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[Opus Angelorum]

Chapter 8 is sheer terror.

Agree, it's the first Chapter I've had to take a break from.

 

[AAK]

Codecow said they're not adding move support.

 

[Zeliard]

I like the new "stomp the loot out of enemies" mechanic, especially since the stomping feels so good. One time I was enraged at a difficult set of enemies I had just barely killed and stomped the shit out of them afterwards, and after the final stomp Isaac just screamed "motherfucker!"

It was both appropriate and therapeutic.

 

[Corky]

I like the new "stomp the loot out of enemies" mechanic, especially since the stomping feels so good. One time I was enraged at a difficult set of enemies I had just barely killed and stomped the shit out of them afterwards, and after the final stomp Isaac just screamed "motherfucker!"

It was both appropriate and therapeutic.

I did that several times XD, felt really satisfying.

 

[Speedymanic]

the combat isn't really like the first game. there isn't any balance anymore. enemies are too fast and they didn't compensate isaac into that equation.

the first time you could make decisions and move from room to room, enemies would use the vents to chase you, building some suspense as to "where the fuck did he go!?".

now you run halfway into the room, hear the vents explode and it's doom 3 all over again. just about every single encounter is just waves and waves of enemies that appear and move so quickly you don't have time or the speed to move anywhere else, or even need to for that matter because you can just pick up the ammo from the bodies that are racking up at your feet.

why not slow things down a bit and let you fight enemies with a brute? the brutes end up being a total stasis time warp and it doesn't even have a chance. instead of being creative with the combat scenarios they just pile on enemy after enemy. the only fights i enjoyed were the ostrich guys who stick their heads out, those enemies are awesome!

dead space has SO much potential, i am just annoyed we end up with a dumbed down version of a game packed with tons of cheap thrills and a tacked on throw away multiplayer. time to play RE4 again.

How is what you describe any different to how RE4 handles enemy encounters?

Dead Space does indeed have a lot of potential and this sequel with its improvements is proof that the developers understand this and have made what is easily one of the best sequels released this gen.

It comfortably takes its place alongside Uncharted 2 and Mass Effect 2 as a sequel that is leagues ahead of its progenitor.

Also, clever girl.

 

[Revolutionary]

DS2 racks up the psychological horror element significantly more than the first game, mixing it up with jump scares (which it actually does with a bit of class). These games don't approach Amnesia in the horror/fear realm (very little does), but the second does a much better job of it than the first. I didn't think the first was remotely scary but this one feels slightly more unnerving.

I disagree. In DS1, the psychological terror felt more subtle, and therefore better. For example, there were copious amounts of vents that the Necros could've come from, but more often than not, they didn't. The fear was in expecting them to pop out. DS2 ending spoiler:

Spoiler

this is the exact reason why I absolutely loved DS2's ending: expecting the jump scare from the first game's ending, only to be greeted with a "..what?" because you got all hyped up and scared for nothing

.

However, in DS2, just about every vent can (and probably will) turn into a jump scare as you cross them, sometimes even hitting you, or even worse, automatically grabbing you and putting you into a QTE. Not only is that a cheap scare, but it's a cheap hit.
Also, the shining moments of horror (

Spoiler

Nicole hallucinations, etc.

) in DS2 are almost ruined by the loud noises accompanying them, designed to startle you rather than unnerve you. Again, though, I did appreciate what they were going for.

I'm far from an expert of horror, but I'm from the camp that prefers more subtle horror, rather than copious amounts of jump scares like recent horror flicks.

EDIT: Dead Space = Alien, Dead Space 2 = Aliens is a(n almost) perfect analogy. Props to whoever thought that one up. :lol

 

[Speedymanic]

I disagree. In DS1, the psychological terror felt more subtle, and therefore better. For example, there were copious amounts of vents that the Necros could've come from, but more often than not, they didn't. The fear was in expecting them to pop out. DS2 ending spoiler:

Spoiler

this is the exact reason why I absolutely loved DS2's ending: expecting the jump scare from the first game's ending, only to be greeted with a "..what?" because you got all hyped up and scared for nothing

.

