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[JJD]

This actually isn't allowed by the platforms in most cases (Sony and MS).

Hey can you at least tell us if there's more DLC coming? Visceral had announced 2 single player DLCs. You guys still plan to release the second one?

 

[Nirolak]

Usually that kind of thing is under NDA as well.

 

[JJD]

Usually that kind of thing is under NDA as well.

By the way...does your tag relate to the DS Peng??? Just wondering!

 

[angular graphics]

By the way...does your tag relate to the DS Peng??? Just wondering!

Replying for him yes if I recall correctly.

 

[JJD]

Replying for him yes if I recall correctly.

Lol! Thanks! ;-)

 

[Draft]

Is the MP even active anymore?

I'd be fascinated to hear a post mortem on the MP of a game like Dead Space 2. Does the publisher feel like it was successful? As a game, as a product, both, or neither? Is there any evidence that it increased sales or reduced trade-ins? Any thoughts on whether the game would have sold better if the MP effort had been turned towards expanding the SP campaign, making more SP DLC, or even maybe taking that budget and using it for advertising.

 

[angular graphics]

Is the MP even active anymore?

I'd be fascinated to hear a post mortem on the MP of a game like Dead Space 2. Does the publisher feel like it was successful? As a game, as a product, both, or neither? Is there any evidence that it increased sales or reduced trade-ins? Any thoughts on whether the game would have sold better if the MP effort had been turned towards expanding the SP campaign, making more SP DLC, or even maybe taking that budget and using it for advertising.

I can think of Ubisoft saying AC: Brotherhood's MP brought a lot of new players to the series: http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/brotherhood-makes-a-killing-in-europe

“The multiplayer mode attracts new players – when we track who is playing the multiplayer we can se they are new to the franchise,” explained Sardin.

“It is the first time we have added such a big multiplayer mode to an action franchise – but we’re seeing people play a lot and regularly, so clearly they do enjoy it. The activity on forums is very happy.

“But of course we have a good history and expertise with multiplayer – in Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell – so we knew what we were doing. There are other franchises that would benefit from that, but I can’t say which ones just now. The next big multiplayer game for us is Ghost Recon - that will be massive.”

 

[Gvaz]

This actually isn't allowed by the platforms in most cases (Sony and MS).

I understand the console owners want to gain a profit from a distribution of addons, but that doesn't mean that as a consumer I agree with it.

I also realize that you as well need to make a profit, but there's something to be said about allowing users to make their own maps. It's been done before on lesser systems, and is still done after a fashion lately, but it should really come back.

 

[Curufinwe]

I finally finished Portal 2 co-op last night, and then immediately put Dead Space 2 in. I started playing Extraction first and I'm wondering whether I should keep going and finish it with the Dual Shock 3, or wait until I can get a cheap Move bundle later this year.

Does every retail copy of DS2 come with Extraction?

 

[Monkey Pants]

I understand the console owners want to gain a profit from a distribution of addons, but that doesn't mean that as a consumer I agree with it.

I also realize that you as well need to make a profit, but there's something to be said about allowing users to make their own maps. It's been done before on lesser systems, and is still done after a fashion lately, but it should really come back.

You mean user made maps through XBox Live/PSN? That would be really cool, but I doubt they'd ever go for it.

In the end though, I still think that's unlikely to fly. The huge majority of people who would be into making their own maps likely are on the PC already and can do that if the game supports it.

 

[Massa]

I finally finished Portal 2 co-op last night, and then immediately put Dead Space 2 in. I started playing Extraction first and I'm wondering whether I should keep going and finish it with the Dual Shock 3, or wait until I can get a cheap Move bundle later this year.

Does every retail copy of DS2 come with Extraction?

No, just the first run (Limited Edition) came with Extraction.

 

[Nirolak]

Is the MP even active anymore?

I'd be fascinated to hear a post mortem on the MP of a game like Dead Space 2. Does the publisher feel like it was successful? As a game, as a product, both, or neither? Is there any evidence that it increased sales or reduced trade-ins? Any thoughts on whether the game would have sold better if the MP effort had been turned towards expanding the SP campaign, making more SP DLC, or even maybe taking that budget and using it for advertising.

Unfortunately EA doesn't release public post mortems to my knowledge.

We can try to judge by their actions and statements though.

First up, let's look at EA's ambitions for the franchise:

Speaking to IGN in an interview last week, EA Games President Frank Gibeau said that while he's pleased with the success Dead Space 2 has seen commercially in early 2011, he still believes there's more room for growth with the series. Gibeau applauded Capcom's efforts of taking Resident Evil to the mass-market and hopes Dead Space can follow suit.

