When “Dead Space” was released in 2008, it was a revelation in the survival horror genre. It emphasized strategy and induced genuine scares in the player. It was a game infamously known as one that most players refused to finish because it was “too scary.” “Dead Space 2” hopes to create the same feeling of being locked inside a horror film, but some control issues and a strange finale keep it from being the true horror game of this generation.

“Dead Space 2” begins with a quick recap of the first game. Our poor protagonist, Isaac Clarke, has lost his memory and is starting to have some strange hallucinations about his dead girlfriend Nicole. He wakes up in a straightjacket with a flashlight to his face. Before he has a chance to be rescued his savior is killed by a Necromorph, an alien being that controls human corpses with its tentacles. Isaac learns that the leader of the Sprawl thought it would be a good idea to rebuild the Marker, a mysterious artifact that attracts the Necromorphs. It’s up to Isaac to go through the Sprawl, find the Marker and destroy it.

The story in “Dead Space 2” isn’t anything to write home about. The mythos is interesting; it’s a shame the characters aren’t. Isaac Clarke doesn’t seem to be fazed about his new predicament or the fact that he keeps hallucinating. The rest of the cast tries in vain to capture the urgency of survival, but the script doesn’t have them do anything more than scream, yell out orders or spout out weird clues to Isaac. There seems to be a point where the game wants to introduce the conflict of reality vs. imagination, but it’s glossed over.

The real star of the show is the Sprawl itself. Much like the city of Rapture in “Bioshock” the Sprawl is an eerily beautiful city. It’s unfortunate that the game doesn’t give players free rein to explore it. The attention to detail is staggering, little things like forgotten toys or an entire church dedicated to the Marker sell the player on the world. The best technical parts of the game are the lighting and sound, which highlight an unforgiving and isolated atmosphere brilliantly.

The game plays close to a third-person shooter with some strategy. The only way to take down the Necromorphs is to take out their limbs. There is enough variety in weapons and creatures to make the game intense and satisfying. Isaac can collect power nodes that will help him upgrade his suit, weapons and stasis ability. However, Isaac seems to move too slow, especially when dealing with the Hunter Necromorphs. His movements seemed reminiscent of Resident Evil 5; only players can move and shoot. It didn’t work in that game, and it doesn’t work here.

Is “Dead Space 2” scary? Sometimes. There are certainly a lot of jump scares. It can be argued that the first two-thirds of the game are frightening and loaded with disturbing imagery that will probably invade your nightmares. Isaac’s death scenes in particular are a horrific standout. Towards the end, it loses steam and becomes more of an action game. The final boss is abysmal and getting to that point is a test of patience. The great atmosphere that was set up in the beginning fades with each scripted Necromorph encounter. The game also takes players out of the experience with elevator rides that mask loading times and awful dialogue that tries to make light of the situation.

There is a multiplayer mode, but it’s a novelty at best. It features one set of players as the humans and the other as the Necromorphs. There are small maps that feature objectives in which the Necromorph players must stop the humans. The human players are grossly overpowered. The Necromorph players have the advantage of picking where they want to spawn and the player will certainly spawn often. Just like every other game with multiplayer, players can upgrade weapons and abilities. I don’t see people paying too much attention to this feature. It’s worth noting that players can only access multiplayer via a code if the game is bought new. If it’s bought used, the player must pay a fee of $10. But there is a lengthy trial period of 2 days where the player can try out the multiplayer before he or she wants to invest.

The real price of admission is the single player. It has a good pace and variety up until the very end. Even though the multiplayer isn’t up to snuff, there are more than enough reasons to keep coming back to the single player game play. This is a world in which players will definitely want to invest time. It stumbles in certain places, but it’s entertaining nonetheless. Let’s hope that the inevitable Dead Space 3 rectifies the issues and delivers a true horror experience.