Dead Space 2..... 1/25/11 [Archive]

skavenhorde

December 25th, 2010, 20:19

Too true. Loved System Shock 2.

Just wish they tried to be different from the rest some other way than targeting limbs on the monsters. Slowing down time, now that's ok and perfectly sane for sci-fi ;) but targeting limbs? Seemed like a cheap trick.

That's a minor annoyance though. I did like that one and this new one is on my must buy list as well…..I'm going to be broke forever it seems.

JDR13

December 25th, 2010, 20:27

Hmm.. not sure why the hangup on the limb targeting, it was only one aspect of the game after all. I guess the other choice would have been to have you shoot them and they fall down…sort of like every other game. ;)

As long as they match the tension and atmosphere of the first game, I'll be happy.

SS2 was awesome, but that was a looong time ago. There just aren't enough games like these.

DArtagnan

December 25th, 2010, 21:57

Played the PS3 demo, and I didn't really see anything different.

It's an ok horror shooter, but a bit simplistic and way too much of the same thing over and over.

Still, I love sci-fi - and I doubt we'll get any closer to System Shock 2…

ToddMcF2002

December 26th, 2010, 00:46

sign me up baby!!!!!!

Alrik Fassbauer

January 3rd, 2011, 22:01

EA is seemingly currently going to use gamers as a tool : They have seemingly erected an "online petition" so that Dead Space 2 might be sold throughout Germany … Their problem is, that because of the violence, a federal state's government has veto'd against the release of the game with "USK 18+"

Links :

The EA press release regarding that : http://www.ea.com/de/news/release-von-dead-space-2-in-deutschland-in-gefahr
The EA online petition against the German federal state of Bavaria : http://forms.eaplay.de/petition.php

Of course this stuff isn't in English language. It would imho do damage to EA's reputation if the rest of the world learned that they are using gamers as a tool to push the release of a game through …

zadokAllen

January 4th, 2011, 01:00

DS was fun, but light years behind SS 1/2. Too linear …
It`d be great if they opened up more and also included more puzzles.

Bioforge, anyone? :)

JDR13

January 4th, 2011, 01:53

DS was fun, but light years behind SS 1/2. Too linear …
It`d be great if they opened up more and also included more puzzles.

The System Shock games were great, but were completely different types of games. It's hard to be non-linear and still be able to focus on the story.

DArtagnan

January 4th, 2011, 08:10

System Shock showed us how to accomplish that.

Cthulhufan

January 26th, 2011, 01:37

For anyone picking this up today that isn't already aware, there are Licensing problems with the EA servers affecting both boxed and digital distribution versions of the game. I can't wait to get this.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107254-Steam-Version-of-Dead-Space-2-Dead-in-the-Water

That article makes it seam like it is a problem with Steam only, but there are reports of folks having issues with their boxed retail copy as well.

I'm sure it will be sorted soon by EA but, man, what a kick in the pants to the player who has been dying to get this going.

Thrasher

January 26th, 2011, 02:09

Well as soon as someone plays this, I'd like to hear about it here!

JDR13

January 26th, 2011, 05:21

It's still going to be a few more days before I get it. In the meantime, I'm going to do a quick run through of Dead Space: Extraction. I've had it for over a year now and never really played it.

On a side note, I just finished reading Dead Space: Martyr (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Space:_Martyr) today. It was excellent… definitely the best video game tie-in novel I've read. I highly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of the series.

mute

January 27th, 2011, 07:01

This must be the release of the year for me. I don't know why what how but dead space was/is one of the few games that really got to me. I think its the setting and the fact its "linear".

i am worried about some things in the reviews of DS 2 i read. The pacing got ramped up and its more action. One thing i truly enjoyed with DS was the pacing, not knowing that there should be a fight around the corner.

I feel DS was a really worthy successor to System Shock and i hope i will be experience it once again tonight in the shape of the sequel. (Its getting released in sweden today!).

Hm seeing i now got a Wii for the kids. Perhaps i should try and find it (edit: Dead Space: Extraction).

mute

January 27th, 2011, 07:15

... just realized that Extraction is coming with the limited edition of Dead Space 2 to the PS3.

So. I will just have to buy me a PS3.

Peace a cake. No problem. My wife will probably really support my new purchase. :)

DArtagnan

January 27th, 2011, 14:16

I feel DS was a really worthy successor to System Shock and i hope i will be experience it once again tonight in the shape of the sequel. (Its getting released in sweden today!).

Don't drink and post!

zadokAllen

January 27th, 2011, 14:40

I feel DS was a really worthy successor to System Shock

Sheeesh! This "defend-the-legacy" thing is becoming a full time job :)

JDR13

January 27th, 2011, 23:35

Dead Space doesn't need to be a successor to anything. I'm not sure why there would be comparisons to a totally different type of game.

zadokAllen

January 28th, 2011, 00:15

Review scores indicate a rather decent title...just like the first one. Is it all set in some abandoned city or such? I`d like that...

