Mass Effect 2 & Bioshock 2 Reviews (2-16-10)

Spoony | Feb 16 2010 | more | 
Share

Sequels everywhere!

Share
  • Anonymous

    sorry I double my comment…

  • Anonymous

    Know what you mean about Bioshock 2. I’m watching reviews, and so many seem to be praising the fact that it is the same game as Bioshokc just not as good. Quite frankly, it turned me off. Makes me think I should just go back and play the first again.

    As for Mass Effect 2, I didn’t like Mass Effect the first time due to Mako and the fact that so many planets that you could land on had a crashed probe, some minerals and a Geth trap, but second time through I enjoyed it a lot more and decided to get ME2. Finishing my second playthrough of KOTOR now, and what you said about most RPG’s having a halo-encompassed good response verses devil horns bad response that don’t really allow you to make a rounded character is right for this one. I help someone out, and I either have to say ‘just doing my job!’ or kill them. Not quite as good as the first time around, but it might just be that I played it so long ago and still remember what even the small, insignificant rooms are going to look like before I enter them.

  • Anonymous

    Know what you mean about Bioshock 2. I’m watching reviews, and so many seem to be praising the fact that it is the same game as Bioshokc just not as good. Quite frankly, it turned me off. Makes me think I should just go back and play the first again.

    As for Mass Effect 2, I didn’t like Mass Effect the first time due to Mako and the fact that so many planets that you could land on had a crashed probe, some minerals and a Geth trap, but second time through I enjoyed it a lot more and decided to get ME2. Finishing my second playthrough of KOTOR now, and what you said about most RPG’s having a halo-encompassed good response verses devil horns bad response that don’t really allow you to make a rounded character is right for this one. I help someone out, and I either have to say ‘just doing my job!’ or kill them. Not quite as good as the first time around, but it might just be that I played it so long ago and still remember what even the small, insignificant rooms are going to look like before I enter them.

  • Hayden

    Hey spoony i am looking into starting to make videos on the internet and i had been wondering how many people watch your vids and (if you dont mind me asking) how much you make (money) love your videos please respond

  • Hayden

    Hey spoony i am looking into starting to make videos on the internet and i had been wondering how many people watch your vids and (if you dont mind me asking) how much you make (money) love your videos please respond

  • Hayden

    hi spoon im planing on making videos on the internet and my question is how many people watch your vids and (if you dont mind me asking) how much money you make? i love your vids pls respond

  • Hayden

    hi spoon im planing on making videos on the internet and my question is how many people watch your vids and (if you dont mind me asking) how much money you make? i love your vids pls respond

  • Anonymous

    Is that a Great Teacher Onizuka shirt? Spoony you are all kinds of awesome! :D

  • Anonymous

    Is that a Great Teacher Onizuka shirt? Spoony you are all kinds of awesome! :D

  • Anonymous

    Is that a Great Teacher Onizuka shirt? Spoony, you are all kinds of awesome! :D

  • Anonymous

    Is that a Great Teacher Onizuka shirt? Spoony, you are all kinds of awesome! :D

  • Anonymous

    OK, my two cents on Bioshock being a successor to the System Shock games and Bioshock 2 as a follow-up to the first game.

    I never played System Shock 1 or 2. I was born in 1991, so I was 3 and 8 when those games came out, respectively. My experience with Bioshock was fresh when I got it Christmas 2007 – I remember it like it was yesterday, as cliche as that sounds. My take, after seeing a good amount of footage of SS 1 and 2 from playthroughs online is that Bioshock is an entirely different beast, and I personally am very glad about it. I am NOT a fan of survival horror games – sure, I can watch anyone else playing Silent Hill or Condemned or anything of the like, but I just get way too freaked out by playing it myself, especially alone. Sorry, that’s just the way I am.

    I see what you’re saying about focusing on the atmosphere of Rapture in these games, but if you look back at the first game, that game had a LOT of atmosphere; it was a genuine scare when a splicer would jump out at you from above or a corpse would turn out to be a splicer who attacks you, at least to me. There was a ridiculous amount of detail and there not only did I find the original story of tracking down people who were turned into monsters by the total freedom to do as they wished with their fields, like Art, Medicine, Horticulture, etc., but I kept finding little hidden things that hinted at an incredibly deep problem in Rapture, like how in one tiny corner of a level I found a box of smuggled Bibles and an electrocuted corpse, and an audio diary that described Ryan promoting the torture of people who planned to set up churches in Rapture. I though that incredible level of detail was insane, and made it one of my favorite games, not to mention I really liked the hacking aspect of the gameplay.

    I have not yet played Bioshock 2 (damn lack of console at college), but I have watched friends play through almost the entire game, and I have seen the beginning and end, and it seems like they basically made “Bioshock Lite.” The hacking is much simpler, although the fact that hacking does not pause the game does make it a bit harder, but the atmosphere is basically more of the same, minus the dark. Quite literally, the game is much brighter than the first one, and the only reason that it’s harder is because enemies can pop up at random and they cut the possible number of health kits and eve hypos you can carry to 5, otherwise there would be nothing new. The game just seems like more of the same, but I liked how the story was much more personal, about the nature of love and duty to society and to your family, biological or adopted. The aspect of socialist utopia was also very interesting to me, but again, they don’t focus on it enough. All of this can be explained by the fact that another team at 2K actually developed it, and Ken Levine, the writer of System Shock 2 and Bioshock 1 (and SWAT 4, incidentally), had zero affiliation with Bioshock 2.

    Basically, Bioshock should have stayed as one game, but 2K had to make more money.

  • Anonymous

    OK, my two cents on Bioshock being a successor to the System Shock games and Bioshock 2 as a follow-up to the first game.

    I never played System Shock 1 or 2. I was born in 1991, so I was 3 and 8 when those games came out, respectively. My experience with Bioshock was fresh when I got it Christmas 2007 – I remember it like it was yesterday, as cliche as that sounds. My take, after seeing a good amount of footage of SS 1 and 2 from playthroughs online is that Bioshock is an entirely different beast, and I personally am very glad about it. I am NOT a fan of survival horror games – sure, I can watch anyone else playing Silent Hill or Condemned or anything of the like, but I just get way too freaked out by playing it myself, especially alone. Sorry, that’s just the way I am.

    I see what you’re saying about focusing on the atmosphere of Rapture in these games, but if you look back at the first game, that game had a LOT of atmosphere; it was a genuine scare when a splicer would jump out at you from above or a corpse would turn out to be a splicer who attacks you, at least to me. There was a ridiculous amount of detail and there not only did I find the original story of tracking down people who were turned into monsters by the total freedom to do as they wished with their fields, like Art, Medicine, Horticulture, etc., but I kept finding little hidden things that hinted at an incredibly deep problem in Rapture, like how in one tiny corner of a level I found a box of smuggled Bibles and an electrocuted corpse, and an audio diary that described Ryan promoting the torture of people who planned to set up churches in Rapture. I though that incredible level of detail was insane, and made it one of my favorite games, not to mention I really liked the hacking aspect of the gameplay.

    I have not yet played Bioshock 2 (damn lack of console at college), but I have watched friends play through almost the entire game, and I have seen the beginning and end, and it seems like they basically made “Bioshock Lite.” The hacking is much simpler, although the fact that hacking does not pause the game does make it a bit harder, but the atmosphere is basically more of the same, minus the dark. Quite literally, the game is much brighter than the first one, and the only reason that it’s harder is because enemies can pop up at random and they cut the possible number of health kits and eve hypos you can carry to 5, otherwise there would be nothing new. The game just seems like more of the same, but I liked how the story was much more personal, about the nature of love and duty to society and to your family, biological or adopted. The aspect of socialist utopia was also very interesting to me, but again, they don’t focus on it enough. All of this can be explained by the fact that another team at 2K actually developed it, and Ken Levine, the writer of System Shock 2 and Bioshock 1 (and SWAT 4, incidentally), had zero affiliation with Bioshock 2.

    Basically, Bioshock should have stayed as one game, but 2K had to make more money.

  • Jawmuncher

    I loved Mass Effect 2

  • KillTheftAngel

    i thought bioshock 2 wasn't as good as the first one but i think the first one was so good that i expected better and led myself to believe the second one wasn't as good because of it. Another thing i didn't like about bioshock was you never really felt like a big daddy. I mean yea you are one but if your on any difficulty but easy you seem to die quicker than a splicer can.

  • DoktorSleepless

    “If you didn't like the first Mass Effect, you won't like this one.”

    Not true. I hated the first one. Absolutely hated it. The second one, on the other hand, fixed most of my complaints and turned out to be a decent game.

