One of EA’s biggest games at this year’s E3 event was Dead Space 2. Rarely was the queue to its closed door booth anything less than an ominous proposition for exhibition goers.
The ten minutes of gameplay shown off during the preview were impressive. While it would have been easy to simply churn out more of the features that made Dead Space an instant classic, Visceral opted to push further, introducing new aspects of gameplay to the series. More varied environments are now present, as is a fleshed out puzzle solving system. Protagonist Isaac Clarke has been given a voice, and some cool new slow motion effects have been added, bringing with them heightened dramatic flair.
Isaac can now switch suits at various intervals, and a bunch of new weapons are being added, including the impressive javelin gun which shoots, well, javelins. You really have to see this weapon in action to understand its potential.
The zero gravity sequences from Dead Space were a talking point for many, and more have been added to the sequel. These allow the player to control Isaac in 360 degrees, and like in the predecessor, sound becomes muffled, lending these bits a memorably eerie quality.
Gamers are always sceptical when it comes to direct sequels from critically acclaimed groundbreaking IPs. It is easy to fall short of that which was achieved by successful predecessor. Based on what EA had to show of Dead Space 2, this will not be the case this time around.
While it is hard to gather too much of a sense for a game watching just ten minutes of gameplay, the hints towards a puzzle system, along with new weapons, suits, monsters and locations may well be all we could ask for in Dead Space to sequel.
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