Dead Space 2 - thoughts, opinions?

PrincessFrosty said:
This sums up my opinion of dead space 2 rather well, generic, very un-scary, cliched predictable "horror"

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2737-Dead-Space-2
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My roommate picked up the demo for PS3 and said pretty much the same thing. The typical "cheap scare" tactics are used like spawning an enemy right behind you or having something jump out of nowhere, etc. I kinda foresaw that coming and really it is super cheap and rather lame. You'd think the developers with this the kind of success the DS franchise has recently obtained would've put a little more thought and creativity in how it handles it's suspense and horror. I mean come on, but then again, maybe it isn't that hard to see how success has made them lazy. :rolleyes:
 
Just played through the first chapter. Kicks ass so far. My only complaint is isaac talks too much, I liked how he never said a word in the first DS.
 
Yahtzee blows now. His whole bit used to be tearing apart awful games. It's sad to watch him nitpick at great games. Not even funny anymore.

Dead Space 2 rocks from all angles.

DirtyB said:
Just played through the first chapter. Kicks ass so far. My only complaint is isaac talks too much, I liked how he never said a word in the first DS.
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I couldn't disagree more. While Issac might not be "the best character ever" giving him a voice and dialogue adds greatly to the game.
 
Stopped playing the first one about an hour in due to some issue with a lost save or whatever, but enjoyed it. Played plenty of this one and it's not much more than adequate. Not really that great in any way.

I'm not very attached to the characters because I never got to finish the first one, but even though I went into DS2 not knowing Isaac never spoke in the original, it still struck me as weird as hell how often he speaks and the camera swings around to stare at his gormless face and whatnot.
 
gentoo said:
My roommate picked up the demo for PS3 and said pretty much the same thing. The typical "cheap scare" tactics are used like spawning an enemy right behind you or having something jump out of nowhere, etc. I kinda foresaw that coming and really it is super cheap and rather lame. You'd think the developers with this the kind of success the DS franchise has recently obtained would've put a little more thought and creativity in how it handles it's suspense and horror. I mean come on, but then again, maybe it isn't that hard to see how success has made them lazy. :rolleyes:
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I don't even think it's laziness as such, I mean it's not harder to orchestrate other types of scares. I think it's just bad direction from the design and management teams. I don't think the target audience of mostly console gamers are expecting a very sophisticated game so they can get away with something more generic and "safe".
 
Dallows said:
I couldn't disagree more. While Issac might not be "the best character ever" giving him a voice and dialogue adds greatly to the game.
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I dunno, Doom or Quake with Duke Nuke'm or Serious Sam just wouldn't have the same tense atmosphere IMO...

Both style of games have their place, and both types of games would lose their tension/atmosphere if the main character were either now chatty or silent.

I mean, I'm finally on to FEAR. While Tommy in Prey works, he's also a reluctant hero that has to talk anyway with his father, so for Prey they had to do it. But would that even work in FEAR? Nope, because Tommy would sometimes say things that made you laugh. FEAR wasn't about finding humor in its environment. So obviously Duke or Serious Sam wouldn't work at all.

A franchise takes on a new dynamic once a character goes from silent to having a voice.
 
Tolyngee said:
I dunno, Doom or Quake with Duke Nuke'm or Serious Sam just wouldn't have the same tense atmosphere IMO...

Both style of games have their place, and both types of games would lose their tension/atmosphere if the main character were either now chatty or silent.

I mean, I'm finally on to FEAR. While Tommy in Prey works, he's also a reluctant hero that has to talk anyway with his father, so for Prey they had to do it. But would that even work in FEAR? Nope, because Tommy would sometimes say things that made you laugh. FEAR wasn't about finding humor in its environment. So obviously Duke or Serious Sam wouldn't work at all.

A franchise takes on a new dynamic once a character goes from silent to having a voice.
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3rd person and first person are not the same.

It's a welcomed evolution of the game and character imo.
 
So, if playing Dead Space 1 gave me a headache from playing it, will Dead Space 2 as well, or have they changed the camera swaying and mouse response a bit?
 
Dallows said:
Yahtzee blows now. His whole bit used to be tearing apart awful games. It's sad to watch him nitpick at great games. Not even funny anymore.

Dead Space 2 rocks from all angles.



I couldn't disagree more. While Issac might not be "the best character ever" giving him a voice and dialogue adds greatly to the game.
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He has never just been about tearing apart bad games, but rather about pointing out that the popularity of many mainstream games does not derive from their entertainment value and certainly not from their originality. As far as DS2 goes, it's another game with nothing special about it. It's an overdone over-the-shoulder third person shooter with a darkness fetish and a hardon for startling players. It's not technically speaking a bad game, it's just competent crap. Watch his first DS review and you'll get the point

What I love about his reviews more than anything is the hypocrites who will laugh about how he mocked Uncharted 2, Halo 3 or SSBB for being bland unfun garbage but as soon as he starts rapping on their favoritest game in the world they suddenly turn on him. Either he's honestly presenting his opinions on the games or he's simply trolling them all, you can't have it both ways. This chart (from his Sonic Unleashed review) really sums it up: At least the crap games are exciting.

excitement.jpg


The only thing I don't like about ZP lately is that he changed microphones or sound card or something and his voice sounds goofy since about his AssCreed Brotherhood review.
 
