Game 50 - Castlevania - Week 76 - June 21

astlevania. It still holds up. 

I just finished the absolutely brilliant Netflix series wrapping up Season 4. The story was exactly what I wanted with the Carmilla (fem Dracula) arc coming to an end. The animation is top of its game and this is none more clearer than in the fight scenes. Issac vs. Carmilla, Alucard, Trevor & Sypha vs. Dragan and of course Trevor Belmont, Vampire Slayer vs. Death. A twist about Varney I did not see coming at all btw. Naturally these fights made me want to play a series I was always curious about. Well the anniversary edition was on discount at the time, smart move Konami, so I just had to pick it up. 

Trevor faces Death itself... what a natural and satisfying climax to wrap up the gothic saga. 

Well enough gushing about the Netflix series, what about the game? The art, the music, the gameplay. So SO GOOD. There's just something timeless about the 8-bit art and chiptune sounds tracks. Especially when it's an authentic OG. But specific to Castelvania they do a good job of making it uniquely gothic. The story is almost non-existent. You're Simon Belmont, line to a family of legendary vampire slayers. Count Dracula and his Castle has reappeared after he was slain by your ancestor a century years prior, so it's time to get to work. As you traverse the castle you'll vanquish classic monsters such as bats, skeletons, zombies, ghosts, mummies and medusa heads. 

So what about the gameplay? It's so good. Even the whip. Similar to Mario and mushrooms of the era, finding a whip improves the range of Vampire Killer - instead of a health buffer it gives you a damage buffer. A skilled player can crouch whip, jump whip and back step like something reminiscent to Street Fighter. Even now it's still fun to vaporize enemies with the whip. In addition to this Trevor has various items such as cross shuriken (boomerang), holy water that's essentially a Jesus Molotov (my favourite) or the ability to freeze time. It's fun to figure out the weaknesses and techniques for each enemies. The waiting and strike patterns, which items are best, especially for bosses. Some items just break bosses and I love that. In the Netflix series, a big part of the Belmont Clan's success at monster slayer is there study of enemies to find that classic Silver Bullet. Even dedicating an episode to the trio venturing into the abandoned hidden keep to find secrets on Dracula. So you can tell they were really faithful to the games, because that's exactly how they feel to play. The game does a great job recreating a feeling of adventure, climbing the castle to the top in a slow ascent, slaying everything evil as you go before inevitably reaching the villain. A classic fairy tale and I can see why it captivated so many of the time. 

I really would have liked to do the whole collection at once but there's just so many. I'll do 1-4 and Symphony of the Night one by one.  

Game 49 - BioShock 2 - Week 76 - Jun 21

ioShock 2 is looked at by many as a step down, the under achieving little brother. Even now searching for a retrospective on YouTube returns surprisingly little. And for a while I looked at it the same way. Originally I played as far as the Little Sister introduction. But after playing it all the way through I have a new found respect for BioShock's misunderstood cousin. Why a game analyst like GVMER or Raycevick hasn't discussed this game surprises me to no end.

The first thing I noticed - the presentation is still Rapture. It's all the same here. I did notice a few glaring omissions. In my typical tourist routine I'd always look out the windows of Rapture. Quite a few times the outside world was on the blurry side low res and I'm not sure how or why considering the first game was picture perfect. Was it not rendered in this game? It might seem small but walking up to any window and seeing the under water city in full detail had such a huge impact of making the world real. A claustrophobic experience yet in a massive world without invisible barriers. But when it works it works. 

It's good to be home.

At the heart of BioShock is an interesting story. The story begins with a flashback, memory, dream? You've just become an Alpha variant of the Big Daddy, Subject Delta, the fourth in a line of experiments, After you're imprinted on your Little Sister, Eleanor she's taken from you and in your rage you're decommissioned with an electro bolt and pistol. This model imprints to only one Little Sister so it's not ideal. I don't have an issue with this setup outside the fact that we saw the first Big Daddy imprinted on a Little Sister (in Burial at Sea). The one that killed Dr. Suchong and was not an Alpha Variant. But after some further reading it looks like I wasn't paying attention enough... Alpha develop pair bonds, while Bouncers and later models have protection instincts, as developed successfully by Suchong. Considering peoples confusion online and continuity I would have made this much more overt then subtle audio logs, but then again maybe they were intending for Alpha to be used as the model that killed Suchong.

