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[LiK]

Yeah, I agree with you. It kind of shares the high points but also the low points with Uncharted. But it's more repetitive, so I would rate it below (which is still a compliment I guess). "Oh really, another room full of those assholes?" I was really fed up when I started the

Spoiler

government sector

.

The final boss was annoying. Thankfully I had enough ammo saved, but I can imagine it being a nightmare on the harder difficulties. DS1 boss was better.

I didn't have any issues with the final boss. Force Gun + Contact combo worked for me.

 

[I NEED SCISSORS]

Yeah, I agree with you. It kind of shares the high points but also the low points with Uncharted. But it's more repetitive, so I would rate it below (which is still a compliment I guess). "Oh really, another room full of those assholes?" I was really fed up when I started the

Spoiler

government sector

.

The final boss was annoying. Thankfully I had enough ammo saved, but I can imagine it being a nightmare on the harder difficulties. DS1 boss was better.

The final boss was easy. I did it on my first go. Here was my strategy:

Spoiler

Contact beam, contact beam, contact beam. One or two hits on Nicole will open up the thing in the background, then a couple of hits on that stops it. For the Necro children, one shot of the contact beam's alternative fire kills them all instantly. Just go in with 15-20 rounds and you'll be laughing.

 

[Mdk7]

Started it yesterday night, got to chapter 3 so far.
I loved the original Dead Space (which is exactly what i wanted from Resident Evil 5), yet the first two hours with this completely blew me away.
It's shockingly good, the atmosphere is incredible.
And whole situation you find yourself in at the beginning is pure genius.

I love you Visceral!

 

[EatChildren]

Weird Space 2.

 

[rhino4evr]

Got to chapter 4..I think I'm close to the end of it. What can I say. This game is incredible.

Though it may be similar to the first game, i love the weapon upgrade system. It seems even more balanced in this game. Finding schematics is like finding gold..

The zero gravity stuff is really improved over the first game too. I haven't cone across any real puzzles yet, but im sure I will soon enough.

This may be the first game I Keep on Gamefly. I can see myself replaying it.

 

[Wiggum2007]

What the fuck is going on with your game, EatChildren? :lol

 

[Dascu]

Arrived in the mail today. Played up to chapter 2. Good fun, just like the first.

 

[stupei]

Beat it last night.

The end didn't feel as bad as everyone made it out to be here, but maybe this is because I was prepared. If you go into it knowing that it's designed to make you run, run, run, you can rush through the last chapters using mostly stasis,

Spoiler

the ripper, and the cutter when something's too long range.

Only died once in the final areas when I lost track of the route I was meant to go and got cornered by about six of them.

Originally I would have said the church chapters are my favorites, but I really don't know now. Chapter 10 is really up there and was definitely the most frightening. I was almost completely out of ammo and health when I started walking down

Spoiler

the long, barely lit engineering bay area. Three brutes in a row?

After a while I just ran, hoping I'd reach some ammo at the end or an escape route. I find a couple plasma rounds and a stasis recharge and manage to hold them off. The dust clears and my health is flashing red. I see a box out of the corner of my eye and go to smash it, praying there's health.

And a necro jumps me. Just barely got stasis off in time, and I genuinely screamed. I mean, it was a scream of, "Oh, FUCKER," but it was a shout alright. Would've been so pissed if he'd killed me there.

Spoiler

I also kind of want to change my avatar to an image of Ellie. So glad she didn't die or simply disappear. Too many dead/evil women in these games, it was nice for Ellie to get to be a bit of a badass and still live. Also love her delivery on the ending beat. That moment is great.

Edit: And I swear, Visceral, if

Spoiler

you just kill Ellie off in the third because you think that's more dramatic or it's great to make Isaac suffer, I'm going to be so pissed. You made a ridiculously awesome game, so please don't go that super cliche route with the next one.

 

[swoon]

chapter 7 elevator scene on Zealot makes me want to tear my hair out.

 

[sam27368]

Got the SPOILER HEAVY story thread up -
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=420787

Once again it's SPOILER HEAVY and all SPOILERS are untagged. You have been warned.

 

[LiK]

Beat it last night.

The end didn't feel as bad as everyone made it out to be here, but maybe this is because I was prepared. If you go into it knowing that it's designed to make you run, run, run, you can rush through the last chapters using mostly stasis,

Spoiler

the ripper, and the cutter when something's too long range.

Only died once in the final areas when I lost track of the route I was meant to go and got cornered by about six of them.

Originally I would have said the church chapters are my favorites, but I really don't know now. Chapter 10 is really up there and was definitely the most frightening. I was almost completely out of ammo and health when I started walking down

Spoiler

the long, barely lit engineering bay area. Three brutes in a row?

