Dead Space 2 – Destructoid
If one thing can be said of Visceral Games, it’s that the studio is true to its name. Visceral is a word that can adequately describe any of the team’s violent, blood-drenched titles, and nowhere is this more true than with the game that turned EA Redwood Shores into Visceral in the first place, Dead Space.
2008’s horrific, panic-inducing, limb-shredding action-horror title wasn’t just visceral, however. It was atmospheric, engrossing and polished. In short, not only would a sequel have to match the scares, it would have to match the quality. Not an easy thing to do in the least, especially if you then try to top what came before.
Yet by jove, they did it.
Dead Space 2 (Xbox 360 [reviewed], PlayStation 3, PC)
Developer: Visceral Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: January 25, 2011
MSRP: $59.99
Considered insane and incarcerated in a city-like space station known as The Sprawl, Dead Space protagonist Isaac Clarke is still haunted by visions of his dead ladyfriend Nicole, while unsympathetic doctors prod and poke at his brain. Of course, if that were all that happened, it’d be a pretty dull game, so along come the Necromorphs to carve people up and give Isaac something to do. Better than getting molested by an amorous psychiatrist … or is it?
Dead Space 2‘s narrative is richer and more integral to the experience this time around, helped in no small part by the fact that Isaac is no longer a silent protagonist. This sudden introduction of vocal chords could easily have been the ruination of Dead Space 2‘s narrative, but the change has been made gracefully and tastefully, with a character who still keeps his words minimal but becomes much more sympathetic. The final few chapters of Dead Space 2 in particular forge Isaac into a sympathetic character, one who deserves pity and respect in equal measure.
The plot, which I shan’t detail for obvious reasons, is driven forth by some superb voice acting from all corners, along with an expertly crafted script. It’s hard to find naturalistic dialog in a videogame, but Dead Space 2 manages it.
The only downside is that, for some reason, the voices are buried deep in the overall sound mix, with music and sound effects disproportionately loud.
This is especially frustrating during important exposition scenes featuring Nicole, where distorted voice effects and loud atmospheric sounds combine to make certain characters borderline unintelligible. The sound quality, especially the ambient noise, is superb, but you’ll have to really mess with your audio settings if you don’t want to miss plot details.
When you’re not straining your ears to pick up the chat, however, Dead Space 2‘s quality is utterly astounding. Aside from the occasional physics glitch (the bane of all ragdoll-flavored games), Visceral’s latest effort is one that smacks of perfectionism on the part of the studio. No mistakes were made with this game, and it’s clear that it has been crafted with genuine love and respect, which is an increasingly valuable trait in videogames these days.
The core gameplay remains the same, and you’ll know exactly what to do if you played the first game.
Isaac makes his way through The Sprawl, utilizing his handy Plasma Cutter to slice the limbs off hordes of Necromorphs. Business as usual.
Visceral didn’t buy a new car with Dead Space 2, but it did soup up the motor. The cheap scares are cheaper and scarier, the Necromorphs hit harder, move faster, and come in a variety of increasingly disturbing designs. Chief among the twisted monstrosities are the mutated children, who run screaming at Isaac in huge groups and are easily among the most unsettling monsters in videogame history. Few games let you shoot the mutated corpses of slaughtered infants, and that’s an accolade Visceral can be proud of.
Dead Space 2, like its predecessor, is less about psychological, creeping terror and more about cheap scares. While some will find this detrimental, I can’t help but relish the increasingly absurd ways in which Visceral attempts to make you jump. The game is relentless in this respect, as Necromorphs lunge at you from every corner, things burst and shatter all around you, and windows crack open, threatening to suck you out into the vacuum of space if you can’t shoot the emergency shutter down in time.
And it’s all such mindless fun that you barely question the architectural sanity of putting glass windows in a space station.
For all its attempts to craft a creepy story and unnerving atmosphere, Dead Space 2 is at its best when it casts subtlety to the wind and throws wave after wave of Eldritch nasties at you, sowing panic at every given opportunity. The ability to induce this panic is the game’s biggest strength — a frantic environment where you feel outmatched and manage to survive by the skin of your teeth. Sometimes it can get frustrating — it’s not fun to have three monsters in a row leap at you while you have no chance to defend yourself — but at the end of every fight, you’ll feel that special kind of stress, that good kind of stress where your heart’s racing and you feel like you just pulled off a superhuman feat of survivalism.
