Dead Space 2 and I go quite a ways back. My first exposure to the game was at an electronics store where it was being showcased, perhaps to prove that video game graphics had gotten as good as they ever needed to be. My child mind could hardly comprehend that the footage being played onscreen was being rendered in real-time.
Not long after, I had my second brush with the game through IGN's utterly disastrous review of it, proving once and for all that professional game journalism was a bad joke. I still wonder why Greg Miller's opening paragraph made it sound like he had lost his virginity to this game. But I digress.
It took me until 2020 to play Dead Space 2, and it truly was all it was cracked up to be. The visuals are stellar, the gameplay is refined to near-perfection, and there's never a dull moment. This is the game that Doom 3 wanted to be. The slow-paced survival horror of the first iteration has been exchanged for fast and furious necromorph-killing fun. Holy fuck this game is incredible. It controls so well, progresses so seamlessly, and never ceases to impress with its graphics and sound design. I recommend that everyone play this game once in their life.
Then why, you may ask, did I score this game lower than the original? Because I recommend everyone play it in their life just once. I wrote my Dead Space review immediately after finishing it. I'm writing my Dead Space 2 review after a second playthrough, four years removed from the first, and I've realized something.
There's nothing more in the game to do.
This is especially true of the PC version, which lacks achievements, but even if we disqualify that, Dead Space 2's lack of replay value stands in stark contrast to its inspiration - the Resident Evil series, which is infinitely replayable and has a wealth of content even after beating the campaign. There are no extras, no incentives for repeat playthroughs. There is a New Game+, but it only further trivializes the campaign. There used to be multiplayer, but to nobody's surprise, EA took the servers down. They're still charging $20 for a game that's thirteen years old though. Stay classy, EA.
My second playthrough was also marred by cracks in what at first seemed like a perfect story mode. The narrative is filled with the kind of technobabble that had me convinced I disliked sci-fi until I watched Blade Runner, and I was left scratching my head as to how some of the environments connected together. The characters are black holes of charisma (even if Isaac's voice actor has one of the best line deliveries in media history), and sometimes I wished there was a 'Shut Up mode' where the brilliant gameplay wouldn't be interrupted by the repetitive story beats. How many times is this bitch gonna freeze the controls to bleat her sci-fi jargon at me when I just want to KILL dammit?
So that's my main issue with Dead Space 2: like rice, it's best when it's fresh, and will never be as good again. That, and how dour the game is. No game that has a Havok physics engine should take itself this seriously. The Dead Space series is to Resident Evil what Marilyn Manson is to Alice Cooper: it's sleeker, heavier and more aggressive, but it's missing the campiness, subtlety and humour that has kept its inspiration bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Marilyn Manson is fat now, okay? Looks like he had one sweet dream too many.
Regardless, it would be unfair to say Dead Space 2 isn't a very good game. For the seven hours it takes to beat the first time, it's absolutely unmatched. I just wish it had held up on a repeat playthrough, or had more to do after you've finished it once. But don't deny yourself the privilege of that one time. Buy this game when it goes on sale. It'll be one of the best fivers you'll ever spend.
Not long after, I had my second brush with the game through IGN's utterly disastrous review of it, proving once and for all that professional game journalism was a bad joke. I still wonder why Greg Miller's opening paragraph made it sound like he had lost his virginity to this game. But I digress.
It took me until 2020 to play Dead Space 2, and it truly was all it was cracked up to be. The visuals are stellar, the gameplay is refined to near-perfection, and there's never a dull moment. This is the game that Doom 3 wanted to be. The slow-paced survival horror of the first iteration has been exchanged for fast and furious necromorph-killing fun. Holy fuck this game is incredible. It controls so well, progresses so seamlessly, and never ceases to impress with its graphics and sound design. I recommend that everyone play this game once in their life.
Then why, you may ask, did I score this game lower than the original? Because I recommend everyone play it in their life just once. I wrote my Dead Space review immediately after finishing it. I'm writing my Dead Space 2 review after a second playthrough, four years removed from the first, and I've realized something.
There's nothing more in the game to do.
This is especially true of the PC version, which lacks achievements, but even if we disqualify that, Dead Space 2's lack of replay value stands in stark contrast to its inspiration - the Resident Evil series, which is infinitely replayable and has a wealth of content even after beating the campaign. There are no extras, no incentives for repeat playthroughs. There is a New Game+, but it only further trivializes the campaign. There used to be multiplayer, but to nobody's surprise, EA took the servers down. They're still charging $20 for a game that's thirteen years old though. Stay classy, EA.
My second playthrough was also marred by cracks in what at first seemed like a perfect story mode. The narrative is filled with the kind of technobabble that had me convinced I disliked sci-fi until I watched Blade Runner, and I was left scratching my head as to how some of the environments connected together. The characters are black holes of charisma (even if Isaac's voice actor has one of the best line deliveries in media history), and sometimes I wished there was a 'Shut Up mode' where the brilliant gameplay wouldn't be interrupted by the repetitive story beats. How many times is this bitch gonna freeze the controls to bleat her sci-fi jargon at me when I just want to KILL dammit?
So that's my main issue with Dead Space 2: like rice, it's best when it's fresh, and will never be as good again. That, and how dour the game is. No game that has a Havok physics engine should take itself this seriously. The Dead Space series is to Resident Evil what Marilyn Manson is to Alice Cooper: it's sleeker, heavier and more aggressive, but it's missing the campiness, subtlety and humour that has kept its inspiration bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Marilyn Manson is fat now, okay? Looks like he had one sweet dream too many.
Regardless, it would be unfair to say Dead Space 2 isn't a very good game. For the seven hours it takes to beat the first time, it's absolutely unmatched. I just wish it had held up on a repeat playthrough, or had more to do after you've finished it once. But don't deny yourself the privilege of that one time. Buy this game when it goes on sale. It'll be one of the best fivers you'll ever spend.