Dead Space 2 picks up from where Dead Space reluctantly closed, picking up that same legacy on the way. A renewed slew of ghoulish aliens are back and lining up for frantic disembowelment and frenetic limb-chopping, but not before they make you mess yourself with some of the most chilling survival horror since Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
After the lacklustre boss battle of the original game, part two kicks off in similar monumental stead to the first game's intro. The engineer-turned-space marine, Isaac Clarke, is strapped away in a straightjacket after a bit of backstory that gives our character a voice (literally) and sets us up for the haunting psychosis sub-plot that follows. Jerked out of slumber by a space station in chaos, Isaac is stuck fixed to the ground as a crew member attempts to pry him free, telling of the all-too-familiar alien hellstorm that's taken over the ship. As he attempts to cut you loose, a shadow-lurking set of hook-hands shoot out over his shoulder, followed by the jaws of a disfigured humanoid alien esting your rescuer. Your only choice is to run, weaponless with your arms strapped to your chest. The choreographed beauty of the horror kicks in from here as monsters smash into your path from exploding windows, gnashing and slicing at your heels.
Dead
Space plays on your expectations but never falls into them. At any given point, a pincer-clad, wall climbing monster can drop from a vent in the ceiling to gnaw at your throat. Cavernous, dimly-lit corridors could instantly flood with a horde of space zombies, or be completely bare when you're expecting the worst. You're constantly on your toes in this unrelenting survival horror revival.
Though once you hit mid-game and beyond, you'll begin to expect this unexpected and there is the slight descent into formula - even if that formula mixes itself up. Corridor, switch to press to unlock that door, aliens. Bigger corridor, big room, lots more aliens. But there's enough differentiation inbetween to keep it fresh, and it never really stops being scary. In fact, it's one of the few games that do provide genuine chills.
Tapping the vein of Resident Evil 4, Dead
Space 2 takes you into the game from an over-the-shoulder perspective, though makes the experience more involving that the CapCom-petition. The typical heads up display is completely eliminated for an ammo indicator and health bar cleverly attached to the player's body. Eliminating the layer between yourself and the action is just one more step into the immersion. The graphics are brilliant, but it's the lighting that really sells it. The colour palette may not be rich, but fluorescent lighting on decaying steel casts gut-wretching shadows that could make a children's nursery scary - oh wait, it actually does that.
