Bioshock 2 doesn't quite excel as much as the first one did at a viscerally innovative experience and unexpected journey, but nonetheless does a great job of constructing a fun and interesting second foray into the underwater city of Rapture.

The simultaneous use of weapons and plasmids is welcome, and the game is still plenty challenging, provided you pick a normal difficulty level. It doesn't come with an equal share of memorable moments to the first Bioshock, but the story of the search of Johnny Topside for Eleanor is peppered with the same gripping atmosphere that made the first game so haunting, with only slightly less of a punch, but nonetheless draws the game to a memorable finale.

Considering Bioshock 2 takes place 8 years after the first one, I scratched my head over what the still sane and human denizens of Rapture had done all those 8 years in Rapture, considering it was in more or less an identical state in the first iteration of the series, but if you ignore that, the game had a great story and the gameplay, with its numerous weapons and plasmids, and chances to upgrade both, and similar moral dilemmas that the first one presented, I think it's a very competent follow-up to the first Bioshock.