BioShock 2: The Protector Trials Should've Been Co-op - Review

By James Hawkins in Reviews
Friday, August 6, 2010 at 12:00 pm
BioShock 2 Little Sister Harvest ADAM (250 x 141).jpg
The Protector Trials Review
The BioShock series has never been a showcase in great gameplay. In certain instances, very innovative techniques have been employed -- especially with BioShock 2 -- but the games are so obviously focused towards atmosphere and narrative, making a piece of downloadable content based on gunplay seems foolish.

And while the final downloadable content product is by no means bad, it definitely doesn't have a special flair to set it apart from every other shooter around.

The Protector Trials is a stressful, sometimes thrilling, gametype that focuses on protecting a little sister from waves of Splicers that want her ADAM. As Delta, you must complete challenges to unlock more levels and achievement points.

It will get your blood pumping, but it will also leave you wanting much, much more. Full review after the break.

Each map is a small chunk of Rapture, cordoned off, with a single dead body in the middle. Project Delta spawns near a little sister and must set her down to gather ADAM for Tenenbaum, using only preset loadouts featuring a small arsenal. It is very much like the mini-challenges within the narrative itself, where Delta must gain ADAM by protecting against the onslaught.

Little_Sister (570 x 298).jpg
It's time for you ADAM enema, mister!

But therein lies the problem. It is nothing much more than what the game already offers. And the game offers it for a point. There is a real feeling of frenetic chaos when the levels hit their fever-pitch, especially when the loadout contains only a drill, and bodies are flying all over the place. That alone, though, doesn't make the game enticing enough to spend hours and hours trying to beat.

But there would've been a simple remedy to this: add a second Delta and make the enemies much harder. That would've nixed the simple gameplay problem and implemented something totally fresh to the BioShock package -- strategic teamwork. I can imagine with two Big Daddies, each wielding their own unique weapons, trying to withstand the massive assault, you would have nary a lapse in interest, with a fresh and exciting angle on the world of BioShock.

Only spend the 400 MS points if you find them between the cushions on the couch or in an old pair of jeans you haven't worn in ages.
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