"The Resident Evil series was awesome, the early versions were phenomenal. [Capcom] did a good job of growing the franchise to a very large market," Gibeau said. "I think we still have some areas to grow with Dead Space in terms of trying to reach a broader audience without losing the quality and that survival-horror mechanic. That's how we're going to think about it as we think about Dead Space 3 and what we do next with the IP."

...

"Overall, we want to try and grow the business in the action category," Gibeau later explained. "EA doesn't really have a very strong stake there; survival-horror kind of lives in that genre. 3rd-person action is something that we think we can build and our Visceral Games team is really working hard at crafting some new IPs as well as building out ones that have succeeded."

Gibeau said the publisher is thinking long-term for the survival-horror brand. "Horror movies are great films; it's a genre that's been around for decades. We think the same holds true for interactive," he added.

Source: http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/115/1154606p1.html

Speaking during the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, Riccitiello omitted the horror series from his list of "strong, growing franchises" because he said he thinks it'll take a third game before the series really kicks into gear.

"Right now we've got strong, growing franchises including Madden, FIFA... Need for Speed, Medal of Honor and Battlefield - I include them as one because we're unlikely to ship them in any one year at the same time.

"[There's also] Mass Effect... Dragon Age... and the one that's sort of not proven that's coming later in our fiscal year, Star Wars [The Old Republic]," he said.

"That excludes Dead Space because I think it will probably take Dead Space 3 before we get into that five million unit cadence versus say three, four."

Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/289206/ea-boss-uses-words-dead-space-3/

So from these two statements, we can assess that EA is hoping to launch Dead Space 3 as a 5+ million unit game. While that may not be what they put in their accounting book, it is their overall ambition, and this is not wholly unreasonable as Resident Evil 5 sold almost 6 million copies. In order to do this, Frank Gibeau revealed that they intend to grow unspecified parts of the game while still keeping it as a game in the survival horror genre.

The question now becomes what parts of the game they intend to grow. As we currently have no more statements available, we must look to other sources such as their job postings.

Having just looked again, here are some key highlights from Dead Space related postings:

Lead Multiplayer Designer

Overview:

We are seeking a highly skilled Lead Multiplayer Designer who can bring a deep knowledge of Multiplayer gaming to the Visceral Studio. This is a major opportunity to contribute creatively to an exciting franchise.

Responsibilities:

• Contribute to driving the vision for the entire Multiplayer experience.
• Own & drive the player progression experience to ensure a long term compulsion loop for players.
• Conceptualize, script, direct, and build levels for the game.
• Own a large piece of the map design for the game, and be able to work collaboratively with the Creative Director & Executive Producer to create extremely fun & polished MP maps.
• Drive MP map design by taking the initiative to bring all parties together to execute on the overall vision for the levels.
• Be a collaborative member of the design team, and contribute to reviews, feedback, and playtest sessions.

Source: https://jobs.ea.com/search/view.do?id=a0z50000000wEqcAAE

Art Director - Visceral Games

Requirements:
• Passion for action, online, and competitive games

Source: https://jobs.ea.com/search/view.do?id=a0z50000000wEqXAAU

So from these postings, we see that Visceral views competitive multiplayer as one of the key areas they're intending to grow. Given that they're hiring a Lead Multiplayer Designer to "bring a deep knowledge of Multiplayer gaming to the Visceral Studio", a role that seemingly did not exist on Dead Space 2, this indicates that they were most likely not fully satisfied with the multiplayer they created for Dead Space 2, and thus hope to do more with Dead Space 3.

Given that they seem to be doubling down on multiplayer for the sequel, this would indicate that (at least the people budgeting the game) were happy with the idea of adding multiplayer to the series, and feel it was the correct way to try and grow the franchise. If I had to guess whether they were satisfied with the way it turned out for Dead Space 2, my guess would be no, but they seem to think it was an issue with the execution instead of the base concept.

What we do know though is that EA was very happy with both the quality and the increase in average selling price/early sales for the game, since they bragged about them a lot during their Q3 earnings call, even though the lifetime sales between both games were quite similar the last time they announced them. However, that will probably go up for Dead Space 2 once we go through the holiday season, but it might not be a huge game over game lifetime sales increase as a whole.

 

[SamuraiX-]

Nice analysis, Nirolak!

