Dead Space 2

Developed by Visceral Games (1/25/11)

While Dead Space garnered critical acclaim, this shouldn't prevent people from seeing that it was a pretty obvious sci-fi take of Capcom's Resident Evil 4.  The difference between Dead Space and most other games that steal ideas though (see Darksiders) is that it managed to surpass RE 4 in many ways.  Dead Space was a scary game with great action sequences, a pretty decent story, interesting characters, and the ability to move and shoot!  While that last point may not seem like a big deal, it took Capcom over 6 titles to finally implement some mechanic that allows their heroes to move and shoot (coming soon to the 3DS).  Capcom released RE5 and while not a bad title, it didn't live up to expectations and even more tragically, wasn't even scary.  Could Visceral Games succeed where Capcom failed?

*I'm going to try to keep the spoilers to a minimum and will indicate any upcoming with a SPOILER so don't worry.*

Dead Space 2 is truly a roller coaster ride and many reviews have stated that it reminds them of Uncharted 2.  To be honest, I'd have to agree with them because Dead Space has a lot more epic moments in it as opposed to the first title.  There'll be times when you're sitting there gripping your controller not realizing that you're in control of the events taking place and at any moment Isaac (main character) could be ripped to shreds.  Does it achieve the grand scale of Uncharted 2 though?  Not really but it doesn't have to.  Visceral had the groundwork of a solid title already in Dead Space so slight alterations were all that were needed for a great title. 

For starters, this game is still scary.  If you played the first game and didn't jump, chances are you weren't playing in the right atmosphere (lights off sound up) or you have Chuck Norris like nerves.  Granted, many of the frights come from jump scares, there were moments that actually had my adrenaline pumping.  The controls are near perfect this time around and refined ensuring that if Isaac dies, it usually can be blamed on the player and not the game itself.  One of my favorite additions is the reworking of Isaac's Kinesis.  The first game made it crucial to shoot off Necromorphs limbs but in this title, you could shoot off an enemies arm, kinesis it, and then fire it through another enemy impaling him on a wall 15 feet away! While it may seem like a gimmick, using this trick is integral to conserve ammo which is scarce on harder difficulties.  You're gonna need every bit of ammo too with new enemy types and reworked (and slightly harder) old necromorphs.  No worries though because Isaac is given a better arsenal this time around (although I stuck with the Plasma Cutter).

The story is pretty interesting though some parts get kinda hokey.  If you're a fan of the Dead Space universe then you should enjoy many of the nods to the original and how the game messes with your sense of comfort.  There were times that I was sure I would be bombarded by enemies, only to see myself worked up for nothing.  At other times, I would be relaxed when out of nowhere *BLARGH* and I'm pinned against a wall!  Visceral found a decent balance of jump scares and genuinely creepy moments that fans new and old will enjoy.  Also, there are over 100 different text/audio logs to find, each giving the universe more life.  I enjoyed much of the main story although there were quite a few that disappointed like *minor SPOILER* the ending battle and lack of real boss fights. *END OF SPOILERS*

The newest edition to the Dead Space world is the addition of multiplayer.  Two teams of four controlling either the Necromorphs, or the humans.  From what I've heard, it's similar to Left 4 Dead but have yet to truly try it.  I will update my review later when I've spent some time with it to give my full views but as for now, it seems to be just icing on the cake of a great 3rd person shooter.

*Note, the 360 version comes with 2 discs while the PS3 version only comes with one.  While that may seem like an advantage for PS3 players, I have seen that you can access multiplayer from either Disc 1 or Disc 2 with the 360.  This means that two people can play multiplayer off one copy of the game!  EA sadly requires online pass codes but I can help you with that (just send me a message or e-mail).  Don't fret though PS3 players, because your copies (I think collectors only) come with a free copy of the Wii's Dead Space Extraction with Move support!

Pathetic

Game may be too short for some (my first playthrough took a little over 10 hours)
Disappointing Final Fight
Some deaths can be pretty cheap
Pregnants and Guardians are bullet wasters!

Very Nice!

Some truly epic moments
One of the best openings I've played through in awhile
Kinesis is a blast to use
Lots of great scares
Fun combat and more variety of enemies
Isaac Clarke is a much better character now that he has a voice

FINAL GRADE: A

I had a lot of fun playing Dead Space 2 and while not as great a leap like Uncharted 2 did from it's previous title, it's still a solid follow up and a great way to start off 2011.  Throw in the upcoming DLC and you're looking at a title that any fan of survival-horror/3rd person shooters should own.