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[subversus]

I haven't finished the game because I didn't like it that much but since a lot of time has passed and my expectations are adjusted I want to give it another go.

The problem is that I lost all my saved games and I need to start from the beginning. From what I remember the difficulty can be uneven when Big Sister appears. I have completed Bioshock 1 without vita-chambers and without respecing my character (I didn't know that I could it anyway) so I remember being surprised by difficulty spikes in BS2. As I didn't care about the game I just turned vita-chambers on.

but now I sort of want to enjoy this so I will turn vita chambers off. Has anybody found Big Sister unbalanced? Or is it just me?

 

[The Anti-Monitor]

As long as you set up correctly before she shows up (hacking all shit, full life bar, etc), she's really not that much of a problem.

 

[Truant]

Dude, it's like when you spent five hours installing Oblivion mods and then when you finally got it working you were all like "Meh" and stopped playing. You creating this thread are those five hours. Don't do it, the game sucks.

 

[Neiteio]

Dude, it's like when you spent five hours installing Oblivion mods and then when you finally got it working you were all like "Meh" and stopped playing. You creating this thread are those five hours. Don't do it, the game sucks.

Wha? Slow beginning aside, BioShock 2 is actually -better- than BioShock 1. The drill, dual-wielding and plasmid power-ups add tons of depth, and the story never loses steam, ramping up nicely to a heartfelt finale. It just needed a stronger start, like the plane crash in the first one, as well as more polish in a few places (door textures, minimal marine life outside the windows, etc).

 

[zkylon]

Actually, I think the Big Sisters were the most enjoyable part of Bio 2. You set up traps, do a lot of crowd control and then fight against those badass Big Sisters. I liked that a lot and found it difficult, but more than manageable, at Hard diff, no Vitachambers.

 

[Coxswain]

I don't remember the difficulty spikes being particularly unbalanced. The first fight against a Big Sister might have been tougher than the others considering the smaller number of tools at your disposal, but if you just remember not to hold anything back you should be able to blitz your way through. I remember finding Bioshock 2 to be a little less difficult overall (but more fun, thanks to improved combat mechanics) than Bioshock 1. Once you get past the first couple levels where resources are scarce, it'll even out.

 

[Neiteio]

Nothing beats defending the Little Sisters as they gather. Mini-turrets, proximity mines, trip-wires, decoys, bug-infested corpses, cyclones souped up with fire and electricity, etc. Splicers come by the hundreds, and DIE.

 

[MG310]

I ended up dropping it down to easy after a few hours and had a much better time with it because of that.

 

[guest1321]

Wha? Slow beginning aside, BioShock 2 is actually -better- than BioShock 1. The drill, dual-wielding and plasmid power-ups add tons of depth, and the story never loses steam, ramping up nicely to a heartfelt finale. It just needed a stronger start, like the plane crash in the first one, as well as more polish in a few places (door textures, minimal marine life outside the windows, etc).

seconded. The first few hours are a bit slow. But once you get through those the game builds up pretty quickly and gets really good. I played 2 before 1 and actually liked 2 a lot more.

 

[Irish]

I can't stand the original much at all. In fact, I kind of feel like smacking people who say the gameplay was good in the first and then completely ignore the sequel because 'Bioshock was near perfect and didn't need a sequel.' 2K Marin did a wonderful job with fixing everything that was wrong with the first game. That's even more impressive when you consider the fact that I believe the atmosphere/intro were really the only things enjoyable in Bioshock 1.

Defending little sisters and setting up a fight area for Big Sisters was awesome.

 

[Duxxy3]

As long as you're using the vita chambers the game is very easy.

 

[subversus]

Dude, it's like when you spent five hours installing Oblivion mods and then when you finally got it working you were all like "Meh" and stopped playing. You creating this thread are those five hours. Don't do it, the game sucks.

Actually I installed it again because I managed to breach through Windows Live bullshit and buy Minerva's Den. I don't treat it as a sequel, I want to have fun and see this awesome last level (or two) everyone talk about. I stopped playing after I paiired up with you know who.

 

[Air Zombie Meat]

I feel like the only person who feels this way but I don't feel that vita chambers are really much easier than quicksaves. Most enemies respawn and you don't get back any ammo you used before dying. Quicksave you can just keep retrying until everything goes perfectly and you end up with way more ammo overall because you don't have to take on the respawns and you get any ammo you wasted back. Big Daddys are easier with chambers because they keep their depleted health but lets face it, with the right ammo they're a pushover anyway. This is all based on playing bs 1 both with them on and off anyway, maybe 2 is different.

 

[subversus]

I can't stand the original much at all. In fact, I kind of feel like smacking people who say the gameplay was good in the first and then completely ignore the sequel because 'Bioshock was near perfect and didn't need a sequel.' 2K Marin did a wonderful job with fixing everything that was wrong with the first game. That's even more impressive when you consider the fact that I believe the atmosphere/intro were really the only things enjoyable in Bioshock 1.

Defending little sisters and setting up a fight area for Big Sisters was awesome.

the sequel just didn't catch that light in the bottle. It was a competent solid game. That is not what I expect from Shock games.