Good stuff.

 

[Nirolak]

Thanks!

 

[U n i o n 0015]

LTTP:

I actually bought DS2 on Day 1 but haven't played it until this week. Just finished it on Normal difficulty.

My feelings are mixed, especially after hearing so much praise in the press and in this thread. My initial conclusion is that the first is actually a slightly better game.

I think DS works best when it creates tension and places you in battles with a one or a few enemies. There were times, especially in the last chapters, where you're just absolutely swarmed with enemies. It requires Halo levels of coordination to handle, but the handling and inherent perspective of DS don't give you Halo speed to deal with it.

There's also a lot of frustrating instanta deaths, like scenes that suddenly went to cutscene but it was unclear to me as a player what to do. I felt these were much more distinct in the first one, and that in the goal of seamless presentation, they muddied the waters a bit. I died instantly in the last battle simply because I thought I had vaporized the boss, but it turns out there is a more distinct vaporization on your second shot. Well, how about not making it seem like my first shot had killed the boss? Make the effect more distinct or just plain get rid of it.

Story-wise, it felt the whole first half was filler; I was going from location to location just following a marker. At least in the first one, each chapter had a goal--you felt that every one was vital to your survival or to save the Ishimura, but in 2, the goal would span several chapters and you're pushed out of the story because of that.

Overall, really great game, though. I'm going to attempt Hard Core difficulty but I don't know how I'm going to do it. I didn't die during some of the infamous scene (got the Eye Poke on my first attempt), but I died a lot when enemies would just spawn behind me or clusterf**k me.

I'd say it's 10% less of what the first game was.

 

[ILOVEASIANS]

Well said Union. I agree with pretty much everything you said outside of the swarming of enemies, but many other people feel the same way as you. The only Chapter I really felt things were getting out of hand in terms of enemies was the final run before the last boss, and you can simply run by the enemies there.

I also think the original is the better game for the reasons you listed. Plus, it filled a hole in my gaming heart that needed to be filled, a quality space - horror title. DS2 has grown on me though with each successive play through. Finishing my Hard Core run was one of the more satisfying moments I've had in games in quite a while.

Speaking of which, you can find a bunch of people's comments/tips for how to complete Hard Core all over this thread. People seem to ask about it every few pages or so. Replicant in particular had a great guide that I looked at before I did my run.

 

[Curufinwe]

No, just the first run (Limited Edition) came with Extraction.

I guess Best Buy just has a bunch of those left over then.

I'm actually finding the game fairly difficult on Normal in that I only ever have one or two med packs in my inventory and often I have none. I remember the original being a bit easier in that regard, and I also managed to completely run out of ammo just before you have to go

Spoiler

align the space mirrors.

But looks and plays great and I'm already looking forward to my New Game + run.

 

[U n i o n 0015]

I started Hard Core last night...jeez. The beginning is especially hard since you have no money, no health, and barely any ammo. The reliance on kinesis can be a bit frustrating.

I died three times (hanging from the train, then stasis monster/machine, then tripod boss) before I finally reached a part where I was said, "I need to save NOW." So I saved right near the end of Chapter 3, and I'm going to try to go from 3-9 this weekend. Yowza.

 

[Curufinwe]

I just got to infinite power node glitch in Chapter 14 but I have been low on ammo for almost the entire game. Couple that with the amount of time it takes for the doors to open, and it's actually felt more like survival horror than the original Dead Space to me.

 

[U n i o n 0015]

I just got to infinite power node glitch in Chapter 14 but I have been low on ammo for almost the entire game. Couple that with the amount of time it takes for the doors to open, and it's actually felt more like survival horror than the original Dead Space to me.

Infinite node glitch is very helpful at least for loading up your weapons for a New Game+ runthrough.

I've reached Chapter 9 on Hard Core and I used my 2nd save right before the crazy stalker room. Planning on using my next save right before the eye poke machine. We shall see...

So far I found the first chapters on Hard Core much more difficult than the middle ones simply because you have crap health, armor, and money at the beginning.

 

[1-D_FTW]

Is there any well known glitch that explains why I can't change my resolution to 1080P? It defaults me to 1024*768 and when I try and change, my monitor just goes black. If I control-shift-escape out, I see that one core just continues to run at 100 percent usage.

EDIT: Even trying to change just v-sync causes it to croak to black.

