The magnum opus of survival-horror returns with a new installment that's better than the original
So it's finally here. The follow-up to the fantastic 2008 masterpiece that turned the survival-horror genre on its head. Is Dead Space 2 as good as the original? Yes. Is it better? I think so, and I hope this review inspires you to go and get it.
For those of you who have been living under a rock since 2008, Dead Space came out in 2008 and completely rocked the gaming world with a new survival-horror IP that managed to do the "horror" part of survival-horror in ways nobody had ever done before. The game follows Isaac Clark, an engineer. To sum up the last game (largely spoiler free), he gets called in to fix a gigantic planet-cracking spaceship with a broken comms array. Turns out the ship is overrun with zombified killing machines, and he and the few other survivors from his team need to engineer an escape plan. To make a long story short, he's the only survivor, and BAM! The game ends and leaves you begging for more. It's a fantastic game, and you have no business playing the sequel until you've completed the first one. Go on XBL and download it. It's like $20.
This time around, Isaac wakes up with a straight jacket on, and instantly gets thrust into a new nightmare. The first sequence sets the new tone for the series. You're in a straight jacket, and you need to book it. I'm only about 4 hours in, and I won't give anything away, but it's been a thrill ride that eclipses its predecessor in graphics, sound design, and pacing. It's amazing.
So first of all, let's get one thing straight. You ain't never seen graphics before. I say that, because it's unlikely you've seen THIS game's graphics before (unless you've played the demo... in which case, yeah, you've seen graphics before lol). This game is mind-bogglingly beautiful when it comes to the graphics. The environments are crisp and detailed, the character models are super hi-res, and everything is believable and legitimately feels solid in the environment. Little touches here and there will dazzle and surprise you, and I must admit, I've been sidetracked staring out windows and at holograms.
While the graphics are amazing to look at, the audio engineering is truly a large part of what made Dead Space 1 what it was, and the same is true here. The audio is fantastic. Noises just outside your field of view, voices whispering in your ear, the grotesque wails and shrieks of monsters in the hallways... it's all expertly done. You'll jump to the edge of your seat with anticipation after hearing some of this stuff.
All this wouldn't mean anything if the game didn't rule from a gameplay standpoint, so I'm happy to say that it does. It just... rules. Now, I'm a big fan of survival-horror games (starting with the original Resident Evil when it came out in the 90's), and I must say, this one has the formula down. Stalking through hallways holding your breath for something terrible to plow through a door or drop down behind you through a ceiling grate always has you on edge, and the few moments of respite that you have are punctuated by feelings of dread just around the next corner. The lighting and audio really gives a feel of claustrophobia even in wide open areas, and the zero-G segments of the game play like a dream come true.
The same great combat makes a triumphant return with some great gameplay tweaks that ratchet up the action and the strategy. Now you can blow off an enemy's spear-like arm, and quickly use telekinesis to fire it back, pinning an enemy to the wall (and unlocking an achievement the first time you do it XD). This adds a new dimension to the frenzy of combat, now that you can use the parts of enemies against them to quickly immobilize them or conserve ammo. Like the IGN review said, it never gets old.
I won't get into the story. It's similar but not the same to its predecessor. Some have complained that it's still a kind of "go here and fix this" situation, but Isaac is an engineer. It's kind of his job and falls within his set of abilities to fix things. I don't mind it one bit, because it fits with his character.
In the end, you need to play this game. You probably already know that if you've played Dead Space 1, but if you haven't, you need to play the first one before you feast your eyes on this madness. I've jumped out of my chair a few times already, and I'm not that far into the game. It's truly something special. All the elements come together to create a game that is so much bigger than the sum of its parts, becoming something that I can easily recommend to just about anyone with the stomach for the gore, and the nerves to handle the scares. If you're a horror movie fan, Resident Evil/Silent Hill fan, or just love a good scare, or want to bust open some REAL aliens, then forget Halo and fight a true alien menace.