You wake up 10 years later with an extra hole in your head. You put your helmet on and off you go, to find your Eleanor. Experiencing Rapture 8 in-game years after Jack left is an interesting experience. Rapture is a ticking time bomb. The minds that held the city up against the metric shit ton of water pressure are now gone. I actually played through a significant amount of the game before I realised this was set after BioShock 1, not before and the audio logs of the cabal are actually dead. Well regardless that made it even more interesting. Everyone is dead and Jack has left to the surface. I assume this is the canon ending with no evil Jack around leading the splicers. Well replacing the cult of personality is a... cult.

Sofia Lamb, the last remaining bright mind of Rapture has capitalised on her intellect, using her skillset and knowledge in Psychology to manipulate that remaining inhabitants of Rapture. Rapture is sinking, join me and you will be saved, in your sacrifice you will be reborn anew. Atlas... uh I mean Sinclair servers as your fragile partner. Unlike Atlas he's genuine, wants to escape and needs your help to do so. Sinclair is a likeable character, a charming hustler that sounds like a distant relative of Kevin Spacey. He has a tragic ending when Sofia irreversibly turns him into a Big Daddy. The game does a good job of managing continuity issues with BioShock. Where was Sofia Lamb this whole time? Well via audio logs you find out she gained a lot of popularity with the lower class lost souls of Rapture. This lead to much tension with Frank Fontaine and his ambitions as well as Andrew Ryan and his god complex. So he locked her away, covered her up and threw away the key. With all the competition gone, Lamb has surfaced again to her lead her people to the promised land. To do this she needs Adam, and considering the Big Daddy's won't cut it she has made a new creation - the Big Sister. Girl power, woo! 

Before I give my thoughts on the finale I need to discuss gameplay, and there's a lot to go over. The reason I enjoy the gameplay of BioShock 1 so much was not just because of the engrossing experimental gameplay with plasmids, weapon, ammo and enemy types - but because all of it served the story and immersed me in its world like no other shooter was before. Even the hacking made you feel like you were a plumber, and machines operated in hydropower, redirecting the flow of water. It's hard to even call BioShock 1 a shooter, redefining what the word means with so many RPG and immersive sim elements. So of course, I was resistant to the gameplay of BioShock 2. It had big shoes to fill, and of all the routes it could have taken it tried to do that with a Big Daddy. The Big Daddy was such an iconic intimidating villain in BioShock 1 and playing one in the sequel felt like it cheapened that experience, the key factor for my hesitation to play BioShock 2. To diminish the fragility of Jack in the face of the towering behemoths was an unforgiveable sin that undermines the original masterpiece. The Big Daddy made you feel terrified with step or low bellowing groan from its iron belly. Each time you heard one you knew it was stop, prepare - its go time. Until later levels at least. So playing Daddy vs. Daddy, mano a mano? It's just not the same experience when you're on equal footing. 

But after playing it all the way through I can say that's exactly the reason that it's a great game in its own right. Where as in 1 the gameplay served the story without sacrificing fun over immersion, similar to something like The Last of Us or an RPG. In 2 I would argue the story primarily serves the gameplay. Making you an Alpha variant, the first experimental model that can use plasmids and weapons at the same time, can handle far more tonics and punishment then Jack feels like a convenient excuse to provide vastly experimental gameplay and builds. And honestly, it worked. When you hold up the gameplay and fun factor in itself, it exceeds BioShock. There are few factors at work here. 

1. The plasmids for the most part the plasmids are still the same. However you can now upgrade them to new more powerful tiers. In their final form they become game changing. You know Cyclone Trap - that plasmid you never looked at twice in BioShock 1? Well here you can charge it up with plasmids and even place it on ceilings and walls. Any plasmid is now a trap! What about Decoy? Eh. Cool but I prefer a straight forward approach. Now it reflects damage and that damage also heals you in combat! Electrobolt chains, Frost bite becomes a jagged ice dispenser, and Incinerate turns into an Incinerator. Hypnotize is rolled into one - Hypnotize anyone! Insect swarm, well.. more bees. What more could you want? Prefer the shadows perhaps? Scout lets you use a projection to sneak around, hack, and even use plasmids. Security Command. Summon two elite upgrade security bots: Did you say rockets? Telekinesis - now your foes become weapons. If your mind isn't already a buzz with ideas, let me give you an example. Use Scout to wander into a room of enemies. Drop a few cyclone traps, electrified or frosted. Auto hack a few their turrets and whip out Security Command to summon an Uber-Drone. Now use Telekinesis to throw enemies around. Well golly me, you just massacred an entire room without wasting a bullet. My personal favourite was Security Command. Not only were they badass little choppers reminiscent of the ones slapped together in Abe's Odyssey but you could give them names. And will this one I call Little Brother. 

