I really didn't like the drill in the second one. And it didn't really feel like they had added anything. So first one for me.

For me it was 1 == Infinite >> 2.

1st game for me

Yes, this is now how I settle everything.

You're welcome.

they're pretty much equal imo. both have good ups and both have a lot of flaws.

It might. In Bioshock 2 you are a hulking monstrosity that can easily lift and use the heaviest weapons with a single hand and use plasmids with the other. In Bioshock 1 you are a normalish human that needs 2 hands to use the heavier weapons. Wouldn't make much aesthetic sense for Bioshock 2 weapon controls in Bioshock 1 because of that.

Id say they are pretty close. I feel like B1s story often gets a bit higher rated than it deserves, its good, but I never thought it was very emotional. Still, some good twists and turns and an amazing atmosphere.

B2 tried to give it a more personal note. It didn't entirely succeed, unlike Infinite for example, but I still felt more "moved" by B2s ending compared to B1 for example, even if its basically just a save-the-princess plot line ;) But like said, they are really close in this regard. B1 had the better antagonists with Cohen and Ryan I think.

Both have some great levels (and also a few forgettable ones), but mechanics are better in part 2 id say, with more options to set traps and dual use of plasmids and guns. It also added the Little Sister Gathering mechanic which was quite thrilling and the Big Sister fights which were amazing. The impact of leaving some key characters alive was great too. Also, I thought the final fight in B1 was kinda... comedic and lame. B2 handled that a lot better.

The first Bioshock was an amazing ride back then, I think B2s ratings suffered quite a bit for not having the same effect, but how could it really - people "knew" the world by then. When I think about them now... I actually might prefer Bioshock 2 by a small margin.

Bioshock 1 has better story, plot twist, character development, suspense, mystery and a HAPPY ENDING.

No other Bioshock game has a happy ending. :(

Bioshock's good ending is probably one of my all-time favorites in video games. It definitely felt very satisfying to have limited myself gameplay-wise to get it. :)

I haven't played 2 yet but I'm looking forward to playing it soon, so I can't say yet. As for Infinite, that ending was just dumb. While I had quite a good time with the latter, its story was a convoluted, pretentious mess

This is not necessarily true. Bioshock 1's controls, if I remember correctly, had one button for switching weapons, and one for firing (whatever weapon you had). This made the game and controls incredibly frustrating and clunky, and not in the way of "Oh, I feel like I'm a normal human fighting against superhuman odds!"
Having separate buttons for firing plasmids vs a weapon wouldn't change anything aesthetically, when you fired one instead of the other, you'd just put what you had before down, and raise the next thing up. And for one-handed weapons (like what you have for much of the game), the other way makes even less sense.

I don't own the remasters, but I'm curious now. Googling has not helped at all, I just keep getting graphical comparisons of the two games. Could someone who has bought and downloaded Bioshock 1 Remastered weigh in with how the controls are?

Right click still switches between weapons and plasmids.

I don't know if that would be better perse. You would still go through the animation of lowering a weapon and raising your hand. The lag between pushing the fire button and actually firing would be pretty bad in a game like this - and so would the frustration from missing because of it. I'm not a fan of the right-click to switch between plasmids and weapons and left-click to shoot, but at least you won't waste a shot because of it.

I suppose they could have just given the protagonist a third arm through an early upgrade and have this all work much better. Would make for interesting conversation after the events of the game though.

Side note: I finally got passed the opening sequence by using a different computer and transferring the saves. Why the hell would anyone program an instant death sequence at the very start of the game which forced you to restart the entire thing if you died?