Poll: Which Dead Space game did you enjoy the most?

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I think the first was the best game, but playing 2 in Nightmare Mode was the best experience. The consequence of death, the necessarily different playstyle meant it was a much more hair raising experience, even though the game was the same. The arsenal was improved on and I thought the new enemies worked quite well. I would only have changed the turret sequence and the eye-poke machine which were unnecessary and excessively hard.

I don't think DS3 should be included alongside the first two. It was a set-piece, third-person, cover-based shooter with very little remarkable about it, the story and characters least of all. Shockingly bad, better ways to spend your time and money.

 

[CannibalCorpses]

It's hard to judge since i didn't really like any of the 3 (but still played them all through to completion) but i voted for the first one because it was fresh and new, even if i felt it was rather bland. The set pieces were ok but after the first playthrough it became a complete chore for the final few achievements. 1 definately had the atmosphere and puzzle bits, 2 had better normal fighting sections and 3...well 3 had nothing at all that i liked.

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

I irresponsibly voted for Dead Space 1 even though it's the only one I've played and I haven't even completed it yet.
It is a fun game with genuine tension and atmosphere though, I should probably get around to playing it fully.

 

[LAGG]

Dead Space 1 easily. It's the scarier and most immersive one.
I tried playing DS2 twice, got bored about 30% through it and stopped, twice.
No plans whatsoever to play DS3.

 

[MrDumpkins]

Dead Space 2 was my favorite, it took all the elements of the first one and polished everything and made combat a little more fluid. It might not have been as slow and scary, but isaac had already seen the necromorphs, so him being less frightened actually made sense to me. It still had a creepy atmosphere and I loved exploring all the different parts of the space station, especially since isaac always had to go through maintenance passages and such, it was a cool exploration into the inner working of a giant sci fi base. Zero G was just an awesome improvement. Ellie and Stauss were awesome characters and I really liked how they're stories played out. My favorite scene from that game was the gravity orb that you had to use gimbel capture arms to release. In 3D it looked so amazing. The Nicole storyline was also fantastic and it was handled greatly, I loved the way it ended with her being just a marker figment, an evil one. Since she was gone and all that was left was his rage and anger towards her loss. The final boss was basically isaac accepting that she's gone and moving on. That's really the whole plot of dead space 2, Isaac getting over his losses and getting back to reality.

Dead Space 1 was my second favorite, honestly the game was fantastic and the only reason I liked the second more was because it flowed so well from this one. You had slow movement, clunky at times, punches had weight to them, dark and claustrophobic areas and some really cool vistas. Once again getting to see the inner working of a giant space ship isn't something most sci fi games let you do. Level design was great and all guns and abilities were awesome, I knew I'd buy every dead space game after I played this one.

Dead Space 3 I didn't really like, god what they did with Ellie, saddening. sure it had isaac and ellie still, but they added drama and emotion just for the sake of it, and a large cast that was only there to die all the time. Once again I did feel that gameplay escalating was something great, as isaac now knows exactly how to beat necromorphs in combat. However the story was just awful, stupid, and just too grand. I knew this game was going to be going downhill once I played the first level. The space part was awesome, and I really like the free roaming aspect of it, had the entire game taken place like that it could have been wonderful. The crash landing scene was awesome but once you land on the ground it just didn't feel like dead space anymore. I hated the weapon crafting, co op I could get behind because of the whole game play escalation thing, but they took the combat to gears of war levels where there were waves upon waves of enemies. At least in the first 2 games you felt tension as you had to battle smaller waves in tighter quarters, and when there were a lot of enemies it was super tense. Never once felt a tense moment my entire playthrough in 3, and honestly that's what dead space was all about for me. Worst 80 bucks I ever spent (bought the collectors edition because I thought after dead space 2 the third would be amazing.)

Still one of my favorite franchises ever though, and I'm glad they're not going to keep milking it. Dead space 1 and 2 were fantastic and we should probably just exclude the third from our memories

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

I overwhelmingly prefer the first one. I did not like the second one at all, and I only watched an LP of the third one.