2. You can now equip both a weapon and plasmid - it should not be understated how much this changes the gameplay formula. Previously Jack would need to Electrobolt an enemy and whip out the wrench for the one two punch, meanwhile a splicer can shoot him from a distance. Not Subject Delta. He can shock an enemy, drill a hole in his skull, and zap that pesky enemy in the distance, locking him down while he does so. All those weapons the Big Daddy's used in the first game? You get to use those now. And my god do they get the Rivet Gun and Drill so so right. The drill uses fuel and absolutely shreds splicers. Getting the charge and running your drill arm through a splicer chest never gets old and I wish there were animations for this ala the original CGI cutscenes. But the ragdoll is still great. The Rivet Gun has low recoil and pins people to walls. Soooo satisfying. It has armour piercing "heated" rivets and my personal favourite, the trap rivet. I never had the opportunity to use all my ammo in BioShock 1, but here I can unload an entire ammo type into the floor and watch as the Big Daddy runs the gauntlet. Or better yet - find a barrel, put 10 trap rivets on it, several proximity grenades, whip out telekinesis and watch even the mightiest Big Daddy or Little Sister fall. Machine gun is a dope minigun, basically the tommy gun. The shotgun is double-barrelled, always a welcome sight. The spear gun is so thematic and awesome, basically a sniper rail gun. The grenade launcher is the rocket launcher with an arc, as you'd expect. They're all fun, unique and inventive. Last but not least is the hacker tool. Being able to hack from range is a welcome addition, although I loved the pipe minigame I was sick of it by the end. The new minigame is simple and quick, a great weapon for that quick turret hack in combat.

While not exactly a weapon the camera deserves a special mention. Unlike the camera in the first game you don't need to equip it. You're a BioMech after all and it's a film camera mounted on your shoulder. So not only can you capture enemy behaviour during combat, you can equip both a plasmid and a weapon while you do so. This feels far more integrated and fun - perform better and you capture better footage finding more weak spots. Improve your build so you can capture better footage, the loop continues. The camera in BioShock 1 made sense. 2 leans more towards an arena shooter where 1 was more of an immersive sim. Jack is fragile, he needs to sneak around, analyse his environment from the shadows. But it did feel a little clunky, stealth wasn't great so you often found yourself taking a photo in the middle of receiving a led pipe to the face. Here it feels completely at home and in sync. 

3. Tonics are off the chain. The limit of holding Tonics as per type is now gone. You're free to equip up to 16 as you well. The degree to which this creates different build possibilities is absolutely insane and there are just too many to go over. I would say the sheer amount of replayability ends here, but it just doesn't end.

4. Lastly is the various scenarios the game puts you in where you can unleash your Big Daddy Builds. There's the classic Big Daddy wandering around, protecting sisters. And here's where it gets interesting. Once you down a Daddy you get a Little Sister, you can consume it or save it. But you can also escort it around as it collects Adam. When you do this you need to defend it against attacking splicers. Perfect situation to setup some traps or just go ham. It was actually awesome walking the shoes of a Daddy, listening to a Little Sister as she stabs "angels" with that giant fuck off needle. The voice acting and lines are always superb. There are new variants of the Big Daddy such as Rosie with a Rivet Gun or Rumbler with the grenade launcher. The Alpha Variant will show up later to go full Hulk on you too. They're all fun to fight. But if you clear all the Little Sisters on a level you'll get the attention of Big Sis. With a shrill loud shriek she announces her arrival and you have a few moments to prepare (best to do so before you send Little Sis off into the vents). These are tough fights and I often found myself depleted afterward - requiring everything you've built and sometimes more. Pushing you to further your build. 