After a while I just ran, hoping I'd reach some ammo at the end or an escape route. I find a couple plasma rounds and a stasis recharge and manage to hold them off. The dust clears and my health is flashing red. I see a box out of the corner of my eye and go to smash it, praying there's health.

And a necro jumps me. Just barely got stasis off in time, and I genuinely screamed. I mean, it was a scream of, "Oh, FUCKER," but it was a shout alright. Would've been so pissed if he'd killed me there.

Spoiler

I also kind of want to change my avatar to an image of Ellie. So glad she didn't die or simply disappear. Too many dead/evil women in these games, it was nice for Ellie to get to be a bit of a badass and still live. Also love her delivery on the ending beat. That moment is great.

Edit: And I swear, Visceral, if

Spoiler

you just kill Ellie off in the third because you think that's more dramatic or it's great to make Isaac suffer, I'm going to be so pissed. You made a ridiculously awesome game, so please don't go that super cliche route with the next one.

I'm curious, did you play Dead Space 1?

Chapter 10 was a nice

Spoiler

memory lane in the Ishimura. i loved seeing the bench where we first got the plasma cutter in DS1.

 

[Stallion Free]

I highly recommend playing this game with the music off and a good set of headphones. It made the game actually consistently scare me a second time through.

 

[MightyHealthy]

Sometimes DS2 felt like it was changing course too dramatically to compensate for what was basically an A to B story - the

Spoiler

betrayal

at the beginning felt pretty damn pointless from a storytelling perspective when you look back on it. Tiedemann was also a pretty weak bad guy who just felt under-developed -

Spoiler

if I was in charge, I would have just ditched the betrayal at the start and have Tiedemann lure you to the church as a trap, rather than the whole Unitology wants your brain angle. It would have created a far more devious character than just "ha ha Isaac, you're going to die now".

Well, the way I understood it:

Spoiler

Dana, the Unitologists, and the betrayal set up Isaac even getting out in the first place. Without them, he's still stuck in a room with a straitjacket on. They had planned on springing him out eventually, to create more markers, but the outbreak speeds those plans up.

Tiedemann develops as the story reveals the details on why he is hellbent on stopping Isaac - ending something he felt like he started. Tiedemann's personification as an obstacle was for a mixture of reasons, and his moments of responsibility also pave way for the necromorphs to expand beyond the sprawl.

Isaac and Stross were used for their knowledge of the marker, with the hope that the marker could be used as an energy producer and such. The research on the marker had already revived the economy of the sprawl immensely, and it was beginning to return the downtrodden station to affluency, after a period of depression.

Obviously, it didn't turn out so great, so he personally attempts to minimize the damage (against his overseer's orders) and stop Isaac from destroying the marker, as he has justified the losses with the gains. He sees Isaac as a threat not only to containment, but to further research and breakthroughs.

Isaac was always a threat the more he progressed...if he escapes, his brain can still be used to profit at other stations (which would make the sprawl's work less valuable)...if he succeeds in destroying the marker, he ruins the research and developments they have made. Regardless of outcome, Isaac was to be a necessary casualty, which is why he tried his damnedest to ensure Clarke's demise.

Even until the end, he believes wholeheartedly that he was doing, blindly believing he was continuing his family's tradition of governing.

Not too deep, but more than sufficient explanation IMHO

 

[UpperCaseN]

So what's the verdict on PS3 vs 360 versions? As far as I can tell:

PS3: 1 disc and includes Dead Space Extraction

360: 2 discs, no Dead Space Extraction

How about graphics/performance or anything else? I always steer towards 360 for everything, probably due to controller preference, but I really need to stop doing that

 

[stupei]

I'm curious, did you play Dead Space 1?

Chapter 10 was a nice

Spoiler

memory lane in the Ishimura. i loved seeing the bench where we first got the plasma cutter in DS1.

Yeah.

Spoiler

I think that's part of what made Chapter 10 so great. It was wonderfully creepy to see the familiar settings transformed and covered in plastic. It's like the Ishimura itself is a corpse under dissection. And while the blood smears on the wall in DS1 were nice and moody, the luminol is just on a whole other level. It makes all those deaths seem less like just another part of the gameplay and more like the scene of a crime.

I highly recommend playing this game with the music off and a good set of headphones. It made the game actually consistently scare me a second time through.

The sound really is incredible, maybe even better than DS1 which is quite a feat.

 

[EatChildren]

Up to Chapter 7 or 8 now. Still lots of fun. I dont like

Spoiler

Ellie

though. She seems very stereotyped. In fact, the story so far has been really weak and not particularly interesting at all.