  • sebasnadilo

    Great review Spoony as allways..QUick quetion? Have you play Sins of a Solar Empire? I would like to know what you think of it…thanks again

  • http://twitter.com/Eniacc Eniac Caine

    Nice vlog, straight to the point, blah blah… hey! Is that GTO from “Great Teacher Onizuka”? Cool =D

  • BesterP12

    Agreed on ME2. Great game. The scanning isn't that bad. I think the problem is with people who think they have to deplete every planet. Just ignore anything Moderate or below, and you'll still have a lot more stuff that you need to do your research. I know! Let me use all the excess Iridium I have like Omnigel in the first game to buy my way past the hacking minigames.

    While I do love the evil path in games like KotOR, (Seriously, what you can do to Zaalbar at the end? <burns>Excellent</burns>) it is far more believable in Mass Effect. When you give players an evil option, you always have to find some method to still shoehorn them into doing the same basic quests that a good guy would do. With the renegade, it's not that big of a deal. Renegades are like Jack Bauer, Malcom Reynolds, or any number of vigilante characters. (Or as you mentioned, the original source of the screenname I”ve used since my AOL days.)

    Sure they're doing bad things, but they believe that they're doing them for a greater good and not just to fuck with people. They aren't kicking puppies, using human skin to make armor, spending their time hatching plans to break up couples, or poisoning a grove for a few bucks like some lame Captain Planet villain.

    As for BIosock 2, I haven't gotten to it yet. Still replaying ME2 which is the only thing that dragged me away from Dragon Age. If I hadn't been able to go in with some friends to preorder the game for $33 from Steam, I probably would have waited to buy it. (We got the four pack which also included four copies of Bioshock 1 that we gave to other friends since we already had it.) BTW, Bioshock was one of the few games where I just couldn't play the evil path.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Filipe-Isabelinho/100000173498272 Filipe Isabelinho

    The problem I had with Bioshock 2, was the exact same thing that you said, it should've been like a survival horror game, the first one, and I'm talking about the PC version here, was way harder than the 360 version and you really had to ration your ammo, or you'd be fucked.

    I also know of a mod, again for PC, that makes the first game even harder! So I'm hoping someone does the same forthe second game, because it makes the game way harder, way more survival horror type.

    But even with all it's flaws, I preferred the second game o the first, how can I put this… I'd rather have Bioshock 2 be a bigger game, then the first one is, if I'm making myself clear here, I like the story much much more, I liked how there was a much more personal connection to Delta than to Jack, I mean… Jack was such an empty character, devoid of any personality, all we knew is that he wanted to survive… big deal.. the second game, Delta remembers how he used to protect Eleanor, he knows he needs to get to her, it drives the character to fight for that with all it's strength.

    I would also have to agree with you in the fact that there is no fear… I mean, the first game, Andrew didn't scare me, or Fontaine, or anyone, the big daddies were kind of scary at first, but after you got a certain level, you could bring 'em down easily, they stopped being scary. And comparing to System Shock, I mean… friggin Shodan, now there's something that scared the shit out of me! she's CREEPY! Even all the lunatics in rapture combined aren't as creepy as her, for one thing, the splicers are all dumb, they're just like animals, Shodan is intelligent, who know how many times more intelligent than us, and she's got control over everything in the ship. Andrew, Fontaine and Lamb, are simple humans, even if intelligent, they still are, at they're core, humans, even if they have control of the splicers, it doesn't matter, because splicers aren't scary, they don't come out of the dark and threaten your life if you mess up, bringing back the fact that this game should be treated has a survival horror game.

    Did I already say that Shodan freaked the hell out of me?… well she did XD

    All in all, I love Bioshock 2 anyways, I wish they released a DLC or an update that actually changed the game radically, like that mod I talked about did for bio1, and make it into a survival horror game, everything is set in that game, all it need is some tweaks.

    Oh and I love how they reference System Shock with that achievement “Look at you hacker” so cool xD

  • PhoCarrot

    I may have to rent Mass Effect 2 to take a look at it now. I just remember that I was so relived to finish the first one. I liked playing it, but it felt like it took forever to get to the end. Thank God they got rid of the MAKO part. I hated spending 10 minutes trying to get over the top of one stupid mountain just to get a little ore off in the corner.

  • RickyButler

    That is one odd comment about people not expecting CODVI:MWII to be like a Michael Bay film. :| I think that's a first.

  • BesterP12

    I could really see this if someone liked the story from ME, but hated the battles, and the inventory management. ME2 really is much more of a Shoother/RPG hybrid than the first one was.

  • BesterP12

    Many System Shock 2 fans said similar things about Bioshock.

  • abyssion1337

    Yeah, I've heard Blood Bowl from some friends who were also fans of the board game

    I was also never really blown away by Bioshock, I'll give it credit for having a great setting some really cool ideas and writing that I thought was fantastic until about the half way mark when they start developing Fontaine as a character and completely miss the definition of “con man” but I got the game for $5 so I really can't complain that much, still I am holding off on getting the sequel until steam does a 50% off kind of thing

    and Mass Effect, I loved the first one despite its flaws and I've found that ME2 not only fixes all of the flaws but it also improves just about every aspect of the game; It's not without flaws itself but they're really really small. I also feel I should mention that the planet scanning thing has to be repeated maybe 10 times to get all the resources you'll need maybe more since element zero is so rare (yeah I actually did get excited about finding large element zero deposits) and I also really enjoyed the class system overhaul so now they don't all seem like very slight variations of each other, my Vanguard was better than ever

  • Bondpirate

    GTO FTW!

  • BesterP12

    Being an Infiltrator during things like the Archangel recruitment scene was wonderful. I never even considered the class in ME1.

    • Anonymous

      Yeah, I still like my vanguard but I’m working on an unfinished infiltrator save in the first game so I’ll have a chance to check it out pretty soon

  • themasterds

    I thought that Mass Effect 2 was pretty good, though I find it odd that I'm the only one who had no problem with any of the minigames. I even enjoyed mining planets, as seeing the scanner jump up was a joy. Honestly, the thing I thought hurt the game was the way it paces the shooting. Too many battles went along the lines of me getting in cover and popping my head out to shoot dudes. Just got tired of it. It didn't help that fighting Husks was no fun, or that Shepard can't shoot anyone who ran around his cover without getting out of cover.

    Bioshock 2 I really enjoyed though. I thought while the story seemed a bit too short and too predictable, it wasn't bad. While initially I thought it was a bit blatant in the way that half the worlds centered around opening a door for a train, I forgave it after remembering how many times the Bathysphere Stations did the same thing. The gameplay really did it though for Bioshock 2, as it's massively improved as a shooter. The weapons just feel a lot more powerful than they did in the first game. Plus all the smart improvements they made, such as the new hacking minigame and the research camera, really help to put it above Bioshock for me.

    I guess I can see why Bioshock's Narrative is a lot better, but if I'm going to replay one of them, its going to be the second because it's a better game.

    My biggest problem with Bioshock 2 though is the multi, because it feels like a completely different game, though this is probably because its a completely different game. None of the new mechanics enter into the multiplayer, it handles completely differently in terms of the way your dude aims and moves, the hacking is done by holding down A, even though the new minigame from the singleplayer was fast enough for multiplayer, and your plasmids don't have half the effect they o in the single player, though they still can be deadly. I guess my problem boils down to that it doesn't feel like an extension of Bioshock 2, it feels like an extension of Bioshock 1.

  • Lucy

    BioShock 2 is just so… underwhelming, yeah, that's the word I keep repeating. It's really disappointing me and I walked in with carefully lowered expectations. So I totally feel ya there, Noah. And the blistering combat segments (most of all SCRIPTED what) really, really detract from the experience. Such a shame they fumbled it.

    RE: the evil vs good choices and their rewards in BS1- I think someone counted it up and you do get a little more with the good path.

    “Going back to Rapture didn't seem logical.” THANK YOU. THIS. I've been thinking this since they announced it.

  • smapattack

    Always love to hear your insights. By the way, is that a “Great Teacher Onizuka” shirt? Oh my gosh, that brings back some memories. What a great manga/anime/tv series.

  • datatroll

    Skaven are one of those teams you have to coddle quite a bit early in a league. They REALLY need to get a few star players going with some decent skills before you get to far into things though, or you are right. The muscle teams just beat them into a furry red paste.

    My personal favorite has always been Undead. Mummies make a DEADLY line even limited to two. Wights are solid linebackers, and ghouls can perform the job of getting around the field well enough. The only issue tends to be that you are stuck playing a running game at the start. Well, that and your zombies and skeletons are about worthless. But they are also cheap as dirt, which in a league MATTERS.

