The Official Chessasaur 2015 Playlog #2 - Dead Spacing

 Dead Space 2 (PC / 15-17 hours / Status: Completed) - Well, my first game finished in 2015 was actually started late in 2014, but I did take a little break in the middle. Other than being, in my opinion, about four hours longer than it should have been, this was a compelling shooter (as in I was compelled to keep playing until it was over). I liked the improvements to the movement, object manipulation, and zero-g navigation, but there was too much "filler". Lots of corridors to walk down, rooms to check out, and elevators to take, but none of them were very interesting. The original Dead Space did a much better job of being creepy and giving you a sense of purpose in your actions. I will say that DS2 was better as far as what it did with the limited number of characters. Isaac Clarke actually gets to express himself (ie, talk) and the "relationship" he builds with one of the space station's survivor's, Ellie, was a welcome addition to the storyline. However, the whole "haunted by the dead girlfriend" thing just didn't work for me. Maybe it was because I was already fighting for my life from the necromorphs and all she did was scream at me. I think that if her visions had been more menacing, I would have been more affected when she showed up. Toward the end I thought she was going to be an ally, but that was short lived.

Since I was broadcasting/recording, here are a few clips from the game:

(Note: These could be considered SPOILERS if you haven't played the game.)

This might have been the scariest moment in the game! More of this would definitely have helped.

There were many unpleasant ways to die. This was just one.

There's no shame in running away from explosions!

And this is how it all finished up...and why I want to play Dead Space 3 now!

I want to close out with a couple of items. First, one of my favorite websites, Joystiq, went away on February 3. Of all the game sites I've followed, this was my favorite for the last 10 years. I'm already missing them like crazy. :(

Second, I found that Twitch is good for more than just broadcasting gameplay. It can also be a medium to discover really talented people. When I first saw him, he was playing to 18,000 viewers on Twitch's front page! For your listening enjoyment, I give you the incredible, Kyle Landry.