Loads of Dead Space 2 details emerge

By Robert Purchese Published 10 December, 2009

Multiplayer! Speech! Sprawl! Monsters!

After a bare-bones reveal on Monday, developer Visceral Games has fleshed out Dead Space 2, confirming multiplayer, an enormous space station called Sprawl, dialogue for Isaac Clarke and a wide array of weapons, monsters and more.

Multiplayer wasn't elaborated on, but RelyOnHorror's regurgitation of Game Informer's spread (via VG247) did promise we'll be able to dismember our friends. And we like the sound of that.

The new hub to everything will be Sprawl, a space station-cum-metropolis built around the remains of Saturn's moon. This dramatically dwarfs the Ishimura of Dead Space 1 and provides Visceral with variety: an opportunity to create shopping mall, church and school environments, to name a few.

Sprawl has been infected by the thought-to-be-extinct Necromorph and Clarke, the only person who knows how to deal with the menace, is called upon for help. He'll witness the Sprawl outbreak from the beginning, seeing death and panic spread rapidly through this rag-tag settlement.

Three years after the events on-board the Ishimura, Clarke's mind has unhinged, and Dead Space 2 will delve into his character much more deeply. He'll talk, for starters, and be under immense pressure his "twisted mind" may not stand - quite how that will manifest in-game we do not know.

The sequel has loads more suit upgrades and customisation options and each will be distinguishable visually. Clarke's arsenal will expand as well, as other weapons are brought in-line with the mighty Plasma Cutter. There's a new Javelin Gun that pins enemies to surfaces, and Telekinesis will be revamped and implemented more carefully. Clarke's a bit faster and more responsive, too.

The all-important horror element will return with bells on. Enemies will be less predictable and pacing will be more considered; at times you will feel like the hunter and at times you'll fight wildly like cornered prey. Visceral wants to lower the amount of monsters bursting out on you and instil an eerie, thought-provoking scare.

New monsters will help achieve this goal. One eye-catching addition is dead, grinning and naked infants that have no lips and sealed eyes. They'll dash at and pounce on Clarke, stabbing mercilessly at him with long claws. Another humanoid enemy literally spills his guts, which will infectiously slop towards Clarke.

Or there's a tentacled man who's gullet hangs from his mouth like an enormous tongue. He'll attempt to lasso Clarke and bring him close. But our favourite new addition are Stalkers: speedy pack hunters that will try to trick Clarke and out-flank him or lure him into a trap.

Missions, akin to these new monsters, will offer more variation and require brain-power as well as a quick trigger-finger to solve.

Zero-Gravity has also been improved, and allows Clarke to leap away from floors, walls and ceilings and float freely through environments, shooting as he goes.

And, as if that weren't enough, Visceral wants to litter the campaign with "epic" moments, like grand boss battles and scripted set-piece extravaganzas.

Oh, and RelyOnHorror's opinion of the screenshots were that Dead Space 2 is a "much more beautiful" game than the original.

Dead Space is in development for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. The game has no release date.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (56) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • johnboy_johsnon #1 2 years ago

    This is one to put on the radar. Along with Mirror's Edge it showed that EA were (finally) willing to look at fresh, innovative IPs.
    Edited by 1 at 10/12/09 @ 11:57

  • Moogrose #2 2 years ago

    An interesting first game that really dragged with the fetch quests and samey enviroments. Stilll, i look forward to what they can do in the sequel.

    Also, I'm still holding on for a mirror's edge 2 reveal.
    Edited by 1 at 10/12/09 @ 11:59

  • JohnnyWashnGo #3 2 years ago

    I thought, after seeing the ending of the first game, that Isaac wasn't long for this world... did I not understand it properly?

  • the_dudefather #4 2 years ago

    Woo sounds awesome

    'Sprawl has been infected by the thought-to-be-extinct Necromorph and Clarke, the only person who knows how to deal with the menace, is called upon for help.'

    Presumably you'll run into a little girl called 'amphibious lizard' as well ;)

  • Retroid #5 2 years ago

    Yet another game getting multiplayer because some exec thinks that's what all shooters, no matter their atmosphere, needs.

    Ugh.

  • McBradders #6 2 years ago

    Isaac speaking? Ugh :(

  • bad09 #7 2 years ago

    Ah, who cares about multiplayer? As long as there is no forced co-op ruining the SP bring on the blood! Mind you a SEPARATE L4D style Nec vs humans might work.

