it doesn't bring too much improvement, but is essencial for all those who loved the first game.
Storywise the game follows the events of the disappointing experiment Dead Space Ignition, we once more gain control of Isaac Clarke, who now suffers from a state of dementia caused by the marker. Our protagonist now has a voice, making for a more likeable character, an experienced one, always with a response to the events and riglink communications. A few twists await in the first hour or two, and though the pacing is good enough, along the 9 hours or so that it takes to complete the first playthrough, there isn't the sense of imminent collapse, and the objectives aren't as coherent as in the first game.
In Dead Space the objectives where liked to the fact Isaac is an engineer and in trying to fix Ishimura, and uncovering the truth behind it all, there was a crescendo in the importance of the objectives. The final goal was clearer as the game took its course, and here in the Sprawl, a massive space colony, the levels link without interruption, and while that is arguably for the best, what we are doing and why is a bit unclear in parts.
The zero gravity sections are improved thanks to small jets built on the suits Isaac wears, and the ability to float freely from objective to objective adds a good pause from the shooting sections.
All of the old weapons return along with some new ones, and overall, the secondary abilities add a layer of strategy to the shooting and ammo management that to a resourceful player certainly makes for a 3 or 4 playthroughs worth for experimenting and fully upgrade all the weapons.
This time aroung there's the addition of the Hardcore mode, for those of us who thought Impossible mode was easy pie, now only those with patience can brag about beating this mode, a hard playthrough with less resources laying around and only 3 saves available. when you die you get back to the previous save.
Talking about resources, every necromorph holds ammo, money, or health packs so you should make sure to beat down the corpses in search for these.
There are also a few good references to specific situations in the first game, some rehashes, reawarding those who have put their time in previous titles and spinoffs of the franchise, but telling you more than this would be walking into spoiler territory.
-Sound: The first game was already incredible in this matter, with full surround, and this one follows suit, with a great orchestral soundtrack, and a track by the incredible Russian Circles.
-Graphics: The Sprawl is filled with detail, from the lights and the incredible outside vistas, to the great architecture of the church, the new suits, and mini boss encounters, all is filled with detail, and the character models are semi realistic, with good enough lip syncing.
-Gameplay: The same refined amalgamut of third person shooter, survival horror, Kinesis and Static, zero gravity based puzzles from the first game return in great shape
OVERALL: While a great sequel in all that matters, it doesn't bring too much improvement, but is essencial for all those who loved the first game.
P.S.: Multiplayer is included but so far it is very hard to find a game through matchmaking.