june gloom on 14/2/2013 at 06:02
Just because ZB is being lazy doesn't give you a pass to be. Shodan feels like a bit character in her own damn game. She doesn't actually reveal herself until halfway through the game and has nothing of her original menace because she's been reduced to little more than a voice with an internet connection -- and her sudden betrayal can be seen from miles away because she's basically the same damn character from the first game, it's just she barely tolerates you more than she does the annelids. In a lot of ways, Bioshock copied this problem almost perfectly. By all accounts, Fontaine was dead and the game had gone to some length to convince you he was a scary ruthless motherfucker. The game very subtly gave you clues about Atlas' identity, up to and including the accent slipping (and I remember thinking something was just a bit hinky about "Patrick and Moira" being the title of a show in Fort Frolic.)
Then the big reveal hit and Fontaine took the airwaves and he wasn't interesting at all. He completely failed to live up to the hype. And so did Shodan. She's on the fucking box, the game talks a good deal about her, you know she's in the game somewhere, so her reveal feels inevitable. Like, "oh, it took you long enough to show your fucking face." Kills a lot of the impact of that scene. And worse: she's boring. Blah blah insect blah blah i am god blah blah i only tolerate you because you're useful to me blah blah. Oh, she's on your side? How long's that gonna last? Pretty much right up until you destroy the annelids, apparently!
Muzman on 14/2/2013 at 06:24
In fairness, I think it's pretty obvious you're a pawn in a fight between two titans by that point (if not earlier) and you'll be disposed of the minute you cease to be useful. It's just a matter of when that other shoe drops.
It's worse in Bioshock because that tried to tack all these big meanings onto it and tho whole thing doesn't make much sense. SS2 at least is fairly unpretentiously pulpy in that regard, by contrast.
icemann on 14/2/2013 at 06:45
deth you might want to put those Shodan comments in spoiler tags for those who will be experiencing their first taste of SS2 with the GoG version. That's too big a thing to spoil on someone first time round.
june gloom on 14/2/2013 at 06:59
I don't spoiler-tag anything that's more than ten years old.
faetal on 14/2/2013 at 09:12
I'v not played SS1 or BS2, but I'd go with: SS2 > Dead Space > Bioshock > Dead Space 2
I think by today's standards, SS2 is fairly flat in terms of plot etc... but for when it was released, it was a great deal deeper than a lot of games on offer.
I had suspicions about the big reveal, but I still felt it was paced well.
That said, I've still never completed the game as I just really didn't like The Body of The Many.
SubJeff on 14/2/2013 at 11:16
Quote Posted by faetal
I'v not played SS1 or BS2, but I'd go with: SS2 > Dead Space > Bioshock
This.
dethtoll has finally lost it.
SDF121 on 14/2/2013 at 11:22
Glad to see that other people also woke up early to buy the game right away. :D
faetal on 14/2/2013 at 11:34
Bought.
Aaaaah, I love that new game smell.
[EDIT] I'll be really interested to see how much this sells.
voodoo47 on 14/2/2013 at 11:38
and they used NewDark. wow.
