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+ PROS:
+ Improved weaponry, armor, etc.
+ Even more ways to kill Necromorphs
+ Extra difficulty modes of Zealot and Hard Core
+ Extra game "Dead Space: Extraction" included
CONS:
Has a "been there, done that" feeling
Scare factor is diminished with repeated play-throughs
Multiplayer can be very frustrating
PLOT:
Dead Space 2 takes place three years after the conclusion of the previous game. Isaac Clarke, our hero, has been reduced to an asylum patient in The Sprawl. Before long, he escapes his confinement and discovers yet another plot by the Unitologists to use him and his Marker-infected mind.
Using his wits, his trusty plasma cutter and some strategic dismemberment, Isaac starts on another journey to eliminate as many Necromorphs as he can.
GAMEPLAY:
As before, we take control of Isaac in a 3rd person, over-the-right-shoulder view. As the game progresses, various weapons and schematics can be found. We can also find power nodes for weapon upgrades, armor upgrades, and more.
We're not confined to the Ishimura anymore, and Isaac has different objectives to complete each level. There isn't as much emphasis on puzzle-solving as we had in the first game...this was dialed back, and the amount of firefights with Necromorphs has clearly increased.
Though it's been 3 years since the last game, Isaac remembers that shots to the body only stun, and even decapitations are ineffective...and in some cases, make Necromorphs more dangerous. He's ready to strategically dismember each enemy until there's nothing left but a bullet-riddled mess.
A power-up called STASIS can be used to freeze Necromorphs while Isaac uses them for target practice/dissection, and another power-up called KINESIS can bring objects to Isaac or hurtle them away with lethal velocity. I LOVED the tweak in gameplay where Isaac can use kinesis to rip a bladed arm off a dead Necromorph, and impale another enemy against the wall with it. This is also a great way to save ammunition.
Players still have the in-game store to buy and sell items; and the upgrade Benches are back to maximize effectiveness for weapons and armor. There's been an additional tweak: if you spend 5000 credits, you can remove all the power nodes from one weapon and assign them to another.
Mercifully, the game still spoon-feeds us objective locations, store locations and save points by using the R3 button.
Dead Space 2 also increased the number of zero-gravity areas, where Isaac can jump off the floor and use suit thrusters to propel him towards his objective.
When you play through this game on the easier settings, you might think you've got it made. However, when you try playing on Zealot mode, that's where you have to carefully plan out each attack so you don't run out of ammunition. Hard Core mode cranks the difficulty level up for seasoned players...you can only save 3 times across the 15 levels of gameplay, and there are no checkpoints. If you die, you go back to your last save point.
MULTIPLAYER:
This is a new addition to Dead Space. These are team-based matches, which last 2 rounds. You can play a Necromorph trying to keep a team of humans from reaching their tactical goals, or you could be a human trying to cleanse a path through a vicious pack of Necromorphs.
HOW ABOUT THAT EXTRA GAME, DEAD SPACE: EXTRACTION?
This was a VERY pleasant surprise. A port from the Nintendo Wii, Extraction takes place prior to the events of the first Dead Space game, and it's played in a first person rail-shooter view. If you don't have a Playstation Move controller, the game can still be played with a DualShock controller. However, since there's virtually no lag while shooting with the Move, that's what I prefer using.
There are 10 levels to play, and there's a large replay value because of all the extra powerups and trophies you can earn. If you're on the fence about buying Dead Space 2, I think this additional game will tip your scales to the "purchase" side. You're basically getting 2 full games for the price of one.
TROPHIES:
Trophy lovers, now is the time to REJOICE. Dead Space 2 has 51 trophies to earn (8 more if you purchase the DLC pack), and Dead Space Extraction offers 48 additional trophies.
Many of the trophies are earned for completing chapters of the game, using certain weapons to kill Necromorphs, and so forth.
Without a doubt, the hardest trophy to earn is to complete the game on the "Hard Core" difficulty setting. You can only save 3 times throughout the course of the entire game. Your skills will be pushed to the ultimate limits, as well as your patience. If you manage to complete this task, you are rewarded with a ridiculously overpowered weapon that will make all subsequent playthroughs as easy as falling off a log.
CONS:
The first Dead Space game had a very, VERY claustrophobic feel to it. The creaking of the ship's deck plates, the sound of Isaac's breathing, the sharp music changes when a Necromorph appeared, it was all designed to scare us to our core.
Even though I enjoyed Dead Space 2, I didn't get the same sense of all-encompassing fear as I did when I played the first game. There weren't many new monsters, and most of the fetch-questing was toned down in favor of more face-to-face combat. To me, it simply felt less scary and more predictable. I found the scare factor diminished with each New Game+.
The weakest part of Dead Space 2, by far, was the Multiplayer mode. In a nutshell, you play as either a Necromorph or a human. Humans will regenerate at one central spawn point, but if playing as a Necromorph, you can choose where you want to emerge from.
The problem is, the spawning is so slow that it paints a bulls-eye on your face while your online opponents turn you into hamburger.
Powerups can be earned as you accumulate experience points, which in turn increases your attack damage, but the matching of players is completely random and unbalanced. I played with a couple of other people that were levels 3 to 10, but a few of my opponents were upwards of level 20-30...This was the same problem with Multiplayer matches in TRON: Evolution. I found the Necromorphs were very slow and clunky to control instead of performing a slashing attack, I usually ended up jumping up and down in front of my opponents.
FINAL VERDICT?
While I enjoyed the harder difficulty settings and the addition of Dead Space: Extraction in this package, I didn't find myself as scared. Killing Necromorphs and upgrading my weapons and armor was fun, but the fear factor and the puzzle gameplay definitely felt like they were dialed back. I didn't get much enjoyment out of the multiplayer mode, but to each their own. However, if you like killing Necromorphs, you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of Dead Space 2.
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Very good game, not "for a sequel", just a great game in general. Just as much if not more suspense than Dead Space (1), mixed with an awesome continuing storyline and cinematics, cool upgradeable weapons and suits, crazy monsters, everything you could ask for! Would definitely recommend.The Limited Edition gets you an extra game, Dead Space: Extraction, which is kind of a prologue to Dead Space, and it's designed for the Playstation Move, though you can also use it with just the controller. It's not particularly awesome, but it's a cool little extra Dead Space experience!Dead Space 2 is one of my favorite scary games included Bioshock. Dead Space 2 takes in space a engineer named Isaac had to fight a deadly alien race called the Necromorphs again. The Necromorphs are scary enough to make me jump and scream, deadly, and they come in many different kinds. Isaac had many different weapons like the deadly Line Gun, the kickass Contact Gun, and the Plasma Cutter, he had different armors like the badass Advance Suit and the Elite Suits after you beat the game and play a new game. Dead Space had beautiful graphics but they had many scary scenes like the brutal deaths by the Necromorphs and the infamous Needle in Eye scene. If you made one single mistake, the needle will become a drill like needle, stab Isaac in the eye and killing him. If you like scary games, Bioshock games and Dead Space trilogy games are the ones. Like in the alien games and films: no one can hear you scream.
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The game is great, but this edition is only for serious collectors now. The limited Edition was great because it came with Dead Space: Extraction as a bonus. That game is now included free with the Dead Space 2 Greatest Hits edition, which is $30.00 cheaper at the time of writing. This is the original release, which has been discontinued; but its only difference from the Greatest Hits edition now is that the GH comes in a red case with a red label.I wanted a U.S. new, black label edition just as it is pictured. Insted i recieved a Canadian edition, greatest hits edition. Said nothing of that in the description when i bought it. Very disappointed with the false advertisement.
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