Visceral spent a lot of time making weapons more effective, dealing extra damage, and having more customization options. There are also a few new items, like a long-range rifle and a mine launcher.
However, these new weapons still aren’t as effective as the standby Plasma Cutter, with perhaps a Pulse Rifle on the side for quick crowd clearance. It’s both a strength and a weakness that the starting weapon is still the most powerful in the game. The limb-shredding precision of the Plasma Cutter is wonderful, but you’re left with a choice — play without variety, or sacrifice your ability to fight efficiently in order to play with a flamethrower (as well as force more varied ammo drops, which leads to less ammo per weapon). Whichever way you play, your game will be dented just a tiny little bit.
I’m also somewhat disappointed that The Sprawl isn’t … well … sprawling. While the environments are varied and you’ll be going to all sorts of unique locations, The Sprawl may as well be the Ishimura with some neon signs. Most of the game still takes place in tight corridors, and you never get a sense that you’re in a giant space city. The game’s opening chapters hint at all sorts of glorious chaos as the Necromorphs tear The Sprawl’s citizens apart, but it’s over pretty quickly, and the majority of the game just feels like another deserted, desolate spaceship.
That said, the game will throw some variety into the mix at regular intervals. An early chapter set on a speeding train makes for a total thrill ride, especially with its ludicrously intense ending. There’s also a chapter set in an elementary school, and you can probably guess how harrowing that is. The new anti-gravity areas are also pretty fantastic, especially with Isaac now able to freely float around the space rather than simply stick to walls. Some latter chapters take Isaac out into Space, and these rare, open moments manage to create the illusion of a far bigger world.
The single-player campaign clocks in at around eight hours, and like its predecessor, it feels right for the game to end when it ends. The story, though still light on narrative details, is beautifully interwoven and helps make Isaac into a truly endearing protagonist. His actions in the last two hours really flesh him out, and helps to create a more subtle, more human hero than we’re used to in videogames.
There are few single-player experiences so perfectly paced as Dead Space 2‘s, and for that alone, the game is worth a purchase.
It’s a good thing that the single-player is still the game’s biggest draw, because the multiplayer is, to be fair, nowhere near as good. It’s not exactly bad, but it’s rather unsatisfying and delivers nothing of the pacing and tension that the main game brings. The teams are split into humans and Necromorphs, and while one would imagine that playing a Necromorph would be fun, it’s actually quite disappointing. Their attacks feel disconnected from the game, with wild hack n’ slash swings that never feel like they’re hitting anything and projectile attacks that are visually vague, giving no clue as to whether they struck their mark. It’s also just rather dull to spend five minutes spawning, running up to somebody, and smashing the trigger blindly in the hopes that you’ll kill something.
When playing as a human, the tightness of the story mode is there, but the atmosphere is all gone.
Now the Necromorphs run around in circles, as online gamers are wont to do, and the unbridled chaos feels far less satisfying than the controlled madness of the tightly scripted single-player.
There is a bit of fun to be had, especially once you start ranking up and can customize your character a bit more with uniform colors and loadouts, but there’s nothing in Dead Space 2‘s multiplayer that wasn’t already done — and done better — in last year’s Singularity, which also featured a “humans vs. monsters” mode and did so with far more depth and in a tighter fashion.
That said, Dead Space 2‘s somewhat tepid multiplayer does not drag the game down in any way, shape or form. The single-player campaign is so superb that even if the multiplayer was bad, it wouldn’t have taken anything away from the experience. The game already justifies its $60 asking price before it goes online, and if you happen to dig the multiplayer as well, that’s just icing on the cake.
It feels like a bonus mode more than anything else, and the fact that it’s at least “okay” is more than enough.
Dead Space 2 is a ludicrously intense, graphically gorgeous, thoroughly atmospheric game that takes everything the first title did and ramps up the absurdity to dangerous levels. It’s cheesy to say that “if you liked the first game, you’ll love the sequel,” but in this case, I think that’s a very fair assessment. Dead Space 2 is Dead Space with the tuning at its finest and the scares at their most delicious.
Action horror has reached a new peak with Dead Space 2.
