Miracle's Whip - Dead Space 2

[alfawx]

I must say, an excellent review here! I thought it was a great game although the multiplayer was... just meh. Better than the catastrophe I expected though.

And just out of curiosity (haven't quite beat the game yet, been having some personal issues at the moment) would the scene your talking about when you mention Heavy Rain happen to

Spoiler

be when Isaac tries putting the needle in his eye?

Word to the wise: if you don't like gore, never, EVER fail that sequence. Nuf said.

 

[theSovietConnection]

Great review, spot on in my opinion. Dead Space was a great game in my humblest opinion, though the scares got linear after the second or third playthrough. And I agree, the monorail scene set an early standard for action sets, be interesting to see if anyone can top it. And just out of curiosity (haven't quite beat the game yet, been having some personal issues at the moment) would the scene your talking about when you mention Heavy Rain happen to

Spoiler

be when Isaac tries putting the needle in his eye?

Yes indeed, that was the scene. It was agonizing to partake in!

Ahh, yes, that was a rather bizarre sequence, though helped set the tone of the game. Then again, all the encounters with... her, tend to be complete and utter mindfucks.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Word to the wise: if you don't like gore, never, EVER fail that sequence. Nuf said.

If you don't like gore just stay away form Dead Space altogether

That death animation was particularly gruesome alright.

Ahh, yes, that was a rather bizarre sequence, though helped set the tone of the game. Then again, all the encounters with... her, tend to be complete and utter mindfucks.

Yeah, she was a scary... thing. Did you perchance fail the sequence and see the above mentioned death animation?

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

You beat it already?

When did you... Where did you find the time?

Alright then. I enjoyed the read and all, but this is a game I don't expect to experience for myself, so I'll just rely on the opinions of others.

Oh, and, isn't it Sam Neill?

 

[ShadowsofHope]

Great review, and I agree with all of it.

I still haven't beaten Chapter 13, though. I'm fucking scared of the thought of running away from that unstoppable hunter for entire chapter lengths! But otherwise, the game is just delicious and adrenaline rushing at the same time. It did it's job well.

..Gnh.

 

[IBlackKiteI]

Brilliant review man, thanks, definitely getting this game.

Though I have a question, roughly how long did it take to complete?

 

[theSovietConnection]

Word to the wise: if you don't like gore, never, EVER fail that sequence. Nuf said.

If you don't like gore just stay away form Dead Space altogether

That death animation was particularly gruesome alright.

Ahh, yes, that was a rather bizarre sequence, though helped set the tone of the game. Then again, all the encounters with... her, tend to be complete and utter mindfucks.

Yeah, she was a scary... thing. Did you perchance fail the sequence and see the above mentioned death animation?

Yes, I did. That was unexpected to say the least. I miss the death animation from the centrifuge in the first game, though. That one was hilarious.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Brilliant review man, thanks, definitely getting this game.

Though I have a question, roughly how long did it take to complete?

Around 12 hours on Normal, but that's including at least 30 minutes of me just wandering around gawping at the pretty vistas.

 

[Nieroshai]

Great review, and I agree with all of it.

I still haven't beaten Chapter 13, though. I'm fucking scared of the thought of running away from that unstoppable hunter for entire chapter lengths! But otherwise, the game is just delicious and adrenaline rushing at the same time. It did it's job well.

..Gnh.

I felt the Hunter was a bit tacked on. Even though there's no way to kill it, it's easily evaded. I played with the Force Gun, so my tactic was to de-leg anything that got in my way, even it, then just run til I finally got to the point where he didn't show up anymore. There's only one area he's a pain, that's when you have to rewire a terminal while he's chasing.

 

[Sonicron]

Another excellent review, to be sure. A pleasure to read.

And no, you will not get me to play the game. Never. Never ever ever.

I like horror, in a way; Silent Hill games are still all kinds of awesome in my eyes, with their way of putting 'fear' into 'atmosphere' (well, almost ).
But Dead Space doesn't so much try sneaking past my one big exclusion criterion as it does dancing around the big 'KEEP OUT' sign while blowing a whistle and banging two saucepans together. You probably already guessed it, but I hate, hate, HATE jump-out scares.

And yes, I even tried manning up and playing the demo. Couldn't even make it to the end. The weird thing is, it's not a straight fear-thing for me, it's more about annoyance and exasperation. Throughout my life, 'Abloogywoogywoo'-scares have always been 1 part shock and 9 parts wishing I could shove my boot up the perpetrator's arse; playing this kind of game isn't satisfying or rewarding for me in any way, it's just an assembly of several thousand annoying little pearls on a high-voltage kitestring of exasperation. Halfway through the demo I turned it off, not because I was scared witless, but because my blood pressure was up so much I felt about ready to pop a vessel.

In summary: Good though DS2 may possibly be, I'm in the same boat with Neonbob and Pimppeter. Not gonna play it.

 

[ShadowsofHope]

Great review, and I agree with all of it.

I still haven't beaten Chapter 13, though. I'm fucking scared of the thought of running away from that unstoppable hunter for entire chapter lengths! But otherwise, the game is just delicious and adrenaline rushing at the same time. It did it's job well.

