Review of Dead Space 2

Whereas the first Dead Space was more of a pure horror experience, Dead Space 2 ups the ante in every conceivable way in the same sense James Cameron "ramped things up" with Aliens. There's definitely more of an action focus here, with some of the most spectacular set pieces in the seventh generation. From flying after a runaway train to fixing solar arrays, there's tons of memorable set pieces. The gameplay takes what worked in the first Dead Space and improves it in every conceivable way, resulting in one of the best looking games from that generation of gaming. The scares here vary depending on what scares you in terms of effectiveness, but they're brilliantly executed and you have a true sense of dread throughout the game even amongst all the action. The story is pretty good though there are many things that go relatively unexplained and they sort of don't set up the main antagonist at all, I'm still not really sure who he was all these years later. But Isaac's character development is handled great and there are plenty of memorable exchanges between him and some of the side characters, such as the scitzophrenic Nolan Strauss to the hard ass Ellie, the voice work is astounding along with the sound in general.

There are so many good things to say about Dead Space 2 that it's really easier for me to point out the only "flaw" and that's the insane difficulty spike later on in the game. The regenerating Necromorphs that irritated the heck outta you in the first game? They're still here and they're even harder to deal with this time around. It doesn't hurt the experience much per se but considering how perfectly balanced and paced the game is up to this point, it kinda throws a small wrench in the system, though it's a very minor complaint for what is one of the best sequels ever made, period.