Gamer--freakz

Gamespot score:9.0(Editor's choice)


my score:8.5


(+)Pros:-Gameplay is overall faster this time round,-same great dismembering action,-increased necromorph and weapon variety,-atmosphere and environments are still creepy and add to the horror experience,-sudden enemy jumps and appearances still provide good quick scares,-multiplayer is fun and an overall different experience, -free dead space extraction!


(-)Cons:-Most of the single player is just a matter of moving from one area to the next with little advancement in the story,-no bosses!

Gameplay time:20-30 hours

 

I have little interest in shooters, be it 1st, 2nd or 3rd person.Dead space however, is one of the very few shooters out there that has captured my attention. The 1st game was great, but it wasnt perfect and could use some improvements. With dead space 2 out and my bro getting it on day 1 release, me playing the game was only a matter of time. Surely dead space 2 is great, it even has a thrown in bonus, dead space extraction, the wii game dead space game that was released quite some time before. An entire game, free, now thats just generous. I'll write another complete review for that another time, for now, lets just go through the horrors of space once more with dead space 2.

 

Dead space had a promising story, its too bad the one for dead space 2 isnt as intruiging as the 1st. Issac talks now, which is a good thing. Its good to see our silent protagonist in dead space one having to at least talk and show some emotion. In dead space 2, the story takes place immediately after the events of the 1st one, issac is found drifting in an ishimura escape pod, and is taken into custody by the people over at the sprawl. He is used as a test subject regarding things to do with the marker, since issac is already seeing things that he shouldnt, hes already "infected" in a sense. However, one fateful day, an outbreak happens on the sprawl, and people start becoming necromorphs. Issac is rescued from his confinement by a man, only to see him killed and transform straight into a necromorph right in front of his eyes. Still in a straight jacket, he runs for his life. After being freed, he is contacted by a lady named daina and learns of the disaster that happens in the sprawl. With daina being his only lead, issac tries to meet up with her..but thats only the beginning.




Dude, slow down, take a deep breath... Now, let me shoot you.


Dead space 2's core gameplay remains mostly the same as the first. You venture into the depths of sprawl, traveling through different environments, ranging from the creepy church of unitology, the residence areas to even the nurseries, blasting necromorphs with your cool ass weapons. Your aresenal consists of the old school weapons like the plasma cutter, plasma rifle, ripper, flamethrower.....every single weapon that was in the 1st game is in here, most of them receiving tweaks. Contact beam received a slower reloading time , and the force gun has a different alternate fire. There are of course, new weapons. One of which is the javelin gun, which allows you to impale your enemies and follow up by electrifying them. Theres also the detonator, which acts a gun that shoots mines, or the seeker rifle, which functions like some sort of sniper. All in all, they are welcome additions.

You also still collect power nodes, which are used to power up your weapons or armor at the bench upgrade stations, increasing health, attack damage, attack/reload speed, so on and so forth. You still use your weapons to dismember necromorphs, and boy is the process still as fun as ever. Now with faster pace in combat, you can hit, stomp and walk faster. Everything issac does is is faster in a way, even the stasis, its now so fast that you can pick up a dismembered necromorph limb and impale it straight into another target. Core dismembering is more of less the same, you dismember thier limbs, restrict thier movements, and dismember more limbs to finish them off. There are newer variety  of necromorph, which of course, means you have more stuff to kill. There are the almighty pack enemies, little baby necromorphs that come in masses. There's also the stalkers, deadly fkers that camp and attack when you look away, sneaky bastards. Once again, they add variety to the already vast amount of available necromorphs, so its all good.




God dammit get off my face you freaking baby!

 With the increased amount of weapons and necromorphs, along with the increased gameplay speed, dead space 2 feels like a better game suited for action this time round. While some part of this is true, dont worry, the game still retains most of its horror elements. The atmosphere is pretty good, especially for some levels like the church of unitology. It feels like a necromorph will just jump the fk out of a nearby vent anytime and stab the shit out of you. And rest assured, the quick scares that are made to make you jump are still here, and they still work well. If you played the original dead space, you should know that some dead bodies lying around are still living and breathing necromorphs. Visceral games has gotten smarter, such situations are reduced, and stuff like necromorphs just appearing out of vents or just jumping out of nowhere have been increased. Prepare to receive lots of short startling moments that make you jump. Thats the single player in a nutshell, there are more chapters than the original dead space, so expect a longer experience. Dead space 2 also has multiplayer, which is obviously a great addition.

The multiplayer plays much like a "humans vs zombies" kind of game, something like left 4 dead. You either play as humans or necromorphs, and whatever maps you play the objective for both side will vary. As humans, you play much like the single player, just that the necromorphsou face are human players. Necromorphs however, are more unique and fun to play as. You get to pick from 4 different necromorph variations, the pack, the spitter,the lurker and the slasher. They play much like they do when you face them in the single player mode, just that you are using them, and you can choose which vent to spawn from. Its fun to just select a spawn spot close to the human base, camp and strike when they least expect it. Every necromorph has its uses, and working as a team is key, for both humans and necromorphs. Objectives vary each map, but most of the time its the humans that need to accomplish a certain objecttive, while necromorphs need to prevent from doing so until the time runs out. All in all, its a great experience, definetely something to look foward to after you clear the campaign.




Prepare for some stratling moments such as this.

 Dead space 2's flaws mostly lie in the single player experience. Most of the story is just moving from 1 place to another, without much progress in the story. You move a considerable distance, listen to a few lines of conversation, and move on. And by the end of the game, you feel like you just went for a long errand trip. Whats more...no bosses! What the fk!!!! The original dead space had like 3 bosses, and though that isnt much, they still proved awesome to battle, especailly the leviathan. With dead space 2 having no bosses at all..... its a shame really, the minds behind the game could have come up with something epic, but I guess they just slipped up on a great opportunity.

Dead space 2 is a complete package in more ways than one. It comes with a free dead space extraction as bonus content, and it has online play for the 1st time ever. I will review severed and extraction some other day, but for now, as a horror game, dead space 2 is great. Besides the story, the game feels improved, and will definetely last any player longer than 20 hours, since the campaign alone is over 10 hours, and online will definetely keep you occupied longer than that. Overall, dead space 2 is a great buy, an awesome addition to the series.



Happy gaming.