..Gnh.

I felt the Hunter was a bit tacked on. Even though there's no way to kill it, it's easily evaded. I played with the Force Gun, so my tactic was to de-leg anything that got in my way, even it, then just run til I finally got to the point where he didn't show up anymore. There's only one area he's a pain, that's when you have to rewire a terminal while he's chasing.

I only use the contact beam and the plasma cutter on a regular basis (damned, forgot my other two weapons!), I didn't get the force gun this time around. Basically I just need to figure out a strategy, and one that doesn't rely on my running around with ultra low ammo half the time while an ungodly one-hit kill beast wants to eviscerate me for lunch..

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Throughout my life, 'Abloogywoogywoo'-scares have always been 1 part shock and 9 parts wishing I could shove my boot up the perpetrator's arse; playing this kind of game isn't satisfying or rewarding for me in any way, it's just an assembly of several thousand annoying little pearls on a high-voltage kitestring of exasperation.

That's why I adore the stomp function... after killing an enemy that startled me and made me panic, I can go postal on its corpse and mash it up in a stomping, smashing, fit of rage and relief! Isaac even joins in this time, uttering death wishes as he stamps.

Yes, I did. That was unexpected to say the least. I miss the death animation from the centrifuge in the first game, though. That one was hilarious.

SPLAT!

You beat it already?

When did you... Where did you find the time?

Insomnia is great for finishing games fast.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Great review, and I agree with all of it.

I still haven't beaten Chapter 13, though. I'm fucking scared of the thought of running away from that unstoppable hunter for entire chapter lengths! But otherwise, the game is just delicious and adrenaline rushing at the same time. It did it's job well.

..Gnh.

Yeah that whole sequence is kind of a pain in the ass to be honest. I found the best way through it was to just spam Stasis and run like like from everything.

Did you do it yet?

 

[MiracleOfSound]

[

Yes, I did. That was unexpected to say the least. I miss the death animation from the centrifuge in the first game, though. That one was hilarious.

Also.... don't forget the walking skulls that would rip your head off and implant themselves in your neck, those were hilarious too.

5.30 onwards:

 

[FamoFunk]

I was planning on waiting a good while to get this, until a price drop or offer at least (other games I coming out have my up-most priority atm) but god, I'm pretty tempted now, thank you!

 

[Marowit]

I have read elsewhere that the Dialogue in the game really does a disservice to the story/empty shell Issac embodies that the game presents - opposed to letting you fill in the blank edges of the protagonist, they fill it in with terrible (from what I've read) dialogue.

I've not played the first game, but now that it's down to $20 I think I'll pick it up and if I like it enough I'll give this game a try. Although I'm kind of hesitant to pick up a sequel after reading that EA has tried to change the game to be better selling (which usually is inversely related to quality). But, your review has piqued my interest that's for sure.

Well written, thanks for it.

 

[Daedalus1942]

Great read, Miracle!
You almost convinced me to rent it
If it weren't for my chickenshit nature when it comes to horror games, I'd be running out the door to find a copy.

It's really not a horror game. Every so often there'll be moments where a loud crash happens, or all the lights snap off, or a slavering monstrosity from beyond the limits of human comprehension will burst out of a vent right in front of you, but beyond those "Holy shit!" jump moments, there's really not a whole lot scary about it.

Spoiler: Just in case

Though admittedly the bit where you traipse through a Unitology church is fairly unnerving. Especially once the zombie priests show up.

And the sea of children... *shudder*
-Tabs<3-

 

[Bad Marmoset]

Excellent review! Thanks. Also I agree with pretty much everything you said. I am currently on my third run through and having a leisurely stroll/kill-fest through the game admiring the gorgeous views. This is the best game that I have played in some time and it's a 'linear shooter'. Hopefully, any fps/tps developers out there will have a look at this game before they publish because this is how you get pretty much everything in the genre right.

On a side note, I played this game on the pc and the game was extremely polished and stable with no crashes or bugs that I could see. Considering the sumptuous level of eye-candy (lighting, shadowing, detail(ooh shiiiiny!), particle effects etc.) the frame rate was excellent and barely went below 55 in the liveliest of scenes on my mid-range card. So not only a good game but a well-made game and it should get credit for that. After all it's bad enough worrying about Isaac dying without worrying about the game dying as well.

 

[ShadowsofHope]

Great review, and I agree with all of it.

I still haven't beaten Chapter 13, though. I'm fucking scared of the thought of running away from that unstoppable hunter for entire chapter lengths! But otherwise, the game is just delicious and adrenaline rushing at the same time. It did it's job well.

..Gnh.

Yeah that whole sequence is kind of a pain in the ass to be honest. I found the best way through it was to just spam Stasis and run like like from everything.

Did you do it yet?

I plan to take a run tonight, yeah.

 

[superbatranger]

Great review as always!
I really need to get this, but seeing as I've yet to even finish the first Dead Space (seriously, that shit fucking scared me) I'll have to wait.

Still, great review ^-^

I know how you feel. I never thought I'd scream so much while playing the first one. But, at the moment I'm stuck.