Developer: Visceral Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Rrp: £7.99 (Origin) and £9.99 (Steam)
Released: 28th January 2011
Available on: Steam and Origin
Played Using: A Xbox 360 Control Pad
They’ve poked, prodded and experimented on you and all its lead to is their own destruction. Necromorphs, horrific creatures made of reanimated human flesh, are everywhere. Thankfully you’ve fought and defeated them before, sadly for everyone else they have no idea of the horrors they are about to face.
Dead Space 2 is set three years after the events of the original Dead Space (kindly click here to read my review on that). You still play as Isaac Clarke who has been… we’ll call it asleep, for the last three years and in that time something hinky has been going on. He wakes on a space station orbiting Saturn that, surprisingly seems to be in the midst of a Necromorph infestation. This is something they through you right into, there’s no calm introduction that ramps up the tension. This time you’re thrown right in at the deep end and all you can do is run!
So what’s new with this game? Quite a few things actually. How about full three dimensional movement in zero gravity areas? Some new Necromorphs? Or a hacking mini game? Or quick time events (well not all change is good) and by no means should we glaze over the fact that Isaac Clarke now has a voice!
With all of the new things come things that are familiar. You still get locked into battle arenas from time to time and the way to actually kill the Necromorphs is the same, thankfully.
As is expected of a sequel this is a definite graphical improvement from the original, Visceral Games did have three years to work on it so that’s not all that surprising. To go with the shiney new graphics are some very gruesome death animations that the game loves to hold the camera on for a while.
The new setting also allows for some much appreciated variation of the locales Issac traverses through. In the previous game it generally tended to be Industrial corridor after industrial corridor punctuated by the occasional feature piece. Admittedly that was mostly due to the setting of the first game, it was a industrial space ship after all, one can’t exactly expect magnificent libraries etc. However, Dead Space 2 is set on a space station, quite a large one. Sure, you still see industrial corridors and confined spaces but there is so much more.
There’s a lot more variety in the shops now. With each weapon having multiple versions of themselves that all have different statistics. The same thing is true of the armours, yes that’s right, plural, as in more than one type.
After a little research I’ve just discovered that there were more variants to the weapons and armour than would have usually been the case. It’s because my version (bought through Steam) of Dead Space 2 comes complete with all of the DLC weapons and armour. Which explains quite a lot. I had quite a few questions at the beginning of the game about the balance. It was strange to me that all this clearly superior weaponry (and advanced armour) were available from the very first store and all for the kingly sum of nothing unlike the schematics I found through the game.
With all the good though must come so bad, and in Dead Space 2’s case my main complaint extends from the use of quick time events (QTE’s). I know QTE’s have been given a bad reputation over the years and in some part they do deserve it. But some games execute them well, Dead Space 2 is not one of those games. They aren’t a common occurrence but when they do appear its always unexpected and I got caught out a few times thinking that I was watching a cutscene only to have to watch Isaac die because I missed a prompt.
The zero gravity sections have been reworked, Instead of aiming the gun and jumping. Now Issac has boosters on his suit allowing him to fly around using the left analogue stick. This addition to the game adds some much needed variety to the game and in some cases actually gives the player a brief moment of respite. I know that sounds strange, but even when I was racing against a clock I found the zero gravity sections quite serene.
The enemy variety is quite impressive, yes there are the familiar types of Necromorph that we know and love from the first game, but Dead Space 2 brings out a whole new set to keep us awake at night. What’s more is that these new Necromorphs behave differently. Some only come in large groups and others will hide behind cover and distract you while the others attack.
I’m not sure if its just me getting used to the claustrophobic camera angel or if it was pulled off better but I had very few complaints about this game. I have to give it a very hearty recommendation, even if you’ve not played the first game you can pick this one up and just play because there’s a nice ‘previously on’ option in the main menu.
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
Alan Wake
Alien Isolation
Evil Within
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