Review by newnowmusic - BioShock 2

There has been a lot of venom spat at Bioshock 2 in response to taking up the mantle of its predecessor. Bioshock was original and new, a revelation in plot based FSP's, may questioned if we needed to dive back into the underwater dystopia of Rapture.
I, personally, had nothing but praise for the original (as my review will show) but after a play through I see nothing lacking in the sequel whatsoever. The plot is just as immersive, if not more so with Sofia Lamb offering not only a fictional but thematic equal to that of Andrew Ryan.
There is not the iconic confrontational scene, the revelatory plot twist but the idea of good and bad, the dichotomy of choice within the games original is played out much further as you take on the role of vengeful Big Daddy subject Delta.
Your relationship with the little sisters is the true differing factor, the ability to adopt puts you in very different big metal shoes.
For me the story and characters were far more in depth, giving players the ability to find out about the true downfall of Rapture and its various characters, gave a complete picture of the ailing city. The twist from independent industrialism (which failed under the reign on Andrew Ryan) to the crutch of psychological socialism is an amazing plot to watch play out, even vicariously and after the fact.
Rapture itself is still as gloriously strewn down the river of decay as it was in the previous game, I would have liked to revisit some of the previously seen areas of the city but the use of the Atlantic Expressway and the underwater 'spacewalks' were an intriguing method of transporting the player across the vast city environment.
With the addition of bigger, badder, better splicers and the frightening Big Sisters the combat landscape is a useable battleground for defending your newly adopted little sisters and poses more than enough challenge to hardened games.
All in all Bioshock 2 gives us a greater sense of the world of Rapture, which is never a bad thing.