BioShock 2

By itself, I'd say that BioShock 2 is a great game. It's mechanically solid, highly entertaining, and consistently (post-shotgun) fun to play. But it has the dreadful misfortune of existing in the shadow of the original BioShock. Although the sequel can claim to have slightly more involved gunplay in the form of Little Sister defense, it otherwise hits all the same notes -- except the narrative, which, while well done, simply can't hold a candle to the first game's. (Though there is an exceptionally clever sequence near the end.)

BioShock 2 mostly kept me engaged while I was playing it, but it had a very hard time drawing me back in, as I've continued to note. Rapture is as good as ever, but no better, and it simply doesn't feel fresh or mysterious at all.

Kudos to 2K Marin for doing, I'd say, the best they possibly could with a sequel in the same setting. But BioShock is just better; and leaves little left for the sequel to improve upon.

Better than: Red Steel 2
Not as good as: BioShock
Why not mix up the plot more?: I would have loved to see some Rapture-surface interaction, possibly in Rapture's far future (e.g. present times)

EDIT I keep waffling on my "score" for BioShock 2 because, while it might be a fantastic game when evaluated on its own, it's impossible for me to see it as anything other than an excessively familiar sequel. And I can't necessarily say that you'd be super impressed with it if you haven't played BioShock, because the second game's storyline assumes you have a working knowledge of the first game's plot.

Progress: Finished on Normal