I saw it beginning to end, and if I had actually purchased that game I would have almost been ashamed. It...was just awful. The one thing I did like about it was the scenery. It was really gorgeous at times, when you weren't locked in room #130 of 200 waiting for X to happen while monsters come in through the giant, and omnipresent air ducts. Which is sadly about 80% of the game.

The other 20% is you flying the skiff around the debris field or gunning down unitologists Gears of War Style. The final boss was interesting. Seriously, that whole end sequence was crazy awesome. Just not enough to make up for the snoozefest of the game preceding it. I don't even think the person I watched play it even used anywhere near the truly OP weapons either. The lil bots seemed like an annoying chore, not really something that belongs in a horror game.

They also made it almost impossible to die as they had stockpiles of health and ammo, always more than they could even carry.

I feel like so much of the story exists outside of the actual games, or is retconned in medias res for the hell of it that I can't even take it seriously.

The plot of the first game made sense. It ended just the way it should have. There didn't need to be any survivors.

Also, does the actual "dead space" (the area of effect [or the lack thereof] around the Marker is called this) ever come into play again after that bit in the first game? I mean if you are going to name your game after something, why not make it more meaningful than "its like, cause they're dead...in SPACE! Get it?"

 

[Silvanus]

Also, does the actual "dead space" (the area of effect [or the lack thereof] around the Marker is called this) ever come into place again after that bit in the first game? I mean if you are going to name your game after something, why not make it more meaningful than "its like, cause they're dead...in SPACE! Get it?"

This is one of my issues. Some aspects of the Markers seem to work against the Necromorphs; the Red Marker compels Isaac to return it to its pedestal, where its 'Dead Space' was suppressing the Hive Mind. Apparently, in one of the novels, a researcher states that the Markers have two distinct voices; one urging people to kill themselves, the other urging them to run. This was a really interesting element, to me.

They seem to have just forgotten about that. The Markers are only bad now.


As for your question, though, the 'Dead Space' field is important at the end of DS2-- Tiedemann manages to find safety close to the base of the Gold Marker (even when Necromorphs are around him in their hundreds, they haven't touched him there).

DS3 gives an alternate meaning to the phrase 'Dead Space', though. The Scientist guy, whose name I can't remember, claims that the Brother Moons explain why so little life has been found in space, and why it's mostly "just dead space".

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

Dead Space 2 was definitely a scary trip for me.

The biggest thing going for this game is that the game is 90% in the dark. Aside from little lights and your own flashlight, you are completely in the dark and vulnerable to anything that you cannot see. There is also a sense of risk and fear from going off the beaten path and searching for extras or goodies. You might find some ammo and money, but you might lose some ammo and health trying to get to it, making every encounter a decisive one.

Also, you never feel 'safe' in the game (at least during your initial walkthrough). There has been one occasion where I've reached a save point, believed that I could rest easy and collect my thoughts, until a Nercromorph comes out of nowhere an starts attacking me. I was very weary of save points after that.

Another key feature is that there are many times when you can be 1-hit KOed if your health is low, regardless of how much damage an enemy's attack does. This made using my med packs sparingly, and I rarely refilled my health completely, for fear that I would need one in the middle of a fight to avoid dying from one hit, followed by a little death scene.

The final battle was surprisingly challenging, as the objective to how to kill the final boss wasn't complex, but you needed precise timing, aiming, and a little luck, to beat the boss.

I'm sure that the original was good, or even better, and I know that I don't like Dead Space 3, but Dead Space 2 has a lot of features that I like and look for in a survival horror shooter.

 

[Falcondynamite]

Well as of right now it seems like the nostalgia factor won this poll! I'm glad I was able to see everyone's opinions on this and everyone pulled up their own opinions stated with hard evidence towards which they preferred the most. This was quite an awesome poll. Keep to your beliefs people!