    A space station by Saturn, with new monsters. I want screenies....and a date

  • gjgjg #8 2 years ago

    more scary pls

  • Eighthours #9 2 years ago

    But who is gullet? ;)

  • nixxrite #10 2 years ago

    MP will work if it's done where the players have to take seperate paths, thus adding further replay value.

    I'm now looking forward to it's underwhelming 7/10 review ;)

  • penhalion #11 2 years ago

    @JohnnyWashnGo

    Not really mate. By the end of the game you have serious armour and guns capable of one shot kills. All that would have been required for Isaac to survive was a single shot of the plasma cutter. The real issue is how he is coping with dismembering the love of his life. Judging by the article above, the answer is not too well.

  • davisorle #12 2 years ago

    First game was offering what R.E.5 failed at, even though resi was graphically cool and all, it wasnt Dead Space scary. The thing is that I love those guys. They are coming out with Dante's Inferno and now another Dead Space. Incredible. Yesterday was released another trailer based on the violence of Date's inferno and the freaking game looks btter its time. Phenomenal really. Great talented and always deliver, those guys are awesome. They are on the top of the list for me with promising games this time around.

  • guernican #13 2 years ago

    "Clarke, the only person who knows how to deal with the menace, is called upon for help"

    Yup. His methods aren't exactly subtle though, are they. Chop their arms off. Chop their legs off. Rinse. Repeat.

  • SilverNeon #14 2 years ago

    If there is Co-op tacked onto the Single player campaign not seperate I fear the worst. We'll be forced to play with a Co-op bot playing on your own, it'll be ruined by having to babysit the AI and it removes the isolated in a dark and creepy Space station kind of atmosphere.
    If there is just normal multiplayer I sure hope it doesn't lower the quality of the single player campaign.
    It's all thanks to undeserved sales that RE5 received and the poor sales in comparison the original Dead Space got..
    Edited by 6 at 10/12/09 @ 21:50

  • Haloboy #15 2 years ago

    I couldn't even bring myself to finish the first game which was my own drastic loss I know, I adored what I did manage to play however.

    Seriously scared the living shit out of me that game.

  • DoctorZoidberg #16 2 years ago

    Has no one else noticed that the "new" monsters are just blatant rip off's of the left 4 dead ones?

  • ZuluHero #17 2 years ago

    @JohnnyWashnGo

    After the themes of the first one did you really think that the ending was going to be that obvious?

  • kangarootoo #18 2 years ago

    Multiplayer you say. Co-op multiplayer perchance?


    I don't mind them adding multiplayer really. A few other larger projects (MW2 and Uncharted 2 to name a couple) have shown that multiplayer can be developed seperately from the single player experience, providing extra gameplay options for those that want them without negatively affecting the experience of those that don't.

    So long as I enjoy the single/co-op experience, I don't care one iota that there might also be some deathmatch type options alongside it.

  • menage #19 2 years ago

    I was sold on a sequel when I finished 1

  • Eraysor #20 2 years ago

    Saturn's moon? Er...which? It's not like there's only one.

  • sneetch #21 2 years ago

    @DoctorZoidberg
    Has no one else noticed that the "new" monsters are just blatant rip off's of the left 4 dead ones?

    It does sound a bit like Left4DeadSpace2 but that's not a bad thing it could be great.

  • kangarootoo #22 2 years ago

    "Saturn's moon? Er...which? It's not like there's only one."

    The best one :)

  • ZuluHero #23 2 years ago

    "Saturn's moon? Er...which? It's not like there's only one."

    Maybe they're all linked in the future by a generic looking corridor? They article did say its called "Sprawl" :p

    EDIT: Oh i made that as a joke. I loved Dead Space, played it in ONE sitting (look at my gamescore) Sorry someone was silly enough not to get it :(
    Edited by 2 at 11/12/09 @ 09:37

  • AphoticCosmos #24 2 years ago

    Isaac can speak! Huzzah!

    I felt that was the biggest problem with the first game, although you can still empathise with Isaac through his many grunts and screams . ..

    As long as the single-player aspect is just as good as/even better than that of Dead Space, then I'm sold.

  • Murton #25 2 years ago

    Seriously looking forward to this, most underrated game of 2008 returns.

    The multiplayer will make or break this game in my opinion. If the single player experience repeats the quality of the first one then multiplayer will be received as a great additional feature. If however the single player experience doesn't live up to the first game then the multiplayer will be perceived as a leech that destroyed what would otherwise have been a contender for GOTY.