DArtagnan

January 28th, 2011, 11:03

Dead Space totally different from System Shock?

I think that's a stretch. Obviously, it's very much inspired by System Shock and its sequel - it's just very streamlined and linear in comparison. But it's still about being isolated in space and figuring out what happened, step by step - whilst you're trying to survive in a horror/tension filled environment. You get goals served for each level that you have to accomplish before proceeding, which is an exact replica of what you did in the shocks - only in a very linear and predictable way.

The weapon/armor upgrade system and the few "powers" you get remind me very much what you did in SS2 - only in a boiled down simple in fashion.

They took something that worked well - simplified it - and made it very pretty and full of explosions and cheap scares.

In effect, I'd comfortably call it System Shock for the masses. The core appeal is nearly identical.

Nothing wrong with that, and I liked it fine. But it's even less of a proper successor to System Shock than Bioshock was.

Dead Space 2 seems to be even more linear and "set-piecey" than the first game, which is why I'm not excited by it.

JDR13

January 28th, 2011, 11:49

DArtagnan

January 28th, 2011, 11:57

Actually, the designers were very open about what their inspirations were. They talked about films such as 'The Thing', 'Aliens', and 'Event Horizon' as the major influences for what they were trying to create.

Personally, I see very little similarity to a game like System Shock other than the setting, but I can see how someone who is a huge fan would want to believe that it was a major influence.

Why would being inspired by movies remove game inspirations? It's a game, isn't it? In any case, I don't really need confirmation for something that obvious.

Is it possible that the similarities are purely incidental? Sure, and it's possible that one highly efficient dude is busy during Christmas and calls himself Santa Claus :)

But I can certainly see how a fan of System Shock, who enjoyed Dead Space greatly - would want to see them as different games, rather than Dead Space being a much inferior version.

zadokAllen

January 28th, 2011, 12:07

I`ve never thought about SS being an influence until reading this thread. It was always rather obvious it`s Resident Evil series that inspired them when it comes to gameplay.

mute

January 28th, 2011, 12:08

The reason why i think this is System Shock is really simple.

1) I have to game series i love. Wing Commander and System Shock. (Although I never finished nr 2)

2) I love Dead Space.

3) Since i only love two game series, Wing Commander and System Shock it feels really, really, REALLY, stupid to compare it to Wing Commander.

And thats why I compare Dead Space to System Shock.

(Mass Effect on the other hand is hands down a Wing Commander clone!)

:)

DArtagnan

January 28th, 2011, 12:09

Resident Evil is also a survival horror game, so I'm sure that was an influence as well.

But in that case, I think they were more inspired by the Silent Hill games, based on the monsters being somewhat similar.

DArtagnan

January 28th, 2011, 12:11

But there's really no need to debate this.

Just google the two games together, and you'll find that I'm not exactly alone in my theory ;)

However, if people want to believe Dead Space and System Shock are totally different, that's really quite ok with me.

JDR13

January 28th, 2011, 12:34

Why would being inspired by movies remove game inspirations? It's a game, isn't it? In any case, I don't really need confirmation for something that obvious.

Is it possible that the similarities are purely incidental? Sure, and it's possible that one highly efficient dude is busy during Christmas and calls himself Santa Claus :).

I already know this will be a useless endeavor, since you don't seem to respond very well to logic when it doesn't coincide with your opinion. But I'm going to give you this example anyways…

Obviously, it's very much inspired by Doom 3 and its prequels - it's just very streamlined and linear in comparison. But it's still about being isolated in space and figuring out what happened, step by step - whilst you're trying to survive in a horror/tension filled environment. You get goals served for each level that you have to accomplish before proceeding, which is an exact replica of what you did in the Dooms - only in a very linear and predictable way.

See how easy that was? And it's no less true than your original quote.

I'm sure SS was one of many influnces to Dead Space, but it wasn't the *primary* one as you're trying to suggest. If it was, it would have been mentioned. They did mention games as well as movies, but SS wasn't one of them.

JDR13

January 28th, 2011, 12:42

Since it's obvious where this will go, why don't we just skip the semantics and agree to disagree early on this one? ;)

DArtagnan

January 28th, 2011, 12:48

Logic?

You mean the opinion of JDR presented as logic ;)

But it's true that it's very useless trying to convince me you're right, when I think you're wrong - and when you have weak arguments. I don't think you should ever expect that to happen.

First of all, it's absolutely impossible for either of us to know with any certainty what was the inspiration. Not the primary, secondary, or tertiary. Not even if we knew key members intimately, because people are not always aware of what they're being inspired by.

