Dead Space 2
DEAD SPACE 2
Published by Electronic Arts & Visceral Games
Platform: Xbox 360
The original Dead Space came out of nowhere, much as its trademark Necromorphs have a habit of doing, to storm the
world of adults-only gaming. Taking its cue from the Resident Evil franchise
(in particular Resident Evil 4), it mashed the concepts of numerous classic
horror films - namely Alien, Event Horizon and The Thing - together to create a gut-churning sci-fi horror tale the likes of
which had not been seen on a home console before. Taking the dollar value of
the franchise into consideration, anyone who knew of game publishing overlords
Electronic Arts could see the sequel coming a mile away.
Dead Space 2 finally arrived after a truly genius advertising campaign, widespread critical acclaim, and two deplorable animated spin-off films. True to classic sequel formula, it struggles to live up to the promise of its parent, but it still manages to provide an entertaining excursion into the sickest minds in game design.
To say that the opening lacks subtlety is a vast understatement. Within two minutes of switching the game on, Isaac is running for his life after having a man transform into a Necromorph - replete with face peeling off and neck breaking - whilst holding him. Though it's one of the sequel's low points, it highlights the quintessential difference in the way horror is manifested in each game. Dead Space was all about dread - it worked its way under the skin, locking the player's eyes to every air vent and making them fear to open each door. It reminded us of Ridley Scott's iconic Alien tagline with clear intent - "In space, no one can hear you scream".
In Dead Space 2, however, screams are only masked by the sounds of louder screams. Everyone is screaming, all of the time. This is about cacophony. The horror is gaudy and omnipresent, evident in every howling ghoul that presses its face to yours and tries to enact cunnilingus on your eye sockets. Stomping on a dead enemy, previously a form of venting one's fear and loathing to those disrespecting one's personal space, now causes geisers of blood to spray about the place and gives the sound designer an opportunity to show off every squishy object in his studio. Every room is slick with blood smears and the sprawled (excuse the pun) writings by dying civilians - actually, the prevalence of large numbers of corpses is laughable considering that all of the original's terror rose from precisely the fact that there weren't any bodies to be found.
[On one particular wall can be found the bloody message "I don't want to die" scrawled on a wall, and one can't help but think that if the victim had time to write this poetic statement then he probably also had the time to drag himself to medical attention and thus avoid his predicament entirely.]
All of the scariest rooms in both games are the ones in which literally nothing of note happens – one of the sequel's most harrowing sequences is a visit to the plastic wrapped hallways of the USG Ishimura from the original. Some idiot has rather unsuccessfully attempted a clean-up operation, and the black-lit results are both frightening and morbidly funny.
Isaac's psychosis has thrilling potential for the game's mechanics and narrative, and is unfortunately underused, functioning as yet another shock device. Nicole's presence becomes less and less of a fear factor as a time goes by, as they have tried to make her function like the heartstopping Alma in the F.E.A.R. series, and with beams of light bursting from her eyes and mouth like a human projector, she just doesn't cut the same figure.
So it's scary, but it displays a profound lack of the atmosphere that defined the original. Where it makes up for that is by upping the ante on action and spectacle. Combat is tense and thrilling, especially when faced with the awful Stalkers or the masses of wailing child monsters prevalent in the Sprawl's schools and nurseries. Yep, you heard right - taking the action away from a deep space mining facility gave Visceral Games all the licence they needed to bring women and children onto the firing line. Be prepared for exploding babies. Not even kidding.
Even better is Isaac's new ability to float in zero gravity. No longer simply leaping from wall to wall, Isaac can leap into space and jet himself around using thruster boots, fighting organic turret creatures in exhilarating air combat. The zero-g sequences give a strange sense of safety as well - it was hard not to sigh with relief the first time Isaac's boots lifted from the floor and took him out of reach of his mutated neighbours.
Visceral have also expounded on the cinematic qualities of the first game, fitting in tightly scripted action sequences that operate like rail shooters. They are chock-full of frustratingly simplistic "Press X To Not Die" quicktime events, but are truly awesome to watch. The memorable railcar sequence is trumped by a later event in which Isaac tries to escape from a huge monstrosity that pursues him into the cold vacuum of space.
