BioShock 2 both literally and figuratively hearkens back to its bestselling and critically acclaimed 2007 predecessor. Set nearly a decade after the events of that game, BioShock 2 makes very few departures from the winning initial formula, in terms of either design and characters or of look and feel. You'll find a few notable differences and expansions in terms of the story, but all in all you're getting a slicked-up version of more of the same. If you're in the mood for that, BioShock 2 is terrifically satisfying. And even if you're not, it's still pretty good.

Everything is the Same
Just as some movie sequels are little more than repackagings of what came before, so too does BioShock 2 sometimes feel like it's playing things too safe. You may find yourself wishing it would strike out in a different directions. This sequelitis is, admittedly, a problem inherent in BioShock's premise. Set in the self-contained underwater city of Rapture, BioShock's combination of 1950s "World of Tomorrow!" design, gentle political and moralistic commentary, low-budget sci-fi cheese, and unusually thoughtful first-person-shooter (FPS) gameplay logic ensured one-of-a-kind immersion. Among hundreds of other FPS games—BioShock stood out.

But because BioShock 2 must also take place in Rapture, retreading—and a lot of it—is a given. The Circus of Values vending machines, hackable bots and healing stations, the Vita-Chamber save points, the recorded long entries littered about, and familiar characters are all back. Even the ghoulish Little Sisters, whom you must choose to either sacrifice or save in order to obtain the genetic material you need to advance, are more or less unchanged—and are still followed around by their diving suit-wearing Big Daddy protectors.

The upshot of all this is that you'll need no time to reacclimatize yourself if you already know the lay of the land. There are a couple of key changes—you can now dual-wield physical weapons and your plasmid bio-talents; the interaction with the Little Sisters is a bit more complex now; and Big Sisters have entered the mix. But most of what you'll do is directly inspired from the first game. The serious downside is that you may feel you've seen and played everything before—the crisp sense of wonder that once so flooded Rapture is not as strongly in evidence now.

Not Everything is the Same
In fact, the biggest twist comes is in the character you play. You embody one of the Big Daddys, desperately searching for the Little Sister to whom you've been bonded but separated from for years. The culprit would appear to be her mom, Sophia, "mother to the Rapture family." Of course, things are not always what they seem. The identity and importance of your Little Sister is of prime importance as the story unfolds—as is who you are and what your own mission truly is. If BioShock 2's story lacks some of the first game's fresh dramatic verve, as an examination of Collectivist (rather than Objectivist) utopianism gone dys, it's still engrossing.

As is the gameplay itself, which has been tweaked in places (hacking is more sensible, and less pipe dream, for one thing) but otherwise remains smooth. Three single-player difficulty settings let you customize the game to your own preferences; and an extensive multiplayer mode lets you compete or collaborate with others over the Internet in any of seven varied scenarios, all set during the Rapture Civil War that inspired BioShock's story. The only other time PC players will need an Internet connection is when authorizing the game after install. All you'll miss out on without a constantly active connection are a few extra Games for Windows Live bonuses (such as achievements).

Whether you play alone or with others, BioShock 2 is wonderfully addicting fun that reinforces the notion that even FPS games don't need to be mindless, artless affairs. All that BioShock 2 is missing is the rampant novelty that made the first BioShock a game like no other. But if the worst that can be said about it is that it's just like the original BioShock, most games should be lucky enough to invite such a comparison.

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