So there's absolutely zero logic to claiming you know for a fact that it wasn't a primary inspiration. I'm not saying I know it for a fact, I'm saying I'm convinced it was a strong influence. Primary? Maybe not - but the Shocks are definitely the first two games that come to mind.

But if you're such a fan of logic, then you should consider the difference between Doom 2 and Doom 3. I'm sure you're familiar with the changes, beyond the visual ones.

Where do you think the audio logs came from? Why do you think they implemented them as a key feature?

Also, Doom 3 didn't have an armor/weapon upgrade system, and it didn't have psi-like powers.

Doom 3 isn't a survival horror game, it's a straight up shooter with utterly predictable monster spawns.

But I have no reason to doubt that Doom 3 was an inspiration, especially in terms of how predictable it was, and also in terms of the emphasis on setpieces and action - over careful and non-linear exploration.

At the end of the day, you think of Dead Space and System Shock as two TOTALLY different games. I think of them as very similar, except that Dead Space is a very simplified and inferior game - but that's about taste.

That's pretty much it, isn't it.

DArtagnan

January 28th, 2011, 12:49

Since it's obvious where this will go, why don't we just skip the semantics and agree to disagree early on this one? ;)

Damn, too slow ;)

But ok - let's do that.

JDR13

January 28th, 2011, 12:55

But it's true that it's very useless trying to convince me you're right, when I think you're wrong - and when you have weak arguments. I don't think you should ever expect that to happen.

First of all, it's absolutely impossible for either of us to know with any certainty what was the inspiration. Not the primary, secondary, or tertiary. Not even if we knew key members intimately, because people are not always aware of what they're being inspired by.

Of course… multiple interviews with the developers, some of which included that exact question, would shed no light on that whatsoever. ;)

And my argument is weak. :)

But it's over now, we each have our opinion. I'm looking forward to playing Dead Space 2.

DArtagnan

January 28th, 2011, 13:04

Of course… multiple interviews with the developers, some of which included that exact question, would shed no light on that whatsoever.

Have you considered that they might not want to be entirely frank about every inspiration?

What do you think would happen if EA and its developers openly stated they were trying to capitalise on a successful formula by making it simple, explosive, and accessible?

But it's over now, we each have our opinion. I'm looking forward to playing Dead Space 2.

So am I, actually. I think it will be a decent game much like the first one.

But I'm waiting until the price drops a bit…

JDR13

January 28th, 2011, 13:12

You're really reaching now, but I'll consider it a possibility, just to give this debate some closure.

skavenhorde

January 30th, 2011, 11:49

Dead Space 2 game length: 8 - 10 hours

Not happy about that at all. I'll still get it some time in the future, but I'm not happy that as soon as I start playing this thing it will be over.

zadokAllen

January 30th, 2011, 12:01

Ouch.

I`m usually sceptical about this sort of figures, they tend to stretch with my gameplay style (stick-yer-nose-in-every-nook-and-cranny).

But, judging by the first one`s extreme linearity, there`s not much scope for extending this time.

skavenhorde

January 30th, 2011, 12:39

If they dropped the price for smaller games it wouldn't be so bad, I guess.

Check out Chautemoc's review (http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Games/Reviews/dead_space_2/) for it. Sounds great, just wish it was longer. I can pass one of these games in one day, two at the most.

JDR13

January 30th, 2011, 17:17

I doubt that's an accurate estimate. That would make it about half as long as the original, and I find that hard to believe. From what source did that originate?

I wouldn't be totally surprised if it wasn't much longer than that though. On the other hand, why should it be? This isn't a crpg we're talking about, it's a survival-horror game. 10 hours would make it significantly longer than almost all of the Resident Evil or Silent Hill games.

Check out Chautemoc's review (http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Games/Reviews/dead_space_2/) for it.

9.5/10? I certainly hope it's really that good.

DArtagnan

January 30th, 2011, 18:24

I've heard 10 hours from several sources, so I think it's pretty accurate. I think it's a good length for a game of this sort. I tend to tire of action setpieces and limited gameplay variety pretty quickly, and 10 hours is just about right to get a nice immersive experience, without tiring of the repetition.

zadokAllen

January 30th, 2011, 22:23

10 hours would make it significantly longer than almost all of the Resident Evil or Silent Hill games.

If that`s how long it took you to beat these games you`ve been using a walkthrough. Unless "almost all" = "some".

EDIT: Actually, changed my mind. I don`t really know how long it takes to beat them. It seems awfully longer than 6-8 hours though. I remember playing for days...at least Veronica & GC remakes.

Videogame time = subjective thing

JDR13

January 31st, 2011, 01:28

Most of the Resident Evil games were only about 7-8 hours for the original playthrough, and could be finished in 4-5 hours on a replay. RE4 was a lot longer though, and I still haven't played RE5 yet.

zadokAllen

January 31st, 2011, 13:54

I guess you`re right. Perhaps 10 hours is not so bad…but then I hardly ever buy games at full price (think I got 1st DS for about 12 pounds). So it stings less.

