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Ten long years have passed and the undersea city of Rapture once again emerges from the depths to bring horror to the hearts of the weak and delight to the strong minded. In Bioshock 2, the latest video game from 2K Marin, a new monstrosity is, again, abducting little girls, wisking them away to Rapture. Known as a Big Sister, this colossus was once part of the group inhabiting the dark corridors of Rapture called Little Sisters. Ten years ago Little Sisters were used to collect ADAM, the powerful lifeblood, from the bodies of anyone they encountered. Unfortunately for the Little Sisters, once they outlived their usefulness they were, themselves, harvested for ADAM. Now, Little Sisters have evolved into the strongest, fastest, and most powerful entity in Rapture, Big Sister. Playing as a prototype Big Daddy, complete with free will but strangely with no memory of the past ten years, you have mysteriously reactivated and must fight for the answers that are key to your survival.

Taking the role of a Big Daddy, along with all the weapons (including the the ever popular rivet gun) has fans of the original game buzzing with excitement. Not only do you have the ability to use plasmids and tonics, giving you huge advantages over most of your opponents you encounter, but defeating a Big Daddy gives you the option of harvesting ADAM from Little Sisters, giving you instant benefits but altering the gameplay, or you can adopt them, becoming responsible for them as they alert you to impening danger. Adoption will lead you into defense sequences causing you to perform the duties of other Big Daddies – guarding over your passle of Little Sisters, protecting them from splicers as they harvest ADAM from the dead. At your disposal is a huge arsenal of weapons from mini-turrets and hacked security bots to your collection of plasmid powers, making these defense sequences one of the more interesting aspects of the game.

Other than taking up the role of a Big Daddy, Bioshock 2 is not a complete remake of the first title. 2K Marin, has instead, expanded on the good aspects of the original while improving on the weaker ones. New random events and weapons highlight a storyline that is, at times, just as engaging as the first one, even if some of the mystery is gone. It’s never easy to follow up on a classic game like Bioshock. Oftentimes gamers are left feeling empty with a sequel to such a popular and well designed game. However, Bioshock 2 does not disappoint. It is well designed with an intriging new storyline, updated weapons, and new characters. Even thought the gameplay mechanics are based on the same engine as the first title, making that aspect feel slightly stale, Bioshock 2 is a great game and a worthy predecessor to continue this excellent franchise.

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Available on: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC