Dead Space 2

The first Dead Space holds the spot as my favorite survival horror game ever, and maybe my favorite horror anything. I remember being at home when I played it for over 8hrs straight, and for about 3 of those hours I was home alone in the dark. I was pretty freaked out at that time, always doing a check around the house during tense parts. Looking back on it now, almost 3yrs later, I laugh at that moment. With the arrival of Dead Space 2, I think it's very safe to say that Dead Space has been overtaken.
 

Dead Space 2 starts off with Isaac Clarke strapped up, no recollection of where he is or why. This is where the game really sets the very good tone of "what's going on". Which is basically the same as the first game. What sets the game apart though is that Isaac is now a talker. Being silent throughout the entire first game, apart from the "ARGH" from smashing boxes or crawling Necromorphs. I personally found Isaac a very gripping character in Dead Space 2. In the first game, he didn't emote at all, no reaction to seeing a GIANT FUCKING ALIEN coming at him. So now during critical story moments, you now get to see how Isaac feels about it. Especially when he hallucinates. I found the story of Dead Space 2 to be a huge step forward in not only the survival horror genre, but also video games itself. The way it crafts it's story around Isaac losing sanity and the connections to the first game are the moments I loved. And how it all ends, with its "hey there's going to be a Dead Space 3" moment make me want to play it all over again.
 
The "shoot the limbs off" comes back into play again, and it's still great as ever. Not a whole lot different from Dead Space I felt, though it was all a lot tighter. The aiming seemed better and it all had a faster speed, aiming, shooting, running. I used the Plasma Cutter throughout the whole game, there really isn't another reason to buy another gun I feel. It's strong and super effective when cutting off the limbs.  Since you're in a wider open area in the Sprawl rather then in USG Ishimura I never felt rushed by enemies. I was able to pick off the Necromorphs one by one usually.
 

The atmosphere on the Sprawl is also just as great as the first. You'll find yourself in daycare's, schools, bedrooms etc. It's a fully functional city. When you get to the later scenes, the game did tend to throw a great deal more Necromorphs at you, which picked up tension and added more urgency to encounters which I really liked. When you throw in the aspects of Isaac slowly losing sanity and what exactly is going on, those story elements really add to the dark atmosphere.
 
I can't really speak highly enough of Dead Space 2. They guy's and gals at Visceral Games have crafted their masterpiece. It's an

achievement in storytelling and gameplay. The choice to make Isaac a talker is a winning one. While there are things they could improve on, inventory system, some of the control buttons I found to be annoying. But those are just minor complaints in what is simply the best game of 2011. Dead Space 2 came out in January, if this is any indication of what is to come in 2011, I think this is going to be a hell of a year.