    If I had to pick a runner up, I would have to go with Orcs. They hit hard, they take a pounding, and while they are more comfortable playing a running game, They can throw the ball if they need to.

    LOL, just remember if you are playing against elves with EITHER of these teams, the GOAL is to murder as many of those bastards as you can in the first half. You won't win if you can't bench their starters.

    Damn elves. :P

  • Tracula

    I played through Bioshock 2 and I have to admit it was a good game, but I felt pissed at the end. Not because it was bad, but because it was System Shock 2… AGAIN. Developers, please, I know System Shock 2 was one of the best games ever, so PLEASE stop trying to rip it off. Dead Space, Bioshock, and Bioshock 2 all felt like they wanted to be System Shock 2. I have a feeling that Dead Space 2 will rip off System Shock 2 again. What was beautiful in System Shock 2 was how well it blended the RPG and Shooter elements compared to any other game and nothing else comes close. The only game that did anywhere near as good was Deus Ex. I just wish more people would experience System Shock 2. I admit I played System Shock 2 after Bioshock and I think that's probably a good thing because otherwise, I know I wouldn't have enjoyed Bioshock nearly as much.

  • http://www.facebook.com/kirzan Michael Coulombe

    ME2: Agreed, all you said is pretty much it, simpler but still just as enjoyable. My biggest gripe which I hope is a new feature of the third game, are different levels of Paragon/Renegade. For instance, you build up 100% Paragon, you use a Renegade option and it's the same dialog/act as if you were 100% Renegade. The bad thing about this is, you know Bioware sometimes really tricks you and what you read doesn't act exactly like what you expected… and that one Renegade act you're gonna do is gonna be PURE EVIL even though you're 100% Paragon. I believe they should make it so every 20% Shepard gets more and more Good or Evil in the dialogs.

    Oh and the scanning, ain't that bad on the second playthrough (if you survived the mission) they give you like 50k+ of all materials (which is ridiculous since I never used more than 40k Element Zero, but I used more than 120k Platinum)

    Not a fan of Bioshock, to me it was Doom 3 with powers and I didn't like Doom 3 (that fucking Flashlight system… I know it's a scare tactic, but it just works too well and I'm a pansie)

  • FaustSnake

    I think that if you look at it from the perspective of someone who hasn't played System Shock at all the Bioshock games will not feel like a dumbed down version of System Shock.

    I haven't played either System Shock games, being a Norwegain and born in '98 I couldn't get my hands on them anywhere, and I find Bioshock to be really good because to me it feels unique and interesting.

    So even if people try to rip of System Shock with Bioshock or even Dead Space it doesn't mean that everyone will hate it for it since they have nothing else to compare it to.

    It all comes back to when people is born methinks.

    Ten years from now we'll be going “This game is basically God of War.” despite looking different and whatnot but the people that were born like today would not feel the connection.

  • http://www.facebook.com/Irvin700 Irvin McWhorter

    Get yourself a 486 pc for 2 dollars at a thrift store. That's how I got my games working. =)

    Hope your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS skills are still good!

  • GuruLarry

    I think you can also apply the streamlining comment about Bioshock 2 really, they removed some annoying stuff, like switching back and forth between plasmids and weapons, that annoying frickin hacking game and also making your own weapons from spare parts, so you don't have an inventory full of hoses that you'll never have a use for.

    Story is a bit meh, utterly dissapointing theres no massive boss battle at the end, nor do you find out who you are of what you look like. I was praying for some super twist that you were Andrew Ryan or Fontane. But no.

  • numberofthebeast

    srry about posting twice the first time it didnt come up

  • MrZer0

    I had a feeling Bioshock 2 wasn't going to be anything worthwhile
    I mean…really, didn't the first game go through everything worth mentioning? Why go back? Why go back 20 years later to the same place? I'll admit, I like Bioshock, even an inferior successor to System Shock can be head and shoulders above the average rank and file shooter but really, unless you were going to pull off something epic, which I'm judging by your comments they didn't, they should have left well enough alone

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Vik-Nik/864340583 Vik Nik

    are you going to review gto?

  • maealoril

    I just love that you're wearing a GTO shirt in this video. I feel that Onizuka is probably one of the most underrated animes to be brought to America and needs more props than it gets. Forget the Shonen Jump crap ;p Watch GTO for fun times <(^___^)>

  • maealoril

    I just love the fact that youre wearing a GTO shirt. Onizuka doesnt get nearly as much props as it deserves and is probably one the most underrated american released animes out there. Yay you ;p

  • JohnMcPain

    Obviously he is not going to tell you this, little boy.

  • http://twitter.com/YigSnakeDaddy Paul K

    Totally agree on the Bioshocks.

  • QuetzaDrake

    The only difference as far as I can tell between harvesting Little Sisters and freeing them from the oppression of objectivism is that you get a different ending movie. One gets you a Good ending movie and one gets you an Evil ending movie. Other than that… eh, doing the good path probably gets you more ADAM in the long run but it's not like that's a big deal.

  • TomeOne

    If you're playing Bioshock 1 or 2 with System Shock 2 in mind the whole time, you're doing it wrong. *rolls eyes*

    • Atrus’s Homeboy

      Yes, because it just doesn’t make sense to have in mind the game that Bioshock 1 & 2, as stated BY THE DEVELOPERS THEMSELVES, are meant to be the spiritual successor to.

    • Atrus’s Homeboy

      Yes, because it just doesn’t make sense to have in mind the game that Bioshock 1 & 2, as stated BY THE DEVELOPERS THEMSELVES, are meant to be the spiritual successor to.

  • Booze Zombie

    I miss the inventory in Mass Effect 2, not to mention having more guns would've been nice, also, shooting mercenaries… well, I gotta say, if I was shooting people in Mass Effect's universe, I would take their wallets or “credit chits”.

    Commander Shepard, take their money and guns, they're dead!

    Also, I didn't like the first Bioshock, it didn't work very well for me.

  • Jon_Woo

    Bioshock 2 was ok and it was really what I expected it to be so I wasnt disappointed with it.

    ME 2 was improved in a lot of ways and only had a few steps back in some small aspects. I went back to try to play ME again last week and couldnt just from how big of a change 2 really made and it kind of upset me that I cant play the first game without it bugging me just how bad some of the aspects are compared to 2.

    Another sequal that im really into at the moment is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat. Ive been playing the hell out of that game over the last few days and for anyone that enjoys free roam shooters you should really check it out.

  • DeathsHead419

    Since I never played either System Shock game (though I really ought to), I don't have those memories to compare it to. On their own, though, both games are very good. I thought the story in the second game around was much better, definatly more personal.

    I've also got to say that perhaps the comparison isn't appropirate, since as you said, they are two different games. I suppose BioShock's status as ” the spiritual successor ” does make this comparison more appropriate, but maybe it shouldn't have that status. Oh well.

  • Lowcifur

    “I'm playing with the child-strangling mode on.”

    That's going to be my new way of describing the evil path of any Bioware RPG from now on.

  • Gauphastus

    Oh yes. Call of Pripyat is excellent.

  • Nephilim1977

    I've never played System Shock so I can't say Bioshock is better or not. My problem with Bioshock(aside from waiting 3 months for drivers that didn't make it crash and even after that buggy high quality shaders that caused graphic issues) was that although I liked the setting I felt the graphics were needlessly cartoony. I like that whole setting a lot, I watch a lot of ye olde scifi movies but it lacked realism. Campy as they were those movies were all dead serious in tone but that unique mixture of camp and realism was missing in Bioshock. It was cartoony and had too much intentional comedy.

  • lamg

    i had some serious starflight flashbacks…. bad ones, but that aside mass effect 2 is an exclellent game

  • NoblePhantasm

    I very much agree with your take on each game. ME2 was a great sequel to a very good game, whereas B2 was an underwhelming sequel to a very good game.

  • CL4Y

    Damn, you're 12 years old and can write english that well? (and from Norway aswell)
    A bit impressive actually.

    “This game is basically God of War”, well they do say that about some games today actually…
    Also, God of war was released like five years ago, so I feel it would be reasonable to compare games to it.

    • Anonymous

      GOD DAMNIT!
      ’89

      not 98′

      Ugh, dyslexia…how I hate thee.

    • Anonymous

      GOD DAMNIT!
      ’89

      not 98′

      Ugh, dyslexia…how I hate thee.

  • http://twitter.com/redviv Vivi Roth

    Blood Bowl? WAAAAAGH! My hero! And the PC version really is way better. Plus, they plan on adding more races (dark elves already have been) completely for free.

