Dead Space 2 is a sick twisted tale about regret, suffering, and determination.. well sort of.
You are haunted by your dead girlfriend "Nicole".. she committed suicide in the last game, you feel like you are responsible, and that eats away at you...
You are rudely awakened after a nightmare to a man named "Franco", he attempts to get you out of your straight jacket since everyone thinks you are a loon, and he is interrupted from doing this by what is known as a "Necromorph".
Parasitic Zombie like creatures that infect human beings by killing them and taking control of their corpse, the more people they kill, the more necromorphs there will be, and they will mindlessly continue to do this (like a parasite) until there is nothing left to control.
You start the game by running from the many creatures that chase you, and once you find the captain, he cuts you free and lets you take a flashlight, then shortly after that cuts his own throat, ultimately killing himself..
The game is now in motion, and you will begin your long and gruesome journey through the darkness of Dead Space.
THE DROP DEAD GORGEOUS
Dead Space 2 is unique, and it truly is different than most games I have played, sure the mechanics are a lot like other games out there, but the way things work is much different.
Like the previous Dead Space there is no such thing as a "HUD"/Health, Ammo, Stasis display... All of these things are taken off of your screen and put on your suit, your health is shown by the neon gauge running up your suit's spine, your Stasis display is adjacent to your health, and the amount of ammo you have is shown on your weapon, all of this makes the screen feel a lot less cluttered and lets you enjoy your surroundings without all the indicators getting in the way.
In Dead Space 2, you will kill vicious and disgusting creatures, run from large violent brutes, solve puzzles, fix up the ship here and there, and even kick the limbs off of countless enemies..
Dead Space 2 has a system when it comes to combat that differs from most, instead of your average "Pull the trigger till it stops moving" type of game, your most effective way of killing a creature is by dismembering it with your "Plasma Cutter" or whatever weapon you may be using at the moment, even though you can try to shoot it to death, this strategy is not very effective and uses up too much ammo, and you will find yourself in a crunch very quickly if you try to approach the game that way, while dismembering enemies takes them out much faster, and also slows them down when they are in pursuit of you.
The graphics are truly something else, everything is textured down to every detail, it makes everything feel that much more shockingly real, and it makes the game a very neat thing to stare at.
Isaac's movements are very lifelike, the way he walks with a slight hesitance when you hear a sound, and always look around to make sure nothing is creeping up... even down to when your health is lower, if it is slightly lowered by an enemy then he will walk with a slight limp, but if he takes a substantial amount of damage, he will wheeze, and breathe heavily limping and dragging himself along slowly.
Everything feels very murky and eerie... and it does a great job of making you feel a bit insecure.
PROBLEMS IN SPACE
The game is repetitive 50% of the time, and after about the first three encounters, you can pretty much assume where and when a necromorph is going to just "pop out of nowhere", the combat doesn't ever change, its the same problems in different places, walk into a room, kill some space zombies, exit the room... walk into a room, kill some baby space zombies, exit the room... this is pretty much the cycle you go through for the most part, except when they try to surprise because instead of a room, sometimes things get spiced up, and you walk into a corridor, kill some space zombies, and exit the corridor.. you will continue to do this in rooms, corridors, nurseries, classrooms, elevators, etc.
Overall the AI for the creatures is very weak at most times, making it easy to defeat them, they will simply walk, run, crawl, or jump at you without ceasing, and until they are killed they will never try to flank, dodge, trick, or avoid you no matter what, they will try to be right in your face, until the moment you end them.
Sometimes debris can become frustrating, for example, you can be out of ammo, running from some creatures, a couple small boxes lie in your way, you will not be able to get past or over them at any cost, and even though you should be able to easily just hop right over these 2 to 3 foot tall boxes, you can't thus its an "invisible wall" without being an invisible wall..
The voice actors are good for the most part, but at times it is obviously corny, and sounds canned where it actually sounds like someone reading a script, instead of someone actually saying this because they are actually afraid.
Overall its a good game, a very good game, not scary really in my opinion, maybe a few jumps towards the beginning, besides that everything is very predictable and repetitive..
PARENTAL ADVISORY
Dead Space 2 is rated M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language.
Where do I even begin?
I could have you reading this review for about at least a good hour just to explain have of the things that make this game so.... well mature.
But I will spare you from any boring rants, and just cut right to the chase..
There is dismemberment, decapitation, impaling, hacking, shooting, slicing, munching, snapping, ripping, squishing, melting, suffocating, suicide, exploding, filleting, riddling, crushing... and most of all... KICKING.
There is more blood, gore, disturbing content, and mangled corpses in this game, then any other game I have played I think.
As I have explained dismembering enemies is key, which calls for a lot of squirting and spurting, people are killed which calls for a lot of mutilating and melting, and necromorphs range from what seems like deformed rotten naked women to bulging glowing bloody infants..
One level has you in an elementary school, where you will kill countless zombified children and babies.. and the nice nursery music playing while this happens doesn't make things any better.
Like I said I could go on and on about how much violence is packed into this game and it would simply just take too long.
I will not forget to mention that you loot enemies and corpses by kicking them, with your superhuman feet that dismember them with every kick, it just creates a bloody mess that is piled on to another bloody mess..
If you have any sort of issues with gore getting to your stomach, violence bothering you to the slightest degree, or if you are disturbed by killing small children that are trying to eat you alive, its probably best if you take my word for it when I say that this game is probably not for you.
Language is infrequent but strong, the words F**k, Sh*t, Damn, Hell, Cr*p, and other assorted mild profanities are used throughout the game, but only in particular situations.
As in the horrors and terrors of this game, I think its honestly over-rated when it comes to how scary it actually is.. to me this game was not very startling even let along terrifying, but for those who are very paranoid or have issues with the dark, I could see how this might give you a good scare or two.
The game is less horrifying then it is disturbing, like watching a mutated infant crawl into a living human mother's arms, only to explode and send her flesh sliding down the window from which you were watching..
I'd have to say the only thing that slightly disturbed me was having to kill a bunch of kids... just seemed a little messed up for my taste.. but overall very well made game..
This is not a game for kids, not a game for adults that get scared easily, not a game for anyone who has a weak stomach no matter what age they are..
But if you want a good, unique, and creepy experience, this might be a good option... otherwise, best to just keep looking.
Thanks for reading my review, tell me what you think...
-ARBALON