Sequels to hit games should be easy to make, in theory at least. Just take whatever made the original such a hit and apply that to the sequel, tweaking things in the right areas to make sure it feels like a new gaming experience. Sure, that's the simple method, but something that developers don't always do, the pressure regarding creative control no doubt a constant battle between all involved. I suppose you could say the same for movie sequels, but they always appear to be misses more so than hits, rarely achieving the standards that their predecessors set. Gaming sequels have a much higher success rate, possibly due to the unflappable cult followings gaming franchises manage to amount in this day and age or perhaps because it’s easier to be pleased when you’re controlling the action than sitting in a seat being force fed an experience.
Dead Space is a relatively new gaming franchise, the debut hitting consoles in 2008. Billed as 'survival horror for a new generation', the third-person shooter / action game combined elements of 'haunted house' style scares with high-octane action sequences, backing the gamer into the same cobwebbed corner that franchises like Resident Evil and Silent Hill made their own with each new release after their beginnings on the original Playstation. The theme of Dead Space was and is in much more of a science-fiction vein than those games, the setting for the nightmares to breed on a mining spaceship in the middle of desolate space, as opposed to a creepy mansion or garish abandoned town. The beasties that want you dead are mutated dead humans, infected by a species of alien organisms known as Necromorphs. The corpses reanimate and come at you from the shadows with claw-like limbs and a lust for blood. You are in control of engineer Isaac Clarke, a silent hero amongst the carnage, moving throughout the ship to find your lost girlfriend Nicole and eradicate the infection of hostile alien life. If it were to be compared to a previous instalment in the vast array of survival horror titles, it's probably most similar to Resident Evil 4, it's 'over the shoulder' laser targeting game play almost a carbon copy of that we see Leon S. Kennedy employing in that game. In addition to that, the waves of enemies come at you at various intervals, spacing out the quiet areas to build up tension before the fight to survive begins once the onslaught ensues. But apart from that, Dead Space is certainly a game in a league of its own, especially amongst the current gaming market.
Dead Space is a relatively new gaming franchise, the debut hitting consoles in 2008. Billed as 'survival horror for a new generation', the third-person shooter / action game combined elements of 'haunted house' style scares with high-octane action sequences, backing the gamer into the same cobwebbed corner that franchises like Resident Evil and Silent Hill made their own with each new release after their beginnings on the original Playstation. The theme of Dead Space was and is in much more of a science-fiction vein than those games, the setting for the nightmares to breed on a mining spaceship in the middle of desolate space, as opposed to a creepy mansion or garish abandoned town. The beasties that want you dead are mutated dead humans, infected by a species of alien organisms known as Necromorphs. The corpses reanimate and come at you from the shadows with claw-like limbs and a lust for blood. You are in control of engineer Isaac Clarke, a silent hero amongst the carnage, moving throughout the ship to find your lost girlfriend Nicole and eradicate the infection of hostile alien life. If it were to be compared to a previous instalment in the vast array of survival horror titles, it's probably most similar to Resident Evil 4, it's 'over the shoulder' laser targeting game play almost a carbon copy of that we see Leon S. Kennedy employing in that game. In addition to that, the waves of enemies come at you at various intervals, spacing out the quiet areas to build up tension before the fight to survive begins once the onslaught ensues. But apart from that, Dead Space is certainly a game in a league of its own, especially amongst the current gaming market.
A few multi-platform crossovers after the original and the official sequel reaches us in 2011 (the 3 year gap between the original release and this follow up seeming much longer than that), amongst a flock of critical acclaim and high percentage scores. This review will look at everything that makes Dead Space 2 the mammoth success it is, setting it apart from the original as a game of its own but making sure that everything that made Dead Space riveting and terrifying sticks around, like a Necromorph limb to a wall.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Dead Space storyline, here’s a catch-up.
I've read a few articles online that compare both Dead Space games to the first two movies in the Alien franchise, comparing the significant differences of those movies to the differences there are between these games. After playing through both of the games in the last month, I have to agree with many of the points brought up in those articles. Alien focuses heavily on the fear factor, as does Dead Space, keeping the enemies that threaten the human characters out of sight in the shadows for a lot of the time, only revealing them at the precise moment to keep your hands sweaty and your heart racing at a speed that's far from resting pace. The action set pieces are few and far between, making them a lot more shocking and impressive once they appear from behind the gloomy sheen. With the mentioned sequels (Aliens and Dead Space 2) the action is in the forefront of the experience, thrusting you through a tunnel of violence, gore and relentless intensity. These elements aren't overdone and the horror is still there, now reduced to a flowing undercurrent beneath the madness.
