Zero Punctuation: Dead Space 2

Britisheagle

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May 21, 2009
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Loved the first one, loved the second.

I get that atmosphere makes a good horror game but its hard to argue that going back to the USG Ishimura (or USG Here Are The Juicy Humans Yum Yum) was very creepy. Besides I love the over the top violence. Reminds me of Doom 3 days!

That being said loved the review, very funny. Cheeky Human Centipede reference too which made me laugh.

Oh and finally, clearly Yahtzee hasn't played it to the end. For those who have got as far as the last chapter I'm sure you will know what I mean. I have never cringed sooo much from a game before.
 

samaugsch

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Oct 13, 2010
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One thing that bothered me was that supposedly, the easiest way to dispatch most necromorphs is to dismember their limbs, providing they have any. Yet, impaling them with a sharp object seems to be just as effective. Wtf?
I thought it was weird when they added a necromorph at the very end that was just like the hunter from Dead Space 1 (though it looked a bit different).
 

Electrogecko

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Apr 15, 2010
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I wouldn't have guessed that Dead Space 2 is trying to take itself seriously after that ad campaign. Insightful and funny as usual Yahtzee....chocolate lesbians lol.
 

thethingthatlurks

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Feb 16, 2010
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Uhm, monsters suddenly jumping out of vents. You know, it was annoying even in the original Half-Life, which a) wasn't a horror game, b) not scary, and c) overused even then (over a decade ago).
 

acidk44

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Oct 25, 2009
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"aaaaaaaaa... are u scare now. aaaaaaaaaaaa.... this hurts you know."

My reaction: XD RLOL hahahaha
 

Flauros

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Mar 2, 2010
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horror games and jetpacks dont mix....although, as i say that, my imagination begins to work...hmmm.....horror and jetpacks....cool!
 

Jonsbax

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May 4, 2010
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I'm a bit surprised at the lack of criticism from Yahtzee towards this game, even though I liked Dead Space 2. First of all, considering how great the boss battles were in DS1, even though they were few, I was really disappointed that DS2 doesn't have a single REAL boss fight (even the final battle feels like a semi-boss at most).

Also, am I the only one who hates the necromorphs with passion? Their attacks just feel cheap, and some of the new enemies didn't help at all. Those guys who charge at you from behind corners were a nightmare, especially when encountered with other enemy types. Maybe Yahtzee was playing on easier difficulty, though in this game you actually CAN change difficulty setting mid-playthrough.
 

The_ModeRazor

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Jul 29, 2009
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Bah. After wading through the entrails of a thousand deathclaws, with nothing but a rusty tire iron in hand, I can honestly say that monsters are just crunchy cannon fodder to me.
Maybe if the game had ghosts or some such shit. Or a rabid grizzly.

Or better yet... if you weren't friggin' able to defend yourself. That feeling of squishiness is a pretty important factor in horror games.

Also, great review, had me laughing quite a few times :)
 

Gralian

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Sep 24, 2008
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I've always maintained the understanding that the Dead Space franchise is so over the top with its gore and violence that it's more of a slapstick kind of horror than any genuine 'horror' title. You could argue that the insta-transformation face-melty thing at the beginning is meant to make you cringe and look away from it out of disgust or fear. I could understand that, but the thing is, the game then expects you to pick up weapons and start blasting about a hundred other guys who look exactly the same. It's not like The Thing where the aliens scurry off into the darkness and you barely get to see one - let alone kill one. They're everywhere, they're a dime a dozen, and because you take out any connection to the supernatural and paranormal you can't rely on those tried and true elements to effectively scare the player through atmosphere. We know the shit Isaac sees isn't real, we know it's a trick of the mind brought on by the Marker, we know that this alien life is just like any other lifeform. If it bleeds, you can kill it. The minute you give the player the ability to deal with a threat, you strip away any fear that player might have of facing said threat. The reason Amnesia and Penumbra work so well is that you can't really deal with the threat, just run and hide. It's the same why ghosts are scarier than zombies. Zombies you can kill, but there's no way to effectively fight a spirit. It's also why Silent Hill works so well. The clunky combat controls are not detrimental. They're a positive. By being unable to fight the creatures, the player is left with little other choice but to run, and it's this fear of being caught by something that can't really be stopped that spurs the player on. Or the thought that something else might be in the next room that you may have to run from as well. Thusly, Dead Space can only rely on "jump" moments rather than atmosphere and genuine horror, which is extremely odd seeing as it seems to tote itself as being more the latter than the former.
 

