Jay’s Internet Log

I played through the first two chapters of Dead Space 2 last night, and honestly, didn’t want to stop.  I only did because i had to go to bed an hour later and didn’t want to be awake from fright all night.  The game comes on two discs (for 360), and I installed them both to my hard drive.  EA requires you to input a code that comes with the game.  This is designed in order for EA to make some money off of used games as they charge $10 to play online if you don’t have this code.  It makes sense from the company’s point of view, but probably upsets consumers who like to purchase used games.  From what I’ve heard, Dead Space 2′s multiplayer isn’t spectacular, and I plan on playing primarily the single player game anyways.

Okay, so after playing a few hours with the iPad game, I had a feel as to what to expect, and as soon as it got dark out, I fired up the game on the big TV and cranked the surround sound.  I watched a short video that comes with the game and tells of the happenings in Dead Space 1, since I never played that game.  The opening sequences set up the story well and somehow throw you into the action while you’re still in the middle of them.  It’s done seamlessly, and before I knew it, I was walking around this space station that’s in complete ruins.  At first, you’re in a straight jacket, running from crazy mutated people, and the sense of helplessness is very real.  You’ll walk by an area and see people getting maimed in all sorts of different and awesome ways, then they will start attacking you.

I’ve upgraded a few of my weapons and found schematics for others.  The schematics unlock the weapons in the shop, so I can buy them from now on.  I’ve upgraded a few items, but it seems as though the Power Nodes that are required to upgrade items are few and far between, and the upgrades seem to need a lot of them.  I suppose that there will be more later on, or that the game is set up to earn more on subsequent playthroughs.

If there was just one aspect of the game that I would call the best, it would be the sound design.  Walking into a room and having steam blow down on me wouldn’t have such an impact if not for the calm ambiance turning instantly into a loud “whoosh” that made me jump back over a foot, literally.  This is where the game seems to really excel.  It’s not just all monsters coming at you; it’s the environment that scares me the most.  Sometimes I’ll hear whispering behind me.  Sometimes I’ll be in an elevator and the lights will go off, then the game will throw some crazy image up that I just didn’t expect at all.  The game does this so well, and I look forward to finishing it up, then playing it through again.