REVIEW: Dead Space 2

In 2008, Dead Space was released to great critical and commercial success. The seamless blend of survival-horror, action, and cinematic beauty offered an experience that many games before it attempted to create, and many after attempted to emulate. Fast forward to 2011, and the release of the long awaited Dead Space 2. Eager to prove the series has staying power, does Dead Space 2 hit its Marker, or will it be torn apart by its inner demons?

Overview
Set three years after the events of the original, Dead Space 2 kicks off following the events of Dead Space: Ignition -- a Dead Space 2 preorder bonus -- with Isaac Clarke held captive in the Sprawl, a city on Saturn's moon of Titan. Isaac is immediately thrust into overwhelming odds as the Necromorphs have returned in full force, and they're still pissed. As if the events aboard the USG Ishimura weren't enough, as soon as our straitjacket bound hero is set free from his mind-mining captors, his Marker induced visions, coupled with Titan's either deranged or untrustworthy survivors, puts Isaac into a shitstorm even more dire than previously experienced.

Gameplay
Dead Space veterans know what to expect in Dead Space 2. The original was well presented, well executed, and damn near flawless. There were a few nagging issues with the controls and presentation, which have been dealt with accordingly. The inventive and intuitive RIG system remains, and like the controls, has been smoothed out a bit to streamline the experience, never at all feeling invasive or distracting, leaving plenty of screen real estate for you to relish in dismembering necromorphs, and vice versa.

Speaking of dismemberment, it happens. A lot. The swiftest way to dispose of your enemies, are to shoot off their limbs. And of course, as your spine-mounted health bar depletes, you will get torn apart and suffer many unfortunate deaths. The game is easy to pick up and get the hang of, but there's still a measure of difficulty if only in the sheer number of enemies that have a tendency to jump poor Isaac when he's low on health items and ammo. And if you don't find yourself dying often, you may want offer yourself to the Necromorph threat, so to be treated to the bounty of overly-graphic -- and overly-awesome -- death sequences that Visceral put such time and detail into.

One of the biggest departures from the original is the fact that the the formerly mute Isaac appears to have been bitten by the chatter-bug, resulting in a better look into his deeply troubled psyche. If Isaac hadn't finally been granted a voice, it may have been slightly harder to understand the personal hell that envelopes him. Though Isaac's voice is a welcome addition, it unfortunately felt as if the script was lacking, and the chemistry between Isaac and his companion Ellie seemed forced and unnatural.

Online multiplayer extends the 7-9 hours of gameplay found in a normal playthrough. Though multiplayer seems to be a direct lift of Left 4 Dead's online component, Dead Space 2 puts its own spin on things, enough to make it feel fresh and original. The objective based combat has a group of four human engineers working as a team to complete a set of tasks that further the winning conditions, while a group of 4 Necromorphs -- all of which are also found in the single player mode -- have to do whatever they can to stop the engineers. And by whatever they can, I mean shreadding human bodies. Leveling up to unlock different suits and weapons is a token in all multiplayer gametypes these days, and it's more of the same in Dead Space 2 to keep you coming back even after you've completed the campaign and new game +.

EA Games has already announced two sets of downloadable content to help extend your hours with Dead Space 2, the first of which is named Severed, where you take control of the protagonist from series prequel Dead Space: Extraction, whose current tale runs parralel to Isaac's. No release date or pricing information has been announced, but at least owners of the game can feel relieved knowing that content is on the way to keep the disc chambered in your console.

Art Design
Dead Space 2 is a beautifully designed and detailed piece of work. Ambiance is one of the key forces of immersion in the Sprawl, with a collection of carefully crafted creepiness to catch your glowing visor. From the immersive lighting, the panoramic views out of the closest window, or the minute details of blood splattered around Unitology writing, there's plenty to keep you occupied when you're not busy scanning the environment for Necromorphs.

Examine a slain Necromorph or Sprawl citizen and you'll notice great detail in each of their bodies lacerations, so much that Visceral Games may have had a house doctor advising them on how one's innards would look after facing the fury of a fully spec'd line gun. Many weapons are held over from Dead Space, with a few new additions that are nicely designed, but have varying usefulness.

There isn't a wide variety of suits to be found during your first playthrough, but what you will find is greater in both presentation and variation than the suits of the first Dead Space. There's a security suit for those who want to look like the Sprawl's Finest, and even an old school space suit for anyone who wants to go Buzz Aldrin on the nearest Spitter. Many enemies are held over from the original, with little more than a cosmetic tweak. The new enemies are as disturbing looking as they are a pain in the ass to deal with, which I suppose is a backhanded compliment to the design team.

Sound Design
Oddly, the sound takes a bit of a backseat to both the action and the art of Dead Space 2. There's the voice acting, which is off and on. The casting is good, but sometimes the delivery is all wrong or the interaction just seems off-kilter, but I guess that can be attributed to the writing. The only time I ever really took note of the sound, was in situations when it's been purposely used to fuck with the player's head, and in that respect, it works incredibly well. On many occassions, random audio cues such as enemy groans, and scary symphonic hits caused me to examine my immediate surroundings in a life-fearing panic, sometimes justifiably, but most times not. Fucking with my head, I tell ya.

The fact that a lot of the sound flew under the radar for most of Dead Space 2 actually compliments the entire experience. Again, the name of the game is ambiance, so the sound is there when it helps adds to the immersion, and it's absent when it should be.

Conclusion
Dead Space 2 does exactly what it set out to do, which is continue the tradition of twisted, survival-horror action the original Dead Space set the stage for. There are nods to other parts of the Dead Space lore -- the last few chapters blew my mind -- which will keep anyone who's a series historian amused, but even if Dead Space 2 is your first experience with Visceral Games' visceral game, you will not be disappointed.

While the story doesn't really pick up until the second half of the tale, the action doesn't often find itself at a standstill, and when it does, you can expect a Necromorph to be creeping up behind you, ready to shove a sharpened limb up your ass.

Buy it if: You've always wanted a Resident Evil 4/Alien/Silent Hill/Max Payne mashup, you miss the survival horror genre
Don't buy it if: You're squeamish, scare easily, or are a mother
The Score: 8 outta 10 Blasters!