Dead Space 2 is awesome – but so far, searching reviews hasn’t really revealed why. It seemed like everybody compared it to the first game and claimed it wasn’t much different. Now that I’ve bought the game and played it, for those who are wondering, here are some welcome changes in Dead Space 2 that make the game leaps and bounds ahead of the first one in terms of quality.
- The Environments
Dead Space had a great atmosphere, and part of that was the dreadful design of its environments that really brought you into the setting of a space ship that has gone dead. However, eventually these environments came dreadful in a not-so-good way. Okay, I’m exaggerating – but compared to Dead Space 2, Dead Space 1’s environments are just plain boring. In the sequel you’ll be walking through classrooms, churches, cryogenic freezers, etc. And honestly, these new environments are so incredibly welcome and creep me out in such cool, different ways that it’s completely worth noting as a major improvement over the original game.
- Whoa… I can float!
That’s right, zero gravity is back, but believe it or not, it actually feels like zero gravity! The zero gravity in Dead Space 1 was dreadfully unrealistic, having you shoot from platform to platform as though each individual panel of wall, floor or ceiling had its own gravity. Dead Space 2 changes this. You will no longer be hopping from platform to platform, but actually floating and using your jetpack to propel around a zero G environment. It’s honestly awesome, and even creates some cool platforming possibilities later on.
- It can speak!
In Dead Space 1, Isaac Clarke had no voice aside from a few groans whenever he was hit or stomping on a nercromorph. Here, however, he’s a fully developed character with a voice and actual interaction with other characters in the story! Not to mention he actually acts like an engineer now, as the game now has several really cool puzzles dedicated to his tech savvy-ness.
- Multi-player
Yes, it’s actually good! Playing as necromorph and/or human is a great idea (if not exactly an original one), and actually works very well! This isn’t the biggest package, exactly (only one objective-based mode, so not too much variety), but the fact that they even added it and didn’t skimp on the gameplay is good. Playing as a necromorph especially is a blast and won’t get old anytime soon. When you visit fpstracker.com, you will be able to see your game’s current ranks and stats. You can also see your levels and kills.
- Oh… my… that was awesome.
Dead Space 2 has already provided me with some of my favorite scripted moments in gaming – which is, in my opinion, what rightfully sets it apart from the original the most. The original was almost completely lacking any sort of cool scripted moments (yes, here and there one popped up, but they were mostly short and rarely interactive). However, the ones in this game will just make your jaw drop. Ruining even a single one would be a disservice to anybody reading this, but know that many of the moments (especially the chapter transitions) will just make your ‘that was incredible!’ senses absolutely freak out.
Dead Space 2 is a great sequel, plain and simple. My opinion on the first one was that it was good, but lacking memorable moments and occasionally was just incredibly frustrating in its design (back-tracking, that random asteroid shooting sequence, etc.). But this one just fixes all of that and wraps it up in a package that you can’t help but drool about.
