BioShock 2 is receiving a considerable amount of hype thanks to its position as a successor to one of the best games of 2007. It's being developed by members of the former development team and features one of the most sought after features in all of BioShock: the ability to play one of the badass Big Daddies. However, the main reason to be excited for the game is also one of the reasons to be wary. It's not being developed by the entire original team, and writer Ken Levine, whose dramatic and philosophy-laden plot won BioShock countless awards, is not on the project. Curb some of the enthusiasm, as it's time for a little deconstruction.

Everything we've seen about the plot behind BioShock 2 shows that it is aiming for the same satirical and disturbing exploration of philosophy, only with collectivism instead of Objectivism. While we would like believe in the strength of the writing, there are some concerns there. Everything we've seen on the game shows promise, but collectivism has been lampooned in many different forms of media before. BioShock 2 will have to throw some really big twists in order to maintain plot interest, and we don't mean the inclusion of the Big Sisters. The big reveal of Atlas, the death of Andrew Ryan, the first encounter with the Big Daddy, these things all made BioShock stand out, and BioShock 2 will have to match that, if not surpass it.

One of the new elements of the game that has been featured prominently is your abilities as a Big Daddy. While we are certainly excited to play a Big Daddy (and not just any Big Daddy, but the original), one thing in particular bothers us. The developers have stated that you will be able to go underwater, as you are encased in a diving suit, and able to explore the city of Rapture from the outside. However, the one time this has been shown so far, it was a painfully linear path that simply led from one building in Rapture to another. In order to make underwater exploration interesting, they really need to spice it up with some non-linearity. For that matter, the main game could use some of it as well, as BioShock was incredibly linear (except in very few parts).

One of the features that has been shown and that we are genuinely looking forward to is the inclusion of adopting a Little Sister to harvest ADAM for you. This appears to be alongside the harvest and rescue options of the previous game. According to released materials, this adoption option will allow you to perform boss fights where your Little Sister harvests ADAM from a body while splicers attack. This functions like an optional stationary boss fight, which makes it comparable to the optional moving boss fights of the Big Daddies from the original. You have to set traps and be cunning to make it through. The one thing we are disappointed in is that you can't harvest form all bodies, only specified ones. Some sort of roaming ADAM retrieval with benefits and drawbacks would be awesome.

Overall, BioShock 2 looks to be a general improvement in terms of gameplay. It's not our role as a Big Daddy and all that entails that bothers us, but the strength of the narrative and the player's choices throughout the game. BioShock was a choice-laden game, and while most players got used to the choices partway through, it still left an indelible impression. We don't know if BioShock 2 can live up to that standard, or if it will simply be a lesser sequel to an excellent game. We'll find out this February.