Dead Space 2

RIP Visceral Games.
You will be missed.

The Plasma Cutter is the best weapon and you can't change my damn mind.

Overview
Dead Space 2 (DS2) is a third-person survival horror set in a future where the colonization of the Solar System is well underway. This second chapter follows once again Isaac Clarke, sole survivor of the USG Ishimura disaster. The madness brought by the Marker's discovery did not end there however, as both Earth Military and the Cult of Unitology seek to harness the alien technology for their own ends. Once again Isaac finds himself struggling for survival against all odds.
🟩 The Good Side
Refined to perfection
The amazing gameplay that made Dead Space an excellent survival horror is back again, but even better. From enemy variety to weapon choices, passing through puzzles and variety of situations, this second chapter delivers in full. Even if DS2 doesn't succeed in rivaling the master-crafted atmosphere of its predecessor, manages to make up for it by improving pretty much every other aspect. Players can expect brutal enemies with unique tactics / abilities each, a generous arsenal, plenty of secret items to find in each stage - everything fans of the series love is here.
Fear & Loathing in Titan Station
Instead of a single spaceship, this time the powers of the Marker affect an entire city: predictably, absolute mayhem is the result. DS2 succeeds brilliantly in depicting a functioning space station progressively fall into chaos as the security forces and military are overwhelmed by the relentless Necromorph hordes. Exceedingly tragic scorches of this madness are frequent and merciless, from mothers dying embraced with their children, to people being torn apart alive. This crude, realistic depiction of events adapts perfectly to the game, and is consistent from start to end with the aid of diaries / audio logs.
In space, no one can hear you scream
In this chapter, Isaac acquires its own charm, setting him apart from the mute but relentless hero of the first Dead Space. Along with few other but well-developed characters, his story will intertwine with theirs. This change gives the opportunity to expand much more on the protagonist's personal issues and personality, which are shown throughout the adventure, with the main theme being the loss of his beloved Nicole, who died on the Ishimura along with the rest of the crew in the first chapter. Reality and illusion mix ever more frequently as Isaac's descent into the ruins of Titan Station goes on.
🟥 The Bad Side
I'm a damn killing machine, oh yeah!
Similarly to the first chapter, also DS2 has a late-game balance problem even on the highest difficulty (Zealot). Players that will gather most items in each area, will end up grossly overpowered by the late-game stages. Overflowing with cash to spare, ammunition and healing items will be bought in industrial quantities from the various Shops, making players deadly walking arsenals sporting fully-modded weapons. Necromorphs won't stand a chance, even in their most advanced forms. The same goes for the final boss, which is a disappointing enemy-spamming bullet sponge that leaves a bitter taste.
Rating: Excellent
Click here for the complete Rating Chart
It took me around 10 hours of effective playtime to complete Dead Space 2 on Zealot difficulty. After completing the game, Hardcore mode allowing only 3 saves is unlocked. For the price of 20€ and excellent quality, I can recommend buying for full price.
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In-Depth Breakdown
🎮 Gameplay Analysis
Gameplay is divided into Exploration, Combat, Character Management and Puzzles.
Exploration
Is mostly performed on foot, with the occasional ride on an on-rail vehicle such as trams or machinery. Some sections take place in outer space or zero gravity areas, in these instances Isaac can use his suit's thrusters to fly around in complete freedom. The void and also unpowered station segments may lack oxygen, of which players have a default 120 second reserve which can be upgraded, getting to 0 of course means death. There is no map in this game, however a handy Tracker will show the path to the current objective and the nearest Shop, Upgrade Bench or Save Point.
Taking time to break containers, look in each corner and squinting eyes to locate hidden Power Nodes or other goodies cleverly placed in the environment, is very rewarding in the long run, as resources will be rather scarce until late-game, at least on harder settings... as it should be. More often than not areas have one-way drops not allowing much backtrack. Node Doors require a precious Power Node to be opened, but often hold great amounts of supplies and even unique Schematics.
Combat CUT OFF THEIR LIMBS
Plays out as a third-person shooter, with weapons aimed from a shoulder perspective. Each murder tool has two different firing modes, plus more special effect it may acquire after enough upgrading is done. Isaac can carry up to four weapons, the rest stay stored in the Shop Vault for later use. The core mechanic around fighting Necromorphs is cutting off their appendages such as legs, arms, tails and more grotesque variations - rather than shooting center mass.
Other than weapons, Isaac can count on the Telekinesis and Stasis modules, respectively capable of throwing objects with great power (lethal with pointy ones) and slowing down enemies or projectiles considerably for a few seconds. Using these skills to save ammo, make enemies easier to hit and other applications will prove crucial in combat. Each weapon has its own dedicated ammo, and Stasis also needs to be recharged, doing so also over time but very slowly. New weapons are acquired with Schematics found in the world and delivered to a shop.
Character Management
Is about Inventory space management for a good part, as especially early on the suit can contain only a few items, but is expanded later on if Schematics of more advanced suits are found. Many times leaving something behind because of this, will be a forced choice. Isaac's suit, modules and weapons can all be upgraded using Power Nodes, rarely found in the world or bought for a high price at shops (if one finds the Schematic). There are just about enough Nodes to upgrade 2 weapons in full, other than one module and Isaac's suit, if a player is conservative and finds ALL of them as well.
Puzzles
Sometimes appear in the form of cable rerouting, where players need to guess the correct area of a circular interface and click to progress until all layers are done - or also can be unique enigmas about assembling, repairing or sabotaging machinery. They are never overly complex but are still a very good pacing diversion.
Technical Corner
Specs: RTX 2080Ti, Ryzen 9 3900X, 32GB RAM, 970 PRO NVME SSD
Critical Problems
In rare cases, a few locations may glitch and make progress impossible. This can be fixed by reloading an earlier save.
Performance
Average VRAM Usage: < 1GB
Average GPU Utilization: 10-20%
Settings Used: All Maxed + Forced Anti-Aliasing, 1440p 60Hz
Overall Optimization Rating: Good
Bugs & Other Issues
- Mouse acceleration is forced, can only be disabled by downloading "Dead Space 2 Mouse Fix" Mod.
- Anti-aliasing does not work properly, needs to be forced with specific GPU Panel settings or equivalent programs.

