Bioshock 2 Catch-All

You should always be skeptical of the release a sequel, be it a game or movie.

If the latest rumors are true, meh.

That being said, it could well be interesting. I've heard stupider sounding ideas that play out _REALLY_ well.

Especially considering the something in the sea site. It looks like it's got entirely too much atmosphere to suck that hard.

Kannon wrote:

Especially considering the something in the sea site. It looks like it's got entirely too much atmosphere to suck that hard.

And you consider the Halo games to meet the level of their fiction? (especially Halo 2 compared to I Love bees)

Duoae wrote:
Kannon wrote:

Especially considering the something in the sea site. It looks like it's got entirely too much atmosphere to suck that hard.

And you consider the Halo games to meet the level of their fiction? (especially Halo 2 compared to I Love bees)

Problem with Halo is the gameplay runs _counter_ to the fiction. You're encouraged to run-n-gun through the world, with no incentive to stop and look. It's part of the reason I can't stand Halo.

With bioshock, you're at least encouraged to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. So, it's got that, at least. Besides, this is all purely preliminary. I'm willing to take a look, just for the sake of encouraging developers to try something new. Besides, it could work, you never know.

Debut Gameplay

Hey look, is that an escort mission?

There was a little sister among the splicers. See them trying to jump on her.

Looks good. I like the flooding.

Thirteenth wrote:

Debut Gameplay

:yawn:

adam.greenbrier wrote:
Thirteenth wrote:

Debut Gameplay

:yawn:

I agree. Love the environments (again) but other than that, doesn't look nearly as engaging as the first.

Not sure how I feel about being able to switch between the drill and rivet gun on the same hand. It looked to me like those things were permanent parts of the suit.

However, on second thought, there was one thing that looked like a major improvement over the first: a freaking flashlight.

You guys don't think it's totally sweet when the Big Sister blows open the whole huge glass wall and the ocean comes in?

Maybe I'm just easily impressed.

Podunk wrote:

You guys don't think it's totally sweet when the Big Sister blows open the whole huge glass wall and the ocean comes in?

Maybe I'm just easily impressed. :)

I thought it looked awesome. But I am easily impressed. ooooohh shiny!

Podunk wrote:

You guys don't think it's totally sweet when the Big Sister blows open the whole huge glass wall and the ocean comes in?

Maybe I'm just easily impressed. :)

Yes, but I'm not convinced the Big Sister had to be the one to do that and that the player had to be a Big Daddy to survive it... though the fact that the flood doesn't really seem to BOTHER him is kind of cool.

I still think the Big Sister should have been Tenebaum.

It indeed looked neat, but I am still skeptical of the overall existence of the product. Basically, they still have a long way to go.

I'm a little sceptical because it looks exactly like the first game.

I was initially under the impression that the game was a prequel and I figured that even if the location remained in Rapture, it would at least be the pre-breakdown version (neat, clean, intact), or early building phases of the city. Either of these options would change the look and feel of the game pretty significantly, without losing touch with the lore.

I don't know, this just looks like BioShock 1.5...like an expansion pack or a mod project or something.

I hope there's a bit more aesthetic diversity revealed with future media, something to ward of the "samey" vibe I'm getting from the first video.

Some gameplay footage:

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/10/heres-your-first-look-at-bioshock-2-gameplay-footage/

The underwater FX are pretty nice.

Aaron D. wrote:

I was initially under the impression that the game was a prequel and I figured that even if the location remained in Rapture, it would at least be the pre-breakdown version (neat, clean, intact), or early building phases of the city. Either of these options would change the look and feel of the game pretty significantly, without losing touch with the lore.

Yeah, the prequel thing was never anything more than community speculation. It would have been cool though.

Podunk wrote:
Aaron D. wrote:

I was initially under the impression that the game was a prequel and I figured that even if the location remained in Rapture, it would at least be the pre-breakdown version (neat, clean, intact), or early building phases of the city. Either of these options would change the look and feel of the game pretty significantly, without losing touch with the lore.

Yeah, the prequel thing was never anything more than community speculation. It would have been cool though.

Most of the community speculation I've heard would have been cooler... :/

The only vibe I'm getting is "Again?"

Bioshock 1.5 would actually be okay with me. Bioshock started with so much promise, and then fell flat for me. Very dissapointing, actually. If this is a redo, and they actually hit it this time, that's fine by me. (Plus, the akimbo gameplay style looks like it'd actually add quite a bit. Anyone remember Undying? I loved that system.

Aaron D. wrote:

I don't know, this just looks like BioShock 1.5...like an expansion pack or a mod project or something.

