Dead NPC's

I beat Dead Space 2 tonight. If you don't want any spoilers about it (or the first Dead Space) don't read ahead. If you don't play video games and don't care about Dead Space 2 then don't bother reading ahead either.

I liked how they fleshed out Isaac's character more this time around, especially towards the endgame when he's really coming to terms with his mental collapse. I liked the environment design variety, though it was hard to ignore when the level designers reused set pieces. The Hive Mind final boss in the first game was far superior than the... um... Nicole(?) final boss, though the final level was a lot more intense in DS2 (freaking Regenerators from RE4... I hate those things...). I wish the Tiedemann's character had been decided on if he were good or bad- he went from being the central human protagonist to being partially redeemed at the final level back to finally trying to shoot a javelin in my head. Zero-g combat was almost non-existent, which is odd. DS2 loved to drop baddies right behind your character for a cheap hit. I would think being able to launch them at you from any direction while you floated helplessly about would be right up their dark corridor. I would have liked trying to fight Necromorphs in a 360 degree environment. Maybe in DS3. I couldn't overlook a huge plot hole, where Ellie is super distrusting of Isaac when they first meet because "people are a liability", but then proceeds to drag the nutty Stross around for half the game. Whatever. There are other issues I have with the game, and most of them are covered in IGN's article here if you're still interested.

I liked the ending, which was considerably more positive than DS1. I had hoped the end would show the Marker or a bunch of Necromorphs crashing into Earth to set up DS3, but I guess 12 other Marker sites in space is enough of a teaser for the next installment.

The Dead Space series is gracious enough to simultaneously debut a new enemy with a demonstration of their fighting tactics, both from a safe distance. The first example was in the very first room in the first game, when the Slasher guys dropped on the other side of the glass on top of the rest of Isaac's team. In case you couldn't tell those things were bad news, the game made sure you could watch as they sliced and diced your friends before you ran into one yourself.