    Agree on BioShock 2, which is even less SS than its predecessor which had the massive plus of a brand new setting and a really well thought out philosophical plot with multitudes of references to that period in science fiction. The sequel is made by the people who only did some adaption to other platforms, without any of the writers and personnel of the first. I really, really never thought it would be good, but the bland “new” game they made even then disappointed.
    And I have nothing to add to ME2. Streamlined, mostly in the good way (battles make you feel your class – in the first you only used some powers here and there and mainly fought with your weapons), sometimes bad, and an awesome cinematic experience, especially with all the references to what your character did in the first game when you import a savegame.

  • Anonymous

    Play Deus Ex, Spoony. Play Deus Ex.

  • Anonymous

    Play Deus Ex, Spoony. Play Deus Ex.

  • http://twitter.com/Suicide_pl Jakub

    I knew it – I knew that you won't like Bioshock 2 :D

    Anyway, you're pretty much right about this – in fact, I've found only Big Sisters scary – the moment when they were incoming, when you heard their voices and you were standing preparing for the fight, that was kinda cool. Too bad, they've ruined it and you always knew, that Big Sister appears only when you get all the little sisters on level. Speaking of levels, they have also failed – there's no way that you can get back to the level you've past through already and that's a HUGE step back, you could do this first Bioshock and System Shock 2, but not in here.
    Fortunately, I've found ending of Bioshock 2 much better and much more rewarding, than in Bioshock – too bad it's scripted, but at least there are still 3 endings.
    People are complaining about the length of game – I've finished it in 8 hours (according to Xfire). For me 8 hours it's OK! Surely, it could have been longer, but at least now I feel, I can waste another 8 hours for second play-through.
    After all, for me Bioshock 2 is a good sequel – unfortunately, I still think both Bioshock and Bioshock 2 are not good enough to even confront with System Shock 2. But after all – I really enjoyed both of these games and for me, are a perfect example that graphics don't mean anything :)

    ps. Drill Dash is awesome – veeery fun :D

  • Niyx1990

    Eugh; Spoony, I love your videos, and agree with you on many of your comments on Bioshock 2, but the rose-tinted glasses that many reviewers seem to have these days in regards to System Shock is getting, well, kinda tiresome.

    At the time of their release System Shock 1 and 2 are as fantastic as you describe, but they truly aren't as frightening or atmospheric any more – my most recent attempt to play SysShock 2 left me really disappointed. It just isn't the same, and I found myself thinking, after running around half-smacking, half-evading Hybrid after Hybrid trying to find the security point I missed like a fool, that I was essentially still playing a FPS game, that just wasn't designed to be such.

    You still spend a large portion of the game in combat, not a whole lot less than Bioshock, but with SysShock the combat is clunky at best. My thoughts on that attempt to get through SysShock 2 were; “If I'm going to be playing an FPS/RPG, I may as well play Bioshock.”.

    The reason I find this so annoying is that if Bioshock was named, say, Rapture, it wouldn't be judged against another, much older and, to put it bluntly, now out-dated game. Very few games age well, and the few that come to mind are RPGs, like Baldur's Gate, in which it doesn't really matter that things may be clunky, because there's a handy pause feature.

    That's really the fault of the devs, though, for claiming that Bioshock is a spiritual successor, and that's just begging for the comparison. Still, it bugs me; Bioshock 1 at least was a good game in its own right, and to base a review upon, in your words, “I really miss System Shock”, seems unfair.

    …That said, I still actually agreed with most of your points on Bioshock 2, so I have no idea why I find myself frustrated.

    Damn you, Spoony, and the logic you rode in on.

  • Salenstormwing

    Totally agree with you Spoony. ME2 is really fun where they did fix a lot of issues and Bioshock 2, not so much. Playing as Renegade Shepard is a lot like being every 80s action movie star. It feels more reasonable than 'Child Killing'.

  • Olivaw

    The first BioShock actually really involved me with it's story and it's narrative, but my least favorite part about it was the part where I played it. The shooting was just bad, it felt wrong, it never felt like your guns were powerful and you could go the whole game with just the wrench and the lightning plasmid if you wanted. It just didn't do a lot for me and was just a vehicle to get me to the next audiolog or cutscene.

    From what I've heard, BioShock 2 is a lot better as a game. It shoots better, the guns feel better, the plasmids feel more powerful, the tonics have greater variety, and I guess the multiplayer mode is actually quite fun. The problem is the story feels so artificially constructed and forced that it feels like a sequel that was never intended to exist, and the structure or setting hasn't changed much at all.

    I understand how you feel about the game feeling too much like a shooter and not enough like a horror game, but honestly I was pretty terrified during the first game even though I knew I had no real reason to be. I guess the atmosphere got to me or something, I tend to be kind of a pussy like that.

  • mikaoj

    This is the first time ever I've really disagrees with Spoony on a game, to be honest. I really, really liked BioShock 2.I've played through it three times now, to get each of the three endings. My only big complaint is the lack of strong characters like in the original. Sofia Lamb is no Andrew Ryan, Sinclaire is no Atlas, Father Wales is no Sander Cohen. Eleanor Lamb is the only really good character in this game, but she doesn't really shine until towards the end. Rapture does feel a lot less mysterious this time around, too. If there is a next game, they're gonna have to change the location to somewhere less familiar.

    Maybe I just have a big weakness for this type of story (coughsilenthillcough). Maybe I just felt obliged to like it cause I'm a sucker for vinyl and got the expensive limited edition. I still loved this game. :3

    With that said I think it's about damn time I got around to playing System Shock 1/2. So if you'll excuse me, I'll go do just that.

  • Anonymous

    You’re absolutely right about Bioshock. The only reason I played that game at all was because I wanted to play System Shock 2 so badly, but couldn’t make it run on my pc (fucking dark engine!). But when I played it for a while, I usualy stopped and went back to trying to make SS2 work.

  • Anonymous

    You’re absolutely right about Bioshock. The only reason I played that game at all was because I wanted to play System Shock 2 so badly, but couldn’t make it run on my pc (fucking dark engine!). But when I played it for a while, I usualy stopped and went back to trying to make SS2 work.

  • BassForever

    In Bioshock 1 the only really difference was if you saved the little sisters you'd actually net more Adam (40 + 40 + 40 + 160 vs 80 + 80 + 80 IIRCC) and on top of that you get two free plasmids/tonics so once you got your 3rd little sister and got the huge bonus the game became a cake walk.

  • theryno665

    I think “Do you want to strangle children or not want to strangle children?” or “Child Strangling Mode: ON” would make great t-shirts.

    Ryan
    sarcasmatron9000.blogspot.com

  • ikariwarrior

    I feel you, man. I played the first hour or 2 of system shock 2 years ago…and those first few hours REALLY stuck with me. I'm largely a console gamer, so when a PC title sticks with me, I know it's really good.

    Considering your LPs of games like SWAT4 and your FMV hell, I'd love to see you LP SS or SS2. Those games are that real truth. Bioshock, while good in its own right, is just watered down from the awesome concentrate that is System Shock.

  • http://www.stupendous-stuff.com/ The Cynical Gamer

    I'd completely forgot about quicktime movies being in games and apps back in the day!

    How many disks was 3.1 again? 12?

    Also I wonder how the new Bloodbowl game shapes up in comparison to the old DOS version??

  • manof1000faces

    I know I am going to be kicked in the balls for this, but I loved Bioshock 2. Some may say it it just a rehash bioshock or system shock 2 (i never got to play this jewel of a game and still trying to find a torrent copy that will work) but I found it different in gameplay and story. The plasmids are different like being able to charge them and they include a few more to change up the variety. The story, I felt, was a bit more emotionally involving then the first game because as you progress you start to feel for the character. Finally, the atmosphere in rapture is still there, the music matches the mood of the game as you go through each area and just grabs you as you chase down a big daddy or a key spliced up lunatic of the rapture family.

  • sachikochan

    is that a Great Teacher Onizuka t-shirt or am i crazy?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Benn-Crawford/501266663 Benn Crawford

    If it is, props to you Spoony!

  • Tai_MT

    Spoony, I love ya… But I've just got one queston. If you had never played System Shock or ever even heard of it… Would you like Bioshock more?

    I never heard of System Shock until people started comparing Bioshock to it. And since I don't have the bias of having played System Shock first… I'd have to say that I enjoy both Bioshock games. I enjoy the compelling story and the moral questions they raise. And while gameplay is pretty rudimentary… Playing a game for the story is what a lot of people do, and even what you've done on occasion.

    Just wanted to know if your opinion of it would differ at all, if you had never played or heard of System Shock.