    I eagerly await further details.

  • geololj #26 2 years ago

    Bring it on :D

  • OldK1ngCole #27 2 years ago

    This can't come soon enough (not that I want them to rush it). Absolutley loved the first game and DeadSpace Extraction on Wii isn't too bad either (still playing through that). Still not sure about MultiPlayer though, co-op maybe, competitive no.

  • banjo21 #28 2 years ago

    Push off with your mp on a 3rd person horror adventure game. Waste of resources. Great first game. Zero grav was terrible though so bin it. Please.

  • symmetry #29 2 years ago

    Oh God, all of these new features sound like it's heading towards RE5, PLEASE DON'T DO IT! Dead Space is a much better game then RE5 so please don't feel like you need to emulate them.

  • David_W #30 2 years ago

    I could really do without multiplayer.

    Also I really wish that they change the system for upgrading the weapons, actually I'd prefer I they got rid of it completely since I always end up maxing out one or two guns leaving the rest too weak to consider using. Same as in RE, scattering the upgrades over several guns isn't justified so I never use 80% of them.

    Even though I whored a platinum out of DS, the maxed out plasma cutter was what I used 95% of the time.

  • hulahoops #31 2 years ago

    "Multiplayer you say. Co-op multiplayer perchance? "

    Anyone who could make a scripted shocker co-op but still make it work is a better man than I.

  • meatpanda #32 2 years ago

    Really excited about this game. Sounds like it'll go to a deeper level.

  • Gearskin #33 2 years ago

    That system works well as a way to change your play style and add replay value to what is a very linear game.

    The "Game +" mode isn't used often enough

    Dante's Inferno will also be doing it.

  • etherfiend #34 2 years ago

    Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

    Multiplayer is very disappointing. A co-op would break the atmosphere and PvP makes me want to take a plasma cutter to my own limbs. No thanks.

    As for the new monsters, I think the devs have been playing a little too much Left 4 Dead:
    "They'll dash at and pounce on Clarke, stabbing mercilessly at him with long claws."
    The witch from Left 4 Dead then...

    "Another humanoid enemy literally spills his guts, which will infectiously slop towards Clarke."
    The bloater from left 4 Dead then....

    "Or there's a tentacled man who's gullet hangs from his mouth like an enormous tongue. He'll attempt to lasso Clarke and bring him close. "
    The smoker from Left 4 Dead then...

    "But our favourite new addition are Stalkers: speedy pack hunters that will try to trick Clarke and out-flank him or lure him into a trap."
    The velociraptors from Jurassic park then...oh no wait, this one is actually quite cool.

    I loved the first game so much, enough to get all the gamer points (I'm fairly lazy on the G's usually as I play to enjoy the game rather than epeen). Looks like the addition of multiplayer will deny me a dead space 2 spot on my completed games achievement list. Sadly gone from a day 1 purchase to a wait and see for me.

  • NGCes26294BIV #35 2 years ago

    Does everything HAVE to have multiplayer?

  • VicViper #36 2 years ago

    To my shame I never played the first but did like the universe that they were build based on what I read/saw, seems like I need to though. Time to find a copy.

  • Markitron #37 2 years ago

    I loved the first one, but all of that sounds horrible

  • BobsUncle #38 2 years ago

    Part of the appeal of Dead Space was that the weapons were based around tools you'd find on a mining vessel.

    So, if he's now been sent in to deal with something nasty you'd assume they'd give him proper weapons, which is boring. But if they still give him a plasma cutter and a rip saw, well that's just stupid.

    And just because he's seen it before, doesn't mean he's any better qualified to deal with it than some special forces squad or bio-hazmat team or whatever. It sounds like a crappy cash-in story (and rip off of Aliens) to me.

    Seriously, I loved Dead Space and it really deserves a sequel, but maybe one with a little more thought eh?

  • Retroid #39 2 years ago

    Co-op would work very well on a game like this, it's the idea of a seperate multiplayer which I get hacked off about.

    Going through the single player campaign of a game with a friend / your other half would be great. As an example, I must've played the original Halo through about three times with Mrs Retroid, but never, ever went anywhere near the MP.

  • Meatblade #40 2 years ago

    @VicViper

    Same here, 15 quid on play...

  • kangarootoo #41 2 years ago

    @BlankOBlank!