2ND EDIT: What a POS. Googled around and did the whole:

Window.Left = 0
Window.State = 0
Window.Top = 0

WTF? Doesn't help any. And worse, when I open the config, the file is showing 1920*1080 for the resolution. Yet, in-game, it's loading me up at 1024*768. Haven't even had a 16:9 CRT monitor in at least 6 months. And when I played Dead Space 1, it was on this same monitor at 1080P.

FIXED EDIT:

Five hours later and after exhausting all common sense solutions I found a config on google that I copied and it works:

Audio.AltNameColor = false
Audio.MusicVol = 1.00000000
Audiutput = 0
Audio.SFXVol = 0.98000002
Audio.Subtitles = true
Audio.VoiceVol = 1.00000000
Control.AimAssistEnabled = true
Control.AimingPosition = 1
Control.ControllerSensitivity = 2
Control.FireButtonControls = true
Control.InvertX = false
Control.InvertY = false
Control.MouseSensitivity = 0.50000000
Control.Shock = true
Controls.AcL.X = 0×01040360
Controls.AcL.Y = 0×00030008
Game.PDiff = -1
Game.Played = 0
Misc.LastSaveSlot = 2
QualityOptions.ActorMotionBlur = true
QualityOptions.Bloom = true
QualityOptions.Blur = true
QualityOptions.ConfigType = 1
QualityOptions.Decals = true
QualityOptions.Distortion = true
QualityOptions.DoF = true
QualityOptions.EdgeAA = true
QualityOptions.Flare = true
QualityOptions.Glow = true
QualityOptions.HighLightQuality = true
QualityOptions.ManipColor = true
QualityOptions.ShaderQuality = 2
QualityOptions.Shadows = 2
Window.Fullscreen = true
Window.Gamma = 0.50000000
Window.Height = 900
Window.Hz = 60
Window.Left = 0
Window.MessageNotification = 1
Window.State = 0
Window.Top = 0
Window.VSync = true
Window.Width = 1440

Figured I'd post it incase anyone else bought it during the BF3 combo deal and couldn't get it to work. Not sure what the magic elixir is with that, but for some reason it seems to solve people's problems.

 

[Minamu]

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/119/1195557p1.html

Could Dead Space 3 be real?

 

[ILOVEASIANS]

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/119/1195557p1.html

Could Dead Space 3 be real?

Awwww yeaaaaahhhhh!

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Awwww yeaaaaahhhhh!

Amazing.

Did we not have a thread on this?

That needs to be made into a 'Deal With It' gif.

 

[ILOVEASIANS]

Amazing.

Did we not have a thread on this?

That needs to be made into a 'Deal With It' gif.

Haha, yeah. I was waiting for someone to attempt to troll in here before I busted it out but I got sick of waiting. Figured this was as good a time to use it as any.

 

[Monkey Pants]

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/119/1195557p1.html

Could Dead Space 3 be real?

Look at that. Weird.

 

[SamuraiX-]

Look at that. Weird.

ohyou.jpg

 

[Minamu]

Look at that. Weird.

Kinda wish you guys didn't start without me! Only two more years left in school!

 

[U n i o n 0015]

Anyone have any issues connecting to the EA servers? Out of the two weeks I've been playing, the game has only connected to the server twice. (360 version)

 

[Minamu]

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/09/2...lace-on-a-frozen-planet-first-details-inside/

I wonder how much of this is true?

 

[Evolved1]

On the last chapters... I fucking love these games. This is pretty combat heavy, with some rooms/hallways that are just mean, and ammo conservation can be an issue in a couple spots... but the game is fuck awesome.

fuck. awesome.

Animation is sublime... suit and weapon design is off the charts... I rate it AAA+ so far. I thought the game was a little too hard at first, but after beginning to use the mines, I'm absolutely owning shit in situations I would have had to claw through before.

Also... "clever girl" is the greatest conceived trophy ever.

I'm in a break at the moment... this game stresses me out a bit if I play too long. But can't wait to finish. It's a little samey, especially after coming off (lttp) DS1... but the game is too good to complain. They completely made Zero-G fun (sucked in the first game) and ditched the turret sections for more interesting "action" moments... game is fucking great man.

 

[itzknickknac]

Speaking of which, you can find a bunch of people's comments/tips for how to complete Hard Core all over this thread. People seem to ask about it every few pages or so. Replicant in particular had a great guide that I looked at before I did my run.

I've plat'd this game way back when I got this game Day1.

