Dead Space 2 [Download]

by Electronic Arts

• For the first time, experience the horror of a Necromorph outbreak in multiplayer as you fight in skirmishes around the Sprawl and strategically dismember your friends
• Continue the frightening Dead Space saga in a whole new survival-horror adventure with engineer Isaac Clarke
• Impale Necromorphs into the walls with the Javelin, use improved telekinesis to turn limbs into deadly weapons, plant powerful dismembering trip mines, or create a hull-breach to suck a group of monsters out into space
• Fire up Isaac's suit boosters to rocket around in zero gravity like never before
• Explore the depths of the Sprawl and encounter new weightless combat and physics-based puzzles with full 360 degree movement

Product Details

• Downloading: Currently, this item is available only to customers located in the United States and who have a U.S. billing address.
• Note: Gifting is not available for this item.
• ASIN: B004JHYZKQ
• Release Date: January 25, 2011
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (160 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,679 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Platform: PC Download | Edition: Standard

From the Manufacturer

Dead Space 2 is a third-person horror survival game in which players must battle an alien infestation straight out of a nightmare. Follow-up game to 2008's original Dead Space, in this new release players explore a whole new terrifying game environment and battle the Necromorph abominations utilizing new weapons and tools such as the powerful javelin gun and a new space suit with built-in booster rockets. Additional game features include: improved telekinesis powers and online multiplayer functionality.

Story

Engineer Isaac Clarke returns for another bloodcurdling adventure in the sequel to the critically acclaimed Dead Space. After waking from a coma on a massive space city known as "The Sprawl," the lone survivor of a horrific alien infestation finds himself confronting a catastrophic new nightmare. Battling dementia, hunted by the government, and haunted by visions of his dead girlfriend, Isaac will do whatever it takes to save himself and dominate the gruesome onslaught. With an arsenal of tools to dismember Necromorphs and new determination, an engineer will bring the terror to space.

The return of engineer Isaac Clarke in a whole new survival-horror adventure.
View larger.

Gameplay

As with the original Dead Space game Dead Space 2 is a survival horror game played from the third-person perspective. Playing as Engineer Isaac Clarke players navigate a new environment, the space city, known as "The Sprawl." Here you must avoid or eliminate enemies including various Necromorph, horrific corpselike creatures reanimated by an alien enemy, as well as solve physics based puzzles. Game features include: multiplayer support, improved telekinesis powers and new weapons and tools, including the javelin gun which can pin an enemy to the wall and a new space suit that contains built-in booster rockets providing for maximum movement in zero-gravity.

Game Features

• Chaos Hits "The Sprawl":
  • Caught in the middle of a horrific infestation that’s decimating a massive space city, Isaac Clarke will dismember, impale, and stomp his way across "The Sprawl"
  • Blast through the Church of Unitology, jet across the Solar Array, and infiltrate the CEC facility on the path to survival
• Master the Terror:
  • Familiar as well as all-new grotesque creatures lurk around every corner
  • Wield a set of devastating tools to bring the terror to space. Impale Necromorphs into the walls with the Javelin, use improved telekinesis to turn limbs into deadly weapons, plant powerful dismembering trip mines, or create a hull-breach to suck a group of monsters out into space
• Tear Through Space In Zero-G:
  • Fire up Isaac's suit boosters to rocket around in zero gravity like never before. Explore the depths of the Sprawl and encounter new weightless combat and physics-based puzzles with full 360° movement
• Online Multiplayer
  • For the first time, experience the horror of a Necromorph outbreak with others as you battle online in skirmishes around the Sprawl and strategically dismember your friends

Additional Screenshots

Terrifying Necromorphs. View larger.

New suit abilities & weapons. View larger.

Online multiplayer support. View larger.

New space based environment. View larger.

