Bioshock 2: How to get the most Trophies/ Achievements out of your first play through

One thing I absolutely hate about collecting Trophies and Achievements in games is when I beat a game for the first time and I come up just shy of the “collect 100 of something” Achievement. It’s a pain because in most titles you are unable to collect trophies during your second play through if the Game+ feature is enabled. This forces you to find all 100 audio diaries again just to find the one you missed for the Trophy to unlock.This guide will help you get the most possible Achievements during your first play through, so you won’t have to be in agony scouring levels for your forgotten treasure.

Before you go any further be aware that there are minor spoilers below. Nothing too earth shattering is revealed, but I still want to warn you.

Keep the camera rolling at all times
Pretend you’re Steven Spielberg and don’t miss a second of usable footage. In order to unlock the Research Master award you are going to have to hit record during every Splicer fight until it’s maxed out. To Get the most out of your research use this little trick. Freeze your enemies and then go through your arsenal firing only one or two shots from each weapon, the more weapons and plasmids you cycle through the higher your research bonus will reach. Clicking record and them launching a Heat Seeking RPG at a splicer will not help your cause whatsoever; take your time by freezing enemies so you’re able to use a broader array of weapons. For even more points equip the Extended Reel and Keen Observer tonics for lengthier recording time and bonus research. Researching enemies will not only help you achieve the trophy, but it will also cause bonus damage to each enemy class making your romp through Rapture much more bearable.

Check under the bed
The only tip for finding all the audio diaries I can offer is to take your time with the game. Check out every room thoroughly, look behind doors, check under beds, and melt away any ice that could be hiding diaries within them. The developers were much kinder this time around leaving ~110 audio diaries around Rapture instead of only the exact number needed for the award in the original game. If you miss a couple of them don’t worry, but it’s a good idea to search each area carefully because you’ll want to find all the weapon upgrade stations as well, which in most cases are harder to locate than the diaries. Most areas with weapon upgrade stations are locked away, to get in look for cracks in the windows where you can shoot a hacking dart to gain access.

Give Andrew Ryan one last whack
In the very beginning of the game, before you adopt or harvest your first Little Sister, you’ll come across a robot of Ryan sitting in a chair. If you look to the left of him you’ll find a golf club that you can pick up with telekinesis. Launch it at Andrew to unlock the secret trophy 9-IRONY. It’s that simple. If you are already past this point don’t worry, its an easy trophy to unlock during your second play through on the hardest difficulty which you will need to complete for the Brass Balls trophy.

Don’t be a villan
Reviewers rave about Bioshock’s incredible moral choices, but the reality of it is that you’re not going to get to make any decision besides the morally right ones, if you’re aiming for all the gamer points or trophies. To unlock all the trophies you are going to have to hold off from doing two things, killing main characters (no matter how bad you want to off Stanley, you can’t) and harvesting Little Sisters. You could get away with harvesting Little Sisters during your first play through but you’ll want the extra ADAM and rewards they leave you to on your second play through when the enemies become more fierce. Play nice, kiddies!

Booby-trap everything
The best way to unlock the trophies where you have to defeat 3 Big Daddies without dying (Grand Daddy), protect one Little Sister from all attacks (Master Protector), and defeat the Big Sister without dying (Unbreakable) is to set an obscene amount of traps. If you barricade entrances with trap bolts and spears the enemies will be near death even before they step foot within the room. It is a good habit to set up a line of traps before engaging in battle with a Big Daddy this way when they charge at you they will be bombarded with explosives and be critically wounded by the time they reach you. Take the time to strategize and you’ll unlock these with ease.

Having Brass Balls means playing smart
The last trophy you will unlock is Brass Balls where you will have to finish the game on its hardest difficulty with Vita Chambers turned off. To make this a bit easier you are going to have to follow a few basic tips and tricks.

Tip #1 - Use the appropriate ammo on your target. Anti-personnel rounds should be used on Splicers of any sort and Armor Piercing rounds are to be unloaded into Big Daddies and Sisters.

Tip #2 - Freeze security cameras before you hack them. This will slow down the hacking meter allowing you to gain control of it more easily. It’s in your best interest to hack every camera because a swarm of security bots comes in handy when being ambushed by a gang of super charged Splicers.

Tip #3 - Don’t forget to use your mini-turrets. These auto-firing bad boys are found under the hacking tool and are often looked over. Throw a few of them down before approaching a Big Daddy to take the edge off.

Tip #4 - Ammo is going to be pretty tight this time around since it will take more rounds to stop enemy attacks. In order to always have enough ammo equip the tonics Arms Race and Scrounger to maximize the amount of loot from downed bad guys.

Tip #5 - It is a lot cheaper to use health stations instead of purchasing First Aid kits. A hacked health station costs a mere $9 where a First Aid kit will run you a whopping $25.

Have some tips of your own? Tell us below!