History YMMV / BioShock2

* BrainsEvilBrawnGood: While the game is very liberal with opportunities to set up traps to outsmart your enemies, some players may simply prefer to play the game guns blazing without any ounce of foresight or thoughtful planning.

** The KingMook Subject Omega, a.k.a. Alpha [[spoiler:Sinclair]], only has the benefit of a longer health bar, a triviality to anyone who's maxed out on their research of the Alpha series. It's not an exaggeration to state that Incinerate 3 can OneHitKill him on the highest difficulty, in tandem with the hazards in the room (though this is unlikely). Even conventionally, the battle won't last much longer than 30 seconds. Heck, since you have [[spoiler: the Summon Eleanor plasmid by this point, she can kill him for you]] before you ever enter the room. It is also possible to quickly kill him by simply hacking a gun turret found in a neighbourhood room and then hacking a security bot nearby and letting them do the job. The dual Big Sisters fought one level earlier are the real ClimaxBoss of the game (although there is also a very tough battle royale involving multiple splicers at the very end, that battle is not very difficult if one uses [[spoiler: Summon Eleanor]] or even just has two security bots operational).

* CompleteMonster: [[SmugSnake Stanley Poole]], who also has a small appearance in ''[[Literature/BioShockRapture Rapture]]'', is a [[{{Paparazzi}} weaselly journalist]] who once settled for covering up crimes in exchange for bribes; however, after joining up with the likes of Andrew Ryan, he [[FromNobodyToNightmare becomes far worse]]. Poole gets into Ryan's good graces by ratting on Johnny Topside, getting the innocent man thrown into prison and turned into [[spoiler: [[PlayerCharacter Subject Delta]]]], after which Poole is sent by Ryan to infiltrate rising revolutionary Sofia Lamb's inner circle. After gaining Lamb's trust and becoming the head of Dionysus Park, Poole anonymously betrays the woman and gets her locked away, after which he allows Dionysus to fall into anarchy while he wastes tons of money on himself. Poole sells off Lamb's daughter Eleanor to be experimented on by [[MadScientist Dr. Yi Suchong]] when the girl tries to stop his crimes, and, when Lamb escapes prison, Poole floods the entirety of Dionysus Park, killing the hundreds of residents solely to [[HeKnowsTooMuch cover up]] how badly he's driven it into the ground. In the final moments of his life, Poole forces [[PlayerCharacter Subject Delta]] to possibly kill 3 Little Sisters, and is reduced to a [[DirtyCoward sniveling, pathetic mess]], screaming that everything he did "wasn't personal".
* ContestedSequel: Some believe this game is a worthy continuation of the original, some finding it [[EvenBetterSequel even better]] due to the vast mechanical improvements. Others find it to be a unnecessary cash-grab sequel that repeats too much of the first game to have its own identity.

* DisappointingLastLevel: Inner Persephone is this for some. While the level is still fun to explore, there isn't any real final boss [[spoiler: unless you count Sinclair as Subject Omega, who fights like any other Alpha Series but with a longer health bar and can be defeated without the player having to lift a finger]], the [[spoiler: summon Eleanor]] plasmid makes every enemy encounter trivial, and there isn't any other encounter with Sofia Lamb beyond her shouting more of her philosophy at you over your radio.

** Despite being the star of [[AlternateRealityGame Something In the Sea]], [[HeroofAnotherStory Mark Meltzer]] wasn't originally going to be in the game. However, the fandom's intense love for him motivated 2K to add him into ''VideoGame/BioShock2'' and wrap up his story.

* FandomRivalry: A very noticeable one with ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite''. ''2'' is mostly a refinement of the first game mechanically, and its story and world is relatively basic and couched in what was already established. ''Infinite'' cut back on a lot of gameplay mechanics, and focused mostly on a new story and world with a lot of ambition in it. Additionally, ''2'' didn't have Ken Levine writing, while ''Infinite'' did. Consequently, fans of ''Infinite'' tend to consider ''2'' to be a shallow, corporate-mandated cash-grab that added nothing to a series that once aspired for artistry, and fans of ''2'' tend to regard ''Infinite'' as a pretentious, hole-filled mess of a narrative held together by dumbed-down and mediocre gameplay. In general, if someone's favorite game is ''Infinite'', their least favorite will almost always be ''2'', and vice versa.