  • Anonymous

    Since you’ve played the board game Spoony, I’m sure you’ll get some fun out of Blood Bowl. Word of warning – the AI is pretty bad. Multiplayer (and turn-based) is the way to go.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Benn-Crawford/501266663 Benn Crawford

    Well, Bioshock 1 borrows heavily from System Shock, so it cant be helped that people make the comparison.

    I am yet to play Bioshock 2, but I thought the first was OK. It wasnt anything spectacular as reviews made it out to be, but it wasnt bad. It just reminded me so much of SS1+2 and just made me want to play them instead.

  • DocHolidae

    i dont think playing or not playing system shock will affect your enjoyment of the game. when i played Bioshock, i definately saw and felt the similarities. however, they were borrowing from a very good source, so it didnt take anything away. i'm not the type to sit back and say “well this is too much like x, so it's crap.” Spoony put it pretty much perfectly when he described Bioshock's atmosphere as “almost, but not quite.” the entire time i played i felt like there was something scary there, it just wasnt making itself known. the main problem i had with Bioshock was the story. you play as a nameless, faceless, almost entirely voiceless male who finds himself in the city of Rapture. the only problem is that when you play as a character with the personality of a stump, it rips you out of the story. the best way i can describe it is that the story happens to your character, not because of them.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Georg-Veramme/719603017 Georg Veramme

    Did you play the multiplayer dude?
    I heard it's quite good and gives a good background on the entire Rapture Civil war stuff going on before you arrive in Bioshock 1.

  • Tai_MT

    I've never held that particular thing against a game. The “nameless/faceless main character” is a device. Strictly speaking, it's designed to make you care about the character, because it's YOU. The only people who really get irritated by these characters are the ones who just can't pretend for five minutes that they are the character they are playing. By no means do I consider such a thing a fault of a video game or even a story. It's a device used for telling a story and designed to provide deeper immersion. So, instead of caring about Joe Sixpack, whom you are controlling, with a preset (and often boring personality as all main characters in video games seem to have these days) you just insert your own personality. Because, ultimately, that makes more sense. It makes more sense to be controlling yourself instead of someone else, and dictating the actions of someone else who may or may not do the things they are doing in the game. Nothing wrecks immersion for me more than games like GTA in which killing random pedestrians is commonplace, even for your main character, even if it would run entirely counter to their personality or goals in the game.

    Now, there are instances where faceless/voiceless characters don't work. And those are typically in games that don't let yo make choices. Games like Dead Space are a fine example of how NOT to do one of those characters. Bioshock works well up until the point they start giving you backstory on the character you're playing.

    Besides, nameless/faceless is nowhere near as common as all the standard RPG characters. “tough guy”, “jerk”, “love interest”, “comic relief”, “goody two-shoes main character”, “evil guy who is evil for the sake of being evil”. Etcetera. At least you can't complain that your own personality is boring to you, while you can complain about all the recycled characters in every other game that exists.

  • Anonymous

    Firstly, I love system shock, specifically 2 (too young for SS1), and consider it substantially more intense and paranoid than the bioshock series, but I have a few comments about it, for what they are worth.

    I always thought that those plasmids and their videos were made after the initial outbreak of splicers going absolutely nuts. It would kind of make sense, since splicers were insatiable psychopaths. The splicing (explained in Bioshock 1) was used for many other things before that, like versions of botox and steroids. (a multiplayer character in BS2 has a log about splicing up for the football game, make himself stronger.)

    Sadly I found Sofia to be lacking as a villain. she didn’t quite have the stifling presence of Ryan or Fontaine. (Shodan notwithstanding).

    …but at the very least all the detours made in BS2 made sense since you were stuck on a train line, and not arbitrarily locked out of some ports using the Bathysphere. Also the combat, despite it being a step backwards from SS, is alot smoother, since you don’t have to switch hands when changing from plasmid to weapon, and you can melee with any weapon, not just the wrench.

  • pheathos

    the first half of bioshock 2 does indeed suck and boring. but it does pick up at the half way point and becomes real kick ass.

  • x1te

    Stalker has a much better horror atmosphere than Bioshock. If you're looking for survival horror a la System Shock you should definately check it out Spoony.

  • Michael_G

    Lol thats what i thought when i saw GTO, i really doubt it is though.

  • http://www.facebook.com/Wade.Wilson4 Wade Seewald

    Blood brawl…. you teams name should be blood gun!! AHHHH!!!

  • Sokka47

    I'd love to know what you think of shattered memories

  • Sokka47

    I'm sure alot of people would like to know what you thought of Shattered Memories. If you've played it on the wii or ps2 port that is.

  • Poipoi

    It was interesting to hear your views of the games. I think its one of those things, if you didn't like the first Bioshock, you aren't really going to enjoy the second one. Esp since they are very much alike in gameplay. I do like that you at least try the game before deciding if its good or bad.

  • rattrap007

    also you receive a different ending based on saving them all or killing them all.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Raymond-Hearty/1328238289 Raymond Hearty

    When it comes to Bioshock I agree with almost everything you have to say, but I always viewed this series very differently compared to SS2.

    I love Bioshock for its design and atmosphere, it has a unique look to it that I'd say is very difficult to make a coherent story out of. You're also right that FPS action isn't the right direction for this world they've created, the game would have been more suited as an RPG done with better writers.

    As of now I love the games, but as for story and context, it feels more like I'm reading through cliff notes.

  • brus

    Yeah, BioShock 2 was a little too familiar. Same place, same enemies and weapons, and the main villain is just as calm and intelligent-acting as Andrew Ryan. However, I did like this game, mostly because of the fun I had with the gameplay.

    The end was a little bit too familiar, too. If you compare the ending in the first game to the second game, you'll see a lot of similarities, even if you played as a bad or good character. Also, Eleanor sounded a little bit monotonous every time she contacted you, which was kind of… lame.

    Good game, but 2K better change a lot if they're planning for another sequel. BioShock 3 (yeah…) should be set in the time before Rapture – that would be great if you ask me.

  • alucard9692005

    in mass effect 1 you could fire you vehicle guns up or down, if you pressed a button on the controller you could manually shot your gun how ever you wanted. the auto-aim used by the vehicle was limited so that you would used the manual mode of the guns …. how can someone go though the whole game and not realize that there is a manual aiming system for your vehicle guns :)

  • markseif

    Get a haircut. Shave your head or something you grease ball =p

  • hyp3r4ctive

    Firstly, I love system shock, specifically 2 (too young for SS1), and consider it substantially more intense and paranoid than the bioshock series, but I have a few comments about it, for what they are worth.

    I always thought that those plasmids and their videos were made after the initial outbreak of splicers going absolutely nuts. It would kind of make sense, since splicers were insatiable psychopaths. The splicing (explained in Bioshock 1) was used for many other things before that, like versions of botox and steroids. (a multiplayer character in BS2 has a log about splicing up for the football game, make himself stronger.)

    Sadly I found Sofia to be lacking as a villain. she didn't quite have the stifling presence of Ryan or Fontaine. (Shodan notwithstanding).

    …but at the very least all the detours made in BS2 made sense since you were stuck on a train line, and not arbitrarily locked out of some ports using the Bathysphere. Also the combat, despite it being a step backwards from SS, is alot smoother, since you don't have to switch hands when changing from plasmid to weapon, and you can melee with any weapon, not just the wrench.

  • mcninja

    I really enjoyed Mass Effect 2, yet I have a list of this they could have done better. I thought you might mention the severe lack of items in the game, but I suppose not.

  • AggsOfSpades

    Don't work too hard, boss.

    Anyway, I enjoyed Blood Bowl when I played it for a while on my brother's steam account. It's got a certain charm to it and it's fun to play against your friends.

  • geeayeare

    I read that in Bioshock 1 there was a 14 ADAM difference between harvesting and rescuing the little sisters. Not much really, even over time when it adds up. :P

  • Caelan

    I think Bioshock 2 would have been a lot better if you either
    1. played as a child (maybe an escaped little sister candidate) at any time between the revolution or later. You would have felt more helpless and made it more of a horror game. Hard to feel scared playing as a giant armored tank.
    2. the citizens of rapture had mutated a lot more to be far less human.
    Still the multilayer is fun if unbalanced, and it's really not a bad game.

    Bioware certainly does a great job combining action and story. Their choices tend to be well thought out and has great effects on the story. It's why I'm looking forward to Star Wars: The Old Republic so much.

  • saradiart

    I thought Bioshock 1 was the better game, but I enjoyed Bioshock 2 more.