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I finally finished the game (Dead Space 1) last weekend and I'm pretty burned out on it so I'm not even sure I want to start DS2 yet. What morons build air ducts large enough for 7-foot-tall, double-jointed monsters to run through? I understand that they might want service tunnels to run conduit and troubleshoot electrical issues but those tunnels are not efficient means of ventilating a building or space craft, that's what dedicated ducting is for and multiple 4'×2' openings per room just seems extremely unnecessary.

Anyway, I was basically impressed with DS1 because I felt that the sound was done really well. Very good use of the LFE channel in this game where many games are just flat and don't have the low-end kick that DS puts out from certain sound effects.
 
Well it seems The Escapist got wind of the save file that unlocks everything (even the DLC). EA deleted the topic from their own forums and now it's on the Steam forums, so I'm wondering what they're going to say now that there's a website that has posted an article about it. It's kind of twisted that the very DLC they weren't going to give PC players the chance to buy was in the data files the whole time. Just an FYI, the DLC is only the extra suits/weapons, not the upcoming Severed DLC.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107679-Dead-Space-2-DLC-Packs-Unlocked-on-PC
 
djoye said:
I finally finished the game (Dead Space 1) last weekend and I'm pretty burned out on it so I'm not even sure I want to start DS2 yet. What morons build air ducts large enough for 7-foot-tall, double-jointed monsters to run through? I understand that they might want service tunnels to run conduit and troubleshoot electrical issues but those tunnels are not efficient means of ventilating a building or space craft, that's what dedicated ducting is for and multiple 4'×2' openings per room just seems extremely unnecessary.

Anyway, I was basically impressed with DS1 because I felt that the sound was done really well. Very good use of the LFE channel in this game where many games are just flat and don't have the low-end kick that DS puts out from certain sound effects.
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The second game is done much better in many areas. The second one lacks the originality because it's a sequel, but it's more polished and the gameplay has been tweaked to provide a better gaming experience. The atmosphere in terms of visuals, like fog and lighting are definitely ahead of the first game. The sound is of course better as well.

GriMReapeRAK said:
Well it seems The Escapist got wind of the save file that unlocks everything (even the DLC). EA deleted the topic from their own forums and now it's on the Steam forums, so I'm wondering what they're going to say now that there's a website that has posted an article about it. It's kind of twisted that the very DLC they weren't going to give PC players the chance to buy was in the data files the whole time. Just an FYI, the DLC is only the extra suits/weapons, not the upcoming Severed DLC.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107679-Dead-Space-2-DLC-Packs-Unlocked-on-PC
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I've confirmed this DLC save does indeed work.
 
Dan_D said:
I've confirmed this DLC save does indeed work.
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I didn't download the file myself, but others confirmed it works as well. I just hope this forces Visceral/EA to get this patch done ASAP and re-think their lack of support for PC DLC. I'd definitely like the chance to play the Severed DLC.
 
Yahtzee's videos demonstrate that any game, no matter how well produced, can be criticized... I could find things wrong with Casablanca or The Wizard of Oz if I tried to. Not only that, but if I wanted to rip those films to pieces I bet I could do it.

Yahtzee's pieces are clever - but it does get a bit irritating when he's being critical of something you really like.

Learn to laugh, maybe?
 
WabeWalker said:
Yahtzee's videos demonstrate that any game, no matter how well produced, can be criticized... I could find things wrong with Casablanca or The Wizard of Oz if I tried to. Not only that, but if I wanted to rip those films to pieces I bet I could do it.

Yahtzee's pieces are clever - but it does get a bit irritating when he's being critical of something you really like.

Learn to laugh, maybe?
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I dont think I've ever actually taken his reviews seriously.
 
WabeWalker said:
Yahtzee's videos demonstrate that any game, no matter how well produced, can be criticized... I could find things wrong with Casablanca or The Wizard of Oz if I tried to. Not only that, but if I wanted to rip those films to pieces I bet I could do it.

Yahtzee's pieces are clever - but it does get a bit irritating when he's being critical of something you really like.

Learn to laugh, maybe?
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There are plenty of reviews that practically worship Dead Space 2...if you like the game, don't be bothered by one single review by a guy whose main aim is to take the piss. :cool:
 
Plague_Injected said:
There are plenty of reviews that practically worship Dead Space 2...if you like the game, don't be bothered by one single review by a guy whose main aim is to take the piss. :cool:
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Exactly. Golden reviews are taken seriously, whereas golden showers are just meant for our viewing pleasure.