    I agree, but if a game is relying on scripted events for the bulk of its scares its not doing it right and the effect will be lost everytime a player reloads a checkpoint or repeats a level.

    Scripted moments are ok, but the bulk of the scares should come from a good honest "spooky atmosphere". AvP 1 had no scripted moments that I recall, but I was still bricking it and it would have worked just fine in co-op mode.

  • Murton #42 2 years ago

    As everyone is bashing the hell out multiplayer despite the fact that we don't have details on what form that multiplayer will take here is my idea for a multiplayer mode.

    Firstly, all multiplayer activity should be treated as a separate game to the single player, I would even go as far as to say that the multiplayer is based during the time of the attack and Clarke doesn't make an appearance, so the multiplayer would essentially be a prologue to the single player game with everyone playing as the people of Sprawl trying to survive against the Necro threat. Sure we know they fail, but I think the chance to play out some of those battles would be great and through the logs that Clarke finds could even be used to fuel the backstory.

    For example, a co-op based mission similar to those in Uncharted 2 sees a group of survivors fight their way from a starting point to a security station and then secure it against attack while they bring the systems back online, a load of turrets and/or security droids are revealed to slaughter the Necro horde, mission complete. The same security station could feature in the single player campaign but with everything smashed and a few dead bodies in the control room, a couple dozen necro bodies lying below security turrets which now hang smashed from the ceiling. Clarke investigates the carnage and maybe finds a log from one of the team saying that although they were successful in bringing the turrets back online that they're now pinned in the security station and it's only a matter of time until the necros breach their position.

    The issue with multiplayer in single player games is that it often feels "tagged on" out of a misguided necessity rather than something that should actually be there, if Visceral go down the route of recreating Sprawl's struggle to survive rather than the typical fragfest that most developers think people want then Dead Space 2 multiplayer will become and extension of the main game and not just a bullet point on the back of the box.

  • kangarootoo #43 2 years ago

    @Murton

    Good stuff, especially revisiting the co-op environments in the single player campaign "after the carnage".

  • BigAl-1992 #44 2 years ago

    Wow, that's a big update on the original. I like the sound of the new javelin gun.

  • dr_swin #45 2 years ago

    what happened to redwood studios. Did they get shut down or renamed?

  • PanStre #46 2 years ago

    'Isaac lands at the Sprawl where everything's hunky-dory, before the shit hits the fan, and as the game goes on, watches more and more shit hit the fan,'

    They already sold me on this game but that, THAT sounds seriously fucking cool.

    Not an actual quote from the article BTW.
    Edited by 1 at 10/12/09 @ 18:06

  • makeamazing #47 2 years ago

    The problem is that games companies will add multiplayer as a additional way to keep players playing the game after they have completed the single player experience. Anything to stop people trading the game in... i think this is a fact of life we need to get used to.

    As for the idea of a space base with church and shopping mall.Anyone else getting the feeling of more of a Bioshock city but in space feeling? Anyway cant wait :)

  • kendoji #48 2 years ago

    I was initially blown away by the first one. A couple hours into the game, however, it got too far stressful for me and I traded it in for Fable 2. Maybe I'll try to man up for the next one.

  • Emmit_Assassin #49 2 years ago

    Although, as most are here, I'm not sold on the MP idea, it may well sell a few copies on the basis of MP, so that's no bad thing really. This was the most interesting part though -

    "The all-important horror element will return with bells on. Enemies will be less predictable and pacing will be more considered; at times you will feel like the hunter and at times you'll fight wildly like cornered prey. Visceral wants to lower the amount of monsters bursting out on you and instil an eerie, thought-provoking scare."

    Less monsters? Sounds like they know full well what made Dead Space great - the atmosphere it generated.
    I don't like the sound of the epic scripted stuff, as that's what MW2 is getting slagged off for, but thinking about it, it would work for a title like this, provided it's not constant show-boating.
    If its the same team behind this, then I can't see how the imaginations that came up with the first game could ruin it.

    Always worry about the ones holding the cheque book though. They can ruin it.

  • jimboton #50 2 years ago

    Missions, akin to these new monsters, will offer more variation and require brain-power as well as a quick trigger-finger to solve

    I like the "require brain-power" bit a lot, if only I could believe it

  • penhalion #51 2 years ago

    This game is firmly on my list of "You know you're going to get it so shut up!" games. I loved the first one so I'm hoping that they don't ruin it this time around. The combat needs to stay the same. By this I mean that I expect to be able to kill any necromorph with a few well placed shots and to be able to freeze the fast moving frightener ones and dismember them frantically before the freeze wears off.