Dead Space 2 Reviews — GameSpot
Dead Space 2 Reviews — GameSpot
8.5
Great
Dead Space 2 Review
- Reviewed on:
- X360
Dead Space 2’s thrilling campaign and intense multiplayer make it an excellent game and a worthy follow-up to its superb predecessor.
Dead Space 2: Severed Review
- Reviewed on:
- X360
A focus on intense combat makes this brief return to the Sprawl a satisfying one.
Dead Space 2: Severed Review
- Reviewed on:
- PS3
A focus on intense combat makes this brief return to the Sprawl a satisfying one.
8.5
Great
Dead Space 2 Review
- Reviewed on:
- PC
Dead Space 2’s thrilling campaign and intense multiplayer make it an excellent game and a worthy follow-up to its superb predecessor.
9
Superb
Dead Space 2 Review
- Reviewed on:
- PS3
Dead Space 2’s thrilling campaign, intense multiplayer, and great bonus material make it an outstanding game and a worthy follow-up to its superb predecessor.
Average Player Score
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Score Breakdown Based on 8158 ratings
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10 (3106)
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9 (3563)
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8 (941)
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7 (254)
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6 (77)
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5 (53)
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Rating:9.
5This amazing survival horror amps up the bloodbaths and the menacing necromorph variety from the original!
By Venom_Raptor | Review Date: Aug 01, 2012 | PS3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contains: Strong Bloody Violence, Horror and Gory Images ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dead Space 2 is a survival horror third-pers… Read Full Review
19 of 21 users found the following review helpful
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Rating:7
More enjoyable than the first one
By Massacher | Review Date: Apr 22, 2022 | PC
I just beat it tonight/this morning. Another all nighter lol.I don’t really have much to say but I will say this. It was much more satisfying than the first game.
The variety of suits is pretty good. And with new game +… Read Full Review1 of 1 users found the following review helpful
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Rating:8
Dead Space 2
By Ignition_jammy | Review Date: Aug 22, 2021 | PC
Dead Space is an Action Horror game which took inspiration from Resident Evil 4 and Half Life. The 3rd person perspective was inspired by RE4, whereas Half Life inspired the idea of a silent protagonist, and the physics … Read Full Review
1 of 1 users found the following review helpful
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Rating:8
More of the same… Which in this case is great!
By bumblebug | Review Date: Sep 13, 2020 | X360
Dead Space 2 feels like a completely natural expansion of the first game.
The original Dead Space had a huge impact on the action-horror genre and the sequel builds nicely upon the concept of first. After having just rec… Read Full Review1 of 1 users found the following review helpful
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Rating:10
After so many years it’s scary like Hell.
By oc_ta_vi_an | Review Date: Apr 30, 2018 | X360
I remember played this one back in 2011 or 2012 and I never could forget those horrible screams produced by the necromorphs. Now I got to play it on xbox360 and I must tell you it’s scary as Hell itself. One of the best … Read Full Review
1 of 1 users found the following review helpful
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Rating:9
one of the best survival horror ever made.
By phantomdark | Review Date: Feb 14, 2018 | PC
Dead Space in 2008 surprised by its great mixture of survival horror and science fiction, was a game that was very frightening and had great moments, 3 years later finally wins its continuation, Dead Space 2 is a game mo… Read Full Review
1 of 1 users found the following review helpful
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Rating:7
Dead Space 2 has a decent campaign, but all too familiar.
By marker_1988 | Review Date: Apr 09, 2015 | PC
Isaac Clarke returns here in the 2nd installment along with the same environmental design and a few powerful necromorphs. The ammo shortage, creepy level design, gravity, powerful arsenal and upgrades all make a return i… Read Full Review
1 of 1 users found the following review helpful
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Rating:10
Incredible story and gameplay
By nmb123 | Review Date: Dec 25, 2014 | PC
Better than the first installment, intense atmosphere keeps you on the edge of your seat and jumping regularly.