Jandau

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Dec 19, 2008
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The Ripper isn't overpowered, it's one of the crappier weapons IMO. It's unreliable, slow and did I mention unreliable?

As for the game itself, it was better than DS1, simply because there's an actual protagonist this time around, with something going on with him (dementia, guilt, halucinations), making him more interesting than 90% of protagonists in similar games. Also, the extra variety in locales doesn't hurt.
 

Thatar

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Feb 3, 2011
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The Real Sandman said:
...
Its not so much survival/horror as it is more of an interactive gore porno.
Ooh that description hits the spot. That was another awesome Zero Punctuation. I especially loved the Scientology reference because I like everything that mocks them. :')

And yeah, basically everyone who's ever heard of the game knows it's weak point: The not-so-scary repetitive horror.
 

samaugsch

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Oct 13, 2010
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Jandau said:
The Ripper isn't overpowered, it's one of the crappier weapons IMO. It's unreliable, slow and did I mention unreliable?

As for the game itself, it was better than DS1, simply because there's an actual protagonist this time around, with something going on with him (dementia, guilt, halucinations), making him more interesting than 90% of protagonists in similar games. Also, the extra variety in locales doesn't hurt.
Really? I use it all the time when Necromorphs surround me.
 

Imper1um

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May 21, 2008
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"USG Here are the Juicy Humans Yum Yum" is a great name.

I quite agree. It's not really horror. More like..."Startle." We need to make up a new genre, instead of Horror, call it "Startle."
 

Dogstile

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Jan 17, 2009
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The problem is, by the end of this game it says "fuck this" and throws necromorphs at you like there's no tomorrow. It becomes pure action.
 

Canadamus Prime

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Jun 17, 2009
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Ah so it's the video game equivalent of a slash flick then eh? Loaded with superfluous gore and not at all scary.
 

Marowit

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Nov 7, 2006
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Good video.

It still tickles me when people take Yahtzee's videos as actually reviews. It seems analogous to taking a hyper-polarized Op-Ed piece from whatever Newspaper it appears in and stating it's reality. Instead of knowing that Yahtzee will always focus on the negatives, regardless of the positives of the game - it's his shtick. To each their own I suppose.
 

solidstatemind

Digital Oracle
Nov 9, 2008
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Well, I expected him to bash it, but I'm still disappointed that he has to be so steadfastly wrong-headed about Dead Space 2. I know that's his schtick, but the truth is that the design team did an outstanding job of taking what worked from Dead Space, improving it, and adding new aspects to really enhance the experience.

The result of their work is an excellent game. Period. While you can have criticisms of certain elements of the game, I would have to say that those are highly subjective: 'jack-in-the-box surprises aren't horror blahblahblah', 'monsters in vents', etc etc.

I actually thought that Visceral did a fantastic job of creating atmosphere and tension, along with some real moments of terror. No, it's not a survival horror game: it's an action horror game, and it does it very well. Maybe it's not your cup of tea, but really, to pick nits about a perceived 'overuse' of schools and nurseries, along with the bull about Issac Clarke's voice actor not being manly-sounding enough... Really? That's the kind of stuff you bring up?

This review was extremely poor: it had some funny lines, but it really felt the entire way through like Yahtzee said to himself "I have to hate DS2 since I panned DS1 and everyone expects it. I'm not going to give them any credit whatsoever" and then discovered that he really had to dig to find things to ***** about.

And the sad thing is that Yahtzee didn't actually hate DS. His verdict, IIRC, was "samey sci-fi; some good moments, but rather bland overall"
 

qeinar

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Jul 14, 2009
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SalamanderJoe said:
I will agree that it doesn't really scare you, just makes you jump every so often or go, 'WHERE'D THAT COME FROM?!' If anythng, the one scene that did make me sweat a lot is...

Crossmy heart and hope to die, STICK A NEEDLE IN MY EYE
yes the thing is if a horror movy can only be based on "jumpy" segments then we could call harry potter a horror movie.. ._.'