While the game industry has really come into a slump with the horror genre over the past few years there has been one burning torch in this dark corridor, and that is the Dead Space franchise by Visceral games. These games take place in a future where the main source of income for people is planet cracking. Planet cracking is a form of "bleeding" a planet dry of its minerals and gases and involves giant ships to do so. The original stars you as Isaac Clarke an engineer sent to the mining ship USG Ishimura, the biggest and first planet cracker of its kind. You are sent there find out and hopefully fix the communications problems with reaching this vessel. Shortly you realize all hell has broken loose and you as the player are thrust into a game of survival.
Fast forward now 3 years after those events and we once again fill the shoes of Isaac only this time he's got personal problems with his mental sanity to deal with as well as more necromorph baddies to dismember.
The story is really well paced and set up so you want to know what's around that next corner for Isaac. There was several cheesy lines that they could have cut out, but all in all the game really tells it story well and helps Isaac grow as a character. There's not much more I can say without spoilers, but know that the story from start to finish is a roller coaster ride that ends on a reassuring note that there will be more Dead Space in the future, and I for one can't wait.
The gameplay is damn near perfect. I think my one problem with any gameplay design flaws was a lack of manually picking which direction on d-pad will become what gun. This becomes a problem later on in the game when you've had X gun set to left on dpad for 10+ hours of the game, then you buy some of the last few weapons, and in order to do so you have to move the ones you had equipped into the bank inventory, then once you pull them back out they are jumbled around. This ended up breaking up the flow of combat for me for a good while until I got used to the new directions. Everything else is tip top to shooting, to moving, to the control scheme, the puzzles, and some of the scripted events you partake in are a true blast.
:Edit: It was pointed out to me that there is indeed a way to manually sort the guns, and I carelessly missed it in my time with the game. Sorry for the mislead, but it only goes to show that Dead Space 2 is even a better game than I originally thought.
While the graphics engine won't blow you away like Uncharted 2 would or even Dead Space 1 did at its time, it's still a really impressive engine that pumps out some great visuals. The key things of it are the lighting effects. Shadows can play tricks on you and some of the later levels of the game really help give these areas their own essence with how they are lit. Between the lighting and the perfect use of sound you really get a second to none experience in atmosphere, which grips the player like many games today cannot. In the original Dead Space and with 2 the best way to get a sense for how good the sound is is to take the Ripper saw weapon and use it against metal or flesh. It sends tingles down the spine.
The design of the Sprawl and other locales you visit in Dead Space 2 are border line genius. So many rooms do a good job of giving you the sense of being contained to feel claustraphobic. The Sprawl is also very well designed to feel like a place where people were living literally moments before your adventure aboard it begins. The downward spiral it goes through is noted not only through the environment becoming more necromorphized, but through the enemies you encounter becoming even more brutal.
The enemy A.I in DS2 as a whole didn't really get much of an overhaul from DS1. Things either trek towards you slowly to back you into corners, or run at you to force you to freeze them in place and avoid them, or kill them before they are free to move again. There was 1 enemy type though that really deserves a pat on the back from whoever designed him. The enemy has somewhat of a chicken beak head, and attempts to run at you 300MPH to head butt you once to kill you. What's so impressive about these enemies is they will hide behind boxes, and poke just their head out to get you to try and waste shots at their head...and if you are foolish enough to go around that corner they are poking at BOOM you die. It becomes a battle of patience and watching all the angles they can come from, since they can also climb over obstacles to get to you. While the rest of the A.I is the same fair, these guys really stood out as something 100% their own, and it's only a shame the game didn't have more enemies with this level of depth in their attack patterns.
The online multiplayer is 100% throw away. Do not buy this game for multiplayer. It was a 100% waste of the developers time to even put it in. It's just not very fun or addicting in any way. It's something you'll touch once or twice, then forget about. It's too bad Visceral games couldn't do the same when making it, or could have switched gears to make a co-op mode where you and your friends try to survive waves of enemy A.I. Oh well, save it for DS3 I suppose.
Overall, Dead Space 2 doesn't do much to change the formula that DS1 set up. It took what it had set up, elaborated more on it, and polished itself up to shine even brighter. This IS how you do a sequel so other developers should take note. If it isn't broke---don't fix it. While some may have issues with lack of innovation from the DS1 mold, I saw enough new to keep the whole experience fresh and enough refinement to really see a bigger and better Dead Space overall compared to its predecessor.
