Dead Space 2 Review

The problem with sequels to titles with twist endings is obvious. Once the twist is out, the shocking moment has passed, and the audience accepts the new reality, the text of the story becomes simplistic and passé. Despite this, there were numerous sequels to Scream, American Psycho, and even two of the greatest twist ending movies: Psycho and Planet Of The Apes. Dead Space's twist ending retroactively transforms the player from a hero to a diseased maniac under the influence of a malevolent force. Picking up where this leaves-off, Isaac Clarke's actions, no matter how seemingly sound they may be, are always suspect. Not just by the other characters in the game, but by any veteran of the first game.
This is a problem. No matter what happens, anyone who's played the original Dead Space will play Dead Space 2 anticipating hallucinatory events that will direct their actions. When a door reads "locked", the player can't be sure if the door is actually locked, or if Isaac Clarke merely believes it is locked. The question of "am I in control?" remains in the forefront of the player's mind. So when Nicole (you remember, she's your dead girlfriend) shows up, you know she's bad news. When the game gives you no choice but to follow her advice, you know you're doing something stupid. You spend a great portion of the game following the instructions of another crazy guy under the influence of "The Marker". Eventually, that guy loses it, and it is so unsurprising and expected that it's almost shocking to see such a turn in what is otherwise an excellent game.
That's the thing that could be easily overlooked. Despite the ridiculous sequelification, the cliched story, the lame "oh no, it's a monster" scares and obvious plot-twists, the game is solid. From the first scenes, the mood is set meticulously, the stakes are clear (even if your motivation isn't) and the fights are challenging without being frustrating.
What is frustrating in Dead Space 2 is the repeated attempts to show the player "gross-out" imagery in an effort to creep them out. Heads are removed, arms torn-off, faces crushed, spikes rammed through heads, blood is vomited, eyes are removed, and so on, and so on. Well, allow me to welcome Visceral Games into the Post-Saw world. Gore was always a cheap tactic to scare people. Now, it's barely even a tactic. It's just procedural. Scary isn't on the table here. Moody is, and the gore doesn't help, but it might not hurt either.
At the end of the day, Dead Space 2 is a AAA title, and in a world where "scary" isn't on the table, maybe "cool, in a violent way" is an acceptable alternative. 8.5 out of 10