So today I want to talk about two of my favourite games of all time, BioShock and BioShock 2. There isn't really anything in particular that spawned this idea, it's just something I've been wanting to talk about for a while, and now seems like as good a time as ever. So the fanbase seems pretty divided over which game is better than the other, with most people preferring BioShock (though after Infinite came out, a bunch of people praising 2 started coming out of the woodwork, which I found kind of weird). Personally, though, I have the seemingly strange view of liking them both exactly the same, just for different reasons. I'll go into my positives and negatives for each game, starting with BioShock.
Oh I guess I should say there may be spoilers for both games, so if you haven't played them yet and still intend to (???) continue at your peril.
For anyone that's familiar with BioShock, I probably don't have to say too much about the positives of the game. It had an amazing unique setting, fantastic storytelling, and the gameplay was pretty great too. The plasmids, weapons, and tonics were all unique and really fun to use, allowing you to play through in lots of different ways. If you weren't playing Wrench Jockey, though, you were doing it wrong, of course. The characters were great too, all well-written and well-acted. From the main characters and villains to even just the regular old splicers, every character in the game seemed to be well thought out and fully realized.
The other great thing about the game was just how creepy it was. I don't think I would call it a horror game, but it definitely had some scary parts. Even ignoring the scripted shock-scare parts (of which there were a few), the game let your imagination run wild with creepy, bloody scenes strewn throughout the environment. The aforementioned characters did a great job of creeping me out too - finally encountering Dr. Steinman after learning about him and seeing his 'handiwork' throughout the first level was one of the most memorable moments from the game for me. Even the Big Daddy fights could be pretty scary, especially early on in the game. And how could we forget the plaster-covered, silent splicers from Fort Frolic, who were freaky as hell even when I knew they were coming.
However that brings me to BioShock's biggest downfall, in my mind. For me, Fort Frolic was the best area in the whole game. Being that it was only about halfway through, though, that causes a bit of a problem. Not that I felt that the reset of the areas in the game were bad; I still enjoyed them quite a bit, I just didn't feel like they reached as much of a high as Fort Frolic did. Of course, the big twist was amazing and mind-blowing, but the parts after that fell famously flat. It was really just a bit of a pacing problem in my mind. And then there was the final boss fight, which...well, I didn't hate it, but it was definitely kind of silly.
So now let's talk about BioShock 2. I'll start off with its negatives this time - the first being the obvious problem that it just wasn't as fresh as the first game. I loved going back to Rapture for more underwater insanity, but it just didn't inspire the same sense of awe that the first game did. Also, the game really just wasn't as scary as the first one. That made sense, of course, since this time you were a big, powerful Big Daddy instead of just a regular guy, but feeling so strong took away some of the fear you felt walking around the world, which was a bit lamentable.
Being a Big Daddy did have its perks, though, as the gameplay in 2 turned out to be better than in the first. The ability to dual wield plasmids and weapons was a a welcome addition, and the plasmids and weapons themselves felt more varied and overall just improved. I thought that the Big Sisters were another cool addition as well, as I found them really fun to fight, and they were a really unique enemy. Finally, the 'final boss battle' wasn't actually a boss at all, it was just a difficult, large-scale battle, which felt a bit more appropriate.
My favourite thing about BioShock 2, though, was that it really made me care more about the characters than I did for any of the characters in BioShock. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Subject Delta (me) and my 'daughter' Eleanor. And I actually have a unique story about it that really put my love for the game over the top.
At the end of one of the levels, I think it was Dionysus Park, you get to choose whether to kill or spare Stanley Poole. Now, if I remember right, in the past Poole kidnapped Eleanor, which lead to her becoming a Little Sister. At the very least, he did something bad to her. So anyway, I decided to let Poole live, because I always play games as the 'good guy'. As I left, Eleanor popped up in my ear and asked if I was sure about letting him live, after what he did to her. And then I thought, thinking as Delta, that Eleanor's mother had taught her everything she new up until now, and maybe if I as her 'father' could teach her anything, it would be forgiveness. Eleanor continued to say that she'd respect whatever I chose, so I left to go to the next level.
So anyway, skip forward to the end of the game, in the final cinematic when Delta, Eleanor, and Lamb are escaping Rapture. Eleanor is giving her wrap-up speech, which kind of summarizes the choices that you made. At one point, she actually says 'For you, mercy was victory. You sacrificed, you endured, and, when given the chance, you forgave, always," as she saved her mother from drowning. Now when I said that maybe I could teach her forgiveness, I wasn't actually expecting it to really get addressed or anything like that, so when she said that, it hit me pretty hard; I almost started to tear up a little bit! I feel like that good ending is one of the best endings of any game I've played, actually. Right up there with BioShock's good ending, which was amazingly touching as well.
So yeah, I mean there are lots of other little plusses and minuses about each game that I could probably go on talking about all day, but I have other things to do! You probably do, too. So I'll just leave it at that, that story from BioShock 2 is one of my favourite gaming memories, so it was one of the main things I wanted to share when I started this blog. These are really two of the best games ever, I think, and I just can't pick one that I prefer over the other.
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