Dead Space 2

I loved the first Dead Space game, so when I had the chance to purchase this I jumped at the chance.
The events of the game take place 3 years after the first as Isaac Clarke wakes up aboard the sprawl space station. I don't want to give any more details about the plot, but in essence the Necromorphs have been unleashed upon the hapless residents of the sprawl and its up to you/Isaac to stop them.
To begin with the graphics in Dead Space 2 are a huge step forward from the first game. The details in the game really stand out and can be a real marvel to behold at some points, with the space station really providing that lived in aesthetic. The creatures them-selves have also been given the touch up, so they actually look like re-animated corpses this time around and are more varied in their appearance and variety.
Weapons also take a turn for the better as they are more balanced forcing you to make use of a weapon depending on the circumstance (unlike the first, where you simply upgraded one or two weapons and just used these for the entire game).
The games score is also creepy and effective with notes creeping through that seem similar to something from “The Thing” or the “Alien” movies, which I appreciated as I love both of these films and these developers obviously do too.

Unfortunately, the game does suffer from a number of detraction's, which hampered the overall experience.
In terms of game play, the environments feel a lot more cramped and constrained than the first Dead Space. This would not be a problem, but in the sequel Necromorphs constantly pop out of nowhere causing frustratingly cheap deaths (Fort example; the Necromorphs seem to always pop out of the ceiling directly on top of you; or always seem to come out of a room you have just cleared).
The looting system has also been changed with mixed results. Dead Necromorphs in the original Dead Space dropped a variety of goodies from ammo to health and money. In Dead Space 2 Necro's now seem flush with cash, but ammo is a much scarcer commodity. The problem with this is that running out of ammo is a common occurence even with you holding a number of guns and shops in the game are very few and far between. To balance this out, the developers recommends you utilize the numerous “spikes” littered around the levels, but trying locate these in the dark environments when you're engaged in a heated fight against some of the games tougher bad guys can really prove to be an annoyance.
The games story also leaves something to be desired. In short; its shallow, with paper-thin characters and uninteresting dialogue. In essence, the game characters simply provide you with the tasks you need to move from one point to another. In addition, the plot is at times convoluted, especially towards the end and it feels rushed to be honest.
The problem with this all lead to a game that looks and feel brilliant, but suffers from an annoying cheap death system, a very steep difficulty curve and characters and plot that don't engage the player and actually leave you questioning why that was done. I loved the first dead space and I appreciate that the developers tried to change and improve some of the things from the first, but the results are a mixed bag and more time developing the story and some of these game play issues would have really made the difference for me.

Great gamepley and the game didnt take 1 hour to clock like most out there!

Such an awesome game. Can't wait for 3!!

This game is cool. I liked it. Nice easy gameplay and an exciting, well thought out plot. Was happy. Yay. Fun. Coooool. Gruesome too. I like gruesomeness. Yay. Happy! SUPER HAPPY DEAD SPACE 2 TIME!!! OMG! OMG!OMG!!!

This game is one of favourites first-person shooter games ever. The graphics are really cool and its challenging to play. Great game, highly recommend buying it :)