    As illogical as that is.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Travis-Cheatham/1713930720 Travis Cheatham

    Spoony confirmed as a 420chan mark

    WOO WOO WOO YOU KNOW IT

  • Disthron

    Well I found using a virtual machine worked a lot better. Make a new one, install DOS then install windows 3.11

    I actually found a codec that would allow me to just watch the DUK true motion files from Phantasmagoria 2. It was no easy task let me tell you.

    Man I loved the driving sections, though I played it on PC. Apparently there going to release a new vehicle as downloadable content. I hope it's just IN ME3. I did like the hacking and code segments were cool. I liked it better than the circal thing from the first one.

    The thing about geing a renegade in ME is that it's not a choice between good and evil it's a choice between being a nice guy and an asshole. Even if you go full renigade your never “evil”.

    The story was awsome. That's definatly what I liked the most about it.

    I didn't even know that BioShock 2 was out yet. I have to agree with what you said about the child strangaling thing. I really thought the first game should have ended at the scene when you descover that Atlis is a bad guy. In that scene you need that Dr and here childrens help to get out but if you've been killing her children why would she help you?

    I have to say, BioShock was one of my favorat shooters from the past coupld of years. Modern Warfare and Call of Duty be damed! But then again, I never really played System Shock. But in BioShock I did always find that I never had enough ammo.

    Anyway, glad you enjoyed ME2. Have a good one Spoony

  • ApatheticOne (the original)

    ME2 is a fucking AWESOME game that I have replayed 3 times already! I bought the first one, beat it and never played it again…ME2 on the other hand was so good I just have to keep playing it…

    As for BIO2…hmm..it really just feels like an expansion pack to BIO1…the story is pretty good, game is much better now that you can 'dual wield' but over all … didn't seem like much had changed. The MP is simply a joke…

  • http://www.saisasylum.com/ Sai

    I must be the only mutant who actually ENJOYS scanning planets for precious resources. Though even I get sick of it eventually and fuck off to do something else. You can also find side missions this way, but the computer at least informs you there's a mission before you even start scanning.

    But yes, at first I worried the game was a little TOO streamlined, but I feel the upgrade system is a great idea. I'm also going to do a second playthrough… but that would be finishing one of my abandoned, “non-canon” shall we say Shepards from Mass Effect 1, making all the opposite decisions from my “canon” Shepard, and then going through Mass Effect 2 again with another migrated Shepard. Yeah. That's just how entertaining these games are, and I don't even usually like space opera sci-fi.

  • aaronodeneau

    i could make a comment and truely just tear apart your opinion but it's your opinion and if i enjoy something why let your ideals ruin it. besides not having played system shock i guess i wouldn't have much in my life to compare bioshock to.

    besides your right if you didn't like the first bioshock then you'll hate the second. but you aren't strangling childern you break them down into what they to the adam worm they were inplanted with. you could argue that it's still killing childern but then we get into matters opinion and congecture.

    the moral system does make sense in that it talors the ending and how people will treat you in the end. or how some people will be in the end of the game. think of your daughter is all i'll say since you haven't finished the game. and really what i found when i saved most of the little sisters in the BS2 was they gave you some items that actualy gave you more adam without having to harvest the little girls for adam.

    but again if you didn't like the first and don't get the game then nothing i've said matters you don't like it then you won't like this one. i liked bioshock 2 more then most because i am little less jaded and i didn't care much for if the sequal was going to be better. thought i agree with you in someways it would have been nice to be around and play during the uproar and downfall of rapture.

    i am currently on my second playthough on BS2

  • aaronodeneau

    actualy you can play as a little sister for a small part of the game.

  • NoWone

    >I just miss System Shock so much [...]
    >[...] not being able to replicate the original System Shock and I guess they don't want to [...]

    I miss the old SS too. I *loved* them and I still do. And yes, I think they are not interested in “replicating” it. Remember the two SS games have been critical successes but commercial flops. They ara just not interested. Plus, consider that the main target is console gaming right now, and it would be impossibile to play any SS type game (with the gameplay depth that they have) with a pad.

    Sad isn't it. -_-

    Still, I liked Bioshock fine. Haven't seen the 2nd one yet.

  • genericmonk

    Comparing it to the original Bioshock, it's definitely not as good. Irrational didn't develop it, they made the first game pretty damn good, and of course developed system shock. It feels like the new developers were really dumbing it down for the console tards, hence the addition of the multiplayer mode and the increased shooter elements. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay's better, and they fixed the clunky shit from the first game, but it feels like a sequel to a game that didn't need or want one anyway.

  • Anonymous

    I am struggling to get through Bioshock2. I really really want to like it, and I like the underwater world, but there seems to be just too little freedom and incentive to explore. I completely agree it should not be a shooter. It it was something more like Fallout, where you can take up side missions, or meet people and have a few safe zones where you could just goof off talking to people or something, and take a break of just killing everything it would have been a whole lot better.

  • Anonymous

    I am struggling to get through Bioshock2. I really really want to like it, and I like the underwater world, but there seems to be just too little freedom and incentive to explore. I completely agree it should not be a shooter. It it was something more like Fallout, where you can take up side missions, or meet people and have a few safe zones where you could just goof off talking to people or something, and take a break of just killing everything it would have been a whole lot better.

  • genericmonk

    Scanning is most definitely more tolerable than the Mako sections, although the new inventory system I feel was simply streamlining it to the point where they couldn't realistically get anything wrong, and hopefully they'll bring back a proper inventory with a better, less console oriented interface and less boring item management in ME3.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Siegeroth/100000325125156 David Siegeroth

    supposedly the info videos on plasmids are from the rebellion era, that is also despicted in the multiplayer.

    I'm playing a Skaven army.

  • FelCallerClayton

    I feel much the same way in regards to Bioshock 2. I rented it, played it for one hour, and said “This is it?” The basically reskinned your guns and your look. I didn't even “feel” like a real big daddy.

    However, Mass Effect 2 I have beaten twice, and am fighting the urge to play it a Third time! So far beat it with a Solider, and an Engineer. If I ended up playing a 3rd time I would have to do an Adept. I can't help but be a paragon though. Course, I am tempted to be a Adept who is a renegade. Must…resist!

  • FelCallerClayton

    I usually scanned until I hit 200k of each mineral and then said HAHAH NO MORE FOR ME Unless I was trying to get 100% exploration… :P

  • masseyguy

    I completely agree with you on Bioshock 2. Just felt like to much of the same, and online wasnt to fun either…
    As for Mass effect 2 have not yet played that yet. Heard very good things from my friends about the game, but i didnt enjoy the first one to much, not sure why just didnt do it for me so im not sure if i would like the second one.

  • http://www.saisasylum.com/ Sai

    At one point most of the upgrades I was getting and wanted to do required Platinum and Palladium so I was just stockpiling them like mad. And then of course when I got the probe upgrade I was just all “oh hell yes!”

  • TheFeydakin

    Sounds good. I just cant wait for the new splinter cell. I hope that mark and execute doesn't ruin the game though.

  • TheFeydakin

    Semantics…I am unimpressed. I get the POV that your presenting “If this game doesn't impress you then what will?” But you know this just isn't one of those cases. I have not played this game but I can already tell that I wont enjoy it. Be better off with the first game. Dunno, I just don't think being a big daddy is something that I would enjoy doing. I like games where the odds are stacked against you either in gameplay or in storyline.

  • Mr_Beaker

    Hey Noah, in regards to your review of Bioshock 2, I was wondering if you had ever heard of/ checked out the viral campaign for the game, “There's Something in the Sea”

  • hipgunslinger

    Spoony.
    I'm with you on the old school Looking Glass Studio titles. I was sort of tickled pink that there was an achievement in BS2 called “Look at you, Hacker”
    Any thoughts on Eidos attempting to revive the Thief series without the LGS crew at the helm?
    http://www.thief4.com/

  • hipgunslinger

    Spoony,
    I'm with you on the Looking Glass Studios titles. I was tickled pink though that there was an achievement in Bioshock 2 titled “Look at you, Hacker.” It gave me Shodan flashbacks.
    Any thoughts about Eidos reviving the Thief franchise without the LGS team to work it?
    http://www.thief4.com/

  • superkyle2001

    Hey brother just wanted to let you know I love stangling children, choked out four of them last week.

    Anyway what are your thoughts on The Miz mentoring American Drangon Bryan Danielson on WWE NXT? Sounds like it should be the other way around to me.

    Keep up the good work homes.