RE4 was a GOTY for me when it came out, despite few niggles. RE5 on the other hand- biggest disappointment of the year.

JDR13

January 31st, 2011, 14:09

RE4 was a GOTY for me when it came out, despite few niggles. RE5 on the other hand- biggest disappointment of the year.

RE4 is probably my all time favorite console game. Before that, it was RE: Code Veronica.

What did you dislike so much about RE5? I have the PC version, but I've only tried it out a bit, not enough to form an opinion. I was planning on buying the PS3 Gold Edition in the near future.

zadokAllen

January 31st, 2011, 16:24

After RE4 my expectations were sky-high. I was sure that at worst it`s gonna be more of the same - but in HD!

Played on 360, and after initial wow!graphics! factor wore out I was left with a tedious TPP shooter. Corridors everywhere, broad daylight, low on atmosphere, biggest (only) puzzle = how to manage that blasted inventory. Annoying (no surprises here) sidekick.

Maybe that`s bit harsh…but RE4 was rather special. Also - that convoluted control scheme…if not for that I`d probably finish the game. Still, you might have fun with it.

All this talk now made me yearn for Gamecube`s remake of the 1st one :) Best rendered environments - ever.

skavenhorde

January 31st, 2011, 16:34

I stick by my claim that 8 - 10 hours is too short.

Did anyone play Cryostasis? That was a good game, but it also taught me to be more careful when buying these kinds of games. It ended way too fast. I may be a bit spoiled since I grew up with epic length games and rpgs tend to be a bit longer than other types of games, but if I can finish a game in a day or two then it is not worth paying full price.

They need to add more content or drop the price.

Start comparing this game to System Shock and not Resident Evil. Half of the time spent with Resident Evil is reloading to save points. That extended the game tremendously. It also made it tedious.

JDR13

January 31st, 2011, 16:37

Did anyone play Cryostasis?

Yeah…it sucked, and length had nothing to do with that.

Start comparing this game to System Shock and not Resident Evil. Half of the time spent with Resident Evil is reloading to save points. That extended the game tremendously. It also made it tedious.

To each his own. :)

skavenhorde

January 31st, 2011, 16:43

You're nuts. That was a great game. The only thing it needed was a few more hours. The dang thing ended way too fast.

Edit: I've only played RE 4 and 5. I loved 4 and got bored with 5. Still 4 was awesome.

Doesn't change the fact that half the time spent was reloading to a previous save point.

RE series is not really a good comparison to this one even though they are both horror/survival games. System Shock, Cryostasis, hell even Bioshock and FEAR are a better comparison in terms of gameplay.

RE is in a class all unto itself with the unique gameplay style.

JDR13

January 31st, 2011, 17:30

I don't know how you come to the conclusion that a bunch of first-person shooters are a better comparison in terms of gameplay. For me, the type of camera view, as well as the control scheme, have a huge impact in that regard.

Regarding Cryostasis - It really only had one thing going for it, and that was the "cold" gimmick. There was nothing that stood out to me about the game, and towards the end I remember just wanting to finish it so I could move on to something else.

skavenhorde

January 31st, 2011, 18:38

Semantics, personal taste, etc.

Sorry JDR I really don't have the energy to debate this though you do have some valid points and I would have some valid reasons as to why your wrong ;) Real life comes calling and it's a fucking bitch sometimes. Check that, real life is always a bitch. What I would give to be one of those poor schmucks stuck in VR in the Matrix.

JDR13

January 31st, 2011, 19:02

Damn…I was really looking forward to you trying to explain how FEAR is a better comparison to Dead Space than Resident Evil. ;)jk

zadokAllen

February 1st, 2011, 12:35

trying to explain how FEAR is a better comparison to Dead Space than Resident Evil. ;)

Boy, that would be great...Internet at it`s purest :)

DArtagnan

February 1st, 2011, 12:50

Witnessed a few hours of this being played…

Railroad corridor shooter with action-setpieces galore.

I was shocked to find that you had a female voice speaking to you, and directing you towards her position.

I wonder if they could make it anymore predictable if they tried :)

However, it looks great even with the lowres textures - and if you're into the linear explosion design - it ought to be great fun. Lighting is done particularly well, and it's really a great mood piece. I was longing for an opportunity to explore the areas with such great atmosphere, but such moments seemed even rarer than in the first game.

Also, it seemed to be less about horror, and more about action.

Sort of like the move from Alien to Aliens - speaking strictly in terms of the pace.

Not for me, but I think it will be a hit with DS fans. Even if it's not, EA marketing will make sure it is anyway. As I was going to work today, I saw giant Dead Space 2 posters on our Danish buses! That's pretty rare for a game here :)

zadokAllen

February 1st, 2011, 15:23

I was shocked to find that you had a female voice speaking to you, and directing you towards her position.

