Grade: A-
Blood, guts and more severed limbs than an amputee ward; welcome to Dead Space 2.
Visceral Games' second voyage into the foreboding black doesn't disappoint, and when you're following on the coattails of one of the best survival horror games to ever grace consoles, that's no small feat.
The game picks up three years after the events of the original Dead Space and wastes no time throwing you into the gory mayhem. As the game opens, protagonist Isaac Clarke finds himself trapped in a strait jacket with dozens of necromorphs (grotesquely mutated humans) wanting nothing more than to rip him limb from bloody limb.
Players soon find out that Clarke has been under observation on the Sprawl, a space station located on one of Saturn's moons, for the past three years. Apparently witnessing the death of a few hundred civilians in the first installment did quite a number on Clarke's mental state.
Once Clarke discovers that the item responsible for creating the necromorphs in the first game, known as the marker, has been rebuilt on the Sprawl, he sets out to destroy it and end his nightmare once and for all.
Make no mistake; this game is not for the faint of heart. Wandering through the dark and narrow corridors that make up much of the game's setting can be a tense and frightening experience for even the most experienced player.
Fortunately, Clarke is given several tools to help keep players from becoming necromorph chum. Unfortunately, the only way to kill your enemies is to sever all their limbs.
First up is Clarke's arsenal of weapons. Whereas the original Dead Space only featured a handful of guns, Dead Space 2 ups the ante with new weapons like the Javelin gun, which launches large spikes into your attackers, and the pulse rifle, with its nuke grenade attachment.
Firepower alone won't be enough to keep you from becoming a pulpy mess, though. In addition, Clarke is given kinesis; a tool that allows him to move objects without actually touching them. One of the best uses of this power is to cut off a foe's arm, then use kinesis to impale him with it and give a whole new meaning to the phrase "stop hitting yourself."
Lastly, there is stasis. This armor addition allows players to hit necromorphs and other objects with a beam in order to slow them down.
When you mix all of these aspects together, what you're left with is addictive, creative and frenzied firefights that never play out the same way twice. As a result, Dead Space 2 possesses a very high replay value that makes sure you get the most bang for your buck.
What makes Dead Space 2 the heart-pounding adventure it is, though, is the scarcity of the enemies throughout. While there is no shortage of dismembering goodness to be had, the game doesn't throw enemy after enemy at you. By keeping the encounters spread out and sudden, the game is able to keep you at the edge of your seat from start to finish.
Traversing cramped passageways and cutting off limb after limb isn't all there is to do throughout the game, however. Dead Space 2 is able to keep things fresh by implementing several puzzles into the gameplay. They may not be the toughest brainteasers ever, but they're a welcome respite from the running and gunning, especially when they're mixed with a zero gee atmosphere that allows players to move in an unrestricted fashion.
Graphically, Dead Space 2 is a gorgeous game. From the detail on Clarke's armor to the breathtaking vistas of the Sprawl from outer space, this is one of the best-looking games in a long time.
While the campaign may be the main appeal for fans of the Dead Space series, Visceral Games did decide to throw in a multiplayer game type this time around. One team takes on the role of humans with an objective and the other team plays as the necromorphs and tries to stop the humans. It may not top multiplayer juggernauts like Halo or Call of Duty, but that doesn't mean it isn't a bloody good time, filled with more slashing and hacking than a Rob Zombie film.
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