Dead Space 2 Completed for the 3rd Time

This past weekend, I completed Dead Space 2 for the third and likely final time. I did a New Game+ on Zealot difficulty, using more or less the same tactics as I did the last time save that I used the Plasma Cutter almost exclusively at the beginning.

Once again, absolutely amazing story telling and a wonderfully atmospheric game. I loved the setting, the characters, and how Isaac was often swearing at the same times I was. Inventory management was fun and the variety of enemies and wonderfully large and cinematic boss battles keeps things engaging and fresh.

My only gripe is how the developers really dropped the ball on the gameplay in the last few Chapters. The bulk of the game is a tension filled, horror survival experience and while the strong storytelling continues throughout I just can't understand why the developers reduced the last few Chapters into a drab and generic shooter accented by the ever annoying Ubermorph.

Originally starting up on Zealot Difficulty I planned to see how things went and to use this play experience to judge whether I'd give Hardcore Difficulty a run, and at first I really though I would. I died once stupidly in the first Chapter but after that I don't think I died again until around Chapter 9, so time constraints aside I was really thinking that Hardcore would be a fun challenge.

Once I got into the last Chapters, however, I remembered how frustrating, annoying, and un-Dead Space they felt and based on the amount of times I died there I know I'd be breaking my Controller in frustration with a max of only 3 saves, so unless something changes or I find myself with an abundance of free time (unlikely) Hardcore Difficulty will remain unplayed by me.

My Zealot playthrough lasted about 10 hours, but of course being my third run with this Isaac I was well equipped and upgraded and I'm also much more familiar with the levels, so progressing faster wasn't too difficult.

Overall Dead Space 2 is an excellent experience, excluding the gameplay stumble for the last hour or so. The game's seen a drop in price recently, so if you've missed out on it the summer months will make a great time to check this gem out.