Dead Space 2 is a rock solid 9/10 on its single player aspect, but a seriously craptastic 3/10 on the multiplayer. While I do feel games should be reviewed for the whole product it speaks really well of how good the single player is that the horrible multiplayer will not detract from the experience had here with this game.I seriously caution you that the multiplayer is NOT the reason this game is amazing or worth your time.
Nameer from eXputer: "Dead Space 2 is a sequel that delivers such a feast that by the time you're done, you're not only full but also satisfied."
Hope they remake this one too. Just like they did with number 1. The remake of Dead Space 1 was perfection
thanks to the digital pass for it it was not perfect..in fact its difficult to find a working copy since many years.
Battlefield Bad Company 2, Dead Space 2, Crysis 3, and a handful other EA games have finally had their online services shut down.
I had no idea that Bad Company 2 was still running, and only now that I know, I want to jump on! 😥
I was able to find games in the Vietnam dlc on ps3 the last week. There were articles on here about the server closure when it was announced in April
BF1943 is the only online MP game that I was genuinely interested in. Been playing since launch 14 years ago. Hate that I couldn't put in as much time to play as I'd hoped for during the final week.
I got really into 43 when I bought Bf3, and preferred it. Everything that I disliked or found annoying about Bf3, wasn't an issue in 43. Too bad they never bothered releasing it on PS4 or PC.
Dead Space 2...... I wasn't even aware that had multiplayer. Nevermind that it was apparently one of their best multiplayers!
Dead Space 2 multiplayer had been hanging on for years - I'd boot my PS3 up to see some familiar names in lobbies. This will definitely be missed!
The Dead Space remake did a great job of breathing life into the original game, but Dead Space 2 doesn't need the same treatment.
It is but I still want one to line up with the DS Remake
I just hope they can maybe turn the over the top action down a bit and dial up the horror with some changes here and there.
Although if they want to do a remixed remake of Dead Space Extraction with us seeing the downfall of the Ishimura in real time then I wouldn't mind that coming first.
No thanks, if they add anything, add more horror. The blend is already fantastic as is. Do not remove anything actiony from DS2. Ds3 is where they can start redoing most of the game as much as I enjoyed it.
Only reason i love dead space is i feel like a badass even amongst the horror. I would hate to lose the action combat.
I never beat 2 even though i own both 2 and 3. I got stuck and couldnt figure out where to go. something else came out and i never went back to it.
There’s the action combat and the over the top action combat where Isaac goes from this everyday guy to a space marine super hero
I loved DS2 but there’s small moments in the game which set up the direction they took the series in DS3
If they can reduce this moments, make them a little more grounded they can then change DS3 into something completely different
Yes, add more horror but don't take away any of the over the top action. I agreed with part of your sentence and not the other.
@Palitera - I said they don't need to add or remove any of the over the top action. It's the perfect blend. He wanted it toned down. So I said no thanks.
I never got into DS2 or 3 like I did DS1. I’m glad they remade DS1. I would probably buy a DS2 remake but that same excitement isn’t there in terms of pure nostalgia.
Really enjoyed reading your review. Seemed to hit the major points about what I liked in the game. I also thought the bird things were a nice addition though they could be a real pain. I just finished hard core mode today so I'm pretty pumped, definitely going to play extraction and buy the dlc when it comes out to see some more of the universe.
'I think my one problem with any gameplay design flaws was a lack of manually picking which direction on d-pad will become what gun. This becomes a problem later on in the game when you've had X gun set to left on dpad for 10+ hours of the game, then you buy some of the last few weapons, and in order to do so you have to move the ones you had equipped into the bank inventory, then once you pull them back out they are jumbled around. This ended up breaking up the flow of combat for me for a good while until I got used to the new directions.'
Just so you know you can go into your rig menu, highlight your weapons, and move them around. At least its possible on the ps3 version. I figured you would like to know since it seemed to bother you. Hopefully that will reduce frustration on further runs through the game.
Excellent review. I actually heard good things about the online but indeed, seems they found a way to tack it on somewhere. The single player is outstanding though, and deserves to be experienced.
a had a huge problem with the multiplayer, my online pass code doesnt work tsk tsk..can anyone tell me if they had the same problem and how can i fix it? i bought the limited edition..