Excellent story line continuing on from the first game, and luckily they also have a video to remind you of … Read Full Review2 of 2 users found the following review helpful
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Rating:9
A solid sequel that outdoes the original
By lild1425 | Review Date: Nov 07, 2013 | PS3
Dead Space 2 gives you a Bioshock feel especially early on. Whereas the Ishimura just gave the feeling of a functional ship, the environments in 2 feel like the sum of their parts. The sense of loss and the confusion of … Read Full Review
1 of 1 users found the following review helpful
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Rating:9
Dead Space 2 Review
By Grenadeh | Review Date: Sep 16, 2013 | X360
After the unexpected success of Dead Space, it was inevitable that EA churned out a sequel, but this game fared a lot better than many sequels do, in terms of quality.
Visceral took a masterpiece of a game and they adde… Read Full Review0 of 0 users found the following review helpful
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Rating:9
Highly addictive
By Xtian10Angelo | Review Date: Aug 23, 2013 | X360
It’s been three years since the events of the first game, but protagonist Isaac Clarke still can’t catch a break. At the beginning of Dead Space 2, he wakes on a space station known as the Sprawl and finds the place is o… Read Full Review
0 of 0 users found the following review helpful
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Another Steam discount today!
This time Steam pleased with Dead Space 2 discount by 75%.
The promotion, as usual, is valid for several days and ends on August 17, 2012 at 4:00. Let’s hurry, friends! For those who have an opinion «Isn’t it easier to download and play instead of buying» I explain: In the Steam version, you can play online on official servers.
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Dead Space 2
Good mood everyone)
Hello everyone, I shoot different videos and post them on Youtube And I edited the cut, when it came to this passage, I realized that it does not need to be cut, but you just need to watch the music) As for me, this video is essentially not funny, but it still cheers up.
http://www.youtube.com/user/NaMEKStudios
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Dead Space 2
The story of Dead Space
I present to you the first and second parts of the video story of the Dead Space series from Igromania magazine.
Dead Space is a video game series created by game designer Glen Schofield, developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts. The trademark is based on two games in the survival horror genre, as well as created on their basis: d…
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Details of Dead Space 3
IGN published details of the third part of the series. They have not been confirmed by anyone, so it is impossible to speak with absolute certainty about their authenticity. That’s what Dead Space 3 was going to please us with
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Dead Space 2
Dead Space:Severed — preconditions for a brighter future.
Background.
Good day, friends.
Each of the once-created game universes is running out of steam. To put it mildly, it is approaching its logical end. No, really — the series cannot be sold due to the name alone .
. although * fiery hello to Kotik *.0003 -
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A bit of Dead Space 2 nostalgia
Hello friends!
A whole year has passed since the release of Dead Space 2 (wow, somehow unexpectedly). Over the course of a year, the game managed to acquire an add-on, forget itself, and the developer’s office closed (this is generally sudden). Today, Kirill Osoznan and I decided to indulge in nostalgic memories and remember why we liked Dead Space 2 so much. Enjoy watching…
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Dead SPAD SPAD Clark
Find high -quality cosplays
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- 350002 Electronic Arts are working on a new part of Dead Space, according to Siliconera.
Ask — what’s so amazing? Answer — the action of the game will not take place on a spaceship, as in the previous two parts, but on the ice planet Tau Volantis, where Isaac Clarke will have to wade through snowdrifts and blizzards.
Isaac crashes into…
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Israeli journalists learned about the development of Dead Space 3
Israeli television employees visited the office of the EA Redwood Shores studio, where they accidentally discovered a sign with the name Dead Space 3. Draw your own conclusions about the sign …
Electronic Arts still refuses to comment on the information Israeli TV channel, citing the fact that there is no official news about the fate of the Dead Space series yet. However, ra…
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Dead Space 2
Vanes of Happiness. Let’s Play «Dead Spaces»
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Dead Space 2: free maps
Visceral Games has designed two new multiplayer maps for the DLC sublevels of the horror shooter titled Outbreak, will be absolutely free.
On May 31, the add-on will appear on Xbox Live, and on June 3 on the PlayStation Network. The prospects for the release of the addon on the PC are still vague.
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Dead Space 2
Competition «Gundogs»: 211-V Plasma Cutter. Supported by GAMER.ru and PodariPodarok.ru.
211-V Plasma Cutter
«The Plasma Cutter combines power and reliability in a portable package»
Commonly referred to as a «plasma cutter» or simply «cutter». The 211-V is a power-hungry torch made by Schofield Tools for rock cutting.
