Or, how to make yourself afraid of shadows.

Ok, to be honest, I might be a little biased as Dead space was a fave game of mine.

That being said, Dead space 2 is a great follow up to the first game. It continues and expands the story, Develops the charecter of Issac a bit more, and has both the same creep atmosphere and intense action that made the first game fun.

Graphicly, the game has taken a jump in detail but the Engine remains the same solid, reliable performer it was the first time around, Delivering the spooky atmosphere and meanicing baddies with the kind of Detail we want. The lighting is also Amazing. And the design of the SPace station you find yourself in is impressive and varied enough to be interesting.

Gameplay wise, it's the same deal as before, the good old Dead Space run, shoot, Tk, Stasis, Shoot some more whahey that worked the first time around, just now, you get little sections that are in full zero gravity with full, 3d movment rather then jumping from point to point. THeres also a simple hacking mini game, and some simple TK puzzles to space things out.

Sound design is Excellent, with top notch sounds, voices and music all doing there part, part of what makes the game so nerve wracking is the sound design being both subtle when it needs to be, and intense when it should be. While the scare chords and chaotic music from the last game still work to intensify the monster attacks, it's the points where you spend 10 minutes creeping through halls with nothing but the distant sounds of screaming and combat and random noise that are the most unnerving, as some times the baddies never show up, and then when they show up 3 minutes later when you weren't expecting it, you panic and freak out.

Challenge is improved over the last game, thanks in part to more variety in enemies and the clever mixing of enemy types into small groups that help keep you off guard. While some of the new baddies, such as the new "Pack" enemies are essentially small beserkers that rush you in mass to try and over whelm you, others, like the Raptor like enemies you run in to from time to time, will actually try and flank you, ambush you, and lure you out. Granted, there not that smart, but it's nice to see them doing more then just running blindly at you.

Multiplayer is, well, not something I can comment on, having not played it yet.

Over all, from what I have had time to play, I find the game engaging and enjoyable, with the same feeling as the first, simply with more time and detail given to it. The first set down a good base plate, and the second, like any good sequal, expands it.

If you enjoyed the first, it's a buy, and even if you havent' played the first, it might be worth a buy just because its a great game.

For ps3 owners with the Move, you may want to get it on ps3, as it's also got the Rail shooter based prequel Extraction included.

Yukimura out.