Another review!

Dead Space 2 takes another cue from the Alien series as Isaac wakes up three years after the events of the first game in a hospital, with military staff who "believe" that what happened on the Ishimura was a terrorist attack. What follows is one of the scarier moments I can recall in a video game, as the hospital is besieged by necromorphs, and you are left to escape by yourself in a straitjacket.

Let's talk about story. In Dead Space, the entire game was little more than playing errand-boy to a pair of bossy coworkers. It was enjoyable, but a tad repetitive. In Dead Space 2, the name of the game is escape. You are trapped on the Sprawl, a planet-cracking settlement on Titan, and the necromorphs are on the loose. You spend the majority of the game trying to get off the moon, and you meet a variety of colorful locals on the way (and by colorful, I mean lunatic). Also, let's not forget that Isaac himself was left a little nuts after discovering the marker, and you must contend with his insanity throughout the story.

Graphically, Dead Space 2 is as gorgeous as horrible, bladed corpse mutations can be. The interactions between characters are all superbly animated, and Isaac's movements while stomping the well-detailed guts out of necromorphs are incredibly smooth. As for the music, however, most of it seemed to be standard horror fare, with screeching violins when anything jumps out, and rapid crescendos to build tension. Some of the score (such as during credits, for example) jumped out as being original, but most of it was pretty forgettable.

All the same mechanics return from the first Dead Space. You use telekinesis to impale enemies, and stasis to stop them in their tracks. There are puzzles aplenty, but none of them seemed to be too challenging. A few new things had been added, though, like the abilty to tack the nearest store, workbench, or save station in addition to your objective, and the fact that all the suits retain the best armor and inventory bonuses so you can switch between your favorites whenever you want. Also, the different suits each have a unique passive bonus, which may influence your decision.

The biggest difference in the gameplay comes from the zero gravity portions of the puzzles. Your suit has little airjets attached to it at various locations, which allows you to move freely in zero-g. While diminishing the feeling of disorientation from the first, this makes zero-g fighting more dynamic and intense. New necromorphs add to the fun, especially the stalkers, velociraptor-like necromorphs that hide behind pillars or crates and surround you, much like in Jurassic Park.

Another addition to the sequel is multiplayer. I played a few matches, and if you've played Left 4 Dead, you've played Dead Space 2 multiplayer. A team of humans must complete a slew of objectives, while necromorphs constantly spawn and kill them. You gain experience for each match, and you are able to upgrade your suit and guns accordingly. When playing on the necromorph team, you must wait longer to spawn as more powerful necromorphs, and you can choose from which vent to spawn. Sneaking up on the humans is paramount, and it can be a lot of fun. The multiplayer is worth a try if you're into that kind of thing, but the campaign is definitely where I spent most of my time.

As for the feature I believe was just tacked on? Definitely the hacking. It's just annoying when you have to do it, and it doesn't really have any imagination behind it. Other than that, though, Dead Space 2 takes the awesome groundwork laid by the original and builds a mighty fortress of terror on top. If you liked the original, you should buy this game immediately. If you like horror, but haven't played the first one, don't worry! Dead Space 2 came with a handy "Last Time on Dead Space" feature, which recaps the events of the first.

I give this game an 8.