Dead Space 2 Review: Oh Mama!

I am proud to say that I have finished the game. Although not as fast as I have predicted because the thought of rushing through a great game such as this one, as an avid gamer, would mean missing out a lots. Like the overall designs, the environments, the background sounds, the characters, the scattered audio logs and text logs and level designs of what the developer have installed for us.

At the end I used up a total of 11 hours to complete the whole 15 chapters of gameplay going through hell and back again. The first game of this franchise is good but the second is even more better. I recommend you to play the first one then advance to the sequel as it can get you ready and able you to see the improvements of the game compare to its predecessor.

The animation looks much more fluid and the controls are more finely tweaked. I have also notice the freedom you get when you’re in zero G. In Dead Space you can only jump in a straight line while in Dead Space 2 you can move freely by using your jets on your suit. One of my most beloved weapon in the game is my pulse rifle, at one point in the game. I even stacked up my ammunition of that weapon up to a staggering 1.2k of pulse rounds in my inventory. Per magazine it can hold is 175 rounds.

I have too many nodes sticking to my Pulse Rifle that it can fetch quite a fair price if I sell it which goes around 100k.

Must try

1] Try dying a few times in different locations and being killed by different Necromorphs as the developers have setup quite a spectacle with all the exaggerated scenes of how Isaac die in the process of being ripped apart.

2] Gangbangs! Yes, I believe that should be the word to describe how fun it is when a group of Necromorphs surrounded you. Using your stasis freezing and tearing them limb by limb with your totally bad-ass weapon (Depending on which weapon of your choice is).

Useful tips

1] Focus your nodes on which weapon you want to further upgrade. In order, to reach their fullest potential and deadly is also a word to describe it. I would recommend the Pulse Rifle as your main and the Line Gun as your secondary.

2] Start exploring! Nodes and semiconductors are usually well hidden in plain sight. So, don’t missed it as nodes can help you to upgrade your weapons while semiconductors can finance your inventory and even help you to purchase more nodes. Try to have a sharp eye for Diamond Semiconductor as they can be sold for 25k Credits.

3] Always be savvy on your ammunitions as it can run out quite quickly if you don’t keep count on how much your using.

4] Be resourceful. There are usually poles and at times tanks you can use to destroy those Necromorphs.

5] Concentrate on upgrading your weapons in earlier chapters. When you reached around Chapter 8, you should start upgrading your Stasis Module and some for your rig as Necromorph becoming more deadlier and run in a much faster pace. Having the power to slow them down is your best bet to avoid getting kill.

6] Cut their limbs!

7] Watch out for Mr Sneaky Boom Man. You’ll recognize it when encounter it because the only thing it has as a weapon is its glowing orange blob as a hand.

8] Play the game with minimum lights on in your room or your living room for that matter. This will dramatically increase the scare factor. Another reason why is your pair of eyes will adapt much more quickly in dark environment, which the game always do, to allow you to see much more clearly. It’ll also help to reduce the strain to your eyes. Believe me. I tried it once, in a four hour gameplay session with a brightly lit room. After that I ended up with a pair of red eyes.

The Ending Part [May contain spoilers]

Don’t get too near to the boss as you’ll end up dead with a spike through your head down from your chin. While keeping a clear sights of her underlings which will try their best to hung onto you to pull you apart. Again, watch out for the health bar as well because when it reaches down to your last two bar you’ll eventually be pulled apart.

You can use whatever weapon to kill the boss. However, I would like to recommend the Line Gun which help me quite nicely to end the game with a boom. The secondary option of the weapon is a timed mine which will detonate itself. Just throw a few around her, sit back and wait for the detonation. Once it goes off, she’ll be destroy for a while then quickly draw out your Pulse rifle to shoot the core.

I did it three time only while others need to do it five times with other methods to completely obliterate the boss and end the game.

 

Final Words

According to the last cut scene after the rolling credits. It tells us that there are more to the marker than we thought which will most likely to spawn a third installment for the game. Regarding about the horror side of it which I think the developers have done a good job on it. Still, to me they can do better. I must have played too much sci-fi horror in my time until to the point that I don’t think its disturbing.

 

Update!

The ultimate weapon you must fully upgrade is the Contact Beam. I fully upgraded this baby and now I can kill necromorphs in droves if they ever dared to gangbang me. With the secondary firing mechanism user can immediately send a ripple effect surrounding the wielder to quickly disembody any nearby items (in this case Necromorphs). That’s why it’s so effective and fun to play with. Cautions! Because ammunition for it is expensive and drops are also rare this make accuracy of paramount importance.

I’m currently on Zealot mode and maybe hard mode after that.