I`m getting really tired of this device. I wouldn`t mind if it was sort of less constant and nagging - but in the first one that black dude really started getting on my nerves. Go there, switch this, backtrack here, switch that…why don`t you go and bloody do it yourself, eh? Also place is crawling with alien horrors - but him and the chick are somehow left at peace.

But ok…sod him. That Ryan dude from Bioshock…boy when I`ll finally get to him I sure as hell will unload some electric buckshot up his nagging ass :) At least these in DS sort of knew you before - this random fellow gets in your ear the moment you survived a plane crash & entered a bizarre underwater city, sending you on a tour of it`s most dangerous parts. Hello! Can I have a moment of peace here or something?

EDIT: Ryan? What Ryan? I meant Atlas of course...boy, my memory`s gone :)

DArtagnan

February 1st, 2011, 15:30

It was cool in System Shock with that girl you never get to meet - and System Shock 2 carried it forward a little with the big twist, but maybe it's time to think up something new :)

JemyM

February 1st, 2011, 17:27

I played RE4 in hopes of playing a horror game, which probably explains my disappointment with it. I actually played the other games after that, and still I enjoyed RE0 and the RE1 remake so much more. When RE5 came I was such a fanboi, so the premise of playing familiar faces drew me into it.

I liked Dead Space. I found it to be a game from a dying genré. I am disappointed that the other games implemented the 2-player mechanic that simply doesn't fit a horror game for me. Horror games should be played alone.

JDR13

February 1st, 2011, 17:32

I'm pretty sure it's not that simple. :)

I think I already have a good idea of what that female voice is about, and it's not as straightforward as some people would believe.

Still, I'm starting to get the impression that DS2 is more about pure action than Dead Space was, and I'm definitely going to to lower my expectations before I play it.

*Edit* Damn, JemyM had to wedge his little post in there first. ;)

JemyM

February 1st, 2011, 17:38

Silent Hill 5 was more of an actiongame than it's prequels. RE4 and 5 was more of actiongames than it's prequels. F.E.A.R. 3 is now about playing alongside a friend.

Dead Space was different. It dared to say that no, the horror genré is alive and cool, if you put some effort into making them. If it's true that DS2 is more action oriented now, then it seems like it went the same direction. It's sad that everyone want to make the same game over and over again.

DArtagnan

February 1st, 2011, 17:55

As I said, it was just from 3-4 hours of watching one of my friends playing. He's a big fan, so he loved it.

I have no idea if the woman turns into a twist or whatever - I'm just talking about the device of "waking up" without knowing what's going on - and then having a person guide you towards him/her. It was a cliché in Bioshock and it's a cliché now.

But it's no big deal - and if you like the gameplay, it shouldn't matter much.

I don't think DS fans have much to worry about. I didn't find the original particularly slow-paced either, but a bit more creepy and suspenseful. But the core gameplay seems to be very much intact.

I'm sure reviews around the net can give more insight.

JDR13

February 1st, 2011, 18:07

While I certainly wouldn't call the first game slow paced, most areas had a sufficient amount of tension throughout.

There were enough times where you wouldn't encounter anything for awhile as the suspense built up. The game also had excellent ambient soundFX that added to those moments of tension. In general, I thought the pacing was pretty good.

I'm not too worried about the setup in DS2. Just about anything nowadays is going to be perceived as cliche in some way. It's the pacing, or possible lack thereof, that I'm more worried about.

Thrasher

February 1st, 2011, 22:04

Pretty lousy review from PC Gamer. I don't know why I am bothering since it tells you practically nothing new about gameplay nor story nor atmosphere nor controls. Maybe there's not much new to say, actually? That says something.

A rating of 85 with no explanation, really.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/01/28/dead-space-2-review/

zadokAllen

February 2nd, 2011, 00:47

87, actually. Pretty good I`d say.

"review" thou is a joke...7 paragraphs & 3 pics. Most previews is longer than that. Perhaps they`re down to 2 staffers in Pc Gamer these days...

DoctorNarrative

February 5th, 2011, 07:47

Perhaps they`re down to 2 staffers in Pc Gamer these days…

It's a pretty dinky magazine now-a-days, at least in the States. The only other mag I ever get is Edge when I spot it at the bookstore and Edge is about 1,000,000 times better. Even if you remove everything console-only from Edge I bet it still has more content than PC Gamer.

On topic: Dead Space 2 was great. Such a sense of place, immersion to the max. I enjoyed every bit of my 12 hours or so and the collector's edition, despite the disappointing gun replica, was well worth the $60.

JDR13

February 5th, 2011, 08:02

and the collector's edition, despite the disappointing gun replica, was well worth the $60.