This isn't much of a comment/tip but I just divided the chapters into each save. I don't remember whats in each chapter and how many chapters there are anymore but.. I theres a part where you have to travel through (in zero gravity) the engine room (?), its not a room... but basically there are columns of spinning screw looking things. It instant kills you and you have to start back to the last save. This was a pain in the ass since my save was a few ch's behind. So, I recommend saving right b4 it. Other than that, it isnt too hard to beat. Stick with 4 wpns. If i remember correctly, mine were contact beam, force gun, line gun, and plasma cutter. Force gun primary shot and contact beam alt fire used to reduce pressure and get enemies off ur ass. Line gun to cut limbs of multiple enemies at once, if plossible. Plasma cutter was my primary wpn. Contact beam primary fire is useful against brutes and the final boss.

Idk if thats good enough of a tip/comment to use..

 

[Evolved1]

And just after I heap all that praise on the game I'm stuck on the cargo lift from hell lol... I just got completely friggin owned by an unending obnoxious mob of tough enemies and the worst part... I don't really have the equipment/ammo to deal with this challenge.

Got a little sloppy with saves the last couple hours... and the game is suddenly way too stingy with stores, it kind of fucked me over.

So far I've been fine with the monster closets... but this seems pretty unfair. I mean the last store was so long ago. And nothing in the game has been this hard yet. And the most unfair thing about it, is that I've equipped for larger areas. They've given me large rooms and long hallways for the last couple hours, so I geared up for that. Now I'm stuck in a tiny space with an endless stream of fucktards, and all my weapons either have slow reloads/ no ammo/ or they hurt me to use them!!!

wtf... I'm pretty annoyed.

My only play here, if I've any chance at all, is that I have a bunch of stasis packs... but it's gonna be tough.


edit: lol... nevermind there was a store right next to me.

 

[Gvaz]

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/09/26/dead-space-3-takes-place-on-a-frozen-planet-first-details-inside/

Dead Space: Lost Planet

 

[The Last One]

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/09/26/dead-space-3-takes-place-on-a-frozen-planet-first-details-inside/

Dead Space: Lost Planet

I think siliconera made a little mistake. Ellie is from Dead Space 2, not 1. But nothing serious...

Hope this rumor is true.

 

[U n i o n 0015]

And just after I heap all that praise on the game I'm stuck on the cargo lift from hell lol... I just got completely friggin owned by an unending obnoxious mob of tough enemies and the worst part... I don't really have the equipment/ammo to deal with this challenge.

Got a little sloppy with saves the last couple hours... and the game is suddenly way too stingy with stores, it kind of fucked me over.

So far I've been fine with the monster closets... but this seems pretty unfair. I mean the last store was so long ago. And nothing in the game has been this hard yet. And the most unfair thing about it, is that I've equipped for larger areas. They've given me large rooms and long hallways for the last couple hours, so I geared up for that. Now I'm stuck in a tiny space with an endless stream of fucktards, and all my weapons either have slow reloads/ no ammo/ or they hurt me to use them!!!

wtf... I'm pretty annoyed.

My only play here, if I've any chance at all, is that I have a bunch of stasis packs... but it's gonna be tough.


edit: lol... nevermind there was a store right next to me.

The contact beam's alt-fire with the special enabled will rape the cargo lift (end of Chapter 11 or 12, right before the drill ride, right?). As soon as a wave of enemies land, you just use the alt-fire and it will stasis and kill them immediately.

 

[Evolved1]

The contact beam's alt-fire with the special enabled will rape the cargo lift (end of Chapter 11 or 12, right before the drill ride, right?). As soon as a wave of enemies land, you just use the alt-fire and it will stasis and kill them immediately.

I have that now.

I was able to beat the lift on my next attempt with a slight loadout change. Actually wasn't too hard. But since then, especially these last two chapters, things have gotten retarded.

Invincible enemies is a pet peeve of mine, and what I just had to deal with kind of soured the experience a bit... I mean, there's no way I'm playing through this game again. If I even finish.

They ran out of interesting gameplay ideas and these last two chapters are just stupid. Throw everything at you... plus this thing that you can't kill, all while you have to hack panels and doors. That save station, haha yeah... nope. Asshole followed me through the door.

I haven't died since that time on the lift, but i'm not really having fun anymore. Still say the game is great, but it's all unraveling here at the end, unfortunately.

 

[Minamu]

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/09/26/dead-space-3-takes-place-on-a-frozen-planet-first-details-inside/

Dead Space: Lost Planet

four posts up haha. But yeah, I didn't see the connection at first either :S

 

[Evolved1]

Well... finished it. Going into Chapter 13 this game was 9.5/10

After watching the credits roll it's 7/10. That's not even knocking them for lame MP. I'm ignoring that completely.

