The original Dead Space (2008) was one of the first fear inducing survival horrors that I had played this generation.
It has gone on to become a successful franchise spawning animated movies, mobile games, prequels and sequels.
The latest iteration in this franchise is Dead Space 2; direct sequel to Dead Space Ignition - a PSN and XBL title, and follows on from the plot started in Dead Space where the Necromorph onslaught had begun.
Dead Space 2 stars Isaac Clarke, the protagonist from the original instalment, but this time with a voice!
This helped me enjoy the game drastically more as it added new layers of depth to the character, especially as he fights dementia alongside the Necromorphs and it was a huge improvement to hear Isaac, a now more developed character, respond to the chaos as opposed to his previous head clutching, leg bending and various other mute expressions.
Isaac is now on a new ship called The Sprawl which is fitted with a nursery, a hospital ward, docking stations, etc, most of which you will venture in to as you delve further into the game.
First I'm going to talk about the characters that are a lot more fleshed out then I thought they would have been after playing Dead Space, which had pretty dull characters for the most part.
From the original Dead Space we have Isaac and his now deceased girlfriend, Nicole, who are both much more fleshed out and noteworthy as characters in this sequel.
I like the humanity to Isaac and little things such as him swearing when you stomp on an enemies' corpse long and his internal struggle with Nicole from the events of the first game - this made me sympathise with Isaac so much as I just felt so sorry for him and the situations he has been in.
The story keeps its pacing extremely well but it's definitely not for the squeamish as there are some rather nasty sights and situations in later parts of the game as well as the very beginning where you witness a close up and full-on Necromorph transformation.
New characters who are worth noting are Ellie Langford, Nolan Stross and Hans Tiedemann.
Hans Tiedemann plays the role of the main antagonist who sends people to kill you so word about the necromorph onslaught doesn't get out.
Ellie is one of the few survivors of the Necromorph attack and will help you on your journey to escape the Sprawl whilst also trying to exterminate the Necromorphs once again.
Nolan Stross is the character Isaac is most relatable to however as he is also suffering from Dementia because of exposure to the Red Marker, a device which holds an important role in the Dead Space universe, just like Isaac.
These characters are all rather well fleshed out but Isaac steals the spotlight and will be the one that you'll remember after the game's ending and the one you will care for the most in the journey.
The gameplay has been tweaked and improved whilst keeping the basics and structure from the original.
New things have been added this time round such as being able to crawl through certain vents and being able to fly where you like in zero gravity zones rather than having only certain spaces to jump to.
Melee attacking feels much smoother and satisfying than it did in the first one, especially stomping on an enemy and watching its limbs fall off.
The only thing I can really fault is that if you are surrounded, the slower turning around can hinder you and get you killed depending on the enemy and your life.
The graphics are a big step up from any other Dead Space title so far.
The one thing about the graphics that sticks in my mind is how good the RIG now looks, where as it used to look quite flat and unrealistic, it now looks like a proper rounded tube which makes it easier to see how much health you have left.
Everything looks better now though, especially facial and character animations and Necromorph animations.
Gone are the days of the clunky Isaac stomp from the original Dead Space and now everything is a lot smoother and done with much more enthusiasm.
The lighting is stunning and really allows the game to become the horror game it claims to be, with several rooms having flickering lights which affect the shadows of the items in the room, keeping you constantly on edge for another attack.
All cutscenes in the game, bar the very first one recapping the events of the original game, are in-game and all look spectacular although characters do not look as polished as characters in games such as Uncharted 2, but still look very good all the same.
The audio for this game isn't anything too special as there aren't many pulse-pounding tracks included and everything is rather slow and orchestral.
The tracks are really good and keep in tone with the game, it's just that it acts on being a horror game but forgets to give you more fast tempo tracks to keep up with the bigger battles in the game.
Whilst walking through the corridors however, the score will have you looking carefully around each corner and it compliments the flicking lights, shadows and various other pieces extremely well.
The voice acting is also a step up especially as more characters have it, most notably Isaac, and you can hear the fear and worry in their voices and the more heartfelt scenes that are experienced in the game.
All of these merge perfectly together to create a great horror experience, even if it does feel like the scares sometimes rely on things jumping out at you rather than atmosphere.
The human characteristics that are better displayed this time round also make it scarier, with characters reacted more realistically to sounds and situations which is shown mostly through animations and the spectacular voice acting.
Multiplayer can be considered hit or miss but I quite enjoy it as I like team focused games.
There are five game modes and they all consist of four humans versus four Necromorphs and AI Necromorphs although the AI Necromorphs die much quicker than player controlled ones.
There's a levelling system like many multiplayer games and as you progress higher up the chain, you unlock new suits and weapons and upgrades for Necromorphs such as longer range damage and melee damage. You can also unlock viral suits by killing other people whilst they are wearing them such as a Visceral Games employee.
I found the replayability for this title to be outstanding, especially with the newly introduced multiplayer and the huge challenge of completing 'Hard Core' mode - a mode that only allows you 3 saves and is of a higher difficulty level - and when you begin a new game + you are able to find new costumes and have access to new weapons you could not have gotten during your first run-through the game.
Also going through to collect audio logs you may have missed allows you to get more insight on the story and of other characters for those really interesting in the Dead Space universe or if you are a completionist!
Also, for those Trophy and Achievement lovers out there, the Platinum and 1000GS respectively are not too hard to achieve if you can manage Hard Core mode.
All scores out of 10, I would give:
Story: 9
Characters: 9
Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 8
Audio: 8
Replayability: 9
Overall: 9
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