Dead Effect 2 is an interesting mashup of a few sci-fi shooter tropes that seems to work quite well. I chuckled at the name of the game, Dead Effect because in fact it does remind me a little bit of two other sci fi shooters, Dead Space and Mass Effect. Dead Effect 2 does in fact show some of it’s inspiration from these games with a touch of Borderlands and Doom thrown into the mix as well. While the game that you get as a result isn’t exactly wholly unique, it is none the less quite fun and engaging. With a play style that feels polished, focusing on tight combat zones, cramped hallways, and life or death firefights, it adds to the