    What I absolutely don't want to see is the following

    1. The stasis beam has somehow stopped working on all monsters. It works on 700 tonne trains for frak sake so no necromorph should be immune to it's effects.
    2. The stasis field has zero recharge points just when you need them most (frustration in games is never and I mean never fun).
    3. Remove the3 redundant nodes from upgrades. The node idea was good. The "You need to waste nodes for no reason" system was silly. Isaac is an engineer. You'd think he could bodge a weapon without wasting rare nodes.
    4. Finally and arguably most important. The multiplayer should be in the gears of war hoard mode vein with actual objectives thrown in. An idea I'm giving to these guys for free is this. Have a hoard mode where the aim is to reach an escape route such as a shuttle, train, fortified building etc.etc. Throw waves of creatures at the team as they move forward through each area. At the end of each wave someone needs to hack a door, cut through a lock etc. etc. to move on. The waves are timed so there should be no guarantee that the next wave will not hit before the team progresses. You can also have a capture the unitologist mode (capture the flag with a meat puppet basically).

  • craziii #52 2 years ago

    I loved the first one. lets hope for a even better game.

  • Zebula77 #53 2 years ago

    Sounds good. Couldn't be bothered with multiplayer, but I like the comment about toning down the number of monsters. The game was definitely at its best in the first three hours where most of the time was spent building tension and atmosphere (those sound effects were excellent!). It did get a bit too action-oriented near the end, and altho I loved the main weapon and its design, I would have preferred fewer, harder monsters.

    Looking forward to this quite a bit.

  • Murton #54 2 years ago

    "As for the idea of a space base with church and shopping mall.Anyone else getting the feeling of more of a Bioshock city but in space feeling?"

    Like the first game I'd say Dead Space is more like System Shock than Bioshock, the funny thing being is that Bioshock was hyped as allegedly supposed to be some kind of successor to System Shock and the only real similarity between them is that you're in a city-like environment that's been trashed by baddies, beyond that Bioshock is nothing like System Shock at all. System Shock was a masterpiece while Bioshock was pretty average once you got past the looks.

  • tancredo #55 2 years ago

    Multiplayer would make sense in a Horde mode, where playing as citizens / workers of the space base, we have to survive the outbreak of the plague. Each wave more dense as more citizens become infected, even members of our own team. Different teams starting in different parts of the space base, being able to team up with other groups once you meet.

    Using whatever weapon available or even creating your own (gasoline + bottle creates a molotov coctail or a gas container to create a flame thrower type of deal), building barricades, health pacs, sabotaging other teams advance in order to be the ones reaching an escape pod...

  • jakkimonster #56 2 years ago

    I agree a horde style multiplayer would really be amazing though as a previous post thought having Molotov Cocktails and weapons of that nature, I'm just gonna come out and say that is a horrible idea, but this is not a mining vessel though so just giving a bunch of random survivors/works mining weapons wouldn't make much sense, so why not give them weapons that would actually pertain to who they are such as a repair man having a welder/rivet , a security guard with a low caliber futuristic pistol or a riot suppression weapon like off of "Pandorum", and/or a fire fighter with a extinguisher that fires a stream of sub-zero coolant. maybe even throw in melee combat weapons like the lazer saw from "Dead Space: Extinction"??? Things of this nature because the beauty of the original is he didn't use anything that was designed specifically for killing (minus the assault rifle) soooo why not take the same premise and apply it to a survivor type mode.

    Though I most say if there is a competitive PVP multiplayer it better be done with a like the survivor mode but where one guy is select to be really Bad A** necromorph like the one in the original who could regenerate itself and any one he kills becomes a lesser necromorph (of there choice during spawn time would be nice) kind of like the infection mode from AVP if they did that then I would be perfectly fine with mulitplayer as long as it doesn't impair the main game and I swear to what ever deity you worship if they try and pull some necromorph Vs necromorph bullshit I will decapitate myself with a lazer saw, but I guess Human on Human could be understandable if its like there fighting over supplies while fighting necromorphs now that I could get in to. And I loved the first and still have the copy of it and even dust it off occasionally when I want to get scared shit less so I beg please don't fuck it up