Dead Space 2

I was enjoying this a whole lot until I reached a door where my copy freezes every time. Maybe I'll see the rest of the game... someday --EDIT-- A couple of years later (and now with Gamepass) I finally played through the whole game. I consider this a huge step forward from the prior game in every regard even though the final boss fight sucks and the writing is still ridiculous. The character relationships are especially laughable but they luckily don't get in the way too much.

Played this on xbox one back compat. IMHO this is perhaps the best action horror game of the 7th gen. The combat system is incredibly deep and varied with lots of kinds of weapons, enemies and environmental hazards and tools. You can shoot enemies, stasis and stomp/melee them, blow windows and suck them out into space, use TK to throw rods, arms, and explosive canisters at them...

I think I preferred Dead Space 1, though this one does have some cool things going for it.

I never actually played the first one, but picked this up for pennies pre-owned on a whim. This was atmospheric, good looking and very playable.

YES

Dead Space 2 in many ways is an improvement over the original but, in the ways I care, is actually a slight downgrade. Isaac isn't a bad character but I preferred him silent and the same can be said for the setting. Too much happens and much of the atmosphere is lost as a result. The story is still silly and weird and this time around it is shoved in your face (literally). It's not all bad because there are solid moments and incredible use of art design but the ride isn't as great a second time.

Dead Space 2 widely improves on Dead Space 1, most notably by making the main character, Isaac Clarke, a bit more fleshed out, rather than a blank slate. The game focuses towards the action-side of the franchise, and showcases its best gameplay elements, while dialing back the horror a little bit. Best entry in the series.

alien is to dead space as aliens is to dead space 2