Dead Space 2

I have had this game for a while now, but have just gotten around to playing it. I enjoyed the first Dead Space a lot and overall I enjoyed this one too. Granted, this one has almost the exact game play as the first one; in fact, for the most part it does not do many things differently from the first game at all. Still, it had a nice story to it and it was fun going through the city in space as it had a lot of interesting levels in this one. It was also immensely difficult. Anyone who claims games of yesterday were more difficult because they did not have saves, try playing this and limiting yourselves to only three deaths. I guarantee you it would be nearly impossible! I played the thing on casual difficulty, the setting that is even lower than normal and there were areas where I was struggling. The monsters of the game, the necromorphs, can really sneak up on you and there were many times I was being assailed from all sides it seemed! After I won this thing, I apparently unlocked a hardcore mode, to which I say thanks, but no thanks! I salute anyone who can take the game on in the higher difficulty levels!

The story has Issac in some sort of mental illness type clinic. At least that is what it looks like at first. However, soon all chaos breaks loose as there is a necromorph outbreak and Issac must escape the chaos. A woman seems to want to help him, but Issac does not fully trust her. He must make his way through this city in space and avoid the fiendish monsters at every turn as he soon learns that another Marker has been made and he takes it upon himself to try and destroy it, all while seeing hallucinations of his departed beloved, Nicole as she torments him and then seems to want to help him.

The game play is, as I said, pretty much like the first game. There are a few new weapons, but like before, I mainly used the plasma cutter, the line gun, the pulse rifle and the flamethrower. You can also, once again, use stasis powers to throw objects and slow enemies down. At times, I found the game a bit too difficult, especially considering I had it on casual. The levels with no gravity are still an utter pain and it got annoying when enemies attacked from behind while you were focused on an enemy ahead. You can upgrade your armor and weapons as before too. Like I said, there really is not a whole lot different in this one as opposed to the last game. Perhaps a bit bigger in scope, but that is about it.

So all in all another fun survival horror in space game. I will not say it is not as good as the first game, but it really does not put anything new on the table. Plus, you are not seeing this stuff for the first time as most of the enemies are from the first game as well. It was cool going through the new city and briefly revisiting the ship from the first game too. I have heard that the third game is not quite up to par with this one, but I will test that myself at some point. Hopefully, not quite as long as the time it took me to play this one after playing the first game though!

I have been looking forward to this sequel for a while! Dead Space 2 is mind-blowing! My review for the first game fits with this one. The characters were astonishing. I haven't seen this much development in characters ever. Isaac Clarke's development was amazing! His badass style from the first game is topped with his super badass on here. The graphics were just impressive an also more focused from the first game. The creatures did the job and scared me so bad I had bricks of crap everywhere. The atmosphere was more darker to fit with Isaac's tone and sanity. The action sequences were the edge-of-your-seat style. Just everything about this game was breath-taking and I recommend it to every horror fan. And also holds an unforgettable ending that will make you play it over and over. Fingers crossed for a sequel.

10/10

This game surpasses the first one in every way, shape and form, except it lacks the horror of the first game. This is one of those games where once you start playing, you don't want to stop, even though you get very frustrated at certain points, I'll get to those later. I would say this is better than Silent Hill 2, I felt it was more enjoyable and had better replay value. Now lets get to the game.

The game: The game opens really fast, and already has a high intensity level. The first thing you will notice is Isaac moves around much smoother, and mêlée is actually useful. The game no longer has those intermissions between levels, it just goes through continuously. The visuals are incredible, and atmosphere and lighting are top notch. Power nodes are much easier to come by now, which means I could completely level up my suit and weapons. The plasma cutter is still the best weapon at your disposal, but the Javelin/spike gun that impales and electrocutes enemies is the most fun to use. There are some new enemies, the most annoying being those Velociraptor things. This game features an assortment of set piece moments that are absolutely exhilarating, very memorable moments to be had. The violence isn't as shocking this time around, nothing compared to the brute ripping Isaacs head while is screaming from the first game. The game does have some Oh S**t moments, the best being when you return to the Ishimura, I'll let you experience that for your self. The game moves along at a great pace, but starts to suffer towards the end, they literally through countless enemies at you and feels too much like a mindless action game. The final stage before the end boss was extremely frustrating, swarms of Necromorphs and those regenerators. Once you complete the game you get a great feeling of peace, but they ruin by setting up a sequel. This should have been the last game, I've started playing the third game and it is a real let down, it should have been over, but no it just goes on and on. I'll review it once I have completed it.

