Review: Dead Space 2 Review!

Posted by: Cinderkin Jan 25, 2011 | 20 comments

Tagged: dead-space-2 review

View all stories by Cinderkin

Dead Space 2 has been released. Is it worth your money? Find out in the Gouki.com Review.

Dead Space 2 developed by Visceral Games and published by EA is a survival horror with a lot going for it. The original Dead Space was a great game, with monsters, creepy corridors, dark rooms, and a true sense of fear. Well Dead Space 2 is all of that and more. How does this 2 disc sequel stack up to its predecessor? Find out in our review below.

Story

With an option to watch previously on Dead Space and find out what happened in the first game, the story in Dead Space 2 starts off slightly confusing. I’m sure that was the point as it’s been 3 years since the first game, and Isaac Clarke is now in a mental hospital strapped down in a strait jacket. Isaac is suffering from hallucinations from some illness and it’s making him see some crazy things, including images of his dead girlfriend Nicole. The last thing he can remember is what happened on the USG Ishimura. Isaac then escapes this hospital once Necromorphs break in. So it’s up to Isaac to survive the outbreak, find out what happened to him, and why these monsters have returned.

Gameplay

The gameplay is very similar to Dead Space. It’s a survival horror so expect to find some general things you’d expect, like saving through save spots scattered throughout the game, low ammo and health items, an inventory system, a sense of fear from what could behind the next door. Like how Resident Evil used to be. Dead Space 2 has five difficulty settings (casual, normal, survivalist, zealot, and hardcore), which allows for pretty much anyone over the age to be able to jump in and enjoy the experience. Hardcore, however, is for the greatest challenge in the game. You only get 3 saves and no continues. All other difficulties are pretty generous with the continues, there is still a fear of dying, but luckily Dead Space 2 is nice enough to restart you fairly close to where you died. The game also has a great tutorial, which allows you to understand what each button does, as well as how everything works. Dead Space 2 isn’t all about just shooting whatever moves, the game rewards players for dismembering body parts such as arms and legs. On the easier settings you can kill an enemy by shooting off both legs in two shots; whereas shooting it in the chest can sometimes take up to 4 or 5 shots. In a survival horror game, ammo preservation is essential. Stomping enemies to death is another way to save ammo and it looks great too.

Visuals

Dead Space 2 looks absolutely great. The level design is exactly what it needs to be, when the game isn’t pitch black and lit up its quite nice to look at. At most times the game is very dark, so dark to the point you’ll need a flashlight just to see straight ahead. The gore in Dead Space 2 is excellent. Severed heads, mangled bodies, monsters gushing blood and guts, and blood stains all across the walls, the blood and gore is some of the best and most disgusting in a game to date. Watching someone commit suicide in a game isn’t for everyone, but for those that don’t mind it will enjoy the visual blood splatter in Dead Space 2. Isaac Clarke also looks visual impressive, which is a good thing. No matter how nice a game looks, if the main character looks bad, well then you’ve just ruined a 3rd person shooter experience. Visceral Games did a nice job here. The lip synching is pretty spot on as well.

Audio

The audio department has its ups and downs in Dead Space 2. The music sets the tone for the environments very well. The voice work for the supporting cast is top notch. The only issue here is within Isaac Clarke. In the original Dead Space Isaac only spoke a few words. This is a good thing. In Dead Space 2 it’s like Isaac is on a talk show or something, he is a chatter box this time around. I assume it was to give him some character and help develop his personality more, which is understandable. The only problem with that is the voice work for Isaac isn’t very good. He always sounds like he’s whispering even when he’s supposed to be yelling, which makes Isaac very hard to hear, while every other spoken voice in the game shines. It’s too bad too, because it’s one of the only things I don’t like about the game.

Online

New to Dead Space 2 is online multiplayer which in my opinion wasn’t needed. Once again EA has tacked on the online pass, which means that if you didn’t buy the game new, or rented it, or borrowed it then you need to pay $10 to play the multiplayer. This is a little ridiculous as the multiplayer in Dead Space 2 is boring and just tacked on. You play as either humans or the Necromorph and it’s basically death match. Which is fine, but after a while it gets old. Not to mention those with higher levels tend to outright dominate the new players. There is no real match making system to produce a fun experience for everyone. So do yourself a favor, if you happen to rent Dead Space 2, or borrow it don’t waste your money on the multiplayer.

Overall Dead Space 2 is exactly what it should have been save multiplayer. It’s fun, it’s scary, it’s bloody, and most importantly it’s a good game. I would recommend anyone who is a fan of the Survival horror genre to play this game. Those who aren’t should give it a try as well. This is a much better game than Dead Space was and that is a great improvement over a great game.

Bottom Line: BUY IT!

Verdict: Buy It