Platforms: Xbox 360 / PlayStation 3 / PC
Developers: Electronic Arts
Players: Single Player / Online Multiplayer
Genre: Survival Horror / Action
It is time to deal with the problems of the past as Dead Space 2 has finally infected the gaming world three years after the original game. We’ve been playing the game non-stop now all weekend albeit hesitative at first we are still shaking from playing the first game.
It’s not easy to forget just what happened three years ago on the Ishimura and the monstrous evil we and Isaac Clarke faced with nothing more than a Plasma Cutter and a torch. Not only are we unable to shake our memories of the past but poor Isaac can’t seem to get over the harrowing events either…
Waking up three years after he barely escaped from the Ishimura in one piece, Isaac is wretched out of a medically induced coma by a frantic man only to witness his rescuer being consumed by a Necromorph. Strapped into a strait jacket Isaac must find a way of freeing himself and arming himself before he too is torn from limb. Isaac is on board the Sprawl, a city built on the remains of Saturn’s moon, Titan. Somehow the Necromorph infection and nightmare has followed Clarke here and in a matter of hours it has devastated the entire metropolis.
Aided by a woman called Daina, Isaac sets about escaping from the city but something does not sit right in his gut about the whole thing and after learning of a new marker, Isaac must once more face this living nightmare.
Firstly, take a deep breath… don’t panic, EA realised they were onto a winner with Dead Space and thankfully Dead Space clings lovingly to the old system of play with a few tweaks thrown in but all of these are improvements. You must explore the Sprawl searching for answers, equipment and ammunition if you are to face the Necromorphs, old abilities like Stasis and Telekinesis are back as are some of our favourite weapons including the Plasma Cutter and Rifle but a whole array of new firearms are yours to get to grips with just remember you can fill a Necromorph full of bullets but if you don’t remove the limbs you are as good as dead!
Some of the improvements we mentioned include Isaac’s movement speed and reaction time; it feels a lot easier guiding the hulking suit of armour around the city. If you’ve ran out of ammo then relying on your ability to hit and stomp hard has been improved with Isaac packing a much heavier punch and kick.
Not everything in the game is to our liking though. Navigating Sprawl feels too much like navigating the Ishimura and we’d hoped that with playing in a city each area could have been more open and larger but instead we still find ourselves shuffling through cramped tunnels and hallways. Isaac has also been given the ability to speak something that we don’t really like simply because his dialogue is kind of boring.
However neither of these faults are enough to detract from the game in a large way and we’re more than happy to put up with walking around corners nervously and listening to Isaac yammer to himself insanely simply because the game still looks perfect. Sprawl is destroyed with bloody graffiti, damaged lighting and littered with rotting bodies, it is a metropolis of creeping shadows, strange and frightening sounds and crawling with walking nightmares.
The sequel does a better job of creating a nightmare for the player to engage with and cower from, watching Isaac lose his grip on reality and descend into madness is a harrowing and gripping ordeal, forcing you to watch but all the while wish you could look away.
The sequel also features a new multiplayer game where players take on roles as either Human or Necromorph. Humans have a goal to reach and Necromorphs are charged with stopping them. The multiplayer doesn’t really maintain the same intense feel as the single player mode but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s refreshing and allows for a break from the hardcore storyline.
Dead Space 2 is more than just a simple survival horror with some guns, it is a perfect story told by a man out of touch with his own self and with the world around him. It is a dark place crawling with monsters, a place where the insane rule and only the strong can survive. Dead Space taught us not to trust anyone even our judgement, a lesson that we carry on as we are aided by Daina and others on Sprawl, all the while our finger not too far from the trigger.
If you are looking for something that will leave you with nightmares, something to push your skills and a game that will leave you thinking, then Dead Space 2 is where you can stop searching.
Electronic Arts have set the bar for 2011 and Dead Space 2 has given us hope that the rest of the gaming year will be just as good!
Good Points
Amazing visuals
Enjoyable Multiplayer
Terrifying and engaging story
Bad Points
Isaac can talk now
Similar Environments to original game
Rating
9/10
Ruuuuuuuuuuun