** Using the second tier Security Command and Hypnotize in conjunction. The former lets you [[MookMaker summon security bots, but on your side]] and the latter lets you [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwash a normally hostile splicer to assist you]]; summoning two bots and hypnotizing a spider or leatherhead splicer allows you to easily overwhelm opponents whose only real advantage otherwise was strength in numbers. You can even up the ante in numerous ways: the handyman, deadly machines, and hardy machines tonics make it easier to keep bots around and makes them more powerful, while the ''third'' tiers of Security Command and Hypnotize let you summon even ''stronger'' bots and hypnotize ''anything'' but bots and Big Sisters. By the end of the game you can also include [[spoiler: Summon Eleanor]] into the mix, and when you have two elite security bots, an alpha series, and [[spoiler: a Big Sister]] helping you, your enemies become so incredibly outmatched you barely have to fire shots at all. The only real downside to this strategy is the high EVE cost (which is easily remedied with the aforementioned Cure All tonic) and the fact that having so many entities around makes it easy to to get caught in friendly fire.

** One that is fully intentional is the [[spoiler: Summon Eleanor]] Plasmid. You receive it during the final mission of the game, and it turns what might have been a DisappointingLastLevel into a fun [[spoiler: two-person]] romp through hordes of splicers who are completely unable to fight off the combined force of a Big Daddy and [[spoiler: a Big Sister]]. It's also very useful in the ''Protector Trials'' bonus missions, where every weapon and plasmid is available.

*** After many long years, ''VideoGame/BioShock: The Collection'' fixes this long standing glitch. While the vending machines' did add to the danker atmosphere of ''[=BioShock 2=]''[='s=] locales in the original, the remastered version does at least have the compromise that the machines are overall less talkative than ''VideoGame/BioShock1'''s prior to interacting with them.

** Or perhaps HypocriticalHumor. Near the end of the game, Sofia rants about you [[spoiler: "stealing" her daughter from her and about Eleanor's "ungratefulness" to her loving mother. However, some of the earliest tape diaries you found of Sofia reveal just how little she actually cares for Eleanor as anything other than her tool -- Eleanor was never really her daughter in anything except terms of shared genetics. One even says she had "as little to do as possible" with her birth, implying that Sofia may have actually created Eleanor through IVF and had a surrogate carry her to term, simply because having to deal with pregnancy itself would be too much of a hindrance to her plans. The hypocrisy about stealing Eleanor from her takes on another level when you remember that she herself has been stealing little girls from their families on the surface.]]
** In the Atlantic Train Station, a group of splicers argue what Jack did at the end of the first Bioshock game, acting as a ShoutOut to the multiple endings. Humorous on its own, but it gets even better with Bioshock Infinite's concept of a multiverse with different decisions acting as variables. Perhaps the splicers met the Luteces in another life...

** [[spoiler: Eleanor Lamb can potentially cross this in two of the game's darker endings, killing her mother Sofia in both. In the game's worst ending she takes her father's memories with the intent of using them to help her "take on the world" as it were.]]
** [[PlayerCharacter Subject Delta]] can cross this line by killing each Little Sister, which locks you into the evil ending. [[spoiler: He corrupts Eleanor into becoming a monster who will likely lay waste to the surface world for the sake of power. If you didn’t harvest each one, then you can stop Subject Delta just short of the line by refusing to let her absorb your ADAM and be corrupted further.]]

** [[spoiler: The fate of Augustus Sinclair]]. The game sets things up with the first game's plot twist deeply entrenched in the player's mind at all times with regards to the character. [[spoiler:Many players thought Sinclair would betray them at the earliest possibility- Sinclair never even ''thinks'' about double-crossing Delta once. This makes his eventual fate a much stronger PlayerPunch.]] As a punishment for helping through your journey, [[spoiler: he gets turned into a Big Daddy. To pile on the Punch, he struggles through his mind control to give you more information, and asks that you end his life in return. If he manages to kill you, his reaction is a heart-wrenching MyGodWhatHaveIDone.]]