Dead Space 2 starts three years after the ending of the original, with Isaac ending up on space station The Sprawl after escaping the massacre of mining ship The USG Ishimura. He was the lone survivor from that nightmare, but when he wakes up from a coma this time around the infection seems to have somehow followed him, the population of the civilian station becoming victim to the vicious Necromorphs. You must control Isaac and help him escape from a medical ward which is swarming with aliens, your arms restrained in a straight-jacket. This opening sequence is without a doubt one of the most insane beginnings to a horror game I have ever experienced. While games of this genre generally pad out the story with a calm before the storm, Dead Space 2 starts by thrusting you into the eye of a hurricane, Isaac having nothing to defend himself and unfamiliar territory to have to navigate to safety. This start to the gaming experience gives you an idea as to what to expect from this sequel, and you know for sure that you're in for a bumpy ride.
The pace doesn't slow after that, for once Isaac escapes from the straight jacket you spend a while with only a torch to defend him, the light helping him explore his surroundings and a melee attack to kill the oncoming threats. It's this sense of helplessness that wasn't experienced in the first game, the weapons accessible from the get-go, so already this gaming experience is varied from the original. As time goes on you come across the information that the infection has been spread by another Marker (the artefact from the first game, found on planet Aegis 7 and brought aboard the Ishimura during the mining mission), those pesky members of religion Unitology somehow involved yet again. There's also an internal struggle for Isaac to contend with as he travels from sector to sector on The Sprawl, guided by fellow survivor Daina, a strain of dementia taking over his withering brain after the horror he experienced with the Necromorphs the first time around. He is haunted by visions of his dead girlfriend, Nicole, the spectre of her a constant distraction from his mission and a hindrance to his wellbeing.
It's the mental element as well as the onslaught of horrific creatures that keep you on your toes. The range of Necromorphs is similar to that of the first game, a few different species appearing as you progress. There are the standard 'Morphs with the sharp extra limbs coming from their shoulders, the crawling beasts with a sting in their tail, vomit spewing shuffling beasts, acid firing triple-tentacle wall crawlers and the rhino-like Brutes. The new challenges come from baby-like swarms of creatures that come from every crack in the walls (aptly named the Swarm) and the quiet but deadly hunters known as Stalkers (the first appearance of them can be viewed in the video below). These aliens provide a different kind of challenge, the gung-ho approach usually ending with Isaac being taken off his feet. There aren't many huge 'boss' enemies in this game as there were in the original, although a few anti-gravity sequences outside of the Sprawl in the vacuum of space has Isaac firing off one of his range of weapons at large alien growths attached to the side of the space station.
It's the mental element as well as the onslaught of horrific creatures that keep you on your toes. The range of Necromorphs is similar to that of the first game, a few different species appearing as you progress. There are the standard 'Morphs with the sharp extra limbs coming from their shoulders, the crawling beasts with a sting in their tail, vomit spewing shuffling beasts, acid firing triple-tentacle wall crawlers and the rhino-like Brutes. The new challenges come from baby-like swarms of creatures that come from every crack in the walls (aptly named the Swarm) and the quiet but deadly hunters known as Stalkers (the first appearance of them can be viewed in the video below). These aliens provide a different kind of challenge, the gung-ho approach usually ending with Isaac being taken off his feet. There aren't many huge 'boss' enemies in this game as there were in the original, although a few anti-gravity sequences outside of the Sprawl in the vacuum of space has Isaac firing off one of his range of weapons at large alien growths attached to the side of the space station.
The range of weapons is bigger this time around, although most of them are billed as 'engineering tools' but they are very successful as mowing down Necromorphs. My favourites are two that appeared in the first game, the Patrol Rifle and Line Cutter, their secondary firing abilities perfect for killing many aliens in one shot. The new additions of the Javelin Gun (a weapon that fires an electronic bolt) and a long range rifle were fun, but I didn't find myself growing attached to them as I did others. The Contact Beam was perfect for taking on larger foes and the Flamethrower was decent in the latter stages of the game as the numbers of enemies grow to almost unmanageable amounts.
Dead Space 2 gets an 8.5 / 10.
Finally, how about some of the death sequences from Dead Space 2? Oh go on then.
No comments:
Post a Comment