However, in DS2, just about every vent can (and probably will) turn into a jump scare as you cross them, sometimes even hitting you, or even worse, automatically grabbing you and putting you into a QTE. Not only is that a cheap scare, but it's a cheap hit.
Also, the shining moments of horror (

Spoiler

Nicole hallucinations

) in DS2 are almost ruined by the loud noises accompanying them, designed to startle you rather than unnerve you. Again, though, I did appreciate what they were going for.

I'm far from an expert of horror, but I'm from the camp that prefers more subtle horror, rather than copious amounts of jump scares like recent horror flicks.

EDIT: Dead Space = Alien, Dead Space 2 = Aliens is a perfect analogy. Props to whoever thought that one up. :lol

DS2 does have a lot of subtle horror, it's mostly left to the sound but having played this with 5.1 headphones I can safely say the ambient sound when you walking around the Sprawl has unsettled me a helluva more than any of the jump scares.

 

[Beelzeboss]

The fact that most of the enemies return from Dead Space 1 makes the game less scary as well. What's the point in getting all tense when a Slasher jumps out of a vent? I know how to handle these things already.

If there is a Dead Space 3 we need more enemies like the stalker. Also more crazy people interacting with Necromorphs are always welcome. Those moments always ended up being the creepiest thing in Dead Space 2.

 

[Revolutionary]

DS2 does have a lot of subtle horror, it's mostly left to the sound but having played this with 5.1 headphones I can safely say the ambient sound when you walking around the Sprawl has unsettled me a helluva more than any of the jump scares.

I'm not disagreeing with the sound design being top notch (I only played at night and with my sound system cranked up - I know how good it is as well!). I'm disagreeing that the psychological horror is more/better than what was found in Dead Space 1. It's essentially the same kind of stuff going on, sans Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

 

[Patryn]

Ah, the bliss of Dead Space. I'm actually kind of happy that DS2 is so similar to the first, because it came down to the same thing: Me, with a fully upgraded Ripper, just tearing everything apart. The last few chapters just became me, back to the wall, Ripper out, with a pile of bodies at my feet. Seriously, soon as you get a fully upgraded Ripper, the game gets way too easy.

God I love the Ripper.

 

[Tacitus_]

Just going through my newgame+ on zealot and I noticed this scrawled on the wall:



Rest of the scribbles:



Visceral, you evil bastards

 

[codecow]

If DS2 is the Aliens to DS1's Alien, I hope to God they don't use Alien 3 as a reference point for DS3.

Lol I liked that movie.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Just finished the game.Took me about 7:30 on casual. I liked Dead Space a lot, but I thought 2 was even better. The ending, specifically last scene, was classic.

I am not good with horror games (thus my playing on casual) but this one was surprisingly easier to play that the first, maybe I knew some of what to expect.

Overall outstanding game, great graphics, stellar voice work, and great gameplay.

I upgraded my suit, and the first weapon all the way. The only weapons I ever used was the first gun, and the machine gun.

Favorite enemy has to be the

Spoiler

guys that are like raptors and hide behind crates. Things fucked with my head quite a bit

.

 

[Dascu]

Lol I liked that movie.

Respect++

Alien³ rocked and is vastly underrated.

 

[Lakitu]

I'm on chapter 13, and it's fucking awesome. Impressions later.

 

[DevelopmentArrested]

The people who play multiplayer are fucking idiots. They NEVER go for the goals just want to kill kill kill. Ugh.

 

[brandonh83]

The Alien 3 director's cut is way better.

 

[X-Frame]

Is it highly recommended to play the first game before playing this one or nah?

 

[Teknoman]

Respect++

Alien³ rocked and is vastly underrated.

Its good, but as far as the series goes in general, the first two just seemed to have sci-fi horror down packed. Then again, I like wrecked spaceship environments with warning lights

 

[brandonh83]

Is it highly recommended to play the first game before playing this one or nah?

