Which is just how games like this should be.

Ammo is still in severely short supply during periods of the game, and like its predecessor, Dead Space 2 is challenging and unforgiving to play. You can, for example, fire severed limbs at necromorphs.

Isaac's Kinesis ability to pick up objects and fire them has been made vastly more responsive, so that it now has a part to play in combat. The ranks of the necromorphs have been impressively added to this time around with the likes of Pukers, who spew acid at you from a distance accompanied by blood-curdling screams, and featureless children with scythe-like limbs who swamp you in a pack.īut much of Dead Space 2's impressive scariness derives from more mundane devices, such as vents that unexpectedly blast you with steam, and gloriously chilling music, lighting and sound effects.Īppropriately, given the way in which he is a more seasoned necromorph-dispatcher, Isaac gets some great new weapons – such as the Javelin Gun, a powerful speargun which can impale his assailants, and old favourites such as the Plasma cutter have been subtly improved (plus, of course, you can upgrade your favourites via workbenches, or re-spec them if you take an upgrade direction that doesn't work out). That Dead Space 2 happens to be a video game which puts you at the heart of the action is a bonus: it would stand up impressively as an example of non-interactive horror.

Dead space 2 ps3 review