How did you get the collector's edition for only $60?

curious

February 5th, 2011, 08:47

finished last night and doing another playthrough. even though its a bit of a challenge i'd highly suggest choosing the "survivalist" difficulty. some parts demand quite a bit of strategy and ammo and health is lowered. took me close to 20 hours on the gameplay clock though add on a couple more hours for reloads. started another playthough and am already over halfway at just over 6 hours. even though the damage dealt on zealot diffuclty is pretty viscious, getting to keep all your upgrades, combined with playing through the game once its actually a bit easier and much faster. i've got nearly 200,000 that i've yet to burn. the ripper which i loved from the first game has been overpowered now as they caved into complaints about not being able to turn fast enough. that coupled with the a fully upgraded stasis module means you can take on 4-5 tough mofos with just a few ripper rounds and a shot or two of statis. just as enjoyable as the first and the much more "open" levels with a great sense of vertical vistas make it a similar and refreshing experience. the story and sound quality are the only parts i really find extremely underwhelming. to me i think the game has a lot more bioshock in it than system shock 1 or 2. for once i think the gamespot score of 8.5 is just about spot on.

zadokAllen

February 5th, 2011, 14:31

The only other mag I ever get is Edge when I spot it at the bookstore and Edge is about 1,000,000 times better.

Edge used to be my bible back in the day, but they went a bit corporate with their overall tone and also had a few WTF scores over the years (like 6/10 for GTA III - from which they later withdrew) Still the best though, no doubt.

i think the game has a lot more bioshock in it than system shock 1 or 2.

………………….:rolleyes:

curious

February 5th, 2011, 16:58

great elaboration there
if your empty comment (that's literal not figurative) is in response to me not stating the obvious that bioshock is obviously an evolution by the same creators of system shock 2 (still one of my top 10 games of all time) then there you go. i was stating that more as a rebute to the devs claim they got no inspiration from the system shock games which is so untrue in that they get a lot from those games and even more so in that they are immulating the newests "shocks" especially in dead space 2 since i'm sure the first was already in development when bioshock was released.

i don't mind the lack of a map in dead space 2 but the lack of even a overall map of the station in my view was a set back from the first game. that profile on the loading screen is so lacking detail it would be like calling a pile of laundry a mountain. in the end the dead spaces are still a bit on rails and shallow compared to all of the "shocks" but as there are so few games like them i will hardly complain as they are highly enjoyable ventures and there length is actually just about perfect. i mean these games do capture the "survival horror" feel well which i can't rely on from the resident evil series any more. i'm just glad EA didn't scrap the pc version like was originally planned.

zadokAllen

February 5th, 2011, 17:45

Perhaps slightly rude, but if you cared to read this thread from the start, you`d see this (non)argument was done to death already.

Personally I think the only thing in DS inspired by SS is usage of logs, but really, this device is now so common that it`s irrelevant. Apart from that - yes they`re both set on a space station. But so is Space Station Silicon Valley.

As for Bioshock…well i just don`t know. You got weapons that shoot ? Check, true. Silent protagonists? Hell, yeah. Wow…this method works :)

DoctorNarrative

February 5th, 2011, 19:32

How did you get the collector's edition for only $60?

Amazon had it up for that a long time ago and I pre-ordered. I always pre-order any game I am interested in as soon as amazon lists them because then you get the lowest price. You can always cancel if you decide not to buy the game.

Amazon had all the recent and future EA titles up for $49.99 for a while and I got them all pre-ordered for that price. Now they are all $59.99. I actually have the Dragon Age 2 signature edition pre-ordered for $39.99. Amazon is great for buying brand new titles.

zadokAllen

February 10th, 2011, 17:32

No DLC for PC?

Not so, if these boys are right ("http://techspotlight.net/news/dead-space-2-pc-gets-dlc-no-thanks-to-ea-but-to-edited-save-files)

Perhaps it`s a totally insignificant victory - yet it made me smile :)

booboo

February 10th, 2011, 19:32

Played a few hours (PC version) - I didn't play the first one so I have no basis for comparison.

Pros:
* Atmosphere is great
* the graphics look nice.

Cons:
* Physics is poor - everything (including mashed corpses) moves like its made of polystyrene. Somewhat immersion breaking.
* The %$##!! control scheme….*hiss*splutter*rant*
TO run and shoot (now, WHY would I possibly want to do that?) I have to
1) Hold down shift - NO F*%^!$!$!! AUTORUN!? Why? If its a "game breaker" - put in a stamina counter or something for gods sake!
2) splay my left fingers apart to get to a directional key (a claw, if you like, esp after playing for a bit!)
3) press and hold down the *right* mouse button (to aim - otherwise I try to smack people with my weapon… duh)
4) hold down the *left* mouse button to fire…
5) move the mouse to control my direction.

