That man in the iron mask, Isaac Clarke, is returning with the ability to communicate. After the atrocities that took place on-board the Ishimura, it looks as though he finally gave in and moved those vocal chords. Isaac will now share his thoughts with the player, allowing for a deeper look at his psychological scars. The events that occurred throughout the original will have a large part to play in this story, but now there seems to be an increased focus on the Church of Unitology aspect. Unlike the opening to Dead Space which saw you disembarking from the safe haven of your ship, Dead Space 2 starts off in the hospital of your new playground, 'The Sprawl'. This new environment is said to be much bigger than the Ishimura and will have a much greater variety of locations. Isaac will witness the Necromorph infection develop from the ground up and cut his way through schools and churches.
Say hello to Uncle Chop-Chop.
Before anyone saw Dead Space 2, Visceral stated that this would be a much more action orientated experience, however the gameplay footage didn't exactly show a huge transformation. Sure, a couple of bits really had you moving fast, but the overall feel of the original still seems intact. Just like last time, big nasty enemies seem like they’ll pop out from just about every corner. The smaller critters will also be present in a constant effort to invade the privacy of your fabulous new suit. This advanced piece of apparel looks more suitable for combat rather than the last engineering suit, which will hopefully allow for more free flowing action sequences. And where would Dead Space 2 be without boss battles that are even more brutal than before? As the saying goes, if it ain't broke...
One of the most praised aspects of the original game was its use of audio in creating an incredibly eerie atmosphere. To add that little bit of extra polish, killing enemies in Dead Space 2 will result in some rather gruesome sound effects. The audiophiles out there will be able to appreciate the squishes and splats that make spending thousands of dollars on a sound system seem worthwhile. And that's where the real joy emerges from, all of those precious kills. Isaac is already familiar with a wide array of weaponry capable of dismantling joints with extreme precision, and now he has a new toy to play with, the Javelin gun. This fabulous device is capable of pinning your foes to the nearest wall and can also be used to trigger explosive materials, causing a sticky mess.
There's going to be lots of this. Again.
Dead Space wasn't exactly stellar when it came to puzzle solving, but you'll still have to utilise Isaac’s engineering techniques. In the demonstration, Isaac had to tinker with the gravity controls of a room. Once the gravity was disabled, we saw the hover capabilities, which will most likely open a number of navigating, puzzle and combat scenarios. This new ability is expected to be combined with familiar tools like stasis, for instance, having to stop moving blades while hovering past.
If you're wondering what happened to the interface, then you'll be glad to know that nothing has been changed in that regard. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the idea, Dead Space 2 won't have a standard HUD. Instead, both health and energy reserves will be displayed through the familiar segments on the back of your suit. The likes of ammunition levels and map navigation all appear though holograms generated by that marvelous piece of technology. Visceral Games like to fine tune immersion, and this follows the same pattern set by it's much loved predecessor.
Dead Space 2 won't be released until the end of January next year, but at least the post-Christmas drought now looks quite appetising. Isaac Clarke will be showcasing his dismemberment skills on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.
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