Game Details

Title: Dead Space 2
Developer/Publisher: Visceral Games/Electronic Arts
Game Genre: Survival Horror TPS
Multi-player: 4-8 Player Team Objectives
Age Rating: 18
Length: Medium (6-12 hours for Campaign Completion, 20+ for all achievements)

My Impressions

Having not played the original Dead Space I came into the game knowing very little about the game or universe aside from it was a survival horror game. It was therefore a pleasant surprise when I came to start a game, there was a “previously on Dead Space” option which gave a quick primer on the events of the first game.

Even if I had not watched it the introduction sequence was also a fairly effective way into the game, before a mad tutorial level where all you can do is run for the first few minutes! I found the game itself to be a very dark and tense affair with the gameplay being quite varied, in some parts there was a fairly steady stream of necromorphs, while in others there where none but I felt tense waiting for the next one to jump out and other times where it was a hectic battle against a horde of necromorphs.

While I am not a big fan of horror games I did find DeadSpace 2 enjoyable and only had a few complaints. Firstly most of the time it did not feel like I was on a station with thousands if not millions of people living there and the game did a poor job of getting over how big the sprawl actually was. Secondly I was given no information on why Isaac had a problem with unitologists (who are not at all based on a well known false pseudo-religion) though it became clear soon after that they are not to be trusted.

Moving on to the multiplayer, to me this felt like an afterthought as there is very little to it. It is enjoyable to be able to play as necromorphs but there are only 5 maps and the games are all team objective (human vs necromorphs). While I did enjoy the multiplayer, there are better multiplayer games around.

That being said Dead Space 2 is a welcome diversion during the current drought of AAA games and would be worth a look even if released during a more packed period.

My Recommendation

Buy

With the current lack of major releases Dead Space 2 is a good game to pick up, especially if you are into survival horror games.