Make your skin crawl and more besides with this chilling horror sequel
Format: PS3, Xbox 360 (version played), PC Dev: Visceral Games Pub: EA Out: 28/01/11 Players: 1, 2-8 online
An extravagantly mutated baby crawls uncomfortably towards its unaware mother in a ruined elementary school. As the child is lifted into her embrace, its head rotates, a la The Exorcist, maintains direct eye contact with you and explodes in a cloud of crimson and a macabre sense of humour.
Dark humour, scenes that crawl under your skin, all of what made the original Dead Space what it was return with a further elegance and polish. An equivalent of the progression made is looking at the improvement from the first Uncharted to the second: a well-made formula perfected.
Isaac’s story begins shortly after the Ishimura incident, in a psychologist’s office. Instantly, the faceless character becomes a personality with a troubling past to connect with, something we didn’t have in the previous game. When the proverbial faeces hits the fan, and the monsters take over the Sprawl, the ship you’re on that’s orbiting Saturn’s moon, we’re cast straight back into the same feeling of paranoia and isolation with mutations that make the Thing look un-creative.
But this time there’s something different. Call it experience in the genre, or Visceral’s coming of age; but there’s just something that makes this romp near-pitch perfect. You know they’ve got the formula nailed when you can walk through a scene for five minutes without seeing a single enemy, and still jump at every corner.
It’s powerful stuff that is difficult to ace as the horror genre moves forward, and as Resident Evil 5 failed, Dead Space 2 has picked up the pieces. Control has, as it will with this archetype for years to come, remained the same. The chilling tension remains, as the pause menu doesn’t actually pause the game, turning speed and aiming is slowed down to further heighten the challenge. It’s all returned, but tweaked to the point where none of it feels deliberate or creates the opportunity for a ‘fluke’ death.
Although, speaking of death, the difficulty has progressed: you will die a lot, and in some fantastically gruesome ways. You can probably see a montage of the worst in a YouTube video, edited by some gore-loving child with nightmares; but they are cracking.
Obviously, a game within this genre thrives upon its atmospherics, so presentation is crucial. Dead Space 2 doesn’t disappoint. The soundtrack varies from deadly silent to a discordant surprise that enhances any moment of fear or uncomfortable viewing. And visuals have been upgraded: textures are notably clearer, and the design ethic of bloodying the sterile, rusting industry corridors is one that has worked especially effectively to create that under the skin feeling.
Multiplayer is an interesting concept: either simple deathmatch variants or a play on the usual infected options you find in other zombie-cum-multiplayer titles. It’s definitely not the selling point of the game, and it’s not going to get any popularity over COD, but it’s interesting to say the least, creating paranoia between players.
Simply put, this the new industry standard that horror games will look up to. It’s not perfect; but the criticisms can be spread across all horror games, such as slow movement or deliberately clunky controls. But, let’s be honest, we wouldn’t have it any other way. Dead space 2 is an incredible foray into the survival horror genre, which takes all the experience Visceral has and brings it to a new level.
Jason England
Tags: action, dead space, ea, horror, sci-fi
