2K Games is ready to ship BioShock 2 on February 9, and the bulk of the games critics have already weighed in. Although BioShock 2's current Metacritic of 88 (based on 29 scores) may fluctuate slightly as a few more reviews roll in, it's looking unlikely that the game will be able to match or exceed the original BioShock's 96. The first game was 2007's Metacritic Game of the Year on Xbox 360.
As we noted in our in-depth interview with 2K Marin's Jordan Thomas, making a follow-up to one of the best 360 titles ever is certainly a huge challenge. To Thomas' credit, he didn't try to reinvent the wheel, but at the same time, the novelty of the concepts and environments that originated in BioShock has worn off for the sequel.
As Giant Bomb said in its review to accompany an 80 score, "Returning to Rapture--even a different part of the city--is naturally going to be less impressive. But the smart additions on the gameplay side make BioShock 2 rewarding in a different way, while those who want to know more about Andrew Ryan's underwater city will find just enough to make the return trip worthwhile."
The familarity didn't stop some publications from absolutely gushing though. Official Xbox Magazine gave the game a 95, saying, "BioShock 2 isn't a groundbreaking follow-up that rewrites all the rules laid down by its predecessor. No, think of it as a sequel that fills in the gaps, adding exciting new dimensions to what's come before... You will be utterly absorbed."
Other comments we've heard suggest that the game's multiplayer is somewhat underwhelming. That said, most gamers are eagerly looking to play the title for its rich single-player narrative. The good thing is that 2K is listening to all the feedback, which should only make a likely BioShock 3 that much better. As Thomas told us, "We pay attention to reviews and the 2K forums, and there's a huge amount of anecdotal feedback that filters back slowly. We look at focus groups and what achievements or trophies they get – things that basically tell us which decisions they made, as well as concepts that they found easy to grasp or places they got stuck. And we compile a big kind of post-mortem, for lack of a better term, on the project's successes and failures. We try to boil that wisdom down to something we can build into the core values of the next project."
1 Comments
June 18, 2010
As I expected. Point me in the direction of a single sequel that wasn't helmed by the original's lead designer that has a higher metacritic score than the original. I can't think of a single one.