Reviews// Dead Space 2

As you progress further though, it becomes less about the scares and more about the shooting. It’s a welcome change of pace and one that should have been explored with a few other moments in the game. The first four or five elevators you get in will always lose their lights and the fear or tension that was initially built is lost very quickly.

Seeker and you shall Destroy
The shooting feels a lot tighter and schematics for weapons require a bit more exploration than before. The weapons feel pretty much the same though the Line gun appears to have a lot more clout. New additions to the armoury include:

The Javelin gun, which shoots out spears and impales enemies to the walls.

The Detonator creates a wired barrier which, once tripped, will explode any necromorph to smithereens. Plus, if it doesn’t get used then you can just pick it back up.

The Seeker rifle adds sniping support.

There are also weapons from other Dead Space games, like Extraction or the animated movie, Downfall.

Although you should remember the red cylinders that could be propelled into enemies to set them on fire, there are now blue cylinders that put anything it touches into stasis. This is a real life saviour when you have a whole pack of necromorphs on your back.

Puzzling
Another new feature is the change in how zero gravity works. In the first game, Issac used to have to jump from one section to the other, which made those levels a tad more laborious than they needed to be. Zero gravity in Dead Space 2 allows Issac to freely fly around.

You can boost your speed, grab objects with kinesis as well as put objects into stasis, should you need to. This adds a whole new dynamic to the puzzles you take part in and it’s a real shame the devs didn’t play around with it some more. The puzzles are a lot easier in comparison to Dead Space, offering no real challenge to the game.

The ‘Store’, ‘Bench’ and ‘Save’ system work almost identically to the original. The Store has had a small make-over and weapon upgrading has been tweaked. In fact, apart from a few changes in the controls, the game should be an easy pick up for those who enjoyed the previous game.

The giant new environment takes a little to adjust to. In the previous game the Ishimura allowed you to return to levels again and again. This time around, The Sprawl - the space station you wake up on - spans out so much that you’ll only return to see a few small sections again.

Conclusion
It’s tough to decide whether or not Issac’s dramatic makeover has improved or ruined Dead Space 2. An enjoyable story is there to be explored, the characters other than Issac feel very dynamic and weave comfortably into the story being told. There are enough twists and turns to keep you on your feet but when it comes to Issac talking then it’s something that you’re just going to have to get used to. Like it or not, the change has been made and there’s no turning back for Visceral Games.
SPonG Score: 90%