 

[Conciliator]

I also like 2 better; good to see some other defenders as some here have called me mad for thinking so(in good sport(as far as I know)). The thing about the Big Sisters is that you have to go in prepared - which means, basically, if you're playing the game for the first time and you don't know where they are, you just need to be prepared in general as you're finishing up a level. And beyond that, don't be afraid to use all your good shit. She'll eat your resources, but that's OK, there's plenty of everything if you're even slightly conservative. You're going to take some damage, but that's OK.

 

[SmithnCo]

By the end of Bio 2 the plasmids are kinda broken lol, I think as long as you focus on one you like you should be okay. I was just throwing bees everywhere by the last few hours with little resistance even on hard. Fire was okay too.

The gameplay in 2 is better than 1 I think, the story felt like a retread though, which was to be expected. The environments and characters didn't seem as interesting either, but that could be because the initial "wonder" of Rapture itself wore off.

 

[Massa]

By the end of the game you can use Telekinesis to catch a splicer and throw it at other enemies for massive damage. You get so overpowered, it feels amazing.

Equip the tonic that boosts your plasmids and limits you to the drill once you run into it, and just enjoy it. Amazing game.

 

[subversus]

fucking great. now Minerva's Den doesn't install with 80096010 error...

 

[szaromir]

SS2 > BS2 > BS1

I've never played SS1 (should I?), but that's how I rate -Shock "series". Bioshock 1 was a mild disappointed for me because it pretty much copy-pasted SS2's story structure and scaled down RPG elements. Bioshock 2 has its own storyline and has much better combat than BS1.

 

["God's Beard!"]

The story is shit but the level design and combat are much better.

 

[Ridley327]

My first runthrough was on Hard with the Vitachambers turned off, and outside of the first Big Sister encounter, it really wasn't too troubling.

 

[subversus]

My first runthrough was on Hard with the Vitachambers turned off, and outside of the first Big Sister encounter, it really wasn't too troubling.

yes, it was the first encounter that made me turn vita chambers on. What did you find difficult?

 

[subversus]

SS2 > BS2 > BS1

I've never played SS1 (should I?), but that's how I rate -Shock "series". Bioshock 1 was a mild disappointed for me because it pretty much copy-pasted SS2's story structure and scaled down RPG elements. Bioshock 2 has its own storyline and has much better combat than BS1.

I sort of agree with you about the story. I played BS1 first and SS2 after that. I would be dissapointed if I played BS1 after SS2 but overall BS1 impressed me much more than SS2 when it comes to everything except minute-to-minute gameplay may be.

 

[Ridley327]

yes, it was the first encounter that made me turn vita chambers on. What did you find difficult?

The first Big Sister fight is really similar to the first Big Daddy fight in the first game, in that you only have just enough resources to squeak by with a victory. Once you nail it, you'll move onto the next level, which is obviously quite a bit larger, giving you ample opportunity to grab all the ammo and ADAM that you can, making you much better equipped to handle a Big Sister and anything else that the game may throw at you.

Despite the lack of a go-to option like shock+wrench from the start, you wind up very powerful very quickly, especially if you invest in Winter Blast and Insect Swarm early enough.

 

[subversus]

Despite the lack of a go-to option like shock+wrench from the start, you wind up very powerful very quickly, especially if you invest in Winter Blast and Insect Swarm early enough.

I remember my first fight with Big Daddy thrilling but not difficult. I liked the game though so I was creative - lured him into the area with hacked turrets and did some acrobatic tricks. In BS2 I was like "now take this, this and this, ah fuck why don't you just die! I better turn Vita Chambers on".

 

[Spotless Mind]

I never really had any issues with difficulty. As long as you prepare yourself for the battle - setting up traps, hacking turrets and so forth - the Big Sisters shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I think Bioshock 2 is a much better game overall, though i love them both. Make sure you try out Minerva's Den.

 

[Gregorn]

I think I played through Bioshock 2 on Hard after finding the first one too easy, I don't recall and trouble.

 

[Like the hat?]

If I play it on easy I don't get like a bad ending do I? I want to finally play through it but prefer to play games on easy because I have limited console time.

 

[subversus]

I installed Minerva's Den and tried it (set your year to june 2011 and then set it back after the install). Does it have new weapons and enemies?? I don't remember those splicers and some kind of ion canon/laser.

anyway I think I'll do without vita chambers this time.

 

[Grisby]

I installed Minerva's Den and tried it (set your year to june 2011 and then set it back after the install). Does it have new weapons and enemies?? I don't remember those splicers and some kind of ion canon/laser.

anyway I think I'll do without vita chambers this time.

1 new weapon. I don't remember any new enemies.

 

[valentine71]

If I play it on easy I don't get like a bad ending do I? I want to finally play through it but prefer to play games on easy because I have limited console time.

No, you don't.

 

[evilchicken]

Adding the risk and difficulty of playing on hard with no vita chambers is what made the game for me. It made me care about every shot fired, every resource I found, every advantage I could get through premeditated attacks, it was exactly as the game should be played. If you're just tearing through it, I imagine it wouldn't be that fun.