So far its definitely a fun game and leagues ahead of the original in production values, but I have to say it hasn't grabbed me quite like the original did. I dont like the heavier story focus with Isaac talking, and the setting isn't as intriguing.

So what's the verdict on PS3 vs 360 versions? As far as I can tell:

PS3: 1 disc and includes Dead Space Extraction

360: 2 discs, no Dead Space Extraction

How about graphics/performance or anything else? I always steer towards 360 for everything, probably due to controller preference, but I really need to stop doing that

I cant answer your graphics question as I'm playing on PC, but more people really do need to play Extraction. Its a shame it bombed so hard on the Wii, but now that more people have the chance to play it they really should. Its essential Dead Space story and lore, and tons of fun.

 

[Stallion Free]

I cant answer your graphics question as I'm playing on PC, but more people really do need to play Extraction. Its a shame it bombed so hard on the Wii, but now that more people have the chance to play it they really should. Its essential Dead Space story and lore, and tons of fun.

I hated the actual gameplay on the Wii. Loved the story, hated the gameplay. It is the last genre I wanted to experience Dead Space in and it did so many fucking annoying things.

 

[UpperCaseN]

I cant answer your graphics question as I'm playing on PC, but more people really do need to play Extraction. Its a shame it bombed so hard on the Wii, but now that more people have the chance to play it they really should. Its essential Dead Space story and lore, and tons of fun.

Oh for sure, I have it for Wii and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a damn shame it didn't sell well because the game is ace. It was cool seeing some parts from the Downfall movie overlap into Extraction

 

[glaurung]

How about graphics/performance or anything else? I always steer towards 360 for everything, probably due to controller preference, but I really need to stop doing that

Lens of Truth ran their comparison, they say the games are equal.

http://www.lensoftruth.com/?p=27114

 

[LiK]

So what's the verdict on PS3 vs 360 versions? As far as I can tell:

PS3: 1 disc and includes Dead Space Extraction

360: 2 discs, no Dead Space Extraction

How about graphics/performance or anything else? I always steer towards 360 for everything, probably due to controller preference, but I really need to stop doing that

I got the 360 cuz I beat the first one on 360 and I prefer the controller on 360. But I gonna get the PS3 one when I get Move. I don't think I wanna invest in Move for HD Extraction alone. I recently ordered the Wii ver cuz it was damn cheap.

Either version is fine technically.

 

[EatChildren]

I hated the actual gameplay on the Wii. Loved the story, hated the gameplay. It is the last genre I wanted to experience Dead Space in and it did so many fucking annoying things.

Yeah well I hate your face Stallion Free so stick that in your pipe and smoke it!

 

[Stallion Free]

Yeah well I hate your face Stallion Free so stick that in your pipe and smoke it!

It's worth a playthrough for the story if you enjoy the Dead Space universe, I will say that. Also, playing in co-op would have most likely removed 200% of the irritations I felt.

 

[Dyno]

I'm on my second playthrough and have realized that the Contact Beam is practically essential. The Plasma Cutter is essential. I use to think the Line Gun was essential but really that weapon just makes the game easier. The Contact Beam, especially when mostly upgraded, is not only very servicable in most combats but the go-to weapon for sub-bosses and bosses. You can two or three-shot a brute and the fight ends in less than ten seconds. You wind up saving a ton of ammo and health packs.

 

[rhino4evr]

So on my first run I'm going Cutter, Line, Pulse, and Contact. Is that a good mix?

 

[LiK]

So on my first run I'm going Cutter, Line, Pulse, and Contact. Is that a good mix?

Try them all, fun mix of weapons. The alt fires are also great.

 

[ToyMachine228]

So what's the deal with achievements and NG+? Can I get achievements on NG+?

 

[LiK]

So what's the deal with achievements and NG+? Can I get achievements on NG+?

Yup, same as DS1

 

[I NEED SCISSORS]

So on my first run I'm going Cutter, Line, Pulse, and Contact. Is that a good mix?

I used this mix on my first run, brilliant mix imo. You have precision (Plasma Cutter), power (Line Gun), speed (Pulse Rifle) and crowd control / extreme power (Contact Beam).

 

[Dyno]

I used this mix on my first run, brilliant mix imo. You have precision (Plasma Cutter), power (Line Gun), speed (Pulse Rifle) and crowd control / extreme power (Contact Beam).

I would swap Pulse Rifle with Force Gun myself. The push back is a godsend sometimes. The Pulse Rifle is an effective weapon but we use that kind of weapon in every other game so it's cool that in DS you can avoid it and use weirder weapons.

