Review: Dead Space 2

Dead Space 2 starts off right where the Dead Space: Ignition mini game ended, with an up close and personal transformation of a crew member, and about 3 years after the end of the original Dead Space. You are the same Isaac Clarke but you’ve been locked away in an insane asylum in the medical wing of the Titan Station, other wise known as The Sprawl. The setting and environments of Dead Space 2 are far more detailed and varied then its predecessor’s “dark corridor #37 with flickering light above the pipes” but once you step past the first half of the game it devolves from atmospheric to run and gun. In other words, the game slowly progresses from “OH SHIT!” to Necro-Horde Mode. The last couple chapters replace tension with wave after wave of enemies that won’t stop until they’ve ripped and torn you apart, limb from limb.      

The first several chapters move at a pace full of a fantastically horrifying atmosphere with plenty of strange noises and a looming sense of feeling weak and powerless. Once you find your first suit and a store to purchase ammo and health, you realize that this game isn’t so much about the horror aspect but much more about the survival. This isn’t a bad thing to at all. I wasn’t one for the gimmick of large sound here, object running past your field of view there. I want substance, not cheap parlor tricks. One thing Dead Space 2 does fails to do is make the player believe that you are truly on your own. This game has you move fast and the feeling you get with Isaac is that this is the beginning of the end which differs from his walking onto the USG Ishimura after all the shit hit the fan in the first Dead Space.       

I thought that having Isaac talking would be irritating, but I think that the developers did a great job with his voice and dialogue. Isaac never said a word in the first game and would usually grunt out his frustration of dealing with the Necromorphs by throwing that heavy right hook of his or stomping out those old Xbox looking boxes for cash or ammo, but in Dead Space 2, Isaac is full of nothing but anger screaming out “FUCK!”, “SHIT!”, and “DAMN IT!!!” at all times from stomping Necromorphs to not being directed the right way. I particularly like that he’ll occasionally throw in a “MOTHER FUCKER!” like I’m sure I would if I were in the same situation. Plus, every time he thinks he’s getting somewhere, someone just decides to call him on the Rig Link and say, “Hey, maybe you should go that way, but I’m not going to tell you why. BYEEEEE!” Plus, his dead wife which he see’s constantly throughout the game, just continues to try and kill him as well as distract him from his purpose.   

I'm not TROLLIN'

With the suits of Dead Space 2, there are several types of suits in this game, but you aren’t locked into using one unlike the first Dead Space. You have multiple suits to choose from, like the Riot Suit and the Vintage Suit, each with its own unique bonus attribute. Once you buy a suit and equip it, it upgrades your armor and inventory, but if you don’t like the look you can change back into the old suit and keep the upgrades. One thing to keep in mind is that the suit bonuses don’t transfer over to the new suit. Having suits with different bonuses is a great addition that adds more depth and thought to the game play.     

The new weapons were hit or miss. The Detonator was a great addition to the game and added multiple levels of fun but on the other hand, the Seeker Rifle was pretty useless. Its alternate fire ability is a 2x zoom. Given the nature of the game, I don’t think you’ll really have an opportunity to “snipe” an enemy. Usually, if you see an enemy, he’s in your face. The classic weapons were a great throw back and some of the not so useful weapons like the Flame Thrower and the Plasma Rifle got some very welcome boosts in power.      

Zero G moments have also seen an improvement. Isaac now has the ability to use his suit to propel him through a Zero G environment rather then the aim and push off the first game.   

I haven’t played much of the multiplayer but from what I’ve learned is that bottom line, as a Necromorph, you are going to die…A LOT. Once you accept this fact you can just have fun with it. The key is attacking in coordinated numbers, and ambushing the humans (which you can see through walls).      

Get out the room! Get out the ROOM!

Part of the problem of mulitplayer is that early on, they don’t tell you any of the controls for the Necromorphs, so you’ll need to experiment. In all honesty, they’re pretty crappy. When you jump from a vent the camera swivels causing you to pause for a few seconds, leaving you completely open to attack. The vent choice system is pretty terrible as it chooses a vent right in the middle of the fray, increasing the risk that you spawn into a hail of gunfire. Choosing alternate vents is confusing and sometimes you end up spawned across the level somewhere you didn’t intend to. This system would have been 100 times better had they let you search for your vent as the spawn timer counts down, but as it is you can only wait until time expires to try and find the right vent.     

One of my main gripes is that higher level players are way overpowered. Increased Necromorph damage (melee, ranged, and execution), increased Necromorph health, increased weapon damage, increased stasis, increased ammo, and increased Necromorph stasis resistance are all unlockables. There’s no getting around it, the game is unbalanced and beginners and intermediates get slaughtered, an issue that is amplified by the fact that levelling up takes a long time. Get stuck on a bad team and it takes even longer. That in itself isn’t the cardinal error though, the problem is that when you get put on a good team and actually start having good games, more often than not you get dropped as it ends (due to a rage quitting host) and lose ALL the points you accumulated.In the end the game is a great follow up to the diamond in the rough that was Dead Space. Solid story and voice acting, lots of action and just the right amount of creepy. I feel that the developers need to stay away from the idea that all games need multiplayer. Sometimes it works, many times it doesn’t.      

The single player portion of the game gets a solid 8/10 while the multiplayer gets a 5/10.