the Andrew Bailey

Dead Space 2

Here we go again. Dead Space 2 is just like the last one: a gory corridor shooter. The mechanics, UI, etc. are the same as the first, with some additions. You play as Issac Clark again, but this time, Issac talks. Since that traumatic experience on the Ishimura, he has lots to say.

Screenshot from Dead Space 2, showing a dark hallway

The game starts with Isaac in a daze, reminiscing about his dead girlfriend to what appears to be a psychologist. When a necromorph slices through said psychologist, he snaps out of it, and snaps into the hell unfolding around him. This hell is much like the last one. After having destroyed the alien marker at the end of the last game, he was rescued. But due to the mental instability caused by marker exposure, he became a bit insane. So insane, that he offered useful information on how to build another. By this point (about 2 or 3 years later), a new marker has been built. Did Isaac forget to mention that alien markers are VERY BAD THINGS? (I dug into Dead Space lore, and it turns out that these things aren't new.)

The usual enemies return, with some new ones. Some enemies (pukers) vomit on you, often from a distance. That goo not only damages health, but also slows you down for a few seconds. Near the end, invincible enemies appear. All you can do is saw their limbs off, put them in stasis, and run out of the room, and every room in the last two levels has one of these invincible things in it. I open a door- all clear- nope, one just popped out of the vent. I wondered if it was the same one following me around, but I didn't want to go back, because encountering even one of these is not only frustrating, but expensive. (Do you know how much these saw blades cost?)

Nicole, Issac's dead girlfriend makes a reappearance. She is very angry with Issac, and he blames himself for not saving her. (She died before the beginning of the last game, but, like then, she just can't go away.) I mostly ignored her, figuring it was the marker doing some propaganda.

The armor and weapon types have many variants, each with some minor bonus. This is unnecessary. This spams the store menu with too many items. If those bonuses are useful, why aren't they upgrades? Like last game, there are places where I'm running out of inventory space, only to find out that I've picked up half or quarter clips of ammo for weapons I don't have.

While I possess a license to Dead Space 3 (having something and using it are different), I'm in no hurry to exercise my right to play it. I'd like to play some games that aren't so gruesome. I wanted to have this post out a month or so ago, but about halfway through it got repetitive, and I got bored playing it. Good riddance. Consider this your 'spooky' game this year.

Posted under Gaming. 0 complaints.