I would, but mainly because the first game is really good.

 

[Dascu]

The Alien 3 director's cut is way better.

Yes, it is. 'Cept for the weaker CG.

 

[RoboPlato]

Is it highly recommended to play the first game before playing this one or nah?

I would. The first is really good and you'd be pretty lost on a lot of the backstory without having played the first.

 

[Teknoman]

The people who play multiplayer are fucking idiots. They NEVER go for the goals just want to kill kill kill. Ugh.

PSN or Live? I've seen a few GAF from my PSN friendslist on the MP leaderboards, so i'm hoping to jump on a team with them. With randoms just like in Uncharted 2 or L4D2, its either going to be really fun, or kinda dull.

 

[Pancho]

Love how one of the deaths in chapter 6 mimics Dead Space 1 boxart.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Is it highly recommended to play the first game before playing this one or nah?

I would recommend it, but if you don't Dead Space 2 has a "as seen on Dead Space" thing in the menu where you choose to start a new game that fills you in decently.

 

[Omiee]

ok so i havent played extraction yet and im halfway through dead space 2 but i did finish the first one.
in what order is it in time.
dead space downfall than extraction than dead space than dead space aftermath and than dead space 2?

 

[friskykillface]

The people who play multiplayer are fucking idiots. They NEVER go for the goals just want to kill kill kill. Ugh.

this


during one session i did the whole thing by myself, all the objectives ,everyone was just killing, both sides lol

a horde mode would have been cool

 

[george_us]

Just beat it, took me about 10 hours or so.

Overall the final chapters were a bit more uneven than Chapters 1-9. Way too many "throw a shit load of enemies at you" moments. The final boss fight sucked and was annoying as hell in comparison to DS1's awesome final boss.

I also didn't like the story or the characters as much as the first one. It didn't feel like the events that happened progressed the overarching plot. The only moment that did was probably the bit after the credit roll. As far as the characters go, Daina was actually pretty awesome but

Spoiler

they kill her off pretty early.

Stross was useless and you don't even meet Tiedman face to face until [/spoiler]the end. Ellie kicked ass though. On the whole though I liked DS1's plot and characters much more.

Like I said though, the first nine chapters are GOTY quality. Some amazing and tense moments to be had. I kind of felt sorry whenever I had to kill those

Spoiler

exploding baby things

.

 

[Chiggs]

Respect++

Alien³ rocked and is vastly underrated.

Uh huh... it sure is.

I sure loved the super-exciting hallway chase at the end. I mean, it was so cool to see the alien's POV as it chased after the bait while climbing on the walls and ceilings. What made it even cooler was seeing it 10+ times in a span of 5 minutes. Stunning direction from a young David Fincher fresh off some Madonna videos.

 

[ashbash159]

I was just wondering is there any codes out there for the PC version which you can input in the extras menu?

I have a feeling I'm right at the end of chapter 7

Spoiler

after the "sky" dive

.

The game is very good but I just don't think I'm getting as scared as I want to be. I do jump when monsters jump out of the closet but not at every moment they jump out. That's not scary though. Not like Amnesia (at least the demo). I've even got the perfect set-up on my PC - great headphones and in the dark.

Are any of you guys getting scared by this game?

 

[Zeliard]

I disagree. In DS1, the psychological terror felt more subtle, and therefore better. For example, there were copious amounts of vents that the Necros could've come from, but more often than not, they didn't. The fear was in expecting them to pop out.

What you're doing here is basically describing jump scares. Being able to anticipate jump scares or not doesn't qualify as "psychological horror," at least not the way I'm describing it, but rather a sense of tension. Yet monsters jumping out of vents or not was the entirety of Dead Space's attempt at evoking fear, and that's precisely why it failed for me. The game was more successful at evoking tension than fear, but that didn't have nearly as much to the horror elements as it simply did the nature of the gameplay.

The intro to the Eurogamer review said it perfectly:

Some games elicit fear in their player through ambience: the hollow grumble of a cello, a mortal cry for help daubed in blood on a wall, a rocking horse swaying in an unfamiliar breeze as an unseen child sings a nursery rhyme.

