Xbox Gaming in South Africa

I can still recall the first time I saw Rapture, it was one of the defining moments in my gaming life with a vista of neon lit buildings on the sea floor greeting me as Andrew Ryan explained how the city would be a bastion for the thinkers and geniuses of this alternative 1960 history. It was something totally different, and once gamers ventured into its depths they never looked back. The first BioShock was a genre defining game that took the foundations which System Shock had laid and set it in a unique setting under the sea with a story that was based on Ayn Rand's theories of Objectivism in her book Atlas Shrugged. When a sequel was announced, most gamers, including myself, were a bit flabbergasted. After all, how could you ever hope to repeat the success and uniqueness of the original?

Although BioShock 2's intro lacks the impact of the original, it does enough to stir up what will become yet another intriguing story in the underwater city of Rapture. Many things have changed in the 10 years since we first came to Rapture. A new antagonist, Sofia Lamb, who's beliefs and ideals are the polar opposite of Andrew Ryan, now rules the city. While Sofia Lamb may not have been mentioned at all in the first game, BioShock 2 manages to create a believable history involving Lamb, making for some rather interesting twists and turns as the game progresses.

This time around you play as a Big Daddy rather than a normal Joe (or should that be Jack). Being a Big Daddy doesn't have a dramatic affect on the gameplay and shooting mechanics, but does add a few extra abilities, including the option to adopt a Little Sister. If you're played the first game then you'll be right at home with the gameplay mechanics in BioShock 2. You've got plasmids that alter your DNA providing you with special abilities such as setting enemies on fire, freezing them or even confusing them to a point where by they turn on each other, amongst others. Then there's the gene tonics which fall into either combat, engineering or physical classes, and can help improve your hacking skills, allow you to get more Eve or even shorten the time of alarms. Unlike the plasmids, which require an action, tonics are a passive ability, and only require that they be equipped. A noticeable improvement over the first game is that you can now wield plasmids and weapons at the same time. Swapping between the separate plasmids and weapons is still a cumbersome task, but the ability to wield one of each type at the same time is a welcome change and allows for some interesting combinations.

Rapture is still filled with plenty of gene-spliced citizens and security bots, and most of the enemies you would've met before, but there are two new enemies to contend with, namely the Big Sister and the Brute Splicer. The Brute Splicer is effectively a splicer version of the Big Daddy that has a long range attack - throwing heavy objects at you - and a charge attack (think of the Tank in Left 4 Dead). The Big Sister on the other hand is a sleeker, faster and more nimble version of the Big Daddy, not to mention she can wield plasmids. The encounters aren't common, but allow for some challenging change ups in the gameplay.

As mentioned earlier the one thing that playing as a Big Daddy brings into the gameplay is the addition of the Little Sisters that you can now adopt and use to gather Adam - the currency of the game used to purchase gene tonics and plasmids. While that might sound similar to the first game, here you can use the Little Sisters to directly harvest Adam from corpses. It's a frenetic race against time to protect your Little Sister from a horde of splicers. These set pieces allow you to set traps and utilise the full range of your weapons and plasmids at hand. Once you've successfully gathered Adam with your Little Sister you have the option to save or harvest her. As in the original, harvesting her gives you plenty of Adam, while saving her nets you less Adam but gives you extra rewards in the long term.

One of the main points of contention for BioShock 1 lovers was the addition of a multiplayer component. Would it cheapen the impact of the single-player experience? While it might be tenuously tied into the main game with it portraying you as one of many plasmid testers for Sinclair Solutions, it's really just a bog standard multiplayer mode, and the addition of separate developers has done enough to separate the two modes. This does, however, mean we see different results. It works on a similar system to Modern Warfare by rewarding you with levels and upgraded plasmids and weapons as you gain Adam from winning games and achieving kills. There are, of course, some interesting BioShock twists to the multiplayer mode, with the ability to research players' corpses to gain a damage boost, as well as random drops of a Big Daddy suits on levels, which if you're lucky to find, will transform you into a near indestructible Big Daddy that can just about take a nuclear blast to the face without flinching. There are problems with the multiplayer side of things, however, with lag and poor textures being frequent friends when you attempt to play online games. More worryingly there are also frequent system freezes that require a hard reset of your Xbox 360. Hopefully those are all issues that might be banished with a patch in the near future, but are a blemish on what is an entertaining add-on.

Graphically Rapture still looks amazing, with its heavily modified Unreal Engine producing water effects that are some of the best around. The art design of the characters and levels are masterfully crafted and suits the time period. The plasmid effects are well done, with splicers looking scarily lifelike. The lighting also deserves a mention with Rapture's halls and passages being lit in an eerie light from the surrounding ocean; there's nothing scarier than walking in a dimly lit hall only to be met by a spider splicer attacking you from some hidden shadow on the ceiling. Heightening the tension is the excellent music and sound effects which do an excellent job of creating the tense atmosphere we've come to expect.

BioShock 2 may not revolutionise FPS gaming, but who needs to when the original can still be considered one of the best games of this generation. BioShock 2 avoids destroying the world of Rapture and rather enriches it with some interesting plot points and enhancements. The original and sequel can almost be seen as polar opposites in terms of the message it tries to imprint upon you, but one thing doesn't change: the BioShock series is still one of the best first person shooter games around, and the updated version only helps to cement its standing.

Pros:

• Rapture is as unique as ever
• Dual-wielding plasmids and weapons is fun
• Intriguing plot

Cons:

• Slow start might throw off some gamers
• Freezing issues in multiplayer

Rating: