I just want to start this off by saying Dead Space 2 is a great game. It has many things over its predecessor that make it stand out as a sequel - increased diversity in weapons and armor, lots of new environments that feel like an interesting place to be, great sci-fi setting with expanded lore, new enemies, Isaac freakin' talks now!! These are all solid additions to the Dead Space formula. So why do I feel like this is a bit of a step down from the first game??
We pick up again with our dear friend Isaac Clarke from the first game, who is being strongly interrogated and yup, still crazy. He is broken out by a nice fellow as things go absolutely to shit of course, and this intro scene here really shows off Dead Space 2's problem - putting everything big and scary right in your face. Now, the first game DEFINITELY had this problem as well, but 2 ramps it right up. I've heard about this game's budget and production being way too overblown, and it shows. The game can't hardly wait to show you its next big set piece or roaring monster to chase after you. But don't get me wrong! It isn't BAD, it's just not very scary? It's the Aliens to Alien transition I guess? I mean not that amazing but just in tone.
Gameplay is very much the same, barring new weapons and a bit more focus on kinetic powers (you can do way more damage to enemies now, saving on ammunition!) and new Zero G sections which I LOVED DEARLY! You get to fly around in space, and it feels great! Otherwise its all kinda standard. The difference is that Isaac talks now! I'm not really sure that's a great thing, the acting and writing aren't much to write home about but it feels a bit less strange than a silent protagonist I guess. We meet a few new friends and enemies along the way, and I do like the supporting cast in this one but the 'antagonists' are pretty garbage minus the first guy in the Asylum area. They're also handled better than the characters in the first one, and there's some great moments with Head!Nicole about dealing with grief and loss I liked. Then they made it stupid to have one more boss fight... Ugh.
Overall a damn solid horror/action game I'm glad I went through for Halloween, though mostly just because I enjoyed Dead Space 1 so damn much haha... It is a great new environment, a space station people might actually want to live on, and the horror of seeing this place fall is shown very well. I do appreciate the initial portions are set in the "Day 1" of a zombie apocalypse since we rarely get to see that. It just feels strange that a game with so much more than its predecessor just feels a bit... less?
We pick up again with our dear friend Isaac Clarke from the first game, who is being strongly interrogated and yup, still crazy. He is broken out by a nice fellow as things go absolutely to shit of course, and this intro scene here really shows off Dead Space 2's problem - putting everything big and scary right in your face. Now, the first game DEFINITELY had this problem as well, but 2 ramps it right up. I've heard about this game's budget and production being way too overblown, and it shows. The game can't hardly wait to show you its next big set piece or roaring monster to chase after you. But don't get me wrong! It isn't BAD, it's just not very scary? It's the Aliens to Alien transition I guess? I mean not that amazing but just in tone.
Gameplay is very much the same, barring new weapons and a bit more focus on kinetic powers (you can do way more damage to enemies now, saving on ammunition!) and new Zero G sections which I LOVED DEARLY! You get to fly around in space, and it feels great! Otherwise its all kinda standard. The difference is that Isaac talks now! I'm not really sure that's a great thing, the acting and writing aren't much to write home about but it feels a bit less strange than a silent protagonist I guess. We meet a few new friends and enemies along the way, and I do like the supporting cast in this one but the 'antagonists' are pretty garbage minus the first guy in the Asylum area. They're also handled better than the characters in the first one, and there's some great moments with Head!Nicole about dealing with grief and loss I liked. Then they made it stupid to have one more boss fight... Ugh.
Overall a damn solid horror/action game I'm glad I went through for Halloween, though mostly just because I enjoyed Dead Space 1 so damn much haha... It is a great new environment, a space station people might actually want to live on, and the horror of seeing this place fall is shown very well. I do appreciate the initial portions are set in the "Day 1" of a zombie apocalypse since we rarely get to see that. It just feels strange that a game with so much more than its predecessor just feels a bit... less?