Other games engender fear through brute shocks: sudden power failures that rob you of a sense, floorboards which give way in showers of splinters, monsters who burst through walls you had ticked off as safe in your subconscious.

Then there are those games which unsettle the player by restraining their reach into the world. There's a limit to the amount of ammunition or health packs which can be carried at any given time. Save points are spread out between long tightropes of danger. Walls close in, creating a sense of claustrophobia and panic when trying to line up a headshot in a confined space.

Dead Space 2 does all of this.

In my opinion, the first game only really successfully did, or even attempted, #2. I never ran into ammo issues (quite the opposite), and non-shock scares were very few and far between.

As a random aside, I think what sets Dead Space 2 apart from almost every other shooter is that it puts huge emphasis on crowd control, which is something you usually only see in RPGs and MMOs. In most other shooters, you're pretty much plugging enemies with bullets or throwing grenades until they die, but in DS2 you're forced to tactically improvise in almost every enemy encounter due to the ways they attack and the sequential method with which you have to take them down.

 

[Teknoman]

Well if there are enough on the PSN side of things, we could just create a chatroom, and form up teams from there.

 

[Y2Kev]

I'm surprised at how uneven the game is in parts. One of the things I liked most about Dead Space was how incredibly smooth the entire gameplay experience was (but most people complained about the asteroid shooting). Here I'm hitting what I would consider some abnormally difficult sections even on regular difficulty. There are parts of Chapter 6 and 7 that I feel are much harder than anything in their immediate companies.

 

[I NEED SCISSORS]

Installing it now. How well does the game run on PC compared with DS1?

 

[ashbash159]

I think playing on the PC is making playing this game on regular difficulty quite easy.

For example when the "children" enemies come running at you from different angles it's easier to just pop them off with the mouse aiming.

Anybody having the same feeling?

 

[george_us]

I'm surprised at how uneven the game is in parts. One of the things I liked most about Dead Space was how incredibly smooth the entire gameplay experience was (but most people complained about the asteroid shooting). Here I'm hitting what I would consider some abnormally difficult sections even on regular difficulty. There are parts of Chapter 6 and 7 that I feel are much harder than anything in their immediate companies.

It's weird isn't it?

Sometimes there are parts where I have so much ammo and health I have to leave some behind while other parts I'm scrambling to find ANY ammo or health.

 

[Zeliard]

I'm surprised at how uneven the game is in parts. One of the things I liked most about Dead Space was how incredibly smooth the entire gameplay experience was (but most people complained about the asteroid shooting). Here I'm hitting what I would consider some abnormally difficult sections even on regular difficulty. There are parts of Chapter 6 and 7 that I feel are much harder than anything in their immediate companies.

Play on Survivalist you sissy.

I do think a lot is missed playing on Normal, honestly. I was talking about that first boss earlier, but man. On Normal that dude is barely above a regular enemy. On Survivalist or above, he's actually a boss. Plus the spikes in difficulty may be less egregious if you get used to the difficulty early on, i.e. by starting off on a higher difficulty level.

Installing it now. How well does the game run on PC compared with DS1?

Beautifully. Mouse lag is gone, though you're going to want to disable in-game vysnc and force it and triple buffering outside of the game, much like with the first.

This is the only time I've ever actually lamented not having an ATI card, for MLAA. The in-game AA option is laughable and it probably looks absurd with some decent level of AA going. Game is still gorgeous, though, and runs beautifully (steady 60 for me). I can't complain since I'm still on an 8800GTX! Truly milking that card for all it's worth.

 

[ToyMachine228]

My biggest complaint so far (I'm on Chapter 10) is how often the game puts you in crappy combat scenarios. Being attacked from both sides, having enemies drop down literally right on top of you, etc. Where there is no "right" way to go about the battle. You just have to spin and shoot as fast as you can, throw in some kinesis, and hope you make your shots. It's pretty frustrating. It's not causing me to die a lot per se, but I hate taking damage that I can't really prevent.

