BioShock 2 Hands-On Reviews Roundup

The first Bioshock was a wildly successful first person shooter; now the sequels preview demo from 2K Marin is out in the hands of a few lucky reviewers. You can see some tantalizing screen shots on these guys web posts, but for the quick rundown, here are some excepts of hands-on gameplay impressions from reviewers around the web.

Gamezone gives the game high marks, saying "The game's environments are also very well done. The great art direction of the original game carries through to the sequel... Bioshock 2 is turning out to be a fine follow-up to its landmark predecessor, offering more great story elements..."

Joystiq concluded- "From what we played, BioShock 2 as a whole didn't bowl us over with a sense of, "Wow, this is a whole new level to the experience found in the first game," but it's certainly up to the quality of its predecessor across the board; from art to music to dialog and gameplay".

"For many of us who played the first game, the wholly unexpected plot twists proved to be its strongest and most compelling aspect", says Wired's Chris Kohler. "As for the multi-player mode, I can't say I'm entirely sold on the idea: Multiplayer mode in BioShock seems like it was added purely for marketing concerns, as if the game wouldnt sell enough as a purely single-player experience. If it gets the sequel into more peoples hands, thats probably worth it. But from my time with both modes, single-player seems like the big draw for BioShock 2".

Finally, Gamespy get to the nub of the matter: "Having to follow up on one of the most talked-about games in years is a lot of pressure for anyone, but from what I've played I have no doubt that they've nailed the look and feel of Rapture established in the original. That being said, I hope they can diversify the experience with more than just the obvious things like new enemies, guns, etc., that gamers expect from sequels."