 

[Brandon F]

I just bought ignition in prep for this game. Damn ea for linking that garbage so heavily into the narrative fold of this experience. It's like punishment, but I must force myself for the sake of extended lore.

I also know I will be so frustrated skipping locked doors because I didn't pay the premium of the ignition experience.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Edit: And I swear, Visceral, if

Spoiler

you just kill Ellie off in the third because you think that's more dramatic or it's great to make Isaac suffer, I'm going to be so pissed. You made a ridiculously awesome game, so please don't go that super cliche route with the next one.

I agree.

Spoiler

She's a great character and Isaac and Ellie make a great team.

Well, the way I understood it:

*snip*

Not too deep, but more than sufficient explanation IMHO

That's actually a really good explanation.

 

[EatChildren]

Noir Space 2.

 

[LiK]

I agree.

Spoiler

She's a great character and Isaac and Ellie make a great team.

That's actually a really good explanation.

When Ellie

Spoiler

said "You own me an eye" and they fought behind the closed walls, it sorta took away the horror of the moment before when she was getting her eye stabbed. But it was a funny moment and lightened things up.

i love her voice.

 

[Struct09]

My favorite interaction with Ellie:

Spoiler

When you're fighting off Necromorphs to get pieces to fix the tank, and after all your work she says "I fixed it!"

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

When Ellie

Spoiler

said "You own me an eye" and they fought behind the closed walls, it sorta took away the horror of the moment before when she was getting her eye stabbed. But it was a funny moment and lightened things up.

i love her voice.

Her voice is audio erotica.

Spoiler

Though I mean, it's in the future... maybe eyes are easy to come by

Noir Space 2.

Do you narrate to yourself in a hard-boiled voice while playing?

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

Yeah on Hardcore that might be trickier. I typically ignore RIG upgrades outside of putting as many nodes in health without having to use one on an empty slot (which I think is just two in DS2). Air upgrades may as well not exist.

When I do my Hardcore run I'll probably still do that, since I didn't die too much on Survivalist. Only thing that keeps me from doing Hardcore immediately is the time investment needed. No matter what your saving strategy is, you have to inevitably go through several chapters before you can afford to save. Maybe this weekend.

The whole air upgrade thing was a bit of a disappointment. I feel like it played a greater role in the first game. In this one...not so much, and by not so much, I mean not at all.

Infact...my biggest gripe about the game is "The Sprawl". I was one of the few that liked it being on a space ship. If I wasn't told that "The Sprawl" was NOT a ship...well...I really don't think many would know the difference. Other than it seems like there were less opportunities for vaccuum environments.

I do like the whole "getting sucked out through holes" thing, but almost at the end of a second playthrough, I still don't "get" The Sprawl.

I LIKED them reusing environments that I had previous knowledge of because I knew things would be a little bit different, just to fuck with me.

I'm nitpicking here but I'm not a fan of The Sprawl, nor of the lack of noticeable chapters.

 

[see5harp]

I agree with Stallion regarding Extraction. It really is a solid light gun game as it's the first that I've played with a decent story and it does attempt to create some characters. The issue I have is in the way it's setup with zero checkpoints, and no way to skip story elements. Some of the levels are pretty damn long and in a few sessions I've basically had to pause and leave the room. That also makes your 2nd and 3rd playthroughs of levels really horrible because in the first few chapters there isn't really a ton of shooting going on. I have played one score challenge and do appreciate those for the simple shooting though.

 

[CadetMahoney]

Do you think it's worth starting a Dead Space story thread?

I wanna know who the fuck put all that hippie shit all over the walls in the residential/shopping areas in between chapters 2 and 7. Necros running around would make that kinda hard.

Also was Daina telling the truth about Strauss killing his wife and kids. Maybe cos he was hallucinating about his boy "look how big you've grown" at the beginning of Chapter 7.

 

[Corky]

The whole air upgrade thing was a bit of a disappointment. I feel like it played a greater role in the first game. In this one...not so much, and by not so much, I mean not at all.

very very true, in the first one there were many sections were air was of the essence and attributied to tense scenarios, here I barely realized I had an air-gauge.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

I wanna know who the fuck put all that hippie shit all over the walls in the residential/shopping areas in between chapters 2 and 7. Necros running around would make that kinda hard.

Also was Daina telling the truth about Strauss killing his wife and kids. Maybe cos he was hallucinating about his boy "look how big you've grown" at the beginning of Chapter 7.

Maybe the Marker was causing insanity before the fall. Some people graffitied that before and during the initial stages. Isaac only wakes up at the tail-end of the evacuation. And Aftermath answers your other question, I think. Jump over to the story thread if you wanna discuss it, I guess: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=420787

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

very very true, in the first one there were many sections were air was of the essence and attributied to tense scenarios, here I barely realized I had an air-gauge.