Brilliant. This single thing has pretty much buggered up enjoyment of the game for me. Solution: have auto-run (at least) and decouple aiming from other things like telekinesis etc. Then you could use the standard mouse-look/aim + single click to do what you need to.

zadokAllen

February 10th, 2011, 19:45

* The %$##!! control scheme….*hiss*splutter*rant*

This is something I`m allergic to...and can not fathom how it is allowed to constantly bog down PC gaming. To seriously damage the port by a retarded control scheme? Something that surely can not be THAT hard to get right?

Ok so AA sucks and so on - I`ll live with it. Make controls a chore - $%# you guys :)

This is the kind of game where joypad wins against KBM btw...

Thrasher

February 10th, 2011, 20:55

Yes, but just think of all the extra repetitive un escapable Isaac death animations you get to enjoy because the controls suck so hard.. ;) Hurray for teh cinematic experience!

JDR13

February 10th, 2011, 22:47

I gather he's not a survival-horror verteran of games like Resident Evil or Silent Hill. :)

Thrasher

February 10th, 2011, 22:55

Silent Hill 2. Getting killed by demonic nurses in the hospital because I couldn't control movement in cramped quarters with ever shifting 3rd person perspectives. Otherwise, I love that game. :)

DoctorNarrative

February 11th, 2011, 13:13

What game does NOT have "hold shift to run"...? I don't get the complaint.

I found Dead Space 2's controls to be excellent, I had no issues. About the only funky thing is holding down middle-mouse and then moving the mouse to navigate the inventory. Everything else was pretty standard for me.

JDR13

February 11th, 2011, 13:36

Well they certainly must be better than the controls in the first game. :)

zadokAllen

February 11th, 2011, 14:04

What game does NOT have "hold shift to run"…? I don't get the complaint.

About any decent FPS perhaps? With `walk` on toggle...

On the other hand I guess it`s not that necessary in DS2. As we`ve already established (yeah, what? :P) it`s a survival horror, with a heavy - stepping protagonist.

DArtagnan

February 11th, 2011, 14:07

Given how small most of the areas are, I don't think it's that big a deal. Seems to fit the pace of the game rather well.

booboo

February 11th, 2011, 19:15

What game does NOT have "hold shift to run"…? I don't get the complaint.

I found Dead Space 2's controls to be excellent, I had no issues. About the only funky thing is holding down middle-mouse and then moving the mouse to navigate the inventory. Everything else was pretty standard for me.

Um…"caps lock"? Most FPS type games I've played simply allow you to use caps to keep running. No stress on ones fingers = good.

The issue here is not running to cover game areas quickly - its to run and dodge effectively in *combat*. I use "run" to keep out of reach of enemies…walking is, hardly surprisingly, not conducive to long life.

Hm. Just tried and it turns out you can't run and "aim" - well that's a bummer. So you have to backpedal slowly while shooting at things.

Anyway, the lack of a simple "mouse aim + fire" (left click!) is annoying. Every FPS/actiony game I've played (pretty much) has supported that - or if they didn't it wasn't so prejudicial to your health. If I have a weapon I should be able to move the mouse to the target and click a single button to fire. Why enforce more? "Aiming" does *nothing* except stop you from performing a melee attack by mistake. There is no in game benefit like enhanced damage (well, none that I could see - you're still using the mouse pointer/reticule as your aiming point). They have simply mapped to much stuff onto a 2-button mouse. Having a keyboard means you can do modal stuff - like walk/run toggle - so why not use it?

I think the control regime is better suited to a controller of some sort - but I' a mouse + keyboard guy and I can't see a good reason for the scheme they have chosen. If running is counter to their game style, they should penalize you for running. As it is, the scheme they have used fits straight in with my experience of other PC ports of console games I've played in the past.

dteowner

February 11th, 2011, 21:04

In spite of glowing reviews and a significant interest on my part (not my style of game, but I had recently finished Bioshock1 when DS1 came out so "engrossing atmosphere" shooters still sounded interesting), I never purchased Dead Space 1 because of the reports of horrible controls on the PC. Looks like I'll be missing out on DS2 as well.

JDR13

February 11th, 2011, 22:23

Anyway, the lack of a simple "mouse aim + fire" (left click!) is annoying. Every FPS/actiony game I've played (pretty much) has supported that

Dead Space is not a "FPS/actiony" game, it's a survival-horror game. That genre has rarely had similar controls to first-person shooters. It sounds like you were expecting something other than what you should have been.

