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Classic Review: Dead Space 2

Remilia Scarlet

By Remilia Scarlet
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Remilia Scarlet Veteran

Remilia Scarlet

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Dead Space review:

https://psnprofiles.com/forums/topic/31986-retro-review-dead-space/#entry773451


Dead Space Extraction review:

https://psnprofiles.com/forums/topic/31998-classic-review-dead-space-extraction/#entry773859


TERROR HITS HOME.


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Dead Space 2 is a rare game. It's a sequel that takes everything its predecessor did and improved them in every way while adding new elements to the list. I first played Dead Space 2 on PC when it originally released, and unlike the first game's PC port, this one was much more enjoyable, with improved combat and movement controls. It wasn't until the beginning of this year that I got my hands on the Limited Edition PS3 version of the game, which is the version I will be reviewing. Welcome to the Sprawl. Spoilers await.

A New Dimension of Horror

Dead Space 2 takes place three years after the events of the first game. Isaac has been put in an insanity ward on the Titan Station Sprawl due to his ever worsening dementia. Poor Isaac can never catch a break. A new Necromorph outbreak has begun, and Isaac is strapped to a chair. He is freed by a kind soul (who, unfortunately, gets killed by an infector) and told to get the hell out of there. A woman named Daina le Guin offers him help, but Isaac refuses. Left to his own devices, Isaac attempts to escape the ward, but comes to realize he cannot do it on his own. Accepting Daina's offer, he is guided through the Sprawl on a mission to contain the outbreak and escape alive.

Dead Space was a fantastic game. It led you through dark and cramped hallways, all the while forcing you to endure horrific terror. Eerie music and quiet whispering added to the paranoia it fed you. Dead Space 2 took that, turned it on its head and made it even scarier. A fantastic soundtrack adds to the tension, with screeching violin strings, low trombone notes and creepy piano keys. Sweeping, loud orchestras accompany frenetic combat in space and boss fights, and slow tunes join the calmer moments. Top notch voice acting from every character in the game adds to the already amazing production values, Ellie and Isaac in particular.

Dead Space 2 treads ground that few games dare touch. One example is when you first enter the school on the Sprawl. As I passed by a window, I noticed a woman kneeling in the nursery, a baby crawling towards her. The mother encouraged the infant to enter her arms, promising protection from the Necromorphs. I realized too late the baby itself had been infected. As much as I wanted to warn the woman, I could only look on in dread and horror as the infant exploded in her arms, killing itself and the mother. Blood painted the window crimson as both Isaac and I flinched away in shock.


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It's moments like this where Dead Space 2 truly shines.

It's the moments like this where Dead Space 2 truly shines, forcing us into the depths of horror and the depravity of the human condition. It forces us to face the things we would otherwise push aside. Killing children transformed into the things of nightmares, or beheading infants that never had a chance at life. It's the things like this that separate Dead Space from the pile of the monotonous sludge that people call horror.

Wandering around the darkened Sprawl, the lights flickering in their shorted circuits. Opening boxes and crates to find ammo and medical kits to prepare for the next inevitable encounter. The ominous music playing faintly in the background. The tension in Dead Space 2 is constant and relentless. The blood coating the walls and floors serving as a grim reminder of what happened here, the ever-present corpses of innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire, some decomposing, others relatively fresh. You never feel truly safe. When you run low on ammo, or your health is but a single flashing node, you dread the next battle, never sure whether or not you will make it out alive.

Though ammo is plentiful on lower difficulties, it will soon be depleted due to the absurdly large amounts of Necromorphs the game constantly throws at you. You will enter battle after battle after battle on your way to the government sector. The moments of peace are far and few, and are normally reserved for save stations and upgrading/selling and buying equipment. The game rewards series faithfuls who own a save from the first game and Ignition by way of a refurbished plasma cutter (Dead Space) and a hacker RIG (Ignition). If anyone played the iOS game, you will recognize the protagonist's audio logs that can be found in DS2.

The locations in the game are diverse and varied. Players will battle their way through such areas as a shopping center, civilian homes, a school, nursery, government offices, a Unitologist church (more on that in the next paragraph) and even an asteroid mine. The detail is incredible, and the environments beautifully rendered, with shattered glass littering the ground, blood smears on mirrors in the bathrooms, intricate Marker drivel scrawled on the walls, and so forth.

