Dead Space 2 set to be the first blockbuster of 2011

Though it seems like a game better suited to be releasing around Halloween than right after Christmas and New Years, Dead Space 2 has been one of my most highly anticipated titles since I finished the original. The adventures of Isaac Clarke aboard the USS Ishimura seem to pale in comparison with what Dead Space 2 has in store for the engineer-turned-abomination slayer. Even though the demo recently released on the Xbox Live Marketplace only offers a small taste of what the final product will be like, every aspect of the game seems to be improved in some way.

Beginning the demo offers a rather detailed backstory that was left up to players to discover for themselves during and after playing the original Dead Space. The intro video explains the discovery of the Red Marker on a planet and subsequently brought aboard the planet-cracker Ishimura (the setting of Dead Space) and now, three years after the events on the Ishimura, Clarke finds himself in the middle of a new Necromorph outbreak on a giant space station known as The Sprawl.

I had been expected to be greeted by the wider-open spaces afforded by a gigantic space station but was confined to the same sort of narrow hallways and drab, vaguely-futuristic looking machinery found in the first game. Eventually I was treated to an incredibly ornate looking environment where the Marker was a central theme of the unsettling artwork. Hopefully the final game’s environments are a little more varied than the original’s.

While Isaac still controls like a tank, he’s a much sleeker tank than before and has a couple of new moves. Though melee combat isn’t recommended for fighting Necomorphs, it is useful for creating some distance. Isaac’s melee attacks are a little quicker now, especially the stomp which can be used to repeatedly stomp any nasty alien crawling on the floor to get you.

To start the demo, Isaac has a full compliment of weapons – the Plasma Cutter, Line Gun, Pulse Rifle and the new Javelin Gun. The Plasma Cutter and Line Gun are pretty much the same as before and the Pulse Rifle seems to do a little more damage. I’m a huge fan of the new Javelin Gun, which as the name suggests shoots giant stakes that nail any enemy it hits to the nearest surface. Its secondary fire is especially useful, sending an electric charge through the javelin which can set Necromorphs on fire. You’ll need all your weapons and more as there are some fearsome new enemies to contend with in Dead Space 2. On a side note, Isaac can still use Stasis and Telekenisis. Stasis is still finite but TK is unlimited this time around and much more powerful, making any item littering the station a potential weapon. Dual wielding powers and guns almost gives Dead Space 2 a Bioshock 2 feel with a third-person twist.

Part of the way through the demo, Isaac is contacted by a women who gives him advice on how to proceed and we find out that he’ll finally have lines beyond grunts and screams as he get ripped apart by Necormorphs.

The most noticeably different change from the original game is how Isaac moves through zero-gravity. In the last game, Isaac could only propel himself to different surfaces in zero-g. Now, his suit is equipped with boosters that allow him to fly around in weightless environments, which being aboard a space station could occur at any time. Controlling Isaac through zero-g is very simple, if a bit disorienting at times.

Also new to Dead Space 2, when it releases on Jan. 25, will be multiplayer. Though I’m only sure about one mode at this point, it’d be great if there were a horde mode or maybe even co-op in the future. The multiplayer will be similar to Left 4 Dead as a team of humans takes on a team of Necromorphs. In the few videos I’ve seen of the multiplayer, I only saw a few different monsters to play as but I’d assume there will be plenty to choose from.

From the little I’ve played of the single player campaign and seen of the multiplayer, Dead Space 2 is shaping up to be one of the first “must play” games of 2011.