System Requirements

	Minimum Specifications:
OS:	Win 7, Vista and XP
Processor:	2.8 GHz
RAM:	1 GB (XP), 2GB (Vista or Win7)
Hard Drive:	10GB
Video Card:	256MB Video Card and Shader Model 3.0; * NVIDIA GeForce 6800 or better (7300, 7600 GS, and 8500 are below minimum system requirements) * ATI X1600 Pro or better (X1300, X1300 Pro and HD2400 are below minimum system requirements)

INTERNET CONNECTION, ONLINE AUTHENTICATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT REQUIRED TO PLAY. ACCESS TO ONLINE SERVICES AND OR FEATURES REQUIRES AN ORIGIN ACCOUNT AND GAME REGISTRATION WITH THE ENCLOSED ONE-TIME USE SERIAL CODE. REGISTRATION IS LIMITED TO ONE ORIGIN ACCOUNT PER SERIAL CODE, WHICH IS NON-TRANSFERABLE ONCE USED. EA ONLINE PRIVACY POLICY AND TERMS OF SERVICE CAN BE FOUND AT www.ea.com. YOU MUST BE 13+ TO REGISTER FOR AN ORIGIN ACCOUNT. GAME USES SOLIDSHIELD CONTENT PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY. (WWW.SOLIDSHIELD.COM). GAME CAN BE PLAYED ON UP TO FIVE COMPUTERS AT THE SAME TIME; USERS CAN MANAGE WHICH COMPUTERS ARE AUTHORIZED OR DE-AUTHORIZED TO PLAY GAME. VISIT http://activate.ea.com/deauthorize/ FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DE-AUTHORIZATION.

EA MAY RETIRE ONLINE SERVICES AFTER 30 DAYS NOTICE POSTED ON www.ea.com/2/service-updates.

EA MAY PROVIDE CERTAIN INCREMENTAL CONTENT AND/OR UPDATES FOR NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE, IF AND WHEN AVAILABLE.

Product Description

Engineer Isaac Clarke returns for another blood-curdling adventure in the sequel to the critically acclaimed Dead Space. After waking from a coma on a massive space city known as "The Sprawl", the lone survivor of a horrific alien infestation finds himself confronting a catastrophic new nightmare. Battling dementia, hunted by the government, and haunted by visions of his dead girlfriend, Isaac will do whatever it takes to save himself and dominate the gruesome onslaught. With an arsenal of tools to dismember Necromorphs and new determination, an engineer will bring the terror to space. The Nightmare Returns January 25th, 2011

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 62 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great game, but beware of rentware. March 1, 2011

By Owen Johnson

Platform for Display:PC|Edition:Standard

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

This game is a brilliant horror game, with non-repetitive scares. It really picks up where the first one let off. It's very creepy and the game makes you never feel safe, the story is rich and deep (I won't spoil it). Recommended to fans of horror.

That said, you can only install it five times before your serial stops working... Also, if you buy the console version second hand, you can't use it online.

55 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A rich sequel to a modern classic January 28, 2011

By Schwe1nehund

Platform for Display:PC|Edition:Standard

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

After 5 hours in the game and having just completed chapter 6, my initial impressions are very positive. Dead Space 2 takes protagonist Isaac Clarke out of the frying pan and into the fire, so to speak. The best things about the first game have been improved, resulting in a streamlined and linear experience. Although 'linear' may evoke negative connotations, I am personally blown away by how well-crafted the linear path is.

As the other reviewers have pointed out - beware of the fangled and draconian security measures that come with the PC version of this product. However, I think it's highly unfair to give the overall game a single star because of something that the publisher decided - most probably with little, if any input from the actual game developers. This is a review of the game, not a critique on access control technology. Take it for what it is.

ATMOSPHERE:
So lets jump right into the `fear' aspect. The frights are genuine and the stakes are seemingly higher. Yet I personally think I was more petrified in the first game - the sense of dread is not as deep (at least not through Chapter 6). I think the main reason for this is that Dead Space 2 has a faster pace than its predecessor. Everything from the layout of the levels, to the improvements in Isaac's locomotion play a role in this. Still, there were a couple of occasions where I felt as if I was doused with a bucket of cold water. And besides, I'm only starting Chapter 7 - maybe I'll be unpleasantly surprised with something truly horrific, before the game is over.

The game also has a strongly unified design philosophy. This design philosopohy extends to everything from Isaac's various suits to the architecture. Speaking of which, the environments are very well designed and, despite the overall linear sense of progression, there is a different scene awaiting you in each section. You may be traipsing through an apartment complex one moment and a sinister Unitology church the next. Much of DS1's levels worked with the same color palettes. I'm not knocking on the excellent level design in the first game, but I applaud the developers' decision to expand into different environments with a greater variation of colors.