On the subject of the Unitologist church, it has to be one the most spectacular areas of the game. It is huge - no, massive - and rendered with an attention to detail that is unmatched by its peers. Columns line the walkways, modeled after the Black Marker in its design, with curves and angles. Marker symbols can be found throughout the building. Stained glass icons and pictures of the founder of Unitology are also spread about. Unitologist propaganda and holy texts litter the environment. There is a library containing hundreds of books, each with their own title. Posters can be read, and there is even a tour of the history of Unitology (interact with it - it provides a fantastically fleshed-out background to the twisted religion).


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The level of dedication to rendering the church is insane.


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The church provides crucial background as to why the Unitologists want to initiate Convergence.

EVA spacewalks have been greatly improved from the first game.Expanded from more than a simple walk from a vacuum to an oxygenated interior, EVA now includes free floating vacuum exploration and fun puzzles to restore oxygen or escape the vacuum. Players can now freely traverse the vacuum to find power nodes or other equipment. The EVA sections were some of my favorite portions of Dead Space 2 because of this.

Whack-a-Necromorph

It stands to reason that because combat is much more prevalent than in the previous game that Visceral would up the ante on the weapons. And they did. There are ten weapons available in the base game (eleven if you have the refurbished plasma cutter). One of these, the Detonator, which is my favorite of the new weapons, fires a canister that explodes on impact with an enemy, but sprouts a tri-beam vertical laser if it lands on a surface. It results in a hilariously violent instant kill, dismembering all enemies, causing them to explode and fly apart in different directions (doing this twenty times with the laser mode garners a trophy). The alternate firing mode causes the lasers to retract, allowing Isaac to pick up the canister and reclaim it in his inventory. Apart from the standard fare, Isaac is also equipped with a kenisis module, allowing him to pick up most objects and hurl them at enemies or solve puzzles that impede progress. Accompanying the kenisis is the stasis module, which allows Isaac to instantly freeze enemies and certain objects in place. Using these in tandem with the weapons is crucial to survival, as many enemies come at you in swarms.

Throughout Isaac's journey, new Necromorphs will gradually be introduced, ranging from Pukers that spit acidic bile, Brutes - huge bulky Necromorphs that resemble a rhinoceros more than a human, to Necromorphs such as the Tormentor, a colossal monster composed of hundreds of corpses and covered in spines that looks like an armed heavy metal space snake with a fangs.


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Shit.

The boss encounters are frenetic and fast-paced. Being adequately prepared for such encounters is paramount to surviving. Each boss requires a unique strategy to kill them, ranging from an entire battle that is nothing but QTEs (albeit very well-done QTEs) to firing explosive canisters at their face. Either way, Dead Space 2 features some of the most insane boss encounters in gaming, with few equals.

Hardcore Mode amps up the survival experience even further by removing all checkpoints and only allowing three saves the entire game. Ammo and credits are all but gone (read: really frickin' hard to find) and Isaac has to truly scramble to survive. Enemies hit hard and come fast. Death means restarting from the last save, which could potentially mean retracing several hours worth of gameplay. Only play Hardcore if you have a LOT of free time on your hands, as you cannot afford to waste one of your three saves. Hardcore is unlocked by beating the game once on any difficulty from Casual to Zealot.

Taking the Fight Online

I don't remember much of the multiplayer as it's been a very long time and could not find a single match on the PS3, but I will detail what I can remember. Dead Space 2 online pits two teams (engineers vs Necromorphs) against each other on the Sprawl. There are not a lot of maps, but they range from the mines to the living quarters. You have your standard modes such as deathmatch and survival, and a free-for-all mode that pits everyone against each other in a bid to see who can last the longest. It's not a very fleshed-out multiplayer but you can earn XP and level up to unlock new weapons and skins. Honestly, if you can find a match, only the most die-hard devotees will find something here.

The End is Nigh

Dead Space 2 set a new precedent for survival horror games. The depressing and dreary atmosphere unmatched by all but a few games, and the improved combat is fun and satisfying. Killing a tough enemy and curb stomping their body for loot is as satisfying as it gets. Bearing witness to the darkest parts of horror is chilling and unnerving, and the stupendous audio lends a feel that cannot be forgotten soon. Dead Space 2 is a masterpiece of modern horror.