During firing, it produces a charge of 3 …
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Modification of Plasma Cutter from the collection publication
Fans DEAD Space, hiding under the KIPKY video with an improved plasma gun from the collector’s edition of the game.
Enjoy watching. -
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Charlie’s Point — Issue 33 — Dead Space 2
Somewhat late, but still playing Dead Space 2 multiplayer. e_ninjas/
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Mini-review of Dead Space 2
actually conceals «Dead Space». The game received good ratings from critics, and from journalists, and from gamers. Who played, everyone advised their friends and on emotions said “Super graphics!”, “Put on diapers before the game!”, “Just meat!”.
LOT …
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Dead Space 2
Reviews Dead Space 2 (PC, Xbox 360, PS 3) from StalkerLegend
Platform: PC, Xbox 360, PS 3 (multi -plate)
Localization: 1C-Softclub (Text only)
Developers: Visceral Games (Creators of the Dead Space series, developers of The Godfather, James Bond 007, The Simpsons Game, Dante’s Inferno and currently working on The Ripper)
Publisher: Electronic Arts (Worldwide)
Genre: Survival horror, third person shooter.
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«Enlightenment happened.» Video review of the game.
Video review of the game. Editing, filming and voice acting — author’s 🙂
One of these days there will be a video review of Bulletstorm. It’s an ad, yes 🙂
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TrainersDead Space 2 «Trainer +13» [UPD: 06/05/2022] {STiNGERR / WeMod}
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TrainersDead Space 2: Trainer/Trainer (+16) [1.
0/1.1 Steam/Origin] (UPD: 02/10/2022) {hex} Dead Space 2: Table for Cheat Engine [UPD: 01/21/2022] {mafril}
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TrainersDead Space 2: Trainer/Trainer (+6/+8/+10) [1.0 — 5.0] {Abolfazl.k}
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TablesDead Space 2: Table for Cheat Engine [UPD: 04/05/2021] {TheyCallMeTim13}
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TrainersDead Space 2: Trainer/Trainer (+8) [UPD: 01/17/2020] {CoffeeWine}
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SavesDead Space 2: Save/SaveGame (Game completed 3rd time with 100%)
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TrainersDead Space 2: Trainer/Trainer (+18) [1.
1: Repack by Other’s] {LAGARIUM}
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TrainersDead Space 2: Trainer/Trainer (+20) [1.0 Repack by xatab] {Ded_Mazay1991}
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SavesDead Space 2: Save/SaveGame (NG+, lots of items and money, all costumes and weapons unlocked)
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CodesDead Space 2: HEX Codes [1.0u1] {KROCKI}
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TrainersDead Space 2: Trainer/Trainer (+8) [v1.1] [PC | RePack by qoob] {Enjoy}
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TrainersDead Space 2: Trainer/Trainer (+10) [Steam] {LIRW / GHL}
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TablesDead Space 2: Table for Cheat Engine [UPD: 08/01/2017] {Akama}
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TablesDead Space 2: Cheat Engine Table [UPD: 03/04/2017]
Dead Space 2: Save/SaveGame (All story costumes)
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TrainersDead Space 2: Trainer/Trainer (+8) [All Version] {Grom-Skynet}
Dead Space 2: Trainer/Trainer (+6) [Latest Steam] {MrAntiFun}
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TrainersDead Space 2 — All DLC: Trainer/Trainer (+11) [1.
1: Update 1] [64 Bit] {Baracuda}
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SavesDead Space 2: Save/SaveGame (ALL Costumes unlocked + bonus costumes and weapons)
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SavesDead Space 2: Save/SaveGame (Step by Chapter)
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SavesDead Space 2: Save/SaveGame (Unreal difficulty, collected ALL bonus items from the original / DLC)
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SavesDead Space 2: Save/SaveGame (Maximum save: game completed on all difficulty levels, everything is opened to the maximum)
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TrainersDead Space 2: Trainer/Trainer (+7) [Update 1] {HoG/sILeNt heLLsCrEAm}
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TrainersDead Space 2: Trainer/Trainer (+10) [All Versions] {GRIZZLY/PlayGround.
- News0003
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- 350002 Electronic Arts are working on a new part of Dead Space, according to Siliconera.
