BioShock 2 Gameplay Footage

The first gameplay footage of BioShock 2 has finally been unveiled over at Gametrailers. The two-minute video features two segments, showing two different facets of the game.

First the player wanders down a creepy hallway in pursuit of a lightning-quick Big Sister, who leads the player into an atrium lit by a huge glass wall keeping out the ocean. The Big Sister leaps across the face of the glass, leaving sparks in her wake, and giving you only moments to realise what’s happening before the glass shatters and the water comes flooding in. The player flails in disorientation before finding his feet, and looks on to a transformed scene held in suspension by the ocean water.

In stark contrast, the next part showcases frenetic combat. The player wields a fire plasmid-powered fist and a Big Daddy rivet gun as he fends off waves of splicers, and tries to protect a Little Sister harvesting Adam from a corpse.

It’s good to finally have a look at the game, and it’s refreshing to be given straight footage of gameplay as opposed to an orchestrated presentation with extra fluff. At first glance it appears to be exactly the same game, with the same graphics engine and environmental assets. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the game has an iconic and distinctive look and it seems that the team has managed to keep that same feel and aesthetic. I do hope, though, that some enhancements and improvements are made to the engine to clean up where the original game fell short – like the overly plastic look of the models and surfaces, and limited framerate of the physics. Currently it seems more like an expansion than a true sequel, but there’s not a lot that can truly be gleaned from a two minute video so we’ll have to wait and see.

It’s clear that the first segment is a scripted sequence like many featured in the first game, but it’s a breathtaking set piece, well paced and retaining the tension we’re so familiar with. The Big Sister is appropriately unsettling in her ninja-like speed, and obvious strength. Many people complained that the first game had no underwater sequences, and it looks like the sequel will indeed have them. I don’t particularly think it would be very fun to trudge through water-filled areas but I am looking forward to seeing how the developers plan to make it worth playing through. The movement of the player doesn’t seem to be very much changed, despite the fact that we are controlling a Big Daddy, which I’m glad to see. One notable addition is the flashlight, which I would loved to have had in the first game.

The battle sequence appears a lot more open and freeform. The action is quite streamlined and smooth which is helped by the fact that you can now use your plasmids at the same time as your weapons, which is another welcome addition. It should change the dynamic of combat subtly when you no longer have to keep switching back and forth. It is interesting to see the two new weapons in action, the rivet gun and the drill arm. The latter has an associated lunge move as seen used by the Big Daddies. An interesting detail I noticed upon repeat viewings was the various placements of fires on the ground, which weren’t just random piles of blazing debris as I had first assumed. As mentioned in the Game Informer preview, players will have the ability to combine plasmid effects to create things like “fire charged cyclone traps”, which is exactly what we see in the video. Just as the action starts a splicer lands in one and goes flying in the air engulfed in flames.

A new indicator hangs on the left of the screen, a green bar that could possibly be related to the Little Sister gathering Adam on the floor. Once she is attacked by a splicer the bar flashes red and diminishes, which provides and explanation for the scenario playing out. As described in the latest PC Gamer UK podcast, apparently once you instruct the Little Sister to start extracting Adam the splicer onslaught is triggered, which means you must strategize and plan beforehand just like how you would in the first game to take on the Big Daddies. It’s good to see this aspect as it lets you set the pace and allows you to face the combat on your own terms.