** Cyclone Trap in Bioshock 1 was an extremely situational Plasmid, whose actual good situations tended to sneak up on you more often than not, and was only okay when those situations came up. In 2, however, not only are there a LOT more situations where you're encouraged to take a defensive stance, its' upgrades can now mix between multiple Plasmids for significantly more devastating effects.

** If you can believe it, the Splicers are even more hideously disfigured here than in the first game. Of note: Baby Jane’s lips have withered into nothing, Breadwinner has gigantic tumors bulging out of his stomach and the side of his face, Toasty has similar tumors growing out from under the bandages on his head, Lady Smith’s feet have mutated into hooves, and the Crawler looks like the sordid offspring of a drunken threesome between [[Film/{{Nosferatu}} Orlock]], [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos The Slender Man]], and [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis Nemesis.]]

* VindicatedByHistory: At the time of release, ''Bioshock 2'' received a more tepid reception from the fanbase and critics due to feeling like an unnecessary sequel to ''Bioshock,'' and its inclusion of a multiplayer mode earned it derision. Nowadays, while the story is still seen as hit-or-miss, the gameplay is seen as a massive improvement and potentially the best gameplay of the entire trilogy. Additionally, the ''Minerva's Den'' content is seen as having a very high-quality story.
** The story itself is also getting this treatment, especially in light of ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite''coming under heavier scrutiny due to its story. Many would argue that, while not as good or groundbreaking as the original, the game’s more simple but effective story that focuses more on emotions than screwing with the player’s mind still holds up quite well.

** Gilbert Alexander, believe it or not, at least before he [[spoiler:became Alex The Great]]. His audio diaries show his admiration for Sofia Lamb, her intelligence and her philosophy, but there are subtle hints that he's also in love with her, even though he knows she doesn't reciprocate. He's perfectly willing to volunteer to be made into a monster for her, and when [[spoiler: she abandons him as a failed experiment]], he never shows any resentment, only a regret that he failed her. There's even some fan speculation that he might be [[spoiler:Eleanor's biological father]].
** Poor Eleanor Lamb. She spent her entire life being raised by an emotionally distant mother who fully expected Eleanor to further her own ideals by [[spoiler:getting turned into a HiveMind that would only serve society]]. Depending on the player's moral choices, she can also become [[spoiler: a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds.]]
** C.M. Porter from ''Minerva's Den''. He couldn't handle the death of his wife, so he spent all of his time uploading as many memories of her as possible into the Thinker in the hopes of recreating her. And when he finally finished [[spoiler:he was horrified by what he had done, because it wasn't really his wife, and had the computer shut the whole thing down. His own program for replicating personality is then used against him by Wahl, who takes the massive amount of input from Porter himself during those sessions to manufacture false evidence of him vocally swearing allegiance to the enemy at time of paranoia in Ryan's Rapture. This lands him in prison, is disappeared in the eyes of the public and turned into a Big Daddy, forcefully suppressing his own personality and memories. During the course of the game, the only remainder of C.M.Porter left is, ironically, the ghost in the machine he unknowingly left behind with the Thinker.]]

* Cyclone Trap in Bioshock 1 was an extremely situational Plasmid, whose actual good situations tended to sneak up on you more often than not, and was only okay when those situations came up. In 2, however, not only are there a LOT more situations where you're encouraged to take a defensive stance, its' upgrades can now mix between multiple Plasmids for significantly more devastating effects.

** The Big Sisters also qualify, although they are not so much evil as conditioned.

* ContestedSequel: Some say this is a neat addition of the world and ideas of Rapture. Others say this was a slapdash cash-in that just repeats the first game.