 

[Zeliard]

I wonder if some people are having more difficulty because they don't realize you can stomp corpses for ammo (and pretty consistently at that). I know the game tells you to stomp the green boxes for loot, but I don't know if they mention corpses.

 

[Lakitu]

Completed, awesome stuff. Took me 8 and a half hours. Great start to the year. Sign me up for

Spoiler

Dead Space 3

Back to Oblivion.

 

[ashbash159]

I wonder if some people are having more difficulty because they don't realize you can stomp corpses for ammo (and pretty consistently at that). I know the game tells you to stomp the green boxes for loot, but I don't know if they mention corpses.

I can't stop stomping. I have to stomp everything I see.

 

[Zeliard]

I can't stop stomping. I have to stomp everything I see.

Due to stomp being so much more beneficial this time around to get loot, I find myself using it more during combat as well. If I've got the legs knocked off something, chances are they're getting a boot through the skull.

 

[Lakitu]

I can't stop stomping. I have to stomp everything I see.

I even stomped dead civilian bodies.

 

[Revolutionary]

What you're doing here is basically describing jump scares. Being able to anticipate jump scares or not doesn't qualify as "psychological horror," at least not the way I'm describing it, but rather a sense of tension. Yet monsters jumping out of vents or not was the entirety of Dead Space's attempt at evoking fear, and that's precisely why it failed for me. The game was more successful at evoking tension than fear, but that didn't have nearly as much to the horror elements as it simply did the nature of the gameplay.

Again, that was just one example of what I was referring to. Tension essentially is a form of psychological terror - the anticipation and fear of something appearing.

I do believe the sound design, as we agreed on, is one of the more important parts of Dead Space's horror. My complaint is that in this game, the sound design is going for shock more than fear. I'm not saying DS1 didn't have it's own share of jump scares, but you can't sit there with a straight face and tell me DS2 didn't at least triple the amount. DS1's focus was more on the ambience, less on the shocking "bet you weren't expecting that shit!" moments.

In my opinion, the first game only really successfully did, or even attempted, #2. I never ran into ammo issues (quite the opposite), and non-shock scares were very few and far between

See, I had the exact opposite experience with resources - scarce in DS1, plentiful in DS2. The fact that you can essentially grind the randomly-spawning enemies for their loot and then sell it to rack up resources completely negated the tension of only having a limited amount to work with in DS1 (IIRC, damn near all encounters were scripted). By the time I was done with my Survivalist run, I had at least 20 Medium Health Packs and 200 Plasma rounds (Plasma Cutter FTW).

As for the Eurogamer excerpt, I do believe Dead Space succeeded just as well (if not better) in all of those regards - DS2 just did it again. Except, there's new creepy nursery rhymes!



Also, Dead Space 1 taught me to stomp every body in every room, just in case you return and one of the Manta Ray necros are there to turn them. I think that only happened once in this game, though.

 

[JRW]

Does that mag say Interstellar Snort?

 

[fernoca]

A little off-topic, but:
I know I'm dumb, so...
Is there a picture f the controller setup of Extraction with Move?

I swear I used the nunchuck on the Wii version (unless my memory just sucks), yet here it seems to be only use the Move controller and using the Dual Shock (no nav-con yet) just brought a second player-reticule (and a trophy for it too).

 

[Tacitus_]

I wonder if some people are having more difficulty because they don't realize you can stomp corpses for ammo (and pretty consistently at that). I know the game tells you to stomp the green boxes for loot, but I don't know if they mention corpses.

Pretty sure the hint mentioned both corpses and boxes.

 

[Omiee]

i keep getting this error, when im just about to open this door my game just stops and i get a error message how can i fix this.

 

[Lakitu]

Holy shit, these

Spoiler

credits

take forever. I'm waiting to see if

Spoiler

there's a secret ending scene

 

[Monkey Pants]

Does that mag say Interstellar Snort?

It says "Interstellar Sports"