And who the hell said all he does is criticize games? Wasn't his Mass Effect glowingly positive? He liked that game so much he suggested they call it "Mass Erect" to convey his excitement for it!
 
Tudz said:
So, if playing Dead Space 1 gave me a headache from playing it, will Dead Space 2 as well, or have they changed the camera swaying and mouse response a bit?
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The headache will be largely in part due to the tiny FoV unnaturally restricting your vision, that mixed with tight environments and the requirement to have to turn around a lot to check your back. It's a mixture for disorientation and headaches.

This is what happens when you're field of view is drastically reduced :D
 
PrincessFrosty said:
The headache will be largely in part due to the tiny FoV unnaturally restricting your vision, that mixed with tight environments and the requirement to have to turn around a lot to check your back. It's a mixture for disorientation and headaches.

This is what happens when you're field of view is drastically reduced :D
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I think its a mixture, as people have said they get headaches from Bioshock, BFBC2 and others due to a low FOV where as I've had no problems with those games. I think its a mixture of the low FOV, the way the camera sways as you walk and the slow panning way the camera turns which feels like it has a bit of a delay in it.

To date Dead Space 1 is one of only two games to give me a headache to play, the other being F1 2010, which I fixed by turning the "camera vibration" setting to 0 in the config files, the high frequency vibration would give me a headache over the course of 2 or 3 hours of racing.

I was sort of hoping if they fixed the slow panning when you turn, the swaying when you walk or increased the FOV it might have helped... have they done any of those things for Dead Space 2 or is it much the same as the first?
 
Wow. I wonder how long it takes for a patch. They confirmed the problem(s) the first Friday after release. The article saying they were working on (or started on first thing that day) the control fix for the disabled guy and the rest of the fixes was released on Monday, but I wouldn't think it takes this long to add the option to remap all keys and fix the suits/hardcore mode. :mad:

I've still been holding off playing, so I could go through hardcore mode without any problems but my patience is starting to wear thin.
 
I'm not having head/sick issues this time around. Well, I really wouldn't have last time, (Dead Space 1) but I just happened to get the game after mid-range surgery, and playing it with the painkillers made me want to wretch. :eek:

The FoV is definitely tight though. It doesn't seem quite as bad if you let the game handle vsync (which effectively halves your framerate.) When you force it through the control panel though, and it runs at sync, something about the ultra-smoothness combined with the FoV does make it border on that feeling for me. I find myself looking around the room a bit more to rest my eyes.
 
J3RK said:
I'm not having head/sick issues this time around. Well, I really wouldn't have last time, (Dead Space 1) but I just happened to get the game after mid-range surgery, and playing it with the painkillers made me want to wretch. :eek:

The FoV is definitely tight though. It doesn't seem quite as bad if you let the game handle vsync (which effectively halves your framerate.) When you force it through the control panel though, and it runs at sync, something about the ultra-smoothness combined with the FoV does make it border on that feeling for me. I find myself looking around the room a bit more to rest my eyes.
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Maybe I'll give it a try when it comes down in price a bit. Dont want to pay full price for 2 hours of gameplay followed by nausea and headaches :p
 
Tudz said:
Maybe I'll give it a try when it comes down in price a bit. Dont want to pay full price for 2 hours of gameplay followed by nausea and headaches :p
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Well, as long as you don't normally get sick with games, and don't add painkillers to the equation, I don't think you'll have a problem. :D
 
I managed to I try dead space 1 and 2 on a 30 inch monitor (2560x1600), and I went from feeling sick within a few minutes of play to just having an eye-bursting headache after playing for over an hour. It was a very expensive experiment, and I am still disappoint.
 
Yeah a large wide screen resolution such as 2560x1600 over 30" is a bad display to play this game on, the FOV might be tight by design but it's too much for extended play.
 
you want 16:9 or wider(multi monitor) if possible. trying to play on my 4:3 crt was quite a struggle.
 
They need to create a USB fan that changes speed based on your walk/run speed in the game, and a chair that rumbles slightly with each step. Then your body would think it was in motion, and you wouldn't get sick. :D
 
My DS2 CE arrived today. What a crappy CE, I'm glad I only paid $50 for this thing, I would be pissed off if I had paid the full $80 for it.

Didn't get a chance to play it, had to run off for work.
 
_CH_Skyline_ said:
Playing on three monitors has been a dream. It sucks that a lot of people get dizzy or nauseous from the game. I haven't experienced that.
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I haven't either.

I found it interesting seeing the game on my girlfriend's machine. Essentially the FOV only seems to change if you add monitors. So adding more monitors is the only way to get a decent FOV out of the game. So I can see why people using a single monitor are bitching about the FOV. It's terrible based on what I've seen.
 
That sucks for me, because I can't play it in 16:9, it's either full screen or windowed. And I never play new games windowed.
 
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