Dead Space 2 Will Focus More on Action Than Horror

[sjenkins32-1]

http://www.chooseadifficulty.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/dead-space-logo-300x169.jpg

According to CVG (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=233546), Dead Space and Dante's Inferno developer, Visceral, has declared that Dead Space 2 will be focused less on the game's horror aspects and have more on action. Dead Space 2 will be "empowering" the player rather than leaving them caught short with an army of spindly monsters pushing them into a corner.

"We're more focused on the action than the horror this time. We're more empowering to the player. We've got a lot of feature innovation and we feel comfortable because we have something with resonance and we have something that's so capable," said Visceral senior VP Nick Earl, talking to Industry Gamers.

First they add in unnecessary multiplayer and now this....seems EA is dead set on destroying their best new IP in years! Guess they didn't learn from Capcom's mistake *cough RE5 cough*.

[Netami]

Preferred what horror aspects Dead Space had over its potential for action... sigh.

[spdiscus]

'than'

I loved the first few chapters of the first game. I'll be finishing it in the near future.
This is worth a rent, at least.

[Frag-L-Rock]

This could work. I, too, enjoyed the nail-biting, constant near-death, fear of not just the game and environment, but that you felt underpowered in relation to the mutants. However, on 2nd playthrough with "save game +", it was really fun to feel like a serious bad-ass.

[GodFather]

watch them do some shitty version of Horde for multiplayer..thats this generation of consoles most overused multiplayer mode...

[Chimp]

<cough> RE5 was an awesome game <cough>

[Azriel77]

What idiot thinks this is a good idea, the whole thing that made Dead Space unique was the HORROR of the game. Now they are going to turn it into a generic first person shooter. Oh well, thanks for letting me save money by not buying this second one.

[dr_qwandry]

more action = co-op

[modeps]

One of the most frightening things about Dead Space was its atmosphere. It really brought back the whole isolation / dread feeling. Perhaps they're going to focus less on jump scares (which honestly stop working about 1/4 way into the game)? I've been happy with Visceral so far (Dead Space, Dead Space Extraction) and will be playing Dante's Inferno soon, so... we'll see if it does good for them. If DI sucks, well... who knows.

[asdfffdsa]

If you ask me, "Dead Space" was pretty entertaining for the first few minutes, in which it played more like a survival horror game than anything else.

But once actually confronting the aliens, I found it to be quite anti-climactic; all of that tension was wasted away. From there on, it was just another run-of-the-mill shooter, and it was boring.

[Evil Avatar]

more action = co-op

I have to go along with this... if they are adding multiplayer via co-op, it is good news. If it ends up being some generic deathmatch thing they can go hang it up.

As for more action vs more horror, bring on the horror. I have about a zillion action games, I only see one survival horror title every few years.


The sad part is that I don't think EA is getting the right messages. We all loved their new franchises like Bad Company, Dead Space, Dragon Age and Mirror's Edge, but these things are not selling well enough for them to really understand what made those things great.

Instead you have those asshole analyists and shareholders saying that the heads at EA are doing everything wrong because their stupid stock prices aren't up by $.50 per share. I guess the millions and millions they are bringing in aren't enough.

This is a time when EA needs to buckle down and ignore people who are not gamers and stick with making the games we all want to play. It will pay off for them.

Otherwise they risk going back to the company we all loved to hate and I hear Activision isn't looking to give up that title any time soon.

[TekkenZaibatsu]

Looks like I'll be saving 60 dollars. No purchase for me.

It's amazing how rarely a "horror" game is ACTUALLY scary. We finally get one, and now they're gonna neuter it? Words cannot express my disappointment if this remains true.

[Paranoia]

First they add in unnecessary multiplayer and now this....seems EA is dead set on destroying their best new IP in years! Guess they didn't learn from Capcom's mistake *cough RE5 cough*.

Eh? Capcom's mistake with *cough RE5 cough* ?

Last time I heard the game sold millions, and I pretty much enjoyed the game itself.

:p

[TekkenZaibatsu]

Eh? Capcom's mistake with *cough RE5 cough* ?

Last time I heard the game sold millions, and I pretty much enjoyed the game itself.

:p

The combat in Dead Space IMO wasn't even close to being as engrossing as RE5. That and Dead Space isn't a sequel in a long line of games from a famous and highly established series.

[dr_qwandry]

Eh? Capcom's mistake with *cough RE5 cough* ?

Last time I heard the game sold millions, and I pretty much enjoyed the game itself.

:p

Yeah but look at how well established that series was. They already had other forms of media and gameplay types before that, that were radically different so I think that it was a little easier to swallow then a game that prided itself on immersion and atmosphere.

well that and those games stories are silly.

[Paranoia]

Fact is that no one here knows if Dead Space 2 will end up being worse or better than the original (Bad Company anyone?).

Let's wait till we see more of the gameplay or at least a demo, eh?

You don't want to end up making a fool of yourselves by declaring something to be a disaster/flop before actually seeing or trying the product *cough Avatar flop cough*.

[lockwoodx]

Sounds like Bad company, Space Eddition!!!

[alienchild]

<cough> RE5 was an awesome game <cough>

RE5 was a disaster! It is the biggest disappointment I've had as far as games go... And whoever said that co-op survival horror doesn't work? That sounds a hell of a lot more awesome than another Gears of War-like action game.

I am really disappointed in this move by EA. Dead Space was the new cool Survival Horror franchise and it already did a RE4 on us.

[TekkenZaibatsu]

Fact is that no one here knows if Dead Space 2 will end up being worse or better than the original (Bad Company anyone?).

Let's wait till we see more of the gameplay or at least a demo, eh?

You don't want to end up making a fool of yourselves by declaring something to be a disaster/flop before actually seeing or trying the product *cough Avatar flop cough*.

You're completely missing the point.

A good game it might be; hell, I thought RE5 was a GREAT game. But was it scary? No. Dead Space had me hooked because I love horror titles, and it pulled off the horror in a great way. For EA to come out and say Horror is going to take a back seat to action is a disappointment to all of us saying we love horror. The point is the horror, not whether DS2 will be a good game.

[Bacarat]

I have to go along with this... if they are adding multiplayer via co-op, it is good news. If it ends up being some generic deathmatch thing they can go hang it up.

As for more action vs more horror, bring on the horror. I have about a zillion action games, I only see one survival horror title every few years.


The sad part is that I don't think EA is getting the right messages. We all loved their new franchises like Bad Company, Dead Space, Dragon Age and Mirror's Edge, but these things are not selling well enough for them to really understand what made those things great.

Instead you have those asshole analyists and shareholders saying that the heads at EA are doing everything wrong because their stupid stock prices aren't up by $.50 per share. I guess the millions and millions they are bringing in aren't enough.

This is a time when EA needs to buckle down and ignore people who are not gamers and stick with making the games we all want to play. It will pay off for them.

Otherwise they risk going back to the company we all loved to hate and I hear Activision isn't looking to give up that title any time soon.

This is the first time Ive actually agreed with you :)

[Druxk]

Horror is the anticipation of action. If you saturate the game with action, then Dead Space will lose what made it one of my favorite games on this generation of consoles. We have plenty of action games. What we don't have enough of are games like the first Dead Space.

[Emabulator]

I have to go along with this... if they are adding multiplayer via co-op, it is good news. If it ends up being some generic deathmatch thing they can go hang it up.

As for more action vs more horror, bring on the horror. I have about a zillion action games, I only see one survival horror title every few years.


The sad part is that I don't think EA is getting the right messages. We all loved their new franchises like Bad Company, Dead Space, Dragon Age and Mirror's Edge, but these things are not selling well enough for them to really understand what made those things great.

Instead you have those asshole analyists and shareholders saying that the heads at EA are doing everything wrong because their stupid stock prices aren't up by $.50 per share. I guess the millions and millions they are bringing in aren't enough.

This is a time when EA needs to buckle down and ignore people who are not gamers and stick with making the games we all want to play. It will pay off for them.

Otherwise they risk going back to the company we all loved to hate and I hear Activision isn't looking to give up that title any time soon.Well said, I couldn't agree more.

[OmegaVader]

I'm not totally against this. The horror elements became contrived when enemy placements began to feel... overwhelming, not a legitimate senseof overwhelming, but a 'the gameplay does not allow me to fight effectively this many enemies'.

[Valinoth]

Ya, I'm disappointed that this won't be as horrific as the first.

[Agnostic Pope]

<cough> RE5 was an awesome game <cough>

Yeah, I am blaming this on the people that bought RE5. The Horror genre is dead. The next best thing for me will be Alan Wake.

[Namielus]

My concern is that they are misinterpretting the 'horror' genre, with the 'horror' gameplay devices (Eg. scripted monsters jumping at you).

While I say that the second type of 'horror' game tends to be fun until it grins into repetion, ala Doom 3. I think that Deadspace worked very well because it touched deeply on the isolation of that place. When I went out into space for the first time and realized I couldn't hear sounds warning me of approaching bad guys I was nervious, and even on my second playthrough the 'drama' of those scenes held strong. - Great mechanic, when properly balanced.

I'm concerned a little about Co-op, while it has a decent draw, it takes away from the pacing that a typically story needs to set. Deadspace was about the story to me (Even if it got a little weird at the end, as they do, (Why Indigo Prophecy?!)). If they can take the same care to add the 'action elements' as they did the story in their first iteration, I'll sign up for a second tour of duty.

Internet, you can hold me to this.

[Ozena]

Three words: God damn it.

I'm sure this will still be an excellent, fun game, but the original Dead Space was one of my favourite games in years. It had the action, but it was still pretty tense! Why do they have to mess with a good thing?

And multiplayer, too!

[PatrickRes9]

After playing, and thoroughly enjoying RE4, then playing RE5, I'd have to state the removal of "horror" elements, with an increase in action detracted from the series fairly heavily. I enjoyed 5, bought it on launch day, and played through its entirety, even doing the extras to get the Gattling gun, and Bow and Arrows. But when I initially played RE4, and started wandering around through abandoned farmhouses in the middle of the woods, walking over crinkling leaves, with crows flying overhead, I was pretty blown away. The darker colors and environments lended a better hand to the gameplay mechanics. It also amplified the "survival" feel.

I think the same will apply to the Dead Space series unfortunately. I loved the first, and its a bit of a bummer. The biggest reasoning is this: I dont like Dead Space or RE4 because im a particularly huge fan of 3rd person action games. Those sorts of thrills come from the first person shooters I play. When I want an atmospheric, nerve wracking experience with depth, ill pick up games of the nature of Dead Space, Condemned, etc. If youre riding the middle of the fence, youre not really appealing strongly to either one of these styles of play.

The focus a large portion of your efforts extensively on multiplayer for console titles is already a silly notion, as we all know multiplayer games last months at best on console, as everyone moves on to the next greatest game. This is exactly why I don't understand the constant crying from gamers, when a deep single player console game lacks multiplayer.
TO: CONSOLE MULIPLAYER GAMERS -You wont be playing it in 2 months anyway! You'll have moved on to Halo: I thought you said the series was over, or Call of Duty 19: Mongolian Battlefront, where they touch up the graphics, add a few guns and vehicles, and you pay $60 for the multiplayer all over again.

[BalekFekete]

This news moves the title from a "Must Buy, Day One" to a "Wait For Reviews and/or Demo".

I absolutely loved Dead Space, but it was primarily for the atmosphere. The GUI was groundbreaking as well, with the almost complete removal of a HUD, but it was the true feeling of being alone, out in middle of space, millions of miles away from another human that made it so scary. If the next game focuses more on action than setting that stage for 'jump out of your chair' seconds, then I'll likely save my money. :(

[ElektroDragon]

Oh no, you know what "more action, less horror" means? It means God of War in space, possibly running on the Dante's Inferno engine. Please just make a straight up sequel....

[drakkarim]

i'll reserve my judgment (this time) until i see some trailers. there were definitely moments in the game where i wished i could just hunker up in a corner and unleash an m60 on a swarm, like in starship troopers...

speaking of which, is anyone ever going to do a real version of that game? i would put that right up there with aliens/predators in my book.

[Duskfire]

It sucks but its because Resident Evil 5 more then doubled the sales of Dead Space. Like it or not, nowdays its the action games that sell, rather then the stylish haunting horror ones. Theres a reason why there is barely any horror around anymore, and instead we get the tryhard survival horror which is really more of an action game with less ammo.