Review by: Danielle Riendeau

In every way, BioShock – one of the best games of 2007 and arguably one of the best and deepest titles in the FPS genre – was a tough act to follow, and the announcement of a sequel (being developed by a brand new studio, mind you), was fraught with concern. Well, strap on your big daddy boots and oil up your drill arm, because I have some very good news – BioShock 2 is a worthy successor, and a fantastic game in its own right.

Taking all of the elements that made the first game so special – the lore, the atmosphere, the customizable “roll your own shooter” combat and the phenomenal voicework and sound design, the new game slowly grows out from under the shadow of its predecessor and improves upon just about everything.

The premise is pure Bioshock (and it certainly helps to be familiar with the events of the first game) – you play as subject Delta, the very first “Big Daddy”, a class of super-powered giants tasked with protecting the “little sisters” – girls who collect genetic material from the dead in the ruined underwater city of Rapture. A brief cutscene introduces you to your very own little sister, Eleanor, whom you are bonded to, and the villainous Sofia Lamb (a communistic nutjob who has taken over the city), who promptly takes poor Eleanor away from you and throws you into a ten-year coma.

You awaken under mysterious circumstances and set off to rescue your little girl (now a teenager) from Lamb. Your job is to navigate the deadly halls of the ruined city, survive Lamb’s traps (and nastier minions) and fight your way into her stronghold. The story is told through a mix of radio messages, optional “recordings” that you can pick up, and psychic messages from Eleanor herself. Rapture’s saner citizens make a bigger splash this time around – as there are plenty of encounters with more or less “normal” human beings – all of which involve making serious moral choices that have a huge impact on the flow of the narrative.