super news. Now I just need to dig out my BS2 box for the activation key.

Deadmonkeys wrote:

Went to the store to wishlist it and saw THIS:

Bioshock 2: Minerva's Den wrote:

You already own BioShock 2: Minerva’s Den

Hot damn. Downloading Bioshock 2 again.

Yeah, what's this about? How come no announcement or anything? You'd think this would at least be on the news update portion of the Bioshock 2 page or something!

Duoae wrote:
Deadmonkeys wrote:

Went to the store to wishlist it and saw THIS:

Bioshock 2: Minerva's Den wrote:

You already own BioShock 2: Minerva’s Den

Hot damn. Downloading Bioshock 2 again.

Yeah, what's this about? How come no announcement or anything? You'd think this would at least be on the news update portion of the Bioshock 2 page or something!

You mean this? http://store.steampowered.com/news/1...

shoptroll wrote:

You mean this? http://store.steampowered.com/news/1...

We get all the DLC for free? Thank you based Valve/2k.

shoptroll wrote:

You mean this? http://store.steampowered.com/news/1...

That's not linked on the library page of the content and wasn't there before for me. Also, AFAICS Minerva's Den is not mentioned?

Not only that, but the Steam version of BioShock 2 includes all available multiplayer downloadable content, as well as the single player “Protector Trials” DLC!

Though it does mention it for third party digital stores...

If you have already purchased BioShock 2 through a different digital partner, we’ve got you covered. Simply take the same game activation key you already own and “activate” it within Steam. Doing this will grant you access to BioShock 2, all of its multiplayer and Protector Trials DLC, as well as Minerva’s Den – the single player story-driven add-on that includes new weapons, enemies, and plasmids!

This was the best news of the day. A while ago, I tried to buy Minerva's Den when GFWL had it on sale. Shockingly, there was some issue with GFWL, and it completely refused to take my money or give me a useful error message. I futzed with it for an hour before giving in and deciding the DLC wasn't worth the trouble.

Getting it on a platform that will actually give it to me, and for free, is super awesome. Guess it's time to finally get around to playing it. Maybe then I can justify getting Infinite.

Hooray 2K!

They've certainly set the standard for cleaning up GFWL fallout.

I've confirmed I've got Minerva's Den and I had BioShock 2 from a Steam sale a few years ago. Excellent!

Kloreep wrote:

Hooray 2K!

They've certainly set the standard for cleaning up GFWL fallout.

Now if only they would patch in Steam achievements into the original game too

Minerva's Den is pretty unstable for me: In four hours of game time I've had three crashes, two of which set me back by 30 minutes or more.

Save often.

I tried playing this again for the third time, and I think I'm finally done. I just can't get through it. I think my major problem is the engine. It doesn't feel precise at all to me.

I didn't find Rapture all that interesting the first time around either, and this story isn't grabbing me either. I guess I should've expected not to like the sequel.

Is Minerva's Den all that different? I heard it's special, but if it involves more cramped hallways, audio recordings, and big glowing arrows I think I'll skip it too.

PaladinTom wrote:

I tried playing this again for the third time, and I think I'm finally done. I just can't get through it. I think my major problem is the engine. It doesn't feel precise at all to me.

I didn't find Rapture all that interesting the first time around either, and this story isn't grabbing me either. I guess I should've expected not to like the sequel.

Is Minerva's Den all that different? I heard it's special, but if it involves more cramped hallways, audio recordings, and big glowing arrows I think I'll skip it too.

It sounds like these just aren't your type of game. I wouldn't normally say this but you can probably just skip Minerva's Den. I would also skip Infinite, I liked it at first but on further reflection I just find it infuriating for reasons I won't get into, and I don't think it'll fix any of your gripes with the series.

I'd agree with IHateDRM. Minerva's Den is a very good Bioshock experience, but it's still the same thing. Ditto Infinite - it's prettier and a bit more open but fundamentally very similar. Fine for those of us who like it, but I don't think it would change your mind.

Sonicator wrote:

I'd agree with IHateDRM.

Finally! I knew if I stuck around this forum long enough someone would.

It doesn't sound like this game is going to be your cup of tea PaladinTom, but to address one of your irritations you can disable the quest arrow in the options menu. That's the first thing I did, to get rid of all of the glowy "go here!" stuff as fast I could.

IHateDRM wrote:
Sonicator wrote:

I'd agree with IHateDRM.

Finally! I knew if I stuck around this forum long enough someone would. ;)

Resurrecting this thread in light of the Bioshock Remastered Collection sale.
I played 1 and Infinite back in the day but skipped. 2. I have to say it (remastered) holds up well and the atmosphere is still quite good. Mechanics, so far, don’t seem too antiquated. $9.99 for all three games is awfully good.

Last week I finished Resident Evil Village and I certainly appreciate the navigational arrow In this game to keep the action moving.

For what it's worth, Bioshock 2 was actually my favorite of the three.

Just about done. Excellent. Remastered looks great.

Absolutely my favourite Bioshock game. I got the Remastered versions years ago, (I think they were free to existing owners?) and I've been wanting to go back and play again.