I don't have the exact number...but I'm pretty sure the O2 counter started above 100 without upgrades.

Which I believe is way, WAY higher than in the original.

I definitely remember running out of air was one MORE thing to worry about in the original...which I dug.

 

[LiK]

very very true, in the first one there were many sections were air was of the essence and attributied to tense scenarios, here I barely realized I had an air-gauge.

yea, plenty of air in the sequel even if you didn't max upgrade it. i guess they did some focus testing concerning that aspect of the first game. losing air was damn scary.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

yea, plenty of air in the sequel even if you didn't max upgrade it. i guess they did some focus testing concerning that aspect of the first game. losing air was damn scary.

They need to stop having pussies in their focus-testing then.

On my second play through with a fully upgraded RIG, I can have Isaac sit down and make a grilled-cheese sandwich and not worry about O2.

 

[LiK]

They need to stop having pussies in their focus-testing then.

On my second play through with a fully upgraded RIG, I can have Isaac sit down and make a grilled-cheese sandwich and not worry about O2.

it was so funny. i kept thinking i might need the O2 refills alot in the

Spoiler

moving the solar panels level

but i think i only needed it once and i was taking my sweet time.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

I kinda wish there was more Zero-G/Vacuum bits... those were mostly really great. There was that one bit where

Spoiler

out of nowhere you're grabbed by a tentacle, blown through a hole in the wall and just thrown into space... it was fantastic.

Stuff like that, desperation in the void of space, that stuff can be intense. Also, the Zero-G segments were so... soothing? Very relaxing, which I actually really enjoyed. Nice bit of downtime.

 

[bluedeviltron]

One of the most irritating final bosses ever, especially if you go into it with no ammo.

I can't imagine how hard you'd have to hate yourself to play that game on Zealot or Hardcore.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

it was so funny. i kept thinking i might need the O2 refills alot in the

Spoiler

moving the solar panels level

but i think i only needed it once and i was taking my sweet time.

On my second playthrough, I didn't stop once. Killed the necro-launcher, realigned both panels, grabbed about five boxes of loot and still had tonnes of time to get back to the doorway.

Not a game-wrecker but man, it really could have used that sense of urgency that you get when you're trying to run from necros, do a task AND not run out of air.

I'm trying to 1000 Dead Space and played it recently and there are really exceptional parts where you're worried about O2 ontop of worrying about everything else.

One of the most irritating final bosses ever, especially if you go into it with no ammo.

I can't imagine how hard you'd have to hate yourself to play that game on Zealot or Hardcore.

Went into it on Zealot with a fully upgraded Plasma Cutter and partially upgraded Rivet Gun.
(I know...stupid)
I hated myself pretty hard.

 

[Windom Earle]

The final boss was easy. I did it on my first go. Here was my strategy:

Spoiler

Contact beam, contact beam, contact beam. One or two hits on Nicole will open up the thing in the background, then a couple of hits on that stops it. For the Necro children, one shot of the contact beam's alternative fire kills them all instantly. Just go in with 15-20 rounds and you'll be laughing.

As it was my first playthrough, I did not use that gun Went with my standard setup from DS1. (Cutter, Line Gun, Impulse Rifle + Detonator as added bonus)

So what's the verdict on PS3 vs 360 versions? As far as I can tell:

PS3: 1 disc and includes Dead Space Extraction

360: 2 discs, no Dead Space Extraction

How about graphics/performance or anything else? I always steer towards 360 for everything, probably due to controller preference, but I really need to stop doing that

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-dead-space-2-face-off

If you have a good sound system, go with PS3. Also one disc and DS Extraction.
Other than that they are absolutely identical.

 

[RedSwirl]

With a little strategy the final boss was manageable, but still annoying as hell and simply not fun. Didn't have the contact beam. I still stand by the assertion that the

Spoiler

regenerator chase

should have been considered the climax of the game. It was the peak of Dead Space 2's gameplay challenges and feeling of intensity.

Anyway, overall, I guess you could call Dead Space 2 the best horror game on current gen consoles, but that isn't saying much (I haven't played Siren Blood Curse). It refines the absolutely solid mechanics of the first game into a very tight action game, and even manages to capture a bit of scary atmosphere that most current horror games miss. It still doesn't touch Resident Evil 4, Silent Hill 2, or Amnesia (which really needs a console version), but you can clearly see what Visceral knows how to design a game.

 

[Monkey Pants]

Her voice is audio erotica.

Spoiler

Though I mean, it's in the future... maybe eyes are easy to come by

I am totally sending her this thread.