Final Verdict: 10/10 - Masterpiece Edited by AnimeDreama
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Lord_of_Ra Veteran

Lord_of_Ra

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After playing this game relentlessly on 360 and knowing its ins n' outs, I can only say...

 

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Great job! And I totally agree with the baby part. I'm sure it was a curveball some didn't expect.

 

Edit:

Even so, try not to use swear words in a review. It might make some people put it off or lessen some seriousness. Though you only did this once as I think the 'shit' after the image added a needed comic relief to some extent, but the part "(read: really fucking hard to find)" might be a 50/50.

Edited by Lord_of_Ra
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xKrAzY_8sx Contributor

xKrAzY_8sx

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It's a tie between this one and Dead Space 3. I know a lot of people were sorely disappointed with DS3 but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will be posting my Dead Space 3 review on Saturday.

OMG! Thank you finally! Everyone constantly ripped on DS3 and I was beginning to feel like I was literally the only person on the internet who actually enjoyed it! You just made my friggin day! :lol:

 

Also side note: EA should deff revisit this series with the new gen consoles. Can you imagine those effects and how realistic it could look and feel?

Edited by xKrAzY_8sx
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Remilia Scarlet Veteran

Remilia Scarlet

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After playing this game relentlessly on 360 and knowing its ins n' outs, I can only say...

 

3748023.gif

 

Great job! And I totally agree with the baby part. I'm sure it was a curveball some didn't expect.

 

Edit:

Even so, try not to use swear words in a review. It might make some people put it off or lessen some seriousness. Though you only did this once as I think the 'shit' after the image added a needed comic relief to some extent, but the part "(read: really fucking hard to find)" might be a 50/50.

I rhought it over, and I agree. I changed 'fucking' to 'frickin'.

OMG! Thank you finally! Everyone constantly ripped on DS3 and I was beginning to feel like I was literally the only person on the internet who actually enjoyed it! You just made my friggin day! :lol:

 

Also side note: EA should deff revisit this series with the new gen consoles. Can you imagine those effects and how realistic it could look and feel?

Ikrrrr I've been praying since the new gen started that EA/Visceral would announce a new Dead Space, but nothing :( Granted it's only been two years since Dead Space 3 but I REALLY hope Dead Space 4 is in development.

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Lonemankane Enthusiast

Lonemankane

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I like this one a lot more then DS3 for it never was glitchly and was more fun and never had the die at the end of the game glitch that pissed me off to no end but I like the review you done for this one and the first along with the rail shooter one of it, also am sorry I was being a bit of an asshole on the rail shooter review you done of it.

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KillerUni12 Collaborator

KillerUni12

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Also side note: EA should deff revisit this series with the new gen consoles. Can you imagine those effects and how realistic it could look and feel?

THIS, I really wish they'd come back to this, honestly I would totally buy a DS remastered collection, a new game would be appreciated thou
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Auto-Tomato Collaborator

Auto-Tomato

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Great review Anime!  

 

Btw 'kinesis'...if you want to change it.  :P

 

Maybe worthwhile mentioning DS Ignition too, the cheap little story/puzzle game that not only added some background but also made some handy storage rooms available in-game if you have a save like Extraction.

 

My only gripe with DS2 was the needless tacked-on MP, it didn't fit and shouldn't have been there...imo.

 

DS3 was good fun, it was a good game regardless of the criticism, a lot of which was fair, but it all got a bit over-the-top.   Still, I enjoyed it a lot.

 

DS is one of my favourite franchises and the sooner Visceral get back to it the better...providing EA let them do their thing and don't just see figures & revenues.   Would be great to be able to play as Ellie,  and make the various RIGs actually do something again, rather than mostly just a cosmetic.   I understood the need for universal ammo in 3 but the game lost something because of it, as fun as it was to tailor our own weapons.   I know the Visceral team said they are fond of the series and are keen to get back to it so surely DS4 has to happen...sooner rather than later I hope!  :D

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Hemiak Grand Master

Hemiak

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Great read for a great game.

I purchased this because I couldn't get the first one in a sale a couple years ago. Got so hooked on it, that I went to Gamestop and bought the first one the same day I got the play for this one. Finished one, and bought three. I enjoyed three and think it had some of the best writing in the entire series. Is it as scary as the first two? No, but it's a great game in it's own right. I am very eagerly awaiting DS4 at some point.

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