This game is significantly easier than the first, with enemies going down quickly enough despite there being many more of them and ammo being less plentiful. (Even the elusive Peng treasure is surprisingly simple to find.) Rather than being able to max yourself out on your first play, the RPG elements of the suit and weapon upgrades have been tweaked to allow players to favour one weapon over another. As before, you could feasibly finish the game with nothing more than Isaac's trusty plasma cutter, but it's a good thing you don't simply become a super soldier by progressing through the plot.
Visceral have done a very clever thing in realising that friendly AI is usually rubbish, and rather than detriment gameplay whenever an ally rocks up, they've elected to follow the original's formula of keeping allied characters at a distance so your interaction with them is minimal. Though you may have a responsibility to protect them, they're not going to walk face first into a Necromorph after growing bored with you.
Isaac's psychosis has thrilling potential for the game's mechanics and narrative, and is unfortunately underused, functioning as yet another shock device. Nicole's presence becomes less and less of a fear factor as a time goes by, as they have tried to make her function like the heartstopping Alma in the F.E.A.R. series, and with beams of light bursting from her eyes and mouth like a human projector, she just doesn't cut the same figure.
So it's scary, but it displays a profound lack of the atmosphere that defined the original. Where it makes up for that is by upping the ante on action and spectacle. Combat is tense and thrilling, especially when faced with the awful Stalkers or the masses of wailing child monsters prevalent in the Sprawl's schools and nurseries. Yep, you heard right - taking the action away from a deep space mining facility gave Visceral Games all the licence they needed to bring women and children onto the firing line. Be prepared for exploding babies. Not even kidding.
Even better is Isaac's new ability to float in zero gravity. No longer simply leaping from wall to wall, Isaac can leap into space and jet himself around using thruster boots, fighting organic turret creatures in exhilarating air combat. The zero-g sequences give a strange sense of safety as well - it was hard not to sigh with relief the first time Isaac's boots lifted from the floor and took him out of reach of his mutated neighbours.
Visceral have also expounded on the cinematic qualities of the first game, fitting in tightly scripted action sequences that operate like rail shooters. They are chock-full of frustratingly simplistic "Press X To Not Die" quicktime events, but are truly awesome to watch. The memorable railcar sequence is trumped by a later event in which Isaac tries to escape from a huge monstrosity that pursues him into the cold vacuum of space.
This game is significantly easier than the first, with enemies going down quickly enough despite there being many more of them and ammo being less plentiful. (Even the elusive Peng treasure is surprisingly simple to find.) Rather than being able to max yourself out on your first play, the RPG elements of the suit and weapon upgrades have been tweaked to allow players to favour one weapon over another. As before, you could feasibly finish the game with nothing more than Isaac's trusty plasma cutter, but it's a good thing you don't simply become a super soldier by progressing through the plot.
Visceral have done a very clever thing in realising that friendly AI is usually rubbish, and rather than detriment gameplay whenever an ally rocks up, they've elected to follow the original's formula of keeping allied characters at a distance so your interaction with them is minimal. Though you may have a responsibility to protect them, they're not going to walk face first into a Necromorph after growing bored with you.
Ok, one last thing: is the fact that this game both begins and ends in exactly the same way as its predecessor mere homage, or just damn laziness? It feels like the latter when you consider the fact that the opening animatics are not only lifted from the original, but are of lower graphics quality.
So it doesn't look as good, isn't as atmospheric, attempts to pull off a complicated plot without fully succeeding, and occasionally sinks into parody of itself. Despite all that, Dead Space 2 still manages to chill, challenge and entertain. If you're looking for a way to turn a rainy day into a blood-soaked descent into madness, then you may need help. But you need look no further.
So it doesn't look as good, isn't as atmospheric, attempts to pull off a complicated plot without fully succeeding, and occasionally sinks into parody of itself. Despite all that, Dead Space 2 still manages to chill, challenge and entertain. If you're looking for a way to turn a rainy day into a blood-soaked descent into madness, then you may need help. But you need look no further.
Comments
Post a Comment