Bioshock 2 - Deja Vu

Somehow ... some way Bioshock 2 reminds me allot of a game I played. Almost exactly....
Hmm. Wait a minute. That would be ... the original game - Bioshock from 2007.

Really, as much as I am liking some of the polished game mechanics so far, (really liked the original) the story line is far less inspired. It's less of a driving force. Beyond the story line, it's how the game elements unfold. It follows the same pattern as the first game. I'll go so far as to say one could "Cut & Paste" the current character Delta with that of the first game and call this Bioshock 2.0. 

I would say that the battles with the Big Sisters have not added much weight to the overall story beyond wear on the D-Pad to heal in my fighting encounters. The method by which collecting Adam has changed, giving the game a more frenetic and strategic angle. Fending off Splicers and others while your Little Sister extracts Adam can be fun. By mid game I have traps, plasmids, and turrets that make these encounters more intense/enjoyable. I just don't know if these components offer enough to merit purchasing a brand new game.   

Less Inspired Story - So far

Spoilers Alert if you haven't played the first or second game.
In the original Bioshock you start off in crashing in a airplane into the sea. You happen upon Rapture by complete accident - or so it would seem.

The beauty of the first game is the story driven plot. You find out that the airline crash you  survived and virtually all events leading to the climax have been staged. That you are a pawn, an assassin sent to kill Ryan. The story unfolds in narrative and game play very well. The game elements don't make the game, they support the story.

Right now in Bioshock 2 the game elements are more interesting than the story. Where Andrew Ryan was iconic Sofia Lamb is not. Her purpose, motivations, and reasons (as of right now) are coming off as weak and bland. Ryan built Rapture, she's simply trying to take over and enforce some ill conceived socialist will on his lifes work.

Learning how Big Daddies and Little Sisters came to have a symbiotic relationship is really the only driving force right now. I'm sure at stories end I'll find out why Delta (your character) was considered a failure and was done in by Sofia. Given that the opening sequence has Sofia put a gun to your head and her surprise and intent to kill you (again), gives little mystery of why you are on this mission. Unless some serious story twist awaits, the ending is a forgone conclusion. So I think I'm more than halfway finished and Sofia's cause isn't making much of a case for herself. If I get the opportunity to take her out I'm betting I will.