Whilst everyone and their sisters are enjoying Bioshock 2’s brilliant single player I have taken it upon myself to get to grips with the less enthused about portion of the game, the multiplayer, and you know what? It’s good.
First thing you have to get over is the chunk-o-riffic presentation, everything feels big from the guns to the gigantic crosshairs and of course, the hulking Big Daddies. The game is a million miles from the elegant sheen of Call of Duty or Bad Company, Bioshock is the warthog to their cheater, but The Lion King showed us just how charismatic a warthog can be….
Hakuna Matata
Secondly you won’t be securing many cheap kills with throwaway headshots, combat in Bioshock demands you to be on your toes, ballerina style. Due to the nature of the game you don’t know who’s hacked a turret or if there is a booby trap somewhere, or what plasmid or weapon the next goon is going to run around a corner brandishing unless you’re paying attention.
And that’s arguably the strangest thing many people will find about Bioshock’s multiplayer; corners. As to be presumed of a game set in an underwater dystopia there aren’t many fields to do battle over. The levels and hectic gameplay more echoes the claustrophobic gun fights of Goldeneye or Unreal Tournament than it does Halo, all the more so because you need to secure additional plasmid ammo dropped around the level to keep yourself fighting fit, but ultimately it always feels like Bioshock.
Look at the size of that Shotgun! at that height the kickback should blind you.
As with all modern multiplayer FPS games Bioshock has a leveling system, traveling up the ranks secures new guns to blast people with, new tonics to buff yourself with, and new plasmids to royally screw other people over with, and of these three it’s those gene altering magic powers that help Bioshock feel unique.
Some plasmids work well in conjunction, some will help you escape quickly with a Little Sister, some simply deal huge damage. Knowing which plasmids to equip and when can make the difference in every situations, but more importantly they breed experimentation and you’ll amaze yourself time and again at your burgeoning combat creativity. Fights just aren’t this dynamic with C4 and a UAV.
And then there’s playing as the Big Daddy, not since twatting four survivors off a roof in Left 4 Dead has a multiplayer filled you with a feeling of such dominance, armed with obscenely powerful proximity mines, a crippling stun stomp, and a gun that launches rivets the size of your face an effective Big Daddy can dominate both offensively and defensively. All that and you make brilliant stompy sounds as you walk.
The game has a great sense of character without feeling forced.
So whilst the initial levels are quite a task to get through Bioshock 2’s multiplayer evolves into a surprisingly creative, if somewhat manic multiplayer mode that is different enough to the norm to be worth checking out, you may just find a new favourite online time waster. It’s a shame there’s not more to your ‘apartment’, but perhaps there will be some tasty story messages from Sinclaire at the higher ranks? Back to Rapture for me!
Whilst everyone and their sisters are enjoying Bioshock 2’s brilliant single player I have taken it upon myself to get to grips with the less enthused about portion of the game, the multiplayer, and you know what? It’s good…
First thing you have to get over is the chunk-o-riffic presentation, everything feels big from the guns to the gigantic crosshairs and of course, the hulking Big Daddies, the game is a million miles from the elegant head up display of Call of Duty or Bad Company, Bioshock is the warthog to their cheater, but The Lion King showed us just how charismatic a warthog can be….
Secondly you won’t be securing many cheap kills with throwaway headshots, combat in Bioshock demands you to be on your toes, ballerina style. Due to the nature of the game you don’t know who’s hacked a turret or if there is a booby trap somewhere, or what plasmid or weapon the next goon is going to run around a corner brandishing unless you’re paying attention.
And that’s arguably the strangest thing many people will find about Bioshock’s multiplayer; corners. As to be presumed of a game set in an underwater dystopia there aren’t many fields to do battle over. The levels and hectic gameplay more echoes the claustrophobic gun fights of Goldeneye or Unreal Tournament than it does Halo, all the more so because you need to secure additional plasmid ammo dropped around the level to keep yourself fighting fit, but ultimately it always feels like Bioshock.
As with all modern multiplayer FPS games Bioshock has a leveling system, traveling up the ranks secures new guns to blast people with, new tonics to buff yourself with, and new plasmids to royally screw other people over with, and of these three it’s those gene altering magic powers that help Bioshock feel unique.
Some plasmids work well in conjunction, some will help you escape quickly with a Little Sister, some simply deal huge damage. Knowing which plasmids to equip and when can make the difference in every situations, but more importantly they breed experimentation and you’ll amaze yourself time and again at your burgeoning combat creativity. Fights just aren’t this dynamic with C4 and a UAV.
And then there’s playing as the Big Daddy, not since twatting four survivors off a roof in Left 4 Dead has a multiplayer filled you with a feeling of such dominance, armed with obscenely powerful proximity mines, a crippling stun stomp, and a gun that launches rivets the size of your face an effective Big Daddy can dominate both offensively and defensively. All that and you make brilliant stompy sounds as you walk.
So whilst the initial levels are quite a task to get through Bioshock 2’s multiplayer evolves into a surprisingly creative, if somewhat manic multiplayer mode that is different enough to the norm to be worth checking out, you may just find a new favourite online time waster.
I look forward to next weeks!
Mokeyjoe.
Roonmastor.
JK.
Dalagonash.
