Dead Space 2
- Platform: Xbox 360/PS3
- Genre: Survival Horror
- Developer/Publisher: Visceral Games/EA
- Release: 25/01/2011
The name gives it away; this is the sequel to 2008’s frightfest... Dead Space.
Developed again by Visceral Games, Dead Space 2 is the survival horror game that puts you in the space-engineer boots of Isaac Clarke. After suffering the atrocities of the first game (that you really must pick up and play if you haven’t done so yet; if not to just appreciate the full story), Isaac awakens in a psychiatric ward on the Sprawl, a gigantic space city on one of Saturn’s moons. In typical psychiatric patient style, he can’t remember any of the past three years. To cut the story short, a viral outbreak has caused the entire population to turn into violent and deformed monsters called Necromorphs, as Isaac you simply have to escape whilst fighting off your psychological demons. Easy enough right?
DEAD GOOD DISPLAY
Essentially Dead Space 2 is a third person shooter, with some imaginative weapons and a different take on the usual monster style enemy. Once you look past it on a surface level, it has so much more to offer. The standout feature lies around its incredible presentation, and not just graphically (though the Visceral engine looks shockingly realistic). The heads up display, or lack of one, is really what makes Dead Space a standout experience. There are no numbers, icons or maps on the screen to pull you away from feeling like you genuinely are plodding about the halls of an infected futuristic city.
Instead, all of the information you would need to know, for example the health bar, inventory and map is all integrated into the game via a function on Isaac’s suit. It’s all done stylishly, with a one press waypoint system that shows the direction by a light that shines from Isaac’s hand, a holographic inventory that Isaac can call up at any moment and a health bar that clings to the back of Isaac’s spine. The guns are the same, the ammunition counter sits on the top of the weapon, rather than hindering the players view; and it all works so smoothly, creating a believable universe. The wonderful thing about this lack of HUD, is that everything included is a product of the universe it belongs to.
Isaac isn’t the only one with a mapping or holographic system, and absolutely everyone has a health bar on their spines; something that is even neatly referenced at the start of the game. It is all part of what makes Dead Space 2 such a unique and real experience. Another example of this is the doors in the game (bare with me). A simple circle hovers in front of most of the doors on the Sprawl, if it is blue it’s open, if it’s red it’s locked. This is something that is in the game to show you where you can and cannot go in the game, however, it is also perfectly plausible that it’s just what happens within that universe. Altogether these factors really pull you in; they secure you down into the Dead Space world, so you’re ready to have the pants scared off you.
you will find yourself stopping to look out of windows, only to be rudely interrupted by a surprise attack from an army of crawling Necromorph children
The Necromorphs will attack from any side at any given moment, with no warning at all. The game will throw surprises at you left right and centre as you explore the dark corridors of the various locations throughout the game. Abandoned nurseries, canteens and medical facilities are just a few of the places that the Necromoprh inhabit. Despite the repeated dark settings, the game does look stunningly beautiful; you will find yourself stopping to look out of windows, only to be rudely interrupted by a surprise attack from an army of crawling Necromorph children.
A NEW ENEMY
That’s right, you will be shooting infected children as they shriek and run at you, blowing off their limbs (as everyone who has played Dead Space will know, taking off the limbs is the only way to take down the Necromorph effectively), in order to put them out of their misery. Don’t worry though; they aren’t the only new addition to Dead Space 2’s roster of killable horrors. So the standard infected humanoid monster, with spikes for arms, is still hiding around every corner, but now you also get plenty more to give you that ‘I really don’t want to go into that next room’ feeling. A slow moving monster that literally vomits on Isaac to freeze him to the spot, a new Raptor style Necromporh that will hunt Isaac in a pack and back you into a corner before sprinting in your direction, are but a few of the new delights on offer. A giant tank-sized enemy makes more than one appearance, mixing up the playing experience, and giving you something else to be scared off.
With the addition of all these new challenges to overcome, it’s lucky that there is a great selection of new weaponry to help Isaac dismember his infected assailants, and ultimately escape. The plasma cutter makes a triumphant return, and just like every other weapon, it can be upgraded using the desks throughout the Sprawl. Every weapon has a secondary function, usually something fairly explosive in the case of the Line Gun and the detonator, or something more electrifying in the case of the Javelin (which will pin your enemies to the walls and then send a shock through their bodies).
Isaac’s suit can be upgraded at all of the stores on the Sprawl, as well as medical aid purchased and upgraded ammunition. The economy works well in the game, with almost every enemy dropping some sort of credit or aid when you kill it. The new take on the low-gravity sections in the game turn the survival horror genre upside down (quite literally), meaning that the enemies can come from all directions; this is something, on the harder difficulties, that is incredibly frightening.
