Dead Space 2 Xbox 360 review
Visceral games, bless them, have given you a plasma cutter and a space station chock full of alien death-cult uglies to strategically dismember, what are you going to do about it?
In 2008 Visceral games brought us Dead Space, an ambitious and unique survival-horror and first person shooter set on the enormous planet-cracking spaceship; the U.S.S Ishimura. The game was original in the fact that it presented players with not only a great a looking, beautifully lit and decidedly eerie environment, but also the challenge of having to dismember foes instead of opting for the traditional headshot.
The game centered on silent protagonist Isaac Clarke, an engineer sent to investigate the Ishimura. This led to that and it quickly became clear that the Ishimura’s new tenants are not your run of the mill space alien zombie things, no sir, these guys needed to be cut, literally, limb from limb to get them to stay down. Luckily you had your trusty mining tools/guns to help you cut them down to size.
Dead Space 2 is set a few years after the events of the original, with Isaac waking up from a coma inside a massive space-station called The Sprawl. Right from the start it becomes clear that an outbreak has occurred and the station is overwhelmed, what isn’t clear is how and why this has happened. Just a few minutes after starting your game, you are immediately thrust into an intense opening sequence with necromorphs jumping out from all around you, and just to add a little spice to the whole running for your life thing, you’re wearing a straight jacket. Trust me, you do not want to wear a straight jacket when necromorphs are lurking about, just ask Isaac Clarke, I died twice during this sequence alone. It sets the mood perfectly right from the start.
The game’s plot revolves around the alien artifact known as The Marker, and Isaac’s place in its construction, there’s also the matter of Isaac’s girlfriend Nicole who died on the Ishimura and continually haunts Isaac. The story is a gripping one, if a bit confusing at times and lacking the sheer gravitas of the original. The game’s pacing is pretty smooth, although it does fall just a bit flat during the middle sequence where the opening sequence and climatic finale really stand out. Isaac feels less like a voiceless pawn, and more like an honest to goodness sci-fi action hero, albeit an action hero suffering from dementia.
Everything about Dead Space 2 feels bigger and better. Where the original was all about claustrophobic spaces and stressful moments, the sequel’s got more action, more confidence, bigger spaces and is filled to the brim with holy sh*t moments, all with a heavy dose of continuous terror. There’s also a generous amount of puzzles to be solved, these are mostly logical and involve using your telekinesis to put power supplies in place or move obstacles out of the way but on more than one occasion you have to hold a corpse in front of a security scanner so you can get access to a room.
Just like its predecessor, Dead Space 2 doesn’t do HUD’s, instead your health meter is on the back of your rig, along with your stasis (you use this to slow enemies down), and your current ammo count is shown above your weapon. This might not be a new thing but it definitely helps in keeping the immersion.
Isaac really feels like he’s had some experience in necromorph slaying, like this isn’t the first time he’s had to use a plasma-cutter for this less than routine, but infinitely cooler, function. Faster melee and stomping are small but noticeable improvements, which is great because you’ll be doing a whole lot of stomping. The focus on action and cinematic set-pieces doesn’t subtract from the fear factor at all however, and while the game environment is more open and dynamic it still retains the oppressively claustrophobic creepiness of its predecessor.
The Sprawl is a very interesting setting, and offers some great variety in terms of game environments. A massive church of Unitology, the spookiest pre-school ever, and a hospital from hell are but a few of the incredibly detailed areas on offer here.
The game’s numerous zero-gravity areas are worth mentioning here. There’s one scene in the game where you have to turn the artificial gravity off, as soon as you flick the switch all the debris that was lying on the ground drifts upwards very surreally. It’s really something to see bodies and body parts drifting slowly around you as you maneuver Isaac through these environments. Moving around in zero-g is a bit different this time around, where the original Dead Space had you aiming at where you wanted to land and then jump to that location, Dead Space 2 allows full 360 degree movement.
The plasma-cutter, line-gun, ripper, and pulse rifle all make their return, and there’s also a few new toys for Isaac to play with this time around. The javelin gun shoots electric javelins that can impale baddies to walls and then electrify them, and the proximity-mine launcher is very handy for setting up perimeters. A little bit more emphasis has been put on using your telekinesis and loads of conveniently placed spiky rods are lying around to impale baddies with when you’re out of ammo, there’s nothing quite like impaling a necromorph with its own arm.
There are also a couple of spiffy new suits for Isaac to wear, each offering its own little perk, like a vintage suit that gives you a ten percent discount at the store. As always your weapons and rig can be upgraded with the power nodes scattered across the sprawl, spend them wisely because you’ll never have enough to upgrade everything completely. Luckily there’s the New Game + option, which allows you to start a new game while keeping your current load-out and upgrades.
New necromorph types also make their debut, like the stalker; this faster and smarter kind of ugly will actually attack and then retreat, using the environment for cover and sneaking around to ambush you. Most necromorph types just sort of charge and flail at you, but the stalker really shows how the A.I can shine. Another new addition is the Pack, these pint-sized necromorphs may be weak individually but when they come at you in numbers, and they will, they can cause heavy damage. The necromorphs in general make for excellent enemies, I mean seriously, anything that keeps coming at you after you shot its head, legs and arms off, crawling on its bloody freakin stumps, deserves a tip of the hat.
Dead Space 2 is a great looking game, the lighting in particular is incredible, and the amount of detail put into the environments really brings the Sprawl to life. The high-quality sound is essential to the immersion, and while the voice acting is a bit of a hit and miss affair, the sound effects are very well done. The single player campaign can take you anything between 8 and 12 hours to complete, depending on how much exploring you do. There’s also a surprisingly fun multiplayer aspect to the game in which teams are split into human and necromorph groups, so if you have Xbox LIVE you can strategically dismember your friends online, which is a whole new kind of fun.
All in all Dead Space 2 is definitely a must-play, especially if you were a fan of the original or any survival-horror first-person-shooter set on massive space-stations with alien- artifact- crazy zombie mutants and industrial power tool weaponry. It’s an intense, disorientating and beautiful ride that does just about everything right. Turn off the lights, have a fresh pair of underpants at hand, and get ready to learn a thing or two about anatomy, dead space style.
GOOD
- Looks great
- Sounds great
- Immersive
- Awesome story
NOT SO GOOD
- Falls a little flat during the middle sequence
- Quick-turn would’ve been appreciated
9.0
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