Escorting little sisters lead to some of the best gameplay moments in the franchise. It does a great job immersing you in the shoes of a Big Daddy even if you don't have the protective instinct of Bouncers.

I think this was the turning point in the game for me. I did and still do feel like playing a Big Daddy cheapens the first game - but I can't deny it's just so damn fun. As family friend of mine said he likes BioShock 2 the most as it just appeals to his monkey brain that likes messing with builds. After hearing that I was able to hold BioShock 2 up on its own and it enjoy it much more as a standalone experience. Even now writing this months later I won't to go and play the game again. I can't say the same about Infinite after experiencing it twice. The biggest disservice that was done to this game was likely pushed by the publisher, and that was calling it BioShock 2. The game is not a direct sequel, it's an expansion - a fun step sideways. It should not have been called the sequel for it will be forever and unfairly compared to BioShock 1. 

So back to the story. Stop Sophia, help Sinclair, save Eleanor. Simple but with many twists and turns along the way. I would put the story of BioShock 2 closer to Infinite actually. An intimate heartfelt story between surrogate (or actual) father and daughter. It's nice and you do end up feeling attached to Little Sister and Elanor by the end of it. Here are some of the best moments. 

Previously we could only see Rapture from inside the claustrophobic halls. But now in our Mecha Aquaramarine state we can wander the ocean floor. It's best described as a brief and beautiful walking simulator that forces you to appreciate Rapture from a difference perspective. It's a nice nod to see the sea slugs used for Adam on the ocean floor, which you can harvest for Adam. The ocean and Rapture towering above us is a stunning sight to see as it immerses you inside the suit you don. 

The creative director and BioShock 2 has a colourful history. Jordan Thomas is well known for creating some of the greatest levels in immersive sims such as The Cradle in Thief: Deadly Sins or Fort Frolic in BioShock. Considered by many to be the best in the game, which is an impressive feat considering immersive sims often live or die based on their level design. So it's no surprise he was offered a lead position, nor that the level design is so good in BioShock 2. Personally I think it lacks the environmental story telling, the biggest X factor of the original to reach the same level. I have no doubt this was hindered by making the player a Big Daddy instead of a vulnerable average joe, which is simultaneously the games biggest strength. But this is also the primary reason why BioShock 1 is better. The embedded story tied everything together. When I say everything I mean combat, weapons, characters, plot - it made the world of Rapture real - and is why BioShock 2 does not do as well, it feels more tropey, more like an arcadey but fun video game experience as a result. This wasn't always the case as Jordan will tell you. His originally pitch was you playing as a Little Sister in the aftermath of the first game, lost, wandering, trying to escape in the spirit of Silent Hill. Holy fucking shit does that sound awesome. Maybe she becomes a Little Sister at some point? But the opportunity for environmental storytelling has so much opportunity. It's a real shame the publisher 2K was chasing the military shooter trend of the time, as all AAA publishers do. They wanted BioShock to be the next big shooter. That's not BioShock, that's not evolution, that's devolution. It goes in the face of the spirit to elevate and push the boundaries of the genre. So it's no wonder it failed and disappointed. It's no wonder the military shooter trend burnt out and the first immersive sim on the block after BioShock: Dishonored was hailed as fresh and novel and interesting when much of it had all been done before. And it's no wonder it took years and years for many to appreciate BioShock 2 for the redeeming elements 2K Marine managed to claw into the game. AAA =//= Creativity. Innovation and risk earns the big bucks, not chasing the safe tried and tested trends of the time. Even now as I write this I can feel the air turning on Battle Royal - people are losing interest. 

We did get a taste of Jordan's original vision. In one sequence you get to control a Little Sister and see the world through her eyes. And wowee is it not one of the best most chilling moments in all of BioShock. Dead bodies are surrounded by flies and blood Angels are surrounded by butterflies and rose petals. Deformed splicers gawk at monstrosities Lovely adults ponder the exhibits that Rapture has to offer. Seeing the world from a Little Sister's eyes is just... heart-breaking. Taking these little innocent girls and turning them into monsters that inflict pain and misery, literally spread disease while seeing the world as nothing more than a fluffy dream is horrific. 

