Dead Space 2 Spotlight

Twinkle...

Twinkle...

Little...

Star...

I have never been more disturbed by those four words than I was when I heard them used in a Dead Space trailer. Dead Space was a genre bending graphically solid nightmarish 3rd person adventure game from EA and it pushed the boundaries of survival horror. It wasn't scary per-se, it wasn't really frightening and it wasn't overly disturbing. It was however a really well paced and engaging game, it made you jump with some really cheap scare tactics at times, but in a good way.

Dead Space also paid attention to one of the greatest environments in science fiction, one that can be used to create a palpable sense of fear and terror. Sure the Necromorphs can rend Isaac limb from limb, popping body parts off like they were confetti strewn at a macabre wedding...but vacuum can kill Isaac in seconds when his air supply runs out. Watching him die in a voyeuristic and slightly sadistic way is probably more disturbing than the monsters. It's like throwing Lara Croft off the top of a cliff hundreds of times in the first Tomb Raider, just to hear her neck snap.

You see, Dead Space was the first game to actually make use of vacuum in a really smart way. Since the only sounds you hear are transmitted through the suit, through vibration and connection with a bulkhead. You can't hear that sneaky Necromorph coming up right behind you until it slices your foot off and leaves you screaming silently in agony on the floor. Weapon sounds are muffled and all you can see is the air meter on Isaac's back ticking down.

Zero-G was a hit and miss affair in the first game. But this is about to change since now Isaac is coming back for Dead Space 2 and based on what we've learned about the sequel and what we've played in terms of the demo, it's going to be just as fun and awesome as the first title - if not better. Issac Clarke was an engineer protagonist in the first game, he was silent and everyone told him what to do. Now he's got a voice and he's been driven slowly mad by his encounter with the Marker.

So you can expect a lot of 'huh are those real' moments in the game as Isaac's dementia worsens and he sees more and more strange hallucinations. Dead Space 2 promises a slight change in the pacing ante with the inclusion of sequences that provide an unexpected challenge; Isaac might run afoul of a particularly large mini-boss whilst hanging from his boot upside down over a pit of whirling blades. Or the case of a particular sequence from a recent showing of the game, shooting Necromorphs from his topsy-turvy hang-time position as he struggles to get free.

Issac's location has changed as well, gone are the corridors and compartments of the Ishimura - replaced by the Sprawl, a huge city. Thankfully the developers have tuned Isaac's movement, made him a little faster and given him some new tricks to deal with the dangers he's going to have to face. Kinesis has been upgraded, it's now quicker and easier to use. You can rip off an enemy arm and then pin another enemy to a wall with it for example. Isaac's Stasis ability now recharges so there are more tactical options in a fight.

This time around the developers want you to use the full Dead Space 2 arsenal, so they've made many of the weapons more attractive with different tactical alternate fire modes. The rifle for instance can now launch a grenade with its alternate fire, which can bounce and detonate amongst large groups of enemies and wreak havoc. There are also new weapons; favourite amongst these new tools is the Javelin Gun. It fires a high speed piercing spike into the enemy and then with alternate fire, it sends out a massive pulse of electrical energy.

It is just perfect for a Necromorph BBQ.

You're going to be able to remove nodes from weapons you don't use as well, allowing Isaac to customise and experiment with a variety of new tools. Of course the faithful Plasma Cutter is back and has largely remained unchanged. Issac's motive ability has also been given an upgrade especially in Zero-G; it's not a matter of limited Zero-G movement now. He can use his suit's thrusters to move in all directions. This should make for some amazing Zero-G Necromorph combat set pieces and puzzles.

With the tweaks to controls, pacing, set pieces and other elements of the game Dead Space 2 is shaping up nicely and that's not the best part. There are new Necromorph types added to the game to challenge you as well. You're going to have to think quickly on your feet when confronted by the howling Pack and some of the other nastier bad guys, the Necromophs now have the Puker who spews caustic vomit at Isaac and can cause a lot of damage quickly if you let it. There are also some truly terrifying boss encounters planned, but we can't say much about those since they are major encounters and provide some really hair raising moments.

Add to the single player, a Left 4 Dead 2 style multiplayer where you have human controlled security forces, versus the might of the Necromorphs (also controlled by humans) - with objectives to complete and much dismemberment to be had, it all looks as though it's going to be a nice addition to the game and hopefully it won't feel - tacked on.

Dead Space 2 has been upgraded in terms of graphics and quality as well; if you take a look at the recent demo you can see how far they've pushed their engine since the last game. Isaac has a brand new look and once more the audio design is spot on with just the right amount of ambient sound to give it a creepy feel. We can't wait for the game on the 28th of this month and it's a firm date on our calendar.

Join us for our review later on and if you haven't tried it yet, give the demo a whirl!

See you on the Sprawl...

Or not...