So I've Finally Played... Dead Space 2

And I prefer the Multiplayer.

…there's no punchline.

"So I've Finally Played" isn't even a correct title either. I've played Dead Space 2's opening hours 3-4 times at this point, and every time, I drop it.

The game looks absolutely gorgeous with one of the most distinct helmet designs ever displayed in a piece of entertainment, let alone the creatures, firearms, and backdrops.

What other game has you firing buzzsaw's at screeching zombified children?

Plus, it does this with the opposite of modern game interface design.

Everything in Dead Space is diegetic. You're upgrading a firearm? It's through a menu within the world. You're looking for an objective, the pathway's marked via your suit. Ammo counters from the weapon, etc.

It's the cleanest and most pristine display of one of the dirtiest, grungiest, and industrial video-game franchises out there.

Despite all that quality… it's nothing compared to the sound-design.

Everything in this game is unique, I'm not talking about firing the Plasma Cutter to chop an enemies limbs off, as iconic as that is; I'm talking item pickups, the stomp, even Isaac's "Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!" while he's stomping.

There's a focus to Dead Space that managed to make these lines, or those beeps, make someone say "oh yeah, that's Dead Space."

It is a remarkable achievement of game design to have such seemingly minor elements of a game's construction be memorable 10+ years after the fact, to the point where somebody who didn't enjoy this game at launch keeps getting the urge to boot it up again to experience those iconic aspects, hoping they can attach them to a genuinely moving gameplay experience that just took the right mindset to enjoy…

Not to get too personal.

What is it then?

Firstly, there's definitely a lack of preference regarding the game's material.

I thought Alien was just alright, and if that's the case, I don't think there's some magic that the team behind Dead Space is going to realize about Space Horror that one of the most definitive films of all time couldn't.

Horror is not a genre I’m interested in.

I don't care about piercing string instruments played at 20+db whenever a monster comes through a door.

I know that's not what everything in the horror genre is about, there's alternative approaches and sub-genres like Psychological Thrillers that I'm an absolute sucker for.

The horror genre itself just isn't one of those.

Being that Dead Space is a love letter to the entire genre, infamously aping Event Horizon in the original game, I'm most certainly not the target audience, in the same way my Mother wouldn't be the target audience for Ghost in the Shell.

Second, there's somehow an obnoxious nature to Dead Space that just prevents me from getting into it.

Being a Resident Evil fan, this confuses me, and anybody familiar with Resident Evil will know why it's confusing…

I think the explanation's simple though.

Resident Evil's most overt displays of horror are actually rather sparse…

Resident Evil 4 doesn't have a tentacle erupting from a villagers head every single time you're popping off a headshot, the random nature of encountering these enemies even adds tension during gameplay sequences dynamically.

Then, for the obnoxious moments in Resident Evil which are not sparse…

They're quite funny.

Dead Space 2 strikes an awkward middle ground.

The game takes itself far too seriously without enough camp, intentional or otherwise, for me to care about anything that happens in every level.

I'm starting the game in a space mental asylum during an invasion from both soldiers and necromorphs; it's an amazing premise for both an unnerving atmosphere and enthralling action yet, the first thing I'm greeted to is this…

It's funny enough to pull me out of the scene, but not funny enough for me to enjoy it.

Finally, I had a shower thought while playing this game again.

Dead Space 2 is paced exactly like an Imagine Dragons song...

...hear me out.

Imagine Dragons uses a trope in almost every track they release, where the big melody, the main-riff that's supposed to hook itself into your ears, is proceeded by a verse or bridge that is paced down to its absolute bare essentials to lure the listener into a lull, so when that chorus comes on, it explodes.

That's what this game does…

All. The. Fucking. Time.

Oh, you're walking down a hallway? We're just going to remove music, reduce the environmental background sounds, end the panicked noises of this station being attacked so then…

THE EXTINSUIHERS ACTIVATE!

SCARY HUH!?

You enter an elevator after a long drawn out fight, so the lights can go out, you'll take a breather, and really think about how you're going to…

MAKE US WHOLE ISAAC!

THAT'S YOUR DEAD GIRLFRIEND!

You know what's good about an Imagine Dragons song?

It isn't nine hours.

I guess there's one last thing to explore. Why is this game the only mainline Dead Space game I can't bring myself to finish?

Well Dead Space 1 was an exercise in patience back when I played it, I stuck with it expecting it to finally be the game that I kept hearing about. Playing all of that game, feeling cold, and then playing a sequel that's so similar, I couldn't keep going.

Then for Dead Space 3… Coop saved it.

A game that I almost certainly would've dropped even faster than Dead Space 2 became what I dubbed, Resident Evil 5 Part 2.

The same friend I played RE5 with got that game with me and we had a great time, filling the conversation with laughter over the game's camp and obnoxious levels, while being encouraged to utilize more than just the Plasma Cutter like in the last two games.

Plus you're racing the Moon at the end.

Dead Space 3 is goofy enough for me to consume it on a playthrough, despite all of the things that irritate me about it.

Dead Space 2 meanwhile is too competent for me to laugh at…