In the first game we were exposed to a very industrial & corporate environment. In fact you got a strong sense of how mankind had progressed in those areas - be it from what you read on the logs or what you saw on the posters. In DS2, you get a more elaborate view of other aspects of human culture in the 26th century. The feeling is similar to what gamers experienced while exploring Rapture in Bioshock.

GRAPHICS:
Visually it's a step in the right direction, though it won't completely blow you away. As a `PC-first' gamer, I pay close attention to all the bells and whistles. I find it irksome that the anti-aliasing is practically worthless - so be ready for lots of jaggy lines. The strongest features are the lighting effects, the facial animations and the character models. I'm willing to forgive the occasionally sub-par texture-work because of everything else that the game has going on for it (hey if I could play through the rubbish textures in Fallout3/New Vegas, I can play through anything).

The most impressive visual sequences come in the form of action-packed cut-scenes. It's too bad there isn't a quicksave/quickload to enjoy these sequences over and over again.

SOUND:
As an audiophile, I am blown away by the incredible sound-design. I'd say 70% of the scares come from the sounds you hear. Barring the occasional fleeting shadow, or flickering light source, the creepy sounds are what builds up tension. Throw in a BAFTA-winning composer and you have a very cinematic experience in store. Of the few genuine scares I have had thus far, one of them was because of the sound design - could feel a nerve between my ear and the back of my neck go ice cold. Hope you've got a good speaker or headphones for this one.

The voice-acting is also quite good. I remember a time when silent protagonists were in vogue.
Developers like Valve defended Gordon Freeman's silence as a blank-slate upon which gamers could impress their own personalities. Over the years I feel that this approach has lost its appeal. Games like Mass Effect and The Witcher (or even Halo) have proven that having a voice-over for the main character adds much more depth to a game. The person they cast for Isaac in DS2 does his job well - he doesn't sound heroic and he doesn't have anything particularly memorable about his voice. And that's a good thing since Isaac is meant to be an average Joe caught up in a nightmare.

GAMEPLAY:
DS2 retains most of the core mechanics. Importantly, strategic dismemberment makes a bloody glorious return - its easily the most fun to be had this side of VATS! Isaac's movements have been refined so that its smoother and more responsive. This was a welcome improvement as there are certainly more enemies to handle in certain areas. The way Isaac navigates in zero-G has also been overhauled significantly - it can be a little disorienting at first, but its definitely more realistic. The weapons feel much like they did before - and I'm glad they didn't tinker with them too much. My favorite weapon so far is the Javelin gun, which packs a heck of a punch.

On normal, DS2 is a bit more challenging than the first game. You can get swarmed pretty quickly if you're not slow and steady in your exploration. Also, keep an eye on that ammo counter. Not a big deal on `normal', but I hear that on `hard' you have to make every single shot count (can't wait for my second playthrough!) There were a couple of cheap deaths - but nothing frustrating so far. The camera went unexpectedly wonky in one particularly cramped space - which didn't kill me but it did cause a lot of hurt.

Be warned that there is an obligatory and rather mundane hacking mini-game. IMHO, this gaming mechanic needs to be permanently abolished.
One thing that DS2 handles particularly well is the seamless integration of chapters. Unlike the first game where you knew the chapter would end every time you hopped on the rail, here there is a simple text that floats up on the bottom right of the screen, with the chapter number. Its non-intrusive, and honestly I've only noticed that text a couple of times. In most cases its not until a save station that I realize I'm into the next chapter.

BOTTOM LINE:
With better pacing and improvements on almost all aspects of the first game, Dead Space 2 is the first must-buy game of 2011. The scares aren't necessarily as intense, but they are still there. I'm not done with the game and have no idea on how it ends. However, if the developers continue to treat the material with genuine care and not treat it as a cash cow, I would love to see the franchise continue well into the future.

EDIT 2/1/11:
Finally finished the game after a marathon 5 hour session. Whats more, I launched a new game and played for another 2 hours after I was done. It really is that good. Wouldn't change a thing about my review - well maybe I'll just add that yes, one particular level took me back to the pure horror of the first game...

