Yesterday I completed my second playthrough of Dead Space 2, a New Game + on Veteran Difficulty. In total it took me just over 13 hours of play time, which is about 4 hours less from my first playthrough.
The first several Chapters were actually ridiculously easy since you're so strong once you get to that first Store, but things got tougher again later on. I really do love the game's pacing and storytelling; the sense of urgency and panic is ever present and the instant transition from cutscene to gameplay is quite immersive.
The larger sequences the developers crafted up are truly commendable, which makes it all the more a shame that the gameplay of the last few Chapters fall apart. Dead Space 2 features 15 Chapters, and while the bulk of them follow the franchise's traditional survival horror pacing, which excells at startling, panicking, and disturbing the player, the last three Chapters resort to more base shooter elements. Isaac is simply swarmed by Necromorphs so consistently at this point that it takes away from any suspense and atmosphere and simply became annoying.
The Ubermorph is also an unexplained annoyance that I felt the game could have done without, and I also learned the hard way that you can actually die via the eye poker machine. No really, I couldn't believe you could actually die there, and if that was a Hardcore playthrough I would have cursed a blue streak!
Regardless, the overall whole is a masterpiece of single player survival horror gaming. The graphics, the audio, and the overall presentation is excellent and a worthy experience for any gamer. I plan on starting a New Game + playthrough on Zealot Difficulty soon, and should I not decided to attempt a Hardcore run later on, I might try a One Gun run instead.
No comments:
Post a Comment