If you don’t like being scared, then don’t buy this game. My only real criticism of Dead Space 2, is that it isn’t very welcoming to newcomers to the genre; and it seems to me (though I haven’t played the original Dead Space for quite some time), that it’s essentially more of the same.
The controls have been improved; they are simple and smooth, and extremely responsive. The more I think about constructing this review, the more I realise I have very little to say that is negative about this game. The game is still not perfect, but it is a fantastically fun and violent play through. There is something missing, however, that I just can’t put my trigger finger on. This could be something that Dead Space 3 may be able to remedy, the ending (and success) of Dead Space 2, certainly hints at a trilogy.
Verdict: 8/10
- Platform: Xbox 360/PS3
- Genre: Survival Horror
- Developer/Publisher: Visceral Games/EA
- Release: 25/01/2011
The name gives it away; this is the sequel to 2008’s frightfest... Dead Space.
Developed again by Visceral Games, Dead Space 2 is the survival horror game that puts you in the space-engineer boots of Isaac Clarke. After suffering the atrocities of the first game (that you really must pick up and play if you haven’t done so yet; if not to just appreciate the full story), Isaac awakens in a psychiatric ward on the Sprawl, a gigantic space city on one of Saturn’s moons. In typical psychiatric patient style, he can’t remember any of the past three years. To cut the story short, a viral outbreak has caused the entire population to turn into violent and deformed monsters called Necromorphs, as Isaac you simply have to escape whilst fighting off your psychological demons. Easy enough right?
DEAD GOOD DISPLAY
Essentially Dead Space 2 is a third person shooter, with some imaginative weapons and a different take on the usual monster style enemy. Once you look past it on a surface level, it has so much more to offer. The standout feature lies around its incredible presentation, and not just graphically (though the Visceral engine looks shockingly realistic). The heads up display, or lack of one, is really what makes Dead Space a standout experience. There are no numbers, icons or maps on the screen to pull you away from feeling like you genuinely are plodding about the halls of an infected futuristic city.
Instead, all of the information you would need to know, for example the health bar, inventory and map is all integrated into the game via a function on Isaac’s suit. It’s all done stylishly, with a one press waypoint system that shows the direction by a light that shines from Isaac’s hand, a holographic inventory that Isaac can call up at any moment and a health bar that clings to the back of Isaac’s spine. The guns are the same, the ammunition counter sits on the top of the weapon, rather than hindering the players view; and it all works so smoothly, creating a believable universe. The wonderful thing about this lack of HUD, is that everything included is a product of the universe it belongs to.
Isaac isn’t the only one with a mapping or holographic system, and absolutely everyone has a health bar on their spines; something that is even neatly referenced at the start of the game. It is all part of what makes Dead Space 2 such a unique and real experience. Another example of this is the doors in the game (bare with me). A simple circle hovers in front of most of the doors on the Sprawl, if it is blue it’s open, if it’s red it’s locked. This is something that is in the game to show you where you can and cannot go in the game, however, it is also perfectly plausible that it’s just what happens within that universe. Altogether these factors really pull you in; they secure you down into the Dead Space world, so you’re ready to have the pants scared off you.
The Necromorphs will attack from any side at any given moment, with no warning at all. The game will throw surprises at you left right and centre as you explore the dark corridors of the various locations throughout the game. Abandoned nurseries, canteens and medical facilities are just a few of the places that the Necromoprh inhabit. Despite the repeated dark settings, the game does look stunningly beautiful; you will find yourself stopping to look out of windows, only to be rudely interrupted by a surprise attack from an army of crawling Necromorph children.
A NEW ENEMY
That’s right, you will be shooting infected children as they shriek and run at you, blowing off their limbs (as everyone who has played Dead Space will know, taking off the limbs is the only way to take down the Necromorph effectively), in order to put them out of their misery. Don’t worry though; they aren’t the only new addition to Dead Space 2’s roster of killable horrors. So the standard infected humanoid monster, with spikes for arms, is still hiding around every corner, but now you also get plenty more to give you that ‘I really don’t want to go into that next room’ feeling. A slow moving monster that literally vomits on Isaac to freeze him to the spot, a new Raptor style Necromporh that will hunt Isaac in a pack and back you into a corner before sprinting in your direction, are but a few of the new delights on offer. A giant tank-sized enemy makes more than one appearance, mixing up the playing experience, and giving you something else to be scared off.