Eleanor now all grown up is trapped and needs the Little Sister help her to escape. Once free she doesn't waste much time for a touching reunion. In a twist I didn't see coming she dons the Big Sister suit. Not so little anymore. This is so cool, a kin to the Songbird antagonist turning to your side in Infinite years later. A villain, a weapon of Sofia Lamb throughout the entire game is now an ally that you can summon via a plasmid. So she comes, she shreds, she leaves. 

So with that Big Daddy Build you developed, no perfected, and with Eleanor at your side it's time to face Sofia. There's a cool race against the clock here as you both tear through Sofia's henchmen. When you summon Elanor she scrambles down vents, cuts through some of Raptures finest before disappearing to do whatever she was doing, which is just so thematic. She has her job, you have yours. As you reach the end you face the final boss... Two big sisters?! I went absolutely ham preparing my traps. First I setup two barrels covered in Grenades and Rivets. Then I put rivets absolutely everywhere. When they arrived I basically one shot the first Big Sister and halved the health of the second - didn't even need Eleanor or Josh to finish the last one.

Oh I forgot about the final boss fight with Sinclair. Tragic, but unremarkable. I suppose that is keeping in spirit of the final boss fight in BioShock 1. Whoops.

I'm not sure whether to be surprised or not but the end is actually great. Eleanor observes your actions throughout the game and whether you sacrificed the Little Sisters for power (like I did) or killed the side characters (which I spared). The consequences of your choices feel a little less on the nose then BioShock 1. My Eleanor kills Lamb - now on the surface she concludes others are merely tools for what is to come. I choose the lesser evil in BioShock 1 and wanted to do the opposite for 2. Not only that but I felt the choices made sense for each character. Jack wants to redeem himself and save what little innocence is left in Rapture - not only that but he's an orphan, lost, he can relate and empathize. Subject Delta is bonded to Elanor, he does not care about the Little Sisters - they are merely tools to save his own Little Sister as is his nature. In the end Elanor kills Delta and forsakes the inhabitants of Rapture. 

There are  several endings, the severity of outcomes depends on the choices you make. 

Lastly is Minerva's Den. This DLC was fantastic. The gameplay is largely the same beyond a new cool plasmid Gravity Well (sucks enemies together). Minerva - aptly named from Athena the Greek Goddess of Wisdom - or The Thinker is a super computer that powers that machines of Rapture. Created by an unfortunate fellow, Charles Milton Porter for Ryan Industries. You're another experimental Alpha Daddy activated by Tenenbaum and must help her and Porter stop Reed Wahl to recreate The Thinker on the surface and cure the ADAM sickness, saving Rapture. The story is really about the two creators and their motives - Wahl wants the computer to create an algorithm capable of predicting anything (aka Skynet) and Porter wants to use it for machine learning to recreate his dead wife (creepy dude...). Well in a twist nobody saw coming, it turns out Sigma is Porter himself, arrested, trapped and experimented on by Ryan years prior for implementing a failsafe protocol into The Thinker. Tenenbaum reveals The Thinker has emulated Porter, acting on its own to manipulate and guide Sigma through a familiar voice. In a final room you find many mementos and in a log its revealed that Porter abandoned the project, recognising that it was delusional to think he could bring back Pearl to get past his grief. In an epilogue Tenenbaum and Porter return to the surface, his former body is restored using a cure she discovered. Standing over a grave he leaves a letter apologising for desecrating her memory. 

Just wow - Minerva's Den certainly makes up for the somewhat lacking story in BioShock 2. Unlike the main game I actually feel like this added to the lore. The Thinker explained and helped flesh out Rapture. It wasn't just Ryan sitting at the helm, he had a supercomputer made to guide his ship. Not only that but it's a tragic story, more so then even the first game. I do feel like them escaping to the surface was a little necessary, the story to Rapture didn't need a neat little bow to wrap it up. The more people that escape to the surface after BioShock 1, the more I feel it goes against the ending that Irrational Games craft. Jack and the Little Sister survived and the rest of Rapture was forsaken, the canon ending. But still, there's no question that this is the definitive BioShock DLC - even better than Burial at Sea from Irrational Games themselves. 

Steve Gaynor the Lead Designer went on to create the walking sims Gone Home and Tacolma.