Where
Is
The
Severed
DLC

aim for the limbs

*Ignore my hours, I owned this game on the 360*
In short, this game itself is a great, instant classic that is thoroughly enjoyable throughout and easily the strongest of the trilogy. However, there are some minor issues with this PC release.
Gameplay-wise, this is a great title. Every mechanic from the original is present, but it feels like each of them has been polished and reworked to create a more smooth experience for the player. The controls have been reworked to be much closer to a standard shooter. The stomping, punching, reloading, stasis and kinesis animations that were somewhat janky in the original feel much better now.
On top of this rework, many new weapons and gameplay elements have been added to give the player a more varied and interesting arsenal to work with. There are great new additions like shooting a window to flush all of the enemies around you into the vacuum of space like a badass, a new hacking minigame which is simple but can put pressure on you when necromorphs are near, and completely reworked zero gravity manuevering.
With all this, Dead Space 2 captures the rewarding, unique gameplay of the original while expanding upon it with even more variety and bad-assery than the original offered. It really stands out as the pinnacle of the Dead Space trilogy.
However, as great as the game itself is, the PC port of this title has some issues. Firstly, the puzzling DLC released by EA which unlocks all weapons and suits from the start of the game has been integrated into this port. This severely inhibits the grind and resource management aspect of the game and shatters immersion. Thankfully, you may still ignore these items in the shop and scavenge for the schematics throughout the game if you want to play the right way, but the DLC's inclusion is still an annoyance.
Additionally, this game was clearly not intended for PCs. Using a mouse and keyboard feels janky and not well-tuned like it did on the original 360 release. I'd strongly recommend getting a 360 controller adapter and using a controller to get a proper, smooth gameplay experience.
Overall, I'd highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed the original or the third-person shooter / survival horror genres in general. You will not be disappointed.

I remember telling my college professor I wanted to study xenoarchaeology. He laughed right in my face. There’s nothing to study, he said. It’s all dead space. - Dr. Earl Serrano
Once again, you find yourself playing Isaac Clarke, the rugged and well-meaning engineer(rawr) who is unlucky in the relationship department(which will make more sense in Dead Space 3).
Apparently, since saving the world, EarthGov has decided to slap you in a handy-dandy 'I love myself' jacket and keep you well fed with memory erasing happy pills. Reality remains fragmented as you find yourself blasting a path through countless necromorphs in order to follow the pretty little breadcrumbs that lead you to victory. Or the marker. Why not both!?
You will make friends... and enemies. Who do you trust? That's up to you. Just make sure you keep a nice warm gun at your side and everything will be just fine. Saddle up, cowboys. Humanity needs saving. Again. <3