Last week I found a good $15 deal on a download code for Dead Space 2 (to use with EA Download Manager, or "Origin" as it was renamed to shortly before E3), and decided to check out if the more large-scale and ambitious level design as well as the greater focus on action have changed the DS formula for better or worse.

The first few hours have provided very familiar Dead Space gameplay, which is good since the original game's core mechanics were remarkably solid and in no need of fixing in the first place. At the same time, Visceral Games have clearly ramped up the intensity by introducing more spectacular set pieces, and also starting to mess with the player using all sorts of unsettling hallucinations to demonstrate just what a tenuous grip on reality the game's tortured protagonist Isaac Clarke has at this point. Hopelessly mechanics-oriented as I am, a welcome and much-needed change from Dead Space 1 is that you can now carry with you your weapon and upgrades into a New Game+ for consecutive playthroughs on harder difficulty settings.

Dead Space 1 somehow succeeded in providing rich and rewarding exploration despite being set in a dimly lit space station which, on paper anyway, sounded like the dullest place off Earth (which is what made me wait for such a long time before I finally picked up a copy of that game). By designing much more varied environments to discover in the sequel, Visceral Games clearly made it a lot easier for themselves to provide a continually fresh experience. The creepy Unitology-related buildings in the early chapters of Dead Space 2, to take just one example, don't really resemble anything that was in the first game. Also, the frequent use of cinematic set pieces (typically within very large rooms) likewise adds an additional layer on top of the methodical traversal of dark corridors which form the basic building block of the DS survival horror gameplay.

Still, there's something to be said for the impeccably cohesive design of DS1, which skillfully tied the various parts of The Ishimura together to form an overarching spatial experience which might never have been as seamless as it could have been, but stayed consistent and believable throughout.

Last week I found a good $15 deal on a download code for Dead Space 2 (to use with EA Download Manager, or "Origin" as it was renamed to shortly before E3), and decided to check out if the more large-scale and ambitious level design as well as the greater focus on action have changed the DS formula for better or worse.

The first few hours have provided very familiar Dead Space gameplay, which is good since the original game's core mechanics were remarkably solid and in no need of fixing in the first place. At the same time, Visceral Games have clearly ramped up the intensity by introducing more spectacular set pieces, and also starting to mess with the player using all sorts of unsettling hallucinations to demonstrate just what a tenuous grip on reality the game's tortured protagonist Isaac Clarke has at this point. Hopelessly mechanics-oriented as I am, a welcome and much-needed change from Dead Space 1 is that you can now carry with you your weapon and upgrades into a New Game+ for consecutive playthroughs on harder difficulty settings.

Dead Space 1 somehow succeeded in providing rich and rewarding exploration despite being set in a dimly lit space station which, on paper anyway, sounded like the dullest place off Earth (which is what made me wait for such a long time before I finally picked up a copy of that game). By designing much more varied environments to discover in the sequel, Visceral Games clearly made it a lot easier for themselves to provide a continually fresh experience. The creepy Unitology-related buildings in the early chapters of Dead Space 2, to take just one example, don't really resemble anything that was in the first game. Also, the frequent use of cinematic set pieces (typically within very large rooms) likewise adds an additional layer on top of the methodical traversal of dark corridors which form the basic building block of the DS survival horror gameplay.

Still, there's something to be said for the impeccably cohesive design of DS1, which skillfully tied the various parts of The Ishimura together to form an overarching spatial experience which might never have been as seamless as it could have been, but stayed consistent and believable throughout.

There are a lot of elements in this franchise that appeal to me, but the central conceit of hopeless squishing of babies, sort of depresses me just to think about it. Calling it survival horror helps me a bit, but I get the feeling that this game and, say, Eternal Darkness would feel pretty different to me.
 
Still like that it's a working stiff and not a space marine, though :)