Issac Clarke is in this fantastic sequel that delivers scares and suspense where the first game lacked
Pros -
+ Excellent storytelling
+ Fantastic new enemies to see and kill
+ New weapons and battle techniques makes the gameplay even more satisfying
+ Isaac feels better to move around in Zero Gravity and walking around
+ Isaac has a voice and fits very nicely into the game
+The Sprawl full of fantastic environments that are unique and believable
+Little to no repetitive backtracking
+Scarier than the first Dead Space
Cons -
- Mission progress still the same from the first game - some may not like it
- The last two chapters are gruesome - very hard to get through
- Multiplayer is a hit or miss - depends if you like the Left 4 Dead multiplayer
The original Dead Space was not one of my favorite horror games. While it gave us gamers good gameplay and a solid story with some scares, the overall setting was repetitive and the Necromorphs came in only a couple of versions. But I am glad to say that Dead Space 2 is far more gorier and scarier - I mean that in the best way possible.
It's been three years since we have seen Issac Clarke and he isn't his same old self. He has been on a space station known as the Sprawl. He is interrogated about his trip to the USG Ishumura and has haunting vision of Nicole, his wife who had committed suicide on the ship. Suddenly a man wakes you up and before being turned into a Necromorph himself, he says that Issac is in terrible danger. The mission structure is sort of the same like Dead Space. You receive directions from your comrades and complete objectives. Now some critics don't like the use of the same mission style from the first game. I, on the other hand, welcomed it. Instead being a puppet, Issac can now speak and talk to others throughout the game. This gives more realism to the mission instead of being a puppet. And when chapters end, you don't end on a rail train like the first game so there is little to no backtracking at all.
While he is trying to find the Marker on the Sprawl, Issac is suffering from horrific images of Nicole. He talks to the visions and even finds himself physically being destroyed. One instance Issac has a vision of Nicole trying to stab him with a needle where it was he who was trying to stab himself. Odd but freaky. This is where Dead Space 2 really shines with Issac's overall struggle to overcome the vast images and the destroy the grip the Marker has over him.
The graphics are beautiful in this sequel. Finally the developers gave us different environments to walk through. Whether it's a hospital or a cathedral, everything looks superb. This also helps out the horror aspect of the game. Where the original lacked, the sequel shined. There are different types of Necromorphs and some I really hate to fight. You have the original three tentacle head aliens and the usual walker but there are many others. Stalkers battle like real players in a multiplayer game. They sneak around wait to catch you off guard and then, with extraordinary speed, come after you and knock you down - then they run away before you can attack them. There are also ones that vomit all over you with acid that can slow you down or burn you. Then there are darker versions of the originals where they are more powerful and attack from with great agility. Then my personal favorite which are the little kid Necromorphs. These little bas**rds come from EVERYWHERE and attack you. Now they are very easy to kill (one bullet with the pulse rifle) but they travel in packs and have great speed. They hit you and you loose a lot of health.
Now new enemies come new weapons. You still have the original plasma cutter and pulse rifle and so on but you have some welcomed new ones. The Seeker Rifle is more of a sniper rifle that you can look through a scope (secondary fire), the Javelin impales Necromorphs to walls and hang there and can electrocute nearby enemies (secondry fire), the Detonator shoots mines that set off if the enemy touches them, and the Contact Beam (the bazooka) where one shot destroys one Necromorphs in an instant. You can also push enemies back (Secondary fire). New toys come with new tricks. You can now shoot windows and blow Necromorphs out into space and your stasis refills itself (slowly but surely).
Issac feels better to move around. Unlike the first game, Issac can aim and melee better. The curb stomp in the first game was wonky and was overpowering and could only use it once at a time. Now you can keep on pressing the stomp button and he'll keep on doing it with the usual f-word used. The zero gravity areas are among the vast improvements to Isaac's movement. In the first game you had to aim and press a button to leap towards a wall. That is not the case in Dead Space 2. With the press of a button, Isaac is lifted off the floor and can move around in every direction with a sprinting version to be quick.
The game has an increasing challenge throughout its fifteen chapters. But the last two chapter will make you suffer badly. The difficulty shoots up where you really have to fight for your life to kill everyone in your path with a strategy and ammunition. Ammunition does become scarce in these last two chapters and gamers on Normal should be prepared for a rough ride. You will find yourself going back to shops to buy and reload weapons because Necromorphs come from everywhere. You see a Save Station, check the area first because enemies will be in there. You see a dead body, try to pick it up because I jumped out of my seat when I first went through that.
The game comes with multiplayer and you either love it or hate it. The developers borrowed what Left 4 Dead had in their multiplayer mode. Two teams (one soldier and one necromorph) team up to basically kill eachother. The mode is okay but nothing to really be anxious for.
Dead Space 2 is what the first game should have had. It has scary moments, suspenseful fights, brilliant storytelling, a side story directed towards Isaac and Nicole and the feeling of being in a remarkable Space Station with vast environments to explore. Dead Space 2 is a knockout that should be played two or three times. You can keep all of your equipment from the previous session and start a new game if you wanted to but Dead Space 2 is a must play. I wasn't a fan of the first game but the sequel is fantastic and I can assure you, Dead Space 2 will be on my Game of the Year list of 2011. It's the best game so far this year and anyone should play this game. Buy it, play it, love it, be scared by it, enjoy it.