** [[spoiler: Eleanor Lamb can potentially cross this in two of the game's darker endings, killing her mother Sofia in both. In the game's worst ending she takes her father's memories with the intent of using them to help her "take on the world" as it were. Though very much averted in the other two good endings.]]

** Delta pretty much qualifies as a Woobie too. All he wants is to get his "daughter" back but he has to go through hell in order to do it.

* CompleteMonster: [[SmugSnake Stanley Poole]], who also has a small appearance in ''[[Literature/BioShockRapture Rapture]]'', is a [[{{Paparazzi}} weaselly journalist]] who once settled for covering up crimes in exchange for bribes; however, after joining up with the likes of Andrew Ryan, he [[FromNobodyToNightmare becomes far worse]]. Poole gets into Ryan's good graces by ratting on Johnny Topside, getting the innocent man thrown into prison and turned into a Big Daddy, after which Poole is sent by Ryan to infiltrate rising revolutionary Sofia Lamb's inner circle. After gaining Lamb's trust and becoming the head of Dionysus Park, Poole anonymously betrays the woman and gets her locked away, after which he allows Dionysus to fall into anarchy while he wastes tons of money on himself. Poole sells off Lamb's daughter Eleanor to be experimented on by [[MadScientist Dr. Yi Suchong]] when the girl tries to stop his crimes, and, when Lamb escapes prison, Poole floods the entirety of Dionysus Park, killing the hundreds of residents solely to [[HeKnowsTooMuch cover up]] how badly he's driven it into the ground. In the final moments of his life, Poole forces [[PlayerCharacter Subject Delta]] to possibly kill 3 Little Sisters, and is reduced to a [[DirtyCoward sniveling, pathetic mess]], screaming that everything he did "wasn't personal".

* ItsEasySoItSucks: Some people are accusing ''VideoGame/BioShock2'' of being this due to the abundance of money, ammo, and healing items, as well as how easy it is to acquire ADAM. See also ComplacentGamingSyndrome above.

* SequelDifficultySpike: In ''Minerva's Den'', you start off with just a drill just like in the main game, but this time around you start off with the Telekinesis Plasmid rather than the Electro Bolt plasmid, which is more difficult to use on a regular basis (you get the Electro Bolt a little while later), you don't get a research camera, and the big enemies like Spider Splicers and Brutes (who are immune to and cause fire damage) show up right away. The Lancer Daddies are also a lot tougher than the Daddies in the main game as Porter states they are the most advanced Big Daddies ever produced, and any time a Little Sister gathers you're almost guaranteed to see a Brute. Using the Master Protector Gene Tonic to get more of that much-needed ADAM from gathering makes the gathering process considerably longer.

** If Sofia didn’t cross this by [[PsychicAssistedSuicide forcing Subject Delta to kill hims in front of Eleanor in the opening]] she definitely crossed it by flooding Siren Alley just to kill Subject Delta, killing hundreds of her own followers. Even worse is she knew that Delta would survive but flooded Siren Alley anyways just to show that she has no line she’s unwilling cross in pursuit of her goal. Among the game's MultipleEndings, [[spoiler:one of the neutral ones begins with Eleanor reluctantly drowning her in Sinclair's lifeboat for this exact reason; she says she never wanted to hurt her mother, but that after everything she did to her and her father, "she gave up the right to exist"]].

** Sofia Lamb in the opening cutscene, where she [[spoiler:forces you to commit suicide in front of poor Eleanor, your bonded Little Sister and ''her own daughter''.]] The woman makes new [[MoralEventHorizon Moral Event Horizons]] with each appearance ''[[SerialEscalation just to cross them]]''. Though as you'll learn during the game she appears to have crossed the line long ago. She'd have you believe that she's going to initiate a new Utopian era for mankind, but thinks nothing of choice and subjects her closest comrades to half-truths and horrific fates. She leaves Gilbert Alexander to [[spoiler:live forever as an abomination, desperate for a taste of ADAM]], [[spoiler:Mark Meltzer is reunited with his daughter and twisted into a Big Daddy]], and Augustus Sinclair [[spoiler:becomes an Alpha Series Big Daddy, and she snidely remarks that the two of you should be the last, as you fight to the death]]. Her intended fate for her daughter, Eleanor, is [[spoiler: to become the base in a gestalt of Rapture's greatest minds, creating a 'Utopian' being with the perfect outlook on the world, yet crushing Eleanor's own personality and conscience in the process]]. She's potentially much worse than Ryan given she's the ''"believes-every-word-she-says"'' type of crazy. She genuinely, ''lovingly'' accepts a few thousand deaths for the common good. Among the game's MultipleEndings, [[spoiler:one of the neutral ones begins with Eleanor reluctantly drowning her in Sinclair's lifeboat for this exact reason; she says she never wanted to hurt her mother, but that after everything she did to her and her father, "she gave up the right to exist"]].

