Dead Space 2 currently appears to be set for an early 2011 release (to my dismay) and after hearing that it’s going to have a multiplayer side to it, we’ve been wondering how that could work in a single-player game that made such a huge impact in our survival horror part of our gaming lives. Apparently, one of the main multiplayer features (if not the only) of the game is a 4v4, objective-based struggle between humans and necromorphs and requires that the humans fight to complete a set of tasks, all the while defending against the mutant menace on the other team, who’s sole purpose is to stop them (see video below).
Sadly, I have one worry with what this game could end up like. You know how the first Dead Space was pretty much pant-shittingly scary? And how Resident Evil 5 just wasn’t scary whatsoever? Well, the thing that worries me about Dead Space 2 having multiplayer modes included is that as soon as you take the element of isolation and being alone out of a game that focuses on the character being all by himself 99% of the time, and instead you could be running around with a bunch of friends shooting things here, there and everywhere, you run the risk of taking away the whole thing that made the game so scary – and as a result, great – in the first place.
Resident Evil 5 wasn’t scary at all, and not because the monsters weren’t good (they were), or because the scenarios were badly designed (they weren’t), but because you were never alone. When you have a friend backing you up and talking to you the entire time, you generally don’t feel as much pressure or fear as you would had you been on your own, with nobody else to rely on. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather they included more stuff in DS2 than less, I just hope it won’t take away any of the fear from the core of the game; being able to play as the necromorphs themselves with your friends might make them seem less like a horrific monster lurking in the shadows to be utterly terrified and panicked by, but more like just another controllable computer game character. Let’s hope they completely disprove my concerns, because I can’t wait for this game, and if the multiplayer ends up being awesome then I’ll never doubt them again.
Check out the video below to see some gameplay from the recent Dead Space 2 multiplayer closed beta:
Roll on, January!
Dome Keeper is an excellent little spin on the tower defense game, in which you play the role of a jetpacking miner defending his base from swarms of aliens, whilst searching for a hidden relic buried somewhere beneath him. And now, with this huge free update, you can play it with friends.
I want to talk about Cloudpunk, a game where you get to be a flying-car delivery driver in a futuristic cyberpunk city. Its world is an incredible achievement of environmental design, and while the gameplay itself may be basic, the city of Nivalis is a thing of beauty to behold. Nivalis is built out of hundreds of hand-modelled cuboid buildings; there’s nothing procedural about it. Apparently it took 3 years for the devs to design the city, and it really shows.
I do love me some quality pixel art, and it doesn’t get much better than this. Cast n Chill is a cozy side-scrolling fishing game by small indie dev team Wombat Brawler, with absolutely gorgeous visuals. It’s simple to play, and you you can dip in and out of it at your leisure, making it a fine addition to our collection of coffee break games.
Format: PS3
Release date: 2010
Heavy Rain is more like an interactive movie than a game, and it is mostly excellent. It’s a game about choices and living with the consequences. I played it through twice myself, just to see how different decisions affect the story and its ultimate conclusion, but to say that my first try was emotional would be the understatement of the century. This game almost broke me. I’ll tell you how soon, but first I want to recount the story of one of my friend’s choices… Like I said, watching Heavy Rain is just like watching a movie, but watching your friend play Heavy Rain gives you an amusing bit of insight into their psychology. The results can be hilarious.
I don’t know many people who played Quantum Break, and nobody ever talks about it anymore, so it must have been rather forgettable for those who did. Even as I write this, two days after blasting my way to the end-credits of the 2016 bombastic time-travelling action romp, I am struggling to remember some of […]
Format: PC
Year: 1999
Here’s another game that was introduced to me by my uncle Dave (who to this day, does the best impression of the monk from the first game out of anyone I know – “WOLOLOOOH!”) Anyway, I learned more history from playing Age of Empires 2 than I ever did in school. I experienced the brutal horde of Attila the Hun as he ravaged old Europe. I followed the rise of El Cid, and helped Ghengis Khan flood across Asia. I can’t remember much else actually, because my mind always turns to making a plague of Persian elephants to send at my enemies, crushing all of their puny houses and stamping their cities into the dust, mwhahaha! Ah man, it’s an absolute classic game, the first strategy game I ever played and thanks to the recent HD remake, is still a lot of fun even 18 years later.
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