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dead Space 2 Improves on an Already Classic Original January 31, 2011

By M. MacMahon

Platform for Display:PC|Edition:Standard

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

The original Dead Space was a classic with a few minor issues. If you disagree with that assessment then you probably want to read another review because that is my starting point when evaluating Dead Space 2. The issues with the original were minor but noticeable, mainly the environments got repetitive and the PC version has some annoyances. Dead Space 2 does away with both these complaints and on top of that adds some new gameplay elements which really push it into 5-star territory.

First off is gameplay, which while firmly rooted in survival horror (meaning you will have to manage ammo, health and inventory) does not make the mistake the recent Resident Evil's have made where the game plays like a shooter but controls like an adventure game. Dead Space 2 might not be as fast-paced as something like Call of Duty but it controls well and your ability to shoot enemies and run away is not artificially impeded by a bad control setup. Shooting is fast and accurate, you can move while aiming and reloading and most important you move and strafe like in a shooter, not like some other genre. Enemy variance is great in the game and each enemy type requires different tactics and is more suited to certain weapons, which offers a lot of variety and challenge like the shooters of old. Small toddler-like aliens call for fast spray shooting while large hulking beasts call for precision and dodging. Toward the end of the game many different types will be thrown at you at once, creating hectic and exhilirating moments where you have to quickly decide how to handle who, and with what.

Other than shooting creepy enemies that come from the dark you will do a lot of exploring in Dead Space 2. Exploring in all dimensions using the new anti-gravity freedom of movement is awesme fun and a great addition to the game; I looked forward to these flying sections throughout the entire game. All the environments this time around are much more varied as you explore a space station, not just a ship. You will go through residential areas, commercial areas, churches, military bases, mining colonies and a few surprises along the way. While the original Dead Space felt like one big engineering section Dead Space 2 has variety and better level design on the whole, plus there is no repeating of areas like in the original game. You also get to choose from various suits throughout the game, which offers up some bonus variety on top of the 10 or so weapons on offer (you can carry four at once). Exploring every area of the beautiful levels hoping to find a new suit or weapon is great fun.

Speaking of beautiful levels, Dead Space 2 is a looker. The thing that really stands out in the game is the brilliant lighting effects which, at max settings on the PC, can really knock your socks off. Shadows are rich and wonderful, black as night and deep as the ocean. The design of the levels backs up the graphical splendor as well and I was constantly pausing to see the unique "junk future" design play with the lighting and effects. One standout moment is fighting in a hallway illuminated only by a large advertisement for the future transport system, it's jingle repeating as the graphic constant refreshes itself, sprinkling light along the walls as you dodge alien zombies. Dead Space 2 uses design and effects to constantly give you these little standout moments.

For the PC Dead Space 2 is a better, yet still basic PC port. The original Dead Space was bashed by many PC gamers for having deliberately slow and cumbersome aiming which for many felt uncomfortable with a mouse. Dead Space 2 does not suffer from this issue and mouse aim is excellent and fast throughout. Dead Space also lacked the ability to reassign keys to some areas like the number pad, but Dead Space 2 seems to allow full customization. There was a v-synch bug in Dead Space which causes massive issues when v-synch was on but Dead Space 2 does not suffer nearly as much (though v-synch does still limit the framerate and cause minor floaty feelings, so you might want to turn it off anyway and try forcing it with your graphics hardware... on nVidia this fixed all the issues for me). There are many graphical settings for shadows, effects, depth of field, blur and more. You will have to force AA and AF through your control panel unfortunately, but on nVidia both do work. The game uses SolidShield DRM which has to activate at install and then deactivates when you uninstall, giving you 5 concurrent activations at any one time. It's annoying and pointless (and easily fixed if you desire to) but I don't let DRM effect the score.

Overall Dead Space 2 is a brilliant game I consider to be an instant classic. If you like sci-fi shooters, creepy horror games and exploration then you will surely love Dead Space 2. The PC port is better this time and the game is a solid 12 hours long for one playthrough on normal, so what are you waiting for? Dead Space 2 is worth the cash, worth your time and not just a great game but a great PC game. I thoroughly recommend it.