The multi-player: This is going to be quick. It was fun for a couple of hours, but wore thin fast. I think it should have been left out, because this game succeed's when you are isolated, not in a big group that cheese spams their stasis.

The verdict: This game easily ranks as one the best games of 2011. It feels less like a horror game and more like a action game, I'm not saying all of the horror is gone, it's just over shadowed by the action. It's a great game, and enjoyable enough for you to start a new game plus, highly recommended.

Game length was around 9 hours. Graphically this game is brilliant in Comparison to numerous other 'console' titles.

Story line wise, if you watch the movies (aftermath and downfall) it does help make more sense of whats going on. Its a interesting idea and the parody of the Scientology to Unitology adds an interesting depth to the story line.

Overall i throughly enjoyed this game. The twists are great, length of game was decent and it kept me gripped throughout. Getting used to the aiming mechanism and lack of cover system is a doddle. It's very much like the original, but i feel it has a more epic feel to it overall.

If they do another one, i would pre-order it.

Can't recommend this enough

How could I possibly forget this game. This sequel definietley had a lot to live up to with the original game that it had to stand on. Dead Space 1 was definitley one of the most memorable standout horror titles for Video Gaming in the 2000s. With Resident Evil 4 revolutionizing and reinventing the horror genre only a few years back aswell as pretty much coining the Third-Person Shooter term aswell where the actual character was in view instead of looking directly through the eyes of your character to the action in front of you which was already well established with games back then thanks to DOOM, Goldeneye 007 and Halo. Resident Evil 4 was definitley scary, but was evened out with some pretty good one liners and comic releif every now and then, such as The Merchant and the annoying Ash.

Dead Space 1 on the other hand made RE4 tonally look like a campy horror b-movie in comparison, with a Sci-Fi Horror vision that was much darker, more desolate and haunting, and almost no comic releif to be found. It was grizzly, grimy horror at it's purest state with hardly any respite from the constant tension and hard adrenaline that the game throws at you.

So what does Dead Space 2 do different from the origional. Well it does a few things to raise the stakes for Issac Clarke and up the ante to almost chaotic levels of horror and action, with a more slick and futuristic Sci-Fi style this time around.

Gone are the grimy, scummy, brown rusted and bloodstained iron walls of the decaying USG Ishumaura, with a crisper, cleaner and more modern looking indoor space corridor city known as The Sprawl, situated on moon of Titan off Saturn. Issac has survived the horror of The Ishumaura, but not without a price. His mind has now been infected by the telepathically transmitted virus stemming from The Marker, which is now causing his mind to be slowly ruined by constant haunting visions involving her dead girlfreind and him slowly deciphering what it all is supposed to mean.

Issac is far more interesting as a character in this game since he can now speak and has many great scenes of diologue with the other characters. The supporting characters of this game range from untrustworthy, to evil, to downright sad with the character of Nolan Stross who I still think is one of the most tragic and disturbing characters ever put into a videogame. Play the game and see why.

The action in this game is unrelenting and it very rarley gives you a break. You will be using your Plasma Cutter once again to slice, dice and dismember the necromorphs which are more evil and bloodthirsty than ever before, simply wanting to kill you in every way imaginable, just because they can! The death scenes are flat out ridiculous in this game, that are so over the top and violent, you might actually have a hard time taking the game seriously anymore, with some that are so sick it is almost comical.

The game also comes with a Zealot Mode which is the game's ultimate diffuculty setting, like Legendary in the Halo series. I've never personally tried this difficulty level, but I've seen others play it, and it is ruthless. You are only allowed to save three times in this game I think, which leaves you with only three checkpoints. So if you die, you will be sent back several hours of progress instantly. Yikes!

But anyway, I think it's a Sci-Fi horror masterpiece and one of the scariest, darkest and most violent games I've ever played, though there have been several that have surpassed the horror factor with the two The Last of Us games by Naughty Dog. So if you're into this sort of thing, I recommend it. It's a pure Sci-Fi horror rush with some impactful characters emotional scenes aswell that may stick with you for a while.