BioShock 2 was a game that I missed when it first came around. I can't remember why, but I never got the time to sit down to try and appreciate the sequel to one of the better games that has been released in recent times.
It is a little bit different from the original title, in that you find yourself within the substantial shoes of a Big Daddy, which is a highly armoured, brainwashed killing machine that protects Little Sisters, creepy little girls who harvest genetic material from the bodies of the dead.
As a result, the plasmids (your genetic super powers) that you select for use in combat have a greater bearing on the outcome. You need to research foes to unlock their "weaknesses" in combat, and this can be done via the film camera (advancement!) where as, in the prior game you used a still camera.
Extending out the gameplay (and required in order to level up and stand a chance later in the game) is the requirement to "steal" Little Sisters from Big Daddy does in order extract the required genetic material to level up. Then, once you've either rescued or harvested the Little Sisters, you get to fight a Big Sister, in a seemingly eternal battle for familial custody.
It doesn't take very long to understand this mechanic, and it quickly starts to feel like a chore, somewhat like collecting all the hidden things in an Assasin's Creed game, except you have to do this just so that you can keep up with the enemy scaling.
It takes an even shorter amount of time before it actually becomes a mechanic to progress the storyline. This is because the link between you, and the Little Sisters is an important part of the story.
I won't spoil that.
There's numerous problems with the game, not all of them linked to the gameplay mechanics becoming fairly repetitive, and that is one of stability. It is far less stable than the BioShock 1 remaster, and several areas have texture mapping that look like it should just be drawn in with crayons.
In any case, it is still worth a play through, and over about 10-12 hours, you'll get a taste of what it is like to be a Big Daddy. Except, my reccomendation: save early, and save often - you'll never know when a crash comes along to ruin your day.
I lost one and a half hours worth of gameplay towards the end, and relegated myself to watching a stream replay of someone finishing the game from there; as I was so very close to the end.
The end of the game, however makes BioShock Infinite make a hell of a lot more sense - which I'll be revisiting next.