That's the vibe I'm starting to get. Even the idea that you're a Big Daddy, this lumbering, moaning, non-human entity from the first one, but you've still got the same transmission radio with you so that Tennenbaum can talk to you, feels recycled. Maybe it's just my expectations need to be reset, but I think the unique atmosphere was without a doubt the "hook" that made the original game so appealing. With most shooters like Gears of War, COD, Half-Life, etc., I'm fine with sequels being just more of the same but slightly refined, but for some reason it rubs me the wrong way with this game.

kuddles wrote:
Aaron D. wrote:

I don't know, this just looks like BioShock 1.5...like an expansion pack or a mod project or something.

That's the vibe I'm starting to get. Even the idea that you're a Big Daddy, this lumbering, moaning, non-human entity from the first one, but you've still got the same transmission radio with you so that Tennenbaum can talk to you, feels recycled. Maybe it's just my expectations need to be reset, but I think the unique atmosphere was without a doubt the "hook" that made the original game so appealing. With most shooters like Gears of War, COD, Half-Life, etc., I'm fine with sequels being just more of the same but slightly refined, but for some reason it rubs me the wrong way with this game.

I'm right there with you. Bioshock felt like a complete experience with real closure, so returning to a similar place with similar enemies is a bit of a downer. I'm OK with more of the same to some extent, but if the whole game is a remix of what we've already seen in the first game, it's going to suffer for it.

Watching this trailer a few more times, I'm struck again by something that also seemed to be missing from Bioshock: the complete lack of fluid dynamics. This wasn't as much of a big deal with Bioshock because none of the gameplay really involved interaction with the water, but it seems odd in Bioshock 2. The flooding sequence seems to just be a scripted cutscene that transitions between un-flooded and flooded maps for an area. I would have loved to have seen something like the things on display in the Hydrophobia trailer come up in this game.

A nice touch in this trailer: the graffiti on the wall at the beginning; "We will be reborn in the womb of the ocean."

Certis wrote:
kuddles wrote:
Aaron D. wrote:

I don't know, this just looks like BioShock 1.5...like an expansion pack or a mod project or something.

That's the vibe I'm starting to get. Even the idea that you're a Big Daddy, this lumbering, moaning, non-human entity from the first one, but you've still got the same transmission radio with you so that Tennenbaum can talk to you, feels recycled. Maybe it's just my expectations need to be reset, but I think the unique atmosphere was without a doubt the "hook" that made the original game so appealing. With most shooters like Gears of War, COD, Half-Life, etc., I'm fine with sequels being just more of the same but slightly refined, but for some reason it rubs me the wrong way with this game.

I'm right there with you. Bioshock felt like a complete experience with real closure, so returning to a similar place with similar enemies is a bit of a downer. I'm OK with more of the same to some extent, but if the whole game is a remix of what we've already seen in the first game, it's going to suffer for it.

Yeah, I've read a lot of impressions from the trailer and there's quite a number of people questioning why there's a sequel at all, esp. since this first trailer gives "more of the same" vibes.

Some things just don't need sequels. Occasionally it works (Alien/Aliens movies), most of the time it doesn't (every movie sequel of The Crow).

BioShock is just one of those rare gems that feels like a complete package, front to back. Like an entity onto itself. I hope BioShock 2 doesn't dilute the perfect package that was the first game.

All that said, I've looked at the clip a couple more times and it does look really nice. The effects when the player is under water look pretty damn incredible and the fighting sequence during the second half looks more fluid and action-oriented (in a good way) than the first game.

Either way I've no doubt I'll be picking up BioShock 2 at launch, I just hope there's more creativity going on here than the "Rapture: Day Two" feelings I'm getting from the first video.

Who knows? Maybe they'll end up surprising us in the end.

I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. I was skeptical of the original Bioshock until the demo knocked me on my ass.

Throw me into the "meh" pile. I'm cautiously disappointed. Love Bioshock and feel disappointed by the gameplay footage of BS2

Even if it's just more of the same, I'll still enjoy it. After all, I've played through some far more mediocre FPS's than a rehashed Bioshock would be (Prey for example). This would relegate it to being bought after the price has been reduced though.

It just is depressing because Bioshock seemed to have so much heart behind it and to see a sequel just trying to cash in on the success of the original without being inspirational in it's own right is unsettling.

dumb_kid wrote:

Some gameplay footage:

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/10/heres-your-first-look-at-bioshock-2-gameplay-footage/

The underwater FX are pretty nice.

Would coughing a post in the same thread as the cough's source cause the world to implode? Let's find out!

The more I think about or watch this trailer, the more I get a "shameless rehash sequel" feeling. I guess my interest is starting to wane quicker than I initially expected....