* [[spoiler: JerksAreWorseThanVillains: A prominent point of dissatisfaction amongst reviewers and players, was that if you take then high road, Sofia survives. Meaning not only does the villain become a KarmaHoudini, she does so as a result of your actions. Sofia EasilyForgiven ending infuriated players. This led to stories of people deliberately harvesting Little Sisters and killing the survivors to ensure her death.]]

** The remastered version included in ''[=BioShock=]: The Collection'' is somehow much, ''much worse'' than the original Windows version on PC, to the point where it becomes nearly unplayable due to the amount of random crashes that can happen at any moment, especially during the ADAM Gathering segments thanks to large amount of Splicers being spawned in the area, and it gets worse as the game goes on. And while there are workarounds to fix the crashes, the chances of them ''working'' is a huge gamble. As such, most players recommend to ditch the remaster and play the original version instead, which is thankfully bundled with the collection for free.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: The PC version of the game was originally released using Microsoft's much maligned Games for Windows Live system. When it was announced that that system was shutting down, 2K reworked the game to function correctly without it, converted all of the achievements to Steam achievements, and in the process gave everybody who owned the game a free copy of Minerva's Den, regardless of whether they'd previously owned it or not.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The whole storyline dealing with Mark Meltzer; a lot of players found his story more intriguing than that of Delta. Some even stating that Mark should have been the player character.

** Eleanor, in her [[spoiler: Big Sister outfit]], is really sexy, bordering on MsFanservice, and her tendency to BadassBoast while fighting [[SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound sounds amazing in voice actor Sarah Bolger's Irish accent.]] Which is all well and good [[FanDisservice until you remember that she's for all intents and purposes ''your daughter'';]] the fact she continually refers to Delta as Father doesn't seem to make a difference.

** Insect Swarm paralyzes enemies while you kill them, for much longer than Electro Bolt (but without the damage bonus). This is especially helpful in ''Minerva's Den'', where you're confronted with the tougher splicers much earlier on.

** The remastered version included in ''The Bioshock Collection'' is somehow much, ''much worse'' than the original Windows version on PC, to the point where it becomes unplayable due to the amount of random crashes that can happen at any moment, especially during the ADAM Gathering segments due to the amount of Splicers being spawned in the area, and it gets worse as the game goes on. And while there are workarounds to fix the crashes, the chances of them ''working'' is a huge gamble. As such, most players recommend to ditch the remaster and play the original version instead, which is thankfully bundled with the collection for free.

* PortingDisaster: The original Windows version was a buggy memory hog plagued with the issues brought in by Games for Windows LIVE and [=SecuROM=]. The latter two issues were eventually fixed by 2K (see AuthorsSavingThrow above).

** Grace Holloway's life reads like a checklist of misery and misfortunes.

* {{Anvilicious}}: ** Morality shouldn't be treated as a black and white concept, as that kind of mentality can be used to manipulate people and justify atrocities. Individuality and liberty should not be sacrificed for what someone else believes is the common good.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped:
** Morality shouldn't be treated as a black and white concept, as that kind of mentality can be used to manipulate people and justify atrocities. Individuality and liberty should not be sacrificed for what someone else believes is the common good.
** Even with the best intention of unity and moral pureness, any form of leadership can turn into a fascistic dictatorship.