So here we are, the year’s drawing to a close and with it comes the last WeView verdict of the year. Fear not though dear reader, we’ll be back in the new year with even more games for you to give your thoughts on; possibly even some that you got for Christmas. Anyway, as you’re probably well aware the year’s final title was Dead Space 2, one of the games that kicked off 2011 all the way back in January.
If you remember the original WeView post last week I expressed my doubts about the Dead Space sequel, largely due to the over-use of jump scares actually lowering the level. It seems that I wasn’t entirely alone in my opinion, and several of you compared the game negatively to the original Dead Space. “A sequel that isn’t as scary, suspenseful or enjoyable as its predecessor and crams in a crummy multiplayer mode?” Questioned aerobes, before advising you to “Rent it.”
[drop2]If you don’t want to take just aerobes word for it, Mickey2010 weighed in with this. “Loved the first game but thought this didnt really live up to that.” A shame, it would seem, that some of you weren’t quite as happy with Dead Space 2 as you were with Isaac’s first adventure, but they were in the minority overall.That’s right, despite my own doubts about the title it seems I’m moving against the current of opinion. Although there were others who didn’t compare the game favourably to the original, they were largely very positive about the game as a whole.
For example shields_t saw the game’s shift in tone as a positive. “I can’t help but say that I felt it lost something of the first’s claustrophobic horror vibe as soon as I started playing it,” they began before suddenly switching tone, “but I soon realised that what was lacking in the scares it makes up for with sheer class scifi action. Granted, there were some very creepy elements, the nursery for example and superb plot twists (without putting out a spoiler, anyone who has played through the game will know there is a great nod about 3/4 of the way in).”
For our final opinion of the week I want to throw it over to one of the most regular WeView commentators, Origami Killer. He’s taken part almost every week, so it seems only fair to let him have the last word for the year.
One of my favourite games this year. It’s a tense and deep single player adventure. It has it’s scary moments which will no doubt make you jump – also there are some terrifying scenes I thought from visions of Isaac’s mind. The gameplay is solid – shooting feels great, no frame rate stutters and the camera angle is perfect.
The muliplayer is a little thin, not much to do once you’ve played it a few times and it gets boring quite fast.
So that’s the last of your opinions for the week, leaving us with just the community’s verdict to form. Twenty-one of you took part this week, with a tie taking place for last place. That’s right, three of you decided that game was worthy of a Rent and three decided that the game worth picking up from the Bargain Bin. Those of who can do a bit of subtraction have probably worked out that that leaves fifteen of you, and those fifteen all decided to go for Buy It.
That’s it for this year then. Make sure you check back in January to see what our new game will be.
FLUFFYB1TCH
DeadSpace2 to Dead Space is pretty much Aliens to Alien. Not as scary but definitely more action packed and fun. I guess it depends if you like your scary games fun or if you like changing your underwear
colmshan1990
So I guess that means DS3 will be like Alien 3?
God, I hope not…
jikomanzoku
LOL, let’s pray not eh?
Alien 3, a terrible film rendered slightly less so (but still effing dire) by the even worse resurrection and its climactic skeletal tellytubby alien. My “favourite” scene? Bullet bounces off pipe, off other pipe, punches through ballistic helmet, Solution? wear pipes on your head people.
On that note I swear Skyrims Glass armour is a mick take of the fact that videogame glass is often tougher than videogame armour.
matthangzhou
So you again failed to mention the new modes in Dead Space 2 that made it a very tense affair.
Forrest_01
I hope you aren’t referring to the multiplayer mode, as that was far from ‘tense’. Unless of course you meant that you tensed up when you saw how awful & tacked on it was?
jikomanzoku
Thought it was pretty good, but not as well thought out as the original myself.
Loved the nod of using (imo) sci fi authors Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke Isaac Clarke in the original and thought that level of homage and subtle love for the genre shone permeated the first game from start to finish.
Too many, obvious scares and bombastic, overlong fights, made the sequel more akin to a fairly standard action movie than the original, which shared more in common with Alien and the Thing (the original not that crappy prequel).
However, the superb set pieces and refined mechanics meant that for me, DS2 was still a superb “game” (The section not taking place on The Sprawl being the best part) and I’ve been through it several times – it just didn’t tell as interesting a story in as suspenseful a way as the original. It was just a bit like Michael Bay took the helm for the sequel.