just a re-hash and short as hell, but it could be worse, considering it's $7 price tag... I guess
Dead Space 2: Severed is a 2 chapter playthrough with Gabe Weller from Dead Space: Extraction and sees him trying to rescue Lexine. There's barely any story in the DLC, but what little there is, at least adds one interesting aspect to the universe, and it does have a nice ending, but like I said, there's barely any story, and it doesn't even explain what happened to McNiell from Extraction either, which is annoying.
For the most part, Severed is a re-hash of the hospital and some of the mining environments from the original game, where you run backwards instead. Smooth. At least, it's not a total rehash, as the game does manage to incorporate a multiplayer map into it all, but only very briefly, and though there are one or two new places, it's just new corridors.
So how long does it take to complete the two chapters? Well... 45 mins after I bought the DLC, I finished it, then additional 20 mins after; I got all of the trophies in it. It's short, and kind of easy. Even worse is, that if you completed the original game on hardcore, you can use the hand canon from the get go. Actually the DLC lacks the Hardcore mode, another disappointment.
In short, despite a good ending and maybe one or two interesting additions to its universe, it's pretty short and just a re-hash. It's a bit disappointing, especially since it doesn't give some closure from Extraction, but at $7, I suppose it could be worse. Could be another Witch Hunt DLC...