You have to give it to the Bioshock games. They have atmosphere.
So it's all said and done. I followed Subject Delta's adventure right through to the end. It was a ride of highs and lows, but overall I think that it is valiant effort, that only ends up proving that it was not needed. Although it does some good things, and It was fantastic to return to Rapture, the story never pulled me in like the first one, the settings, while good, were not as thought out and unique as the first, and the antagonist was, in my opinion, poorly delivered. At no point did I feel hatred towards Lamb.
I think this comes from the fact that the first shocking event, you being forced to kill yourself, came about too early. If we had spent some time following 'our' daughter, protecting her, seeing her interact more, we would have felt more of a connection, which would give us more reason to want her back.
The story is delivered in the same style as the majority of Bioshock 1 was, with a faceless voice directing you through the radio, urging you forever forward towards your next goal. Occasionally we see these voices, and are able to interact with them, but they are all rather bland, not one engages you like Cohen did from 1.
I mentioned in my half way impressions that I was also looking forward to the resolution of the Mark Meltzer storyline (he was the focus of the viral marketing, his daughter was stolen to become a little sister, he found Rapture). Well I'm lucky I wasn't holding my breath. I damn near missed it. You hear a few audio logs, hear him fighting once and then I happen to catch his name as I searched an Alpha Series corpse. You get the audio diary which states that he has been turned into a Big Daddy so he can be with his daughter forever. Except I just killed him. Then adopted his daughter, and freed her. Hmm. That whole story line seems rushed and wasted.
If you don't think to hard about the story, you will find a damn good shooter underneath. The mix of guns and plasmids keeps things interesting, even if I did rely on basically two guns. I played on medium difficulty and rarely was challenged. Although I would have liked your enemies to regain health if you are brought back by a Vita Chamber, it would not have made sense from a story point of view, but it would have made it more challenging.
One thing that Bioshock 2 does FAR better than the original is the ending. Bioshock 1 gave you a zelda like boss battle. It felt tacked on and ended up feeling awkward and game breaking. Bioshock 2 gives you instead a battle with a lot of top end enemies. I know it isn't an original idea about how to end a game, but feels so much more fitting than the ending of 1.
My Final Thoughts: If you loved Bioshock 1, this will pull you back into Rapture, ultimately for a less fufilling expereince. If you never played Bioshock 1, you will find a shooter that rises above average thanks to its atmosphere and high production values. If you didn't like Bioshock 1, then...I will never be able to add to what Tycho from Penny Arcade has said:
I don't remember exactly where the critical dialogue on the original Bioshock ended up. Last time I checked, it was considered a black rift in the earth where red devils clawed their way up from hell; a warped creature of great lineage, withered by drink and dissolution. If your apparatus is returning a verdict like that, one that could take all that Bioshock was and deliver this result, I might have it calibrated. If you don't emerge from Bioshock having considered it a net positive, that doesn't make you smarter than other people. All it means is that you've mastered the unique gymnastics required to shit in your own mouth - to dilute your own joy, or the prospect of joy. I don't ever want to be smart enough to learn that trick, and I suspect I'm in no danger. I'm old enough now to settle for the merely great, which I recognize is grotesque and counter-revolutionary.
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