  • Shooter__Andy

    Huh. I've started a review blog on TGWTG just a few days ago, and the first game I wanted to review was Bioshock 2. I watched all of your videos, but intentionally didn't touch that one. And, for my surprise, and kind of a pride, our viewpoints are almost exactly alike.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=738097310 facebook-738097310

    My other half is a big fan of Blood Bowl. Here's the link to his review:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHQUWM8yFOA

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Marcus-Lundgren/642791648 Marcus Lundgren

    Haven't started playing Bioshock 2 yet, but I'm not really looking forward to it.
    I don't know, it feels more like an obligation rather than something to enjoy…
    I agree with you that the first game (and this one, presumably) felt at odds being
    an FPS. And it had the worst last boss in a mainstream game, that I can remember.
    However, Rapture itself is a marvel of game design.
    Art Deco is my favorite architectural style, and I'd gladly walk around the game even if it
    was empty of splicers, just to admire the look of it all.
    Alas, you have to deal with the horrible little brats and their bubble tin men!
    I normally don't like strangling children (of course!), but I find these monsters sooo annoying, that
    I “harvested” every single one. And I expect to do the same playing the sequel.

    “Mr. Bubbles!” Aaaaahhhhh!!!!!

  • sifer2

    I have not picked up Mass Effect 2 yet. Actually kind of disappointed to hear about them cutting out a lot of stuff. I would have thought the point of a sequel is just to make bad things better an add more stuff. Not remove things an make it more of an action game. But whatever i'll get around to playing it.

    Anyway I am wondering if Spoony has played Aliens vs Predator an has any thoughts on that. I am sure he has seen all those movies since he even reviewed the horrible AvP movie haha. Would like to see what he things of the new game.

  • Ran88

    Just finished to Bioshock 2 and although it was slow getitng started the final few hours were REALLY compelling. It sucks that it took so long to take off but once it did I really dug it. Its a sort of the reverse of the first Bioshock which started off very strong but started to run out of gas by the end. Also the ending of this game is WAY better than the first Bioshock and your choices do have some real consequences to how it plays out. Its just a damn shame that it takes so long to get there.

  • sagrat

    Just wanted to point out, there is a difference between whether you save or harvest the little sisters in the first BioShock game. If you save them, you get 80 adam for every little sister, plus, for every 3 sisters, Tenenbaum leaves you a gift of 200 Adam, which equals 440 Adam per 3 sisters. Harvesting, you get 160 Adam per sister, or 480 total, so there's a difference of 40 Adam per 3 sisters between saving and harvesting. For the entire game, this adds up to 3360 Adam if you harvest all the sisters, or 3080 if you save them all (and get all the gifts).

    However, some of the gifts you get for rescuing also contain plasmids (and tonics, maybe? I can't remember). For example, the 'Hypnotize Big Daddy' plasmid can only be gotten through the gifts.

  • KagatoAsuka

    omg is that really a Great Teacher Onizuka shirt I knew you were amazing but you just got that much more cool points from me if so.

  • KagatoAsuka

    I'm one of those who didn't like the first Mass Effect so I'm not even thinking of playing ME2 but I might try Bioshock 2 as just a rental of course also if that really is a GTO Shirt you just won so many more cool points keep up the great work.

  • markodell

    I agree with System Shock 2. I miss it too!

    I rather like Bioshock 2, but I do agree that it is too action oriented. Not to get all 'consoles suck!' but a good amount of the target audience have rather short attention spans, and Modern Warfare 2 is a perfect example of how the action intensification of games has become more important than the immersion – as Spoony says, it became a Michael Bay film.

  • markodell

    You're right about System Shock 2. I miss it. God, but I miss SS2. I went and installed it just now just to reclaim it. The weird thing is that the passion is there for a 3rd System Shock, but the reason we haven't seen another is that nobody knows who owns the IP. If it was ever solved, a game could be made.

    I really enjoy Bioshock 2, it's fun and the story is pretty cool. But yes, it is FAR too action oriented. I blame this on the ADD nature of gaming audiences who think that 'y'know, unless there's like, shit exploding n stuff, then it sucks'. Michael Bay indeed has infected gaming.

  • Anonymous

    Actually spoony, there is one thing different about (strangle child, do not strangle child) in the first one. The endings are different, well at least mostly different. Also, you talked about the incinerate plasmid and things being the cause for anarchy, well actually, according to the game, the plasmids were sold like guns for home defense, and, a video for incinerate does suggest using it to light a candle.

  • Anonymous

    Actually there is something different about the different moral paths in BS1. The endings are mostly different. Also, the incinerate plasmid was actually meant as a home defense product, like why most people buy guns. And, a video for incinerate does suggest lighting a candle with it.

  • mrVGA

    I'm avoiding Bioshock 2 for two reasons: one, I never really landed the first one and am playing through it now; two, like you said, it really didn't show improvement over the first. I believe that the original developers weren't involved in this game (Irrational Games) and it clearly suffered for it. In my opinion, what really made Bioshock worthwhile was the art and design of it. Without the original team involved I think 2K was at a loss at what to do and simply patched the first one with a few additions.

    Kind of a bummer.

    @KagatoAsuka ME2 plays a bit more like a RPG version of Gears of War. That being said, I'm a Mass Effect junkie so maybe worth ignoring. Could be worth a rent.

  • flow_hoe

    Actually you are wrong about Windows 3.1 being unstable under Dosbox. I tried it out and it runs perfectly stable on my machine.
    The solution is to install the correct VGA graphics driver which is not included with Win 3.1. Try looking on the VOGONS forum for the TSENG graphics driver.

  • http://soldierhawk.wordpress.com/ SoldierHawk

    Great comments, Spoony. I for one haven't picked up ME II yet, but look forward to getting it next paycheck or two.

    I was very glad to hear your thoughts on Bioshock II as well. I liked the original, but agree the gameplay was just to “twitchy” for a so-called 'successor' to the System Shock series. Oh well…at least the atmosphere was cool. Not cool enough to spend $50-60 on a 'more of the same' sequel, but I still enjoy breaking out the original from time to time.

  • Mo0rbid

    I think Mass Effect 1 was better than ME2 in every aspect

  • Furore23

    Don't think you need to post a review on the same day the game appears! Dude, I haven't finished ME1. People want to keep talking about, and hearing about, these games even months afterwards. Let your thoughts settle, and the hits will come.

    Keep being awesome, my man.

  • zenithl

    >but the reason we haven't seen another is that nobody knows who owns the IP. If it was ever solved, a game could be made.

    EA owns the IP on System Shock (the horror!). They keep renewing it so no one else can make a new one, but it's obvious that EA doesn't give a poopoo about System Shock. (See http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/news010806bio… )

    Sigh, why does every game franchise that I've truly like are all killed off before their story can be finished? Anachronox, Aquanox (Yeah, I liked that since Archimedean Dynasty, so bite me), System Shock…

  • zenithl

    It may be off-topic… But I seemed to remember one of your retrospect on the original System Shock, and you said that playing it nowadays is like driving a tank, since you can only move around using the keyboard.

    Someone has made a mod which enables mouselook in the original System Shock. http://www.strangebedfellows.de/index.php?topic
    This made an already good game about 10 times better in my opinion.

  • Ruiner

    I try to stay objective when it comes to my favorite games yearly, since I own all three current gen systems. I really hate to think I sound like a 360 fan boy when I say Mass Effect 2 is by far the best game to come along so far in 2010. In comparison to a couple other AAA titles FF 13 has been entertaining for me thus far, and God of War 3 is gorgeous but that doesn't change the fact in terms of innovation it is just like Bioshock 2. Don't get me wrong I liked Bioshock 2 but it feels more like a very generous DLC pack for the original game outside of the glitchy but fun MP component. However, as for my favorite game of this generation cumulative it still would be Fallout 3 mainly because of how well it still holds up for me to this day. It is far too soon to predict if Mass Effect 2 will have that same lifespan with me even though I am currently optimistic. If Mass Effect 3 continues this trend Bioshock will have crafted the first fully legendary video game trilogy.

  • keinushi

    how can you enjoy ff13? I mean I can understand God of War 3, I've accepted that no matter how much that game ruins gaming as a whole there will still be idots who think it to be a good game. But Final Fantasy 13! That game was so bad I had to sell it back for fear of the mass returns would rob me of any trade-in price. Bioshock 2 I won't comment on (since I have played neither 1 nore 2) but mass effect 2, while it is more fun to kill things in, they pulled the same bullshit as Kotor 2 by making a game that requires more disc, looks better, plays better, but has half the content of the first! and why does everyone bag on the mako? I love the mako! going down, exploring worlds really made the game come alive for me. And the upgrade-ability was amazing. Now you get like 2 of each weapon. 2 are you fucking kidding me! 2! am I the only one who misses the variety of the first! If they do one thing for 3, they better bring back the weapon diversity, cause 2 was just plain sad.

