Dead Space 2 is the Resident Evil 4 of the Dead Space genre. It changes genres from survival horror to more of a survival action title. Gone are most of the tight, narrow corridors with plenty of vents for smart AI moves, instead they've been replaced with wide-open rooms that allow you to be attacked by massive groups.
The voice acting is amazing and I love Ellie. Issac's voice actor is great, and the whole talking hero adds a nice touch to the game, as well as allowing Issac and Ellie to have plenty of fun banter.
There's still plenty of jump scares, as well as plenty of things that are really creepy, but it's just not the same as the first game.
The best comparison I can think of is Alien vs. Aliens. The original Alien gave you almost no clear glimpses of the creature up until the end, it was more of a horror movie. When Cameron took over, it was less about the scares and more about the intense gunfights and showing just how stupid soldiers can be. Dead Space 2 isn't different really.
The first DS gave you time to get immersed in the atmosphere and feel creeped out as you wandered the ghost ship, running into the creatures only a little in the beginning. DS 2 doesn't even bother trying to go for that. Instead you have to just survive and fight your way around right after the very first cut scene, overall it takes about five minutes or so before you're just dumped into the action.
I liked it, but again, it was flawed. What I find sad is just how much potential this series has but it doesn't bother to actually try harder. It's more of the same old, same old, through most of the game.
Again, 4 out of 5 stars, just because I find it fun enough to make up for the disappointments. Here's hoping they can make it really scary and creepy for the next one!
Different, but not a failure
Dead Space 2 is the Resident Evil 4 of the Dead Space genre. It changes genres from survival horror to more of a survival action title. Gone are most of the tight, narrow corridors with plenty of vents for smart AI moves, instead they've been replaced with wide-open rooms that allow you to be attacked by massive groups.
The voice acting is amazing and I love Ellie. Issac's voice actor is great, and the whole talking hero adds a nice touch to the game, as well as allowing Issac and Ellie to have plenty of fun banter.
There's still plenty of jump scares, as well as plenty of things that are really creepy, but it's just not the same as the first game. The best comparison I can think of is Alien vs. Aliens. The original Alien gave you almost no clear glimpses of the creature up until the end, it was more of a horror movie. When Cameron took over, it was less about the scares and more about the intense gunfights and showing just how stupid soldiers can be. Dead Space 2 isn't different really.
The first DS gave you time to get immersed in the atmosphere and feel creeped out as you wandered the ghost ship, running into the creatures only a little in the beginning. DS 2 doesn't even bother trying to go for that. Instead you have to just survive and fight your way around right after the very first cut scene, overall it takes about five minutes or so before you're just dumped into the action.
I liked it, but again, it was flawed. What I find sad is just how much potential this series has but it doesn't bother to actually try harder. It's more of the same old, same old, through most of the game.
Again, 4 out of 5 stars, just because I find it fun enough to make up for the disappointments. Here's hoping they can make it really scary and creepy for the next one!