Last two chapters were straight garbage. No way I'm buying the DLC mission if that crap was the best they could come up with for a finale. There's a difference between a challenge and just obnoxious garbage. It was not exciting, just underwhelming frustration that put a spotlight on the worst aspects of the game.

All the way through the game I was thinking, man can't wait to try this in NG+ but now I know I'll never play it again.

 

[Jonm1010]

I just finished the game and echo the sentiment of the above poster. The last couple chapters were just bad in their execution. Poor game development there.

Overall though I really liked the game. However I feel like I enjoyed the first Dead Space a lot more. The atmosphere in the first one was far more memorable, dreadful and scary. There were very few times I was even jumpy or nervous in this game and none of the environments had a lasting or memorable impact the way the first Dead Space did for me. I also felt the story in the first one was far superior.

 

[U n i o n 0015]

The last few chapters are definitely quite annoying. There are some tricks, including one room that I died at a TON that could straight up be skipped once I saw a Hard Core walkthrough of how to do it.

The regenerator is super annoying, I agree. Worst enemy in the game. At least in the first one, you only dealt with him for a few rooms before killing it permanently. It just chasing you to the end is really annoying.

 

[Evolved1]

I quite liked the Ellie character... or whatever her name was. And I enjoyed that Issac was more than just a silent protagonist.

But the story didn't really do much for me. The crazy guy was just annoying and turned out to be completely pointless... high point was definitely the church stuff... pretty cool.

The ending sequence was neat... but the actual game it was wrapped in brought it all down.

 

[eternaLightness]

The last couple of chapters were pretty disappointing. I found myself just not bothering to fight enemies and just rushed along which is not how i wanted to play that game.

 

[itzknickknac]

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/09/26/dead-space-3-takes-place-on-a-frozen-planet-first-details-inside/

Dead Space: Lost Planet

Its sounds like a Pikmin meets The Thing.

doesnt sound like a deadspace game no more but ill be open to it.

 

[U n i o n 0015]

Beat it on Hard Core.

Easily one of my proudest achievements. The YouTube walkthroughs are a godsend. I would say the hardest chapters are the very beginning ones 1-3 or so and then Chapter 14 where you are being chased by the Ubermorph and all the other dudes.

My heart rate at the very end was about the same as if I'd been at the gym!

 

[ILOVEASIANS]

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2011/10/dead-space-3-script-leak-uncovers-some-interesting-new-details/

This sounds pretty awesome. It'd be nice to have something replace the Nicole visions, and "shadow Isaac" would suffice I think.

 

[Nirolak]

 

[Replicant]

Hi Visceral, can you guys PLEASE stop emotionally torturing Isaac? Why can't he be a fully-functional hero that helps other messed up people?

 

[Nirolak]

Hi Visceral, can you guys PLEASE stop emotionally torturing Isaac? Why can't he be a fully-functional hero that helps other messed up people?

But where would we get our unintentional comedy?

 

[Mar]

I finally picked this up a couple of weeks ago and have been making my way through. I think I'm just about finished (chapter 13?).

I'm not sure I like it. Besides the raptor like monsters I'm having trouble seeing a difference between it and the first game. To the point where I'm convinced certain sections are carbon copies. While the first game was fantastic, it was never a 'play twice' sort of game for me (which is common for games that I love, DOOM 3 for instance). So playing through Dead Space 2 is like playing a game I've played before and didn't see a need to play again, yet I am.

One of the best aspects of this series is the sound design. Yet in DS2 there have been multiple occasions where the sound breaks up when there's a lot going on, which ruins a lot of the atmosphere.

I thought I was finally getting into it when

Spoiler

back in the big ship from the first game

. It had a unique style (Condemned used it to good effect too), but unfortunately soon started doing all the same things that previous levels did, and then the game regressed to the same drab levels of before anyway.

And it's too long. Seriously. I'm 13 hours in and that's a really long time to be walking down linear paths shooting the same guys over and over. The scares are old, none of the tricks work anymore. I honestly think it should have been half the length (but then I feel that way about most games actually. And yes, half the price too).

The game still impresses me. The level of polish is ridiculous and the amount of work involved must have been massive. I have the utmost respect for the people who created this. But I'm sorry to say that it's just not doing anything for me, and I'm really hoping it ends soon... It just keeps on going!