  • http://twitter.com/Thelllusionist Luke Campbell

    Not wanting to be a bore, but I'd really like to hear Spoony's critique of Blood Bowl as he promised. The board game is a life-long favourite of mine and I was sorely disappointed when Games Workshop disowned it, so I think The Spoony One would enjoy it from that point of view.
    The video game itself however, despite being good fun and a very good simulator of the board game (I was surprised to learn it's a virtually perfect recreation of the 4th Edition rulebook) is just begging to get the Special Spoony Treatment. I don't think I've ever seen an (alleged) random-number-generator so hideously biased in the computer's favour. I know they have to make up the difference between my brain and the AI somehow (and I'm not sure it's all that big of a gap, to be honest), but they could at least be subtle about it instead of just making the dice as crooked as fuck, hiding the results from the Player so that it can 'pick' the 'good rolls' and generally sending me into a controller-destroying, crazed ape-like fury every turn!

    Will keep my eyes open for that one, the potential hilarity is a golden opportunity for a TSE review. Until then, thanks for the video Spoony!

  • Ruiner

    I'm not sure what the hell I was thinking when I originally wrote that about FF13. I don't blame you for getting rid of it while you could still get more then $10 in credit, luckily I got it through Gamefly. I realize now that I was sort of forcing myself to “eat shit with a smile”. After the game began to make me feel dirty like with scenes where Snow was making out with a girl who looked 12, and Sazh pulling pedophile BS I had to start skipping the cinematics. Finally my only motivation to keep playing was the hope that Rain would die a painful death, but once I realized how stupid that was I sent back that piece of shit. I'll just pretend that I finished the game, an the ending involved Lightning, and that bird in Sazh's hair systematically killing all the other characters for being either FUCKING LAME, or WHINY PUSSIES! Rain accomplished the impossible by making the Twilight series look butch in comparison.

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/BP654KWGOOTEEFX6SFC5NVP6OY bri m

    I just couldn't get into Bioshock 2, I've had the game installed for months but I haven't even reached the first boss. It just didn't bring anything new that I could grab onto. Bioshock 1 though, I could start a new game right now and play it for hours.

    Spoony's right though, Bioshock shouldn't be an action FPS. There's tons of potential for an exploration/horror/rpg with the unique setting that is Rapture. The devs should let us really explore the world they created.

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/BP654KWGOOTEEFX6SFC5NVP6OY bri m

    I just couldn’t get into Bioshock 2, I’ve had the game installed for months but I haven’t even reached the first boss. It just didn’t bring anything new that I could grab onto. Bioshock 1 though, I could start a new game right now and play it for hours.

    Spoony’s right though, Bioshock shouldn’t be an action FPS. There’s tons of potential for an exploration/horror/rpg with the unique setting that is Rapture. The devs should let us really explore the world they created.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ian-Bewley/100000260046644 Ian Bewley

    My roommate loves Bioshock 1 and 2 but none of the “scary” parts were scary, and none of the bigger enemies seemed to be that big and bad. Maybe I have played too much WoW but if I can methodically take on all the enemies in the game and essentially line of sight and circle strafe them I’m not going to be impressed.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ian-Bewley/100000260046644 Ian Bewley

    My roommate loves Bioshock 1 and 2 but none of the “scary” parts were scary, and none of the bigger enemies seemed to be that big and bad. Maybe I have played too much WoW but if I can methodically take on all the enemies in the game and essentially line of sight and circle strafe them I’m not going to be impressed.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1813118664 Reza Stephen Lustig

    Mass Effect 2 genuinely disappointed me. They took away the RPG elements that made the game interesting, and the player’s ability to propel the story. The end product was essentially an ultra-derivative Gears-of-War-clone, it’s story repetitive uninspired and boring. I understand that loads of gamers bitched and moaned for some reason about the Mako; I never had a problem with driving the Mako, but apparently everyone else had never played a driving game before. As dificcult as the Mako MAY have been, I would have taken it any day instead of the stupid fucking planet-scanning feature.

  • Anonymous

    I’m a bit disappointed in Mass Effect 2. Your forced to work for this asshole that brought you back to life just to be his slave…sure it’s suppose to be for the greater good, but thats bull shit! You can’t even go into rooms on the ship until the AI says you can! It’s like playing a slave it’s very emasculating! It pidgin holes your chooses to much. I was waiting for the option to tell them all to go to hell and just not play the game that way, but it never came.
    T_T

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DEMMXQ2ZYNQTX5U4EMTUXVCLIQ Sakura

    I liked Bioshock 1, Bioshock 2 was horrible. They did have upgraded plasmids, but the storyline was just flat. I am dreading 3, but I think I’ll buy it anyway. Bioshock meets Up….yeah, I’m doubtful.

    • http://twitter.com/acekilla202 James Cassady

      infinite looks gay as well, ill just stay with my ArmA2

  • Anonymous

    I loved Mass effect 2, maybe even more than the first one. Everything got better, maybe except the story, who dosen’t take very many steps forward throughout the game. But the characters are deeper, and i think that the new crew is better than the old one, though it’s very hard to replace Wrex. Grunt did an alright job, actually thought i was gonna hate him, but he was good. Garrus is the hardest alien in the gaming universe. Tali is better than ever, almost fell in love there. There’s some downparts like the scanning, though it dosen’t make the game any less amazing and i prefer it before the Mako. Can’t wait for the third one.

    • Anonymous

      this is funney i got into the romance with her because kelly was a bitch to get maranda looked like michel jackson and JACK IS WELL JACK

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000520943957 Noah Goodman

    that thing about apple quicktime and what not reminds me of pinnacle studio. (it crashes even when it works.) I played a demo of bioshock, played bioshock 2 about 3/4 the way through, then got system shock 2 for Christmas and I completely said screw you to bioshock and bioshock 2.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeffrey-Wrightson/100000409923994 Jeffrey Wrightson

    GTO!!!!!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeffrey-Wrightson/100000409923994 Jeffrey Wrightson

    GTO!!!!!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/jbhaslach John Barton Haslach

    I’m a Bioware kind of guy myself. Mass Effect 1 & 2 are my favorite games of all time. I played the first one at a friend’s house and fell in love. I love Mass Effect 2. I cannot wait for Mass Effect 3. I always went Paragon myself but to each his own.

    • http://twitter.com/acekilla202 James Cassady

      im sorry but in the rpg area bethesda wins fallout 3-vegas and elder scrolls series are the best rpg’s ever made and the ebst game of all time is ArmA 2 military sim

    • http://twitter.com/acekilla202 James Cassady

      im sorry but in the rpg area bethesda wins fallout 3-vegas and elder scrolls series are the best rpg’s ever made and the ebst game of all time is ArmA 2 military sim

      • http://twitter.com/Hadzul Anon Ymous

        Fallout 3 isn’t an RPG, it’s a glorified FPS with no player interaction plotwise (save for some pathetically stereotypical Good-Evil choices that affect about 3 lines of dialogue) a hold-your-hand quest system that offers no challenge whatsoever and was clearly intended for 5-year-olds, and absolutely no respect for the universe established in the first two games, opting instead to instead of strip the characters and organizations down to a simple good or evil and ignoring any further characterization (again to appease the 5-year-olds). You are, of course, entitled to your opinion, but the mere thought of this pathetic turd being called the best RPG of all time, let alone an RPG at all, is simply disgusting.

        And, amusingly, nearly all of my criticism above fits equally well for Oblivion, though that one didn’t ruin previously established lore with the same vigor as Fallout for Children did. Morrowind was good though. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Gelinas/1408034230 Andrew Gelinas

    In my opinion, Bioshock 2 is a real step down from Bioshock 1, my all time favorite game. Its okay but I think that the game was much more shooting. In Bioshock 1, the atmosphere was a new, fresh thing and I think that it is one of the best examples of storytelling in this medium

    • http://twitter.com/acekilla202 James Cassady

      Heard that broski if you like bioshock esc games in terms of graphics try Amnesia ( horror game of the year 2010)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1123813678 Drew Cox

    i honestly didn’t like bioshock 2, it just didn’t do it for me.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Cat-Standifer/100000400720830 Cat Standifer

    The only difference in Bioshock is the ending depending on if you hurt the girls or not. That’s about it.

  • Goblin_King

    Bioshock 2 = that boring escort section from the first game repeated umpteen times.

The Spoony Experiment © 2011 Noah Antwiler
Banner image by Jared von Hindman
Forged by [the Engineer]