@dteowner, The horror (no pun intended) of Dead Space's controls is being greatly exaggerated. The first game was annoying because they didn't allow you to remap all the keys. However, that was easily circumvented by using a key-mapper program if you didn't like their default scheme.

curious

February 11th, 2011, 22:34

the horrible controls were over(whined)stated in the first game. in fact i found the controls in the 2nd game almost too easy and even on the 2nd playthrough at zealot difficulty the advantage of a quick turning/aiming ability made combating enemies from all sides intense but not overly as challenging as one would think. so yes i guess you could say the controls "improved" as it allows you to combat effectively from all sides whereas the what i thought was a good gameplay (and realistic) element of the first game had you lug a bit when you moved around since afterall you were in work suit or "rig". usually "rig" doesn't necessarily conjure up the gracefulness of a balerina but i guess fans got what they wanted. i doubt it but i would find if funny if some people who complained about the restrictive movement also complained about full speed back pedaling in fallout 3 and new vegas.

oh and dead space 2 takes place indoors and you all know you shouldn't normally be running indoors. besides autorun on an suspense survival horror game seems--to make absolutely no sense.

curious

February 11th, 2011, 22:35

i agree a lack of remapping is like getting an std from a consport (console port)

Alrik Fassbauer

February 11th, 2011, 22:45

Dead Space is not a "FPS/actiony" game, it's a survival-horror game.

Yes, but you shoot a lot in order to survive, don't you ?

JDR13

February 11th, 2011, 22:50

*Sigh*...... :disappointed:

Alrik Fassbauer

February 11th, 2011, 23:20

I apologise for my lack of knowledge.

DoctorNarrative

February 11th, 2011, 23:37

Dead Space is not a "FPS/actiony" game, it's a survival-horror game. That genre has rarely had similar controls to first-person shooters. It sounds like you were expecting something other than what you should have been.

@dteowner, The horror (no pun intended) of Dead Space's controls is being greatly exaggerated. The first game was annoying because they didn't allow you to remap all the keys. However, that was easily circumvented by using a key-mapper program if you didn't like their default scheme.

100% agree with this.

It sounds like the complainers just want it to play like an FPS, which it is not. Not only because of it not being purely a shooter, but also because it is not in first-person.

JemyM

February 12th, 2011, 23:23

I am in Chapter 6/15 now so I am only 1/3 through.

I do not remember the controls of DS1 to be poor. I play DS2 with a wireless XBox 360 controller which works quite well.

I like the game. After playing Force Unleashed 2 I feared that DS2 would be kinda like that, an inferior remake, more of the same without too much new, and more action oriented. I do not think that's true. DS2 is a solid title. It's still creepy, the story is well written and offers a new mystery without rehashing old stuff. Gameplay includes some of the best "interactive cutscenes" I have seen. Also there is very little repetition. I really have no idea what to expect when entering a new level. I run the game on medium and some places have taken a couple of retries.

DArtagnan

February 14th, 2011, 10:29

http://frictionalgames.blogspot.com/2011/02/thoughts-on-dead-space-2.html

The guy seems to be much fonder of the game than I am, but still - an interesting read.

zadokAllen

February 14th, 2011, 13:09

I play DS2 with a wireless XBox 360 controller which works quite well.

Mystery explained ;)

booboo

February 14th, 2011, 13:20

Ok, I over-reacted somewhat to the controls - the game is reasonably playable once I realised what you could and couldn't do. There are several poor control design decisions - but the game is not "unplayable" as I may originally have complained.

I'm on chapter 7 at this point. So far its OK. The horror is not "OH! The unspeakable horror!" its "…oh, another Geigeresque creature..ah! This one spits acid. Wow". The monsters attack in much the same way across every encounter and encounters are pretty predictable - although I guess that's par for the course in such games. I quite like the TK "puzzles" - breaks up the relentless slaughter. Some of the scripted sequences are totally implausible - by the time you realise what you're supposed to do at that point (Oh. frantically click the E key...starting NOW) you're half dead. I now just click for good measure, in case I'm supposed to be clicking at that point. That "E" they flash on the screen often vanishes (for me) depending on camera angle so thart's not always a reliable cue. I suppose if I'd played the first one I'd be aware of the conventions - but I didn't and they really should make allowances for 1st time players. The tutorial level is a point in case - I couldn't get past the very first creature because you were supposed to press "E" when it grappled you. I thought the stylised E that flashed by was some some visual illusion he was having (which would fit), being the first time I'd seen it. I actually had to go online to find a walkthrough which explained that you had to do this.

zadokAllen

February 14th, 2011, 13:31

. I thought the stylised E that flashed by was some some visual illusion he was having

Hey, it`s not Eternal Darkness 2 ;) (unfortunately)

JemyM

February 14th, 2011, 14:37

Mystery explained ;)

The PC is connected to my 22" CRT monitor and my 40" HDTV. Some games really works great to play as regular console games, Dead Space, Assassin's Creed, Force Unleashed etc... so I have became used to lean back with the 360 controller for those games. I actually never had a real xbox, I got the controllers when more and more games had native support for them. For instance, I do not get an "E" to throw some off me, I get a green "A".