From our hands-on time with Dead Space 2 during gamescom this week, it’s highly apparent that the team at Visceral Games have thought long and hard about the kind of experience that the team wishes to deliver and have worked diligently to make that game come to life, while going for a decidedly cinematic feel.

The original Dead Space was a fantastic title and executed the pace and experience of an action-oriented survival horror game excellently. By the looks of things, Dead Space 2 will do everything the original did well, only this time the developers are bringing a few new ideas to the table to turn the dial from ‘fantastic’ to ‘unbelievable.’

The Dead Space 2 presentation began with a gameplay demo where we got to see protagonist Isaac Clarke participate in a bit of space-based zero gravity puzzle solving. Now in Dead Space 2, players will be given complete freedom of movement when in zero-g, but of course you’ll still need to keep an eye on your oxygen reserves while out and about in space.

During the demonstration, Isaac needed to re-power a section of the enormous space station, the Sprawl, doing so by flying out to two different devices and realigning them to send power down to the city. Space exploration won’t be without its dangers, however, as an undulating sack-like enemy (new to Dead Space 2) emerged and began shooting little organic explosives at Isaac, which need to be dodged (or shot) before destroying the repulsive creature affixed to a part of the space station.

As in Dead Space 2, attention to sound effects seems to be a top priority for Visceral. In the dark cold of space, every sound made (from the groans and squeals of machinery, to the shot of Isaac’s gun) is muffled and diluted, and altogether create a cacophony of eerie atmosphere, making the situation sound much more dangerous and uneasy than if you’re clanking through metallic corridors.

After sending power down to the Sprawl, Isaac needs to get down to the city himself, doing so by performing a ‘Halo Jump.’ By climbing into an ejection seat, Isaac is rocketed out of a room and sent hurtling down towards the Sprawl with nothing protecting him from space other than his suit. On the way down, Isaac needs to fly through (and dodge) obstacles before crashing through the ceiling of a room, reaching his destination in double-quick time.

This ‘space flight’ is an example of what will hopefully be many such interactive cinematic sequences in Dead Space 2 which further enrich the experience and nicely break up the pace of the game.

After breaking through into the Sprawl, Isaac is tasked with navigating a series of claustrophobic corridors in order to get to the next objective – a sequence that players of the original Dead Space will be very familiar with. Shooting, walking and running through these hallways is very solid and responsive, while players will have a handful of cool weapons and abilities to keep them company, including an improved tool to dismember enemies.

Slicing limbs and heads off of ghastly zombie-like aliens has never been better, and unloading rounds of explosive ammunition into the chests of enemies is just as satisfying. A few new walking (or shambling) enemies will also make an appearance in Dead Space 2, one of which enjoys vomiting volatile liquid all over the place… even if its head is no longer attached to its body. Quite disturbing.

Another enemy type is able to speed up and slow down its own projectile attacks, helping other enemies close down in on you by occupying your attention with its wily tactics. Other larger enemies will be introduced with major set-piece events, such as when a spider-looking giant of a creature leaps in at you from nowhere and drags you along the floor to who knows what fate. Again, like the first Dead Space during similar sequences, you’ll be able to fire off a few rounds into this creature’s face to make it let go, despite the fact that you’re lying flat on your back and at a large disadvantage.

New gameplay situations you might find yourself in during Dead Space 2 include participating in an intense, explosive battle with a pack of enemies before the windows separating the room from outer space are destroyed during the fight, leaving you to rely on your oxygen reserves while frantically finishing off the rest of the freakish foes, making for a dynamic and highly cinematic experience.

You’ll need to have your wits about you to solve some of the puzzles in Dead Space 2, at times being tasked with using all of Isaac’s abilities to progress. One puzzle that was available in the hands-on demo requires you to use Isaac’s kinesis tool to lift up a series of spinning metallic structures around a gravity device, and run from one side of the device to the other to repeat the process. Towards the end of the solution, you’ll need to use Isaac’s stasis tool to slow down the device and lift up the last piece.

Naturally, navigating through the environment will also require these tools, slowing things down and moving them to clear away obstacles, sometimes while in zero-g. Incidentally, moving around zero-g can be quite confusing because there may be times you don’t know which way is ‘up’ or ‘down’ (relative terms out there in space), so Dead Space 2 will include an auto-orientation button to help you find your place in a room, snapping your view to the closest surface.

Now of course, this is a Dead Space game, so we can expect a few things to remain from the first title. Not only will there be those suit upgrades that come as such a welcome relief, but the lack of any semblance of a HUD (heads-up display) is just as welcome and deserving of praise as the first game. All the data that you’ll need regarding Isaac’s well-being is displayed on the back of his suit, while in-game menu items and maps are viewed as a holographic projection in front of Isaac, giving you all the information you need without taking you out of the game or adding an extra layer of separation between you and the experience.

From our brief hands-on time with Dead Space 2, we can safely say it’s looking hot-hot-hot, and well worth your attention, especially if you’re a fan of action adventure games with healthy doses of horror.

Look out for Dead Space 2 next year in January, and while you wait for the game you can peruse El33tonline’s previous coverage of the game for tons of screenshots, some videos, and extra information.

Dead Space 2 – Zero-G Puzzle Gameplay