For a long while I've been an avid fan of the Resident Evil series, and while it's always carried the torch for being the elite gaming horror, over the past couple outings however its taken a more testosterone injected approach. Since Dead Space has stepped onto the scene, and now the bone chilling follow up, I have no other choice but to crown Dead Space the current survival horror champion. It has proved itself and much more, by telling a tale of absolute terror, and putting the player in direct control of it all.
This game is downright creepy, which should be no surprise to anyone familiar with the series. The shear sense of isolated chaos is astounding, again you will feel trapped in an all consuming nightmare that doesn't not let you forget any second of your play through.
Isaac Clarke, engineer and unsung average Joe hero returns, but this time with a voice and a more well developed scope of what kind of character Isaac is. The story lends itself to creating a protagonist the gamer can appreciate and enjoy playing as, with a greater sense of who he is, and the plight he is dealing with. However due to the events of the first game, leading up to the second has proven to be a strain on his mental stability (can you really blame him?) so not only are you going to be battling the mutated human turned necromorphs this time, but battling with Isaac's dwindling sanity as well.
Dead Space has always reminded me of a blending of Event Horizon and John Carpenter's The Thing, and in this helping, the horrific hits keep coming, there is countless straight up creepy set pieces this game has that really help paint the bloody disturbing scene, and it really is not an over dramatization that their advertising campaign was geared solely on how much your mother will hate this game. Every step of the way the boundaries are pushed and the developers really go out of their way to make sure you have the most uncomfortable and disturbingly epic piece of video game possible, with that being said, prepare to see and experience new and insane corners of this Visceral IP.
There is action sequences that propel you into the next area or series of events, which will literally have your jaw dropped and saying to yourself "how the hell did I just do that?" They are perfect slivers of cinema action horror scenes that have you in the charge of the outcome, there is no letting up here, you may think you're still watching part of a movie, only to realize that you need to be participating in the mayhem that is presented to you. Don't let your guard down, not even for a second.
The graphics are stunning, seeing how most of the game takes place in the shadows, and at certain times in complete darkness, there is still no skimping on the detail of every piece of cold steel paneling in this game. Character animations, necromorphs, and floating in space, it all looks visually stimulating, every corner is finely detailed.
There is some noticeably advanced tweaks to the system on this run, the shooting mechanics feel smoother, despite still having to run in circles during battle to ensure you don't get impaled from behind. Zero gravity has changed dramatically allowing to freely move around zero grav environments with finesse and style using boosters on the bottom of your feet to weave around to your destinations. Most everything else has been transferred over from the first, your rig and statis, with some new modifications to older weapons as well as new entries to weaponry and armor.
Audio cues and music help really bring this nightmare altogether. The layered whispers coming from the walls, the clanging of metal in the shadowed distance, the bleeps of surrounding advanced technology and the foreboding dark soundtrack will firmly plant you in the terrifying setting that is Dead Space.
I can't really say too much bad about this haunting space epic, the constant state of suspense and never knowing what is behind each corner or what will spring out of the vent above is still present. I still feel too defenseless to enemies that come bursting through vents behind me while I'm plugging away at the guy in front of me, something on your rig should be able to better detect enemy lifeforms in your vicinity instead of always having to be blindly manhandled in the middle of a fight you think you're winning. And as the game inches towards the finale, the difficulty and mass hysteria of what is happening on screen only gets heightened.
Despite it's endless swarm of necromorphs aiming to tear you apart, and the game's overwhelming suspenseful grip on your nervous system, this outing is one wild and crazy ride. Heavy on the emphasis of crazy, Dead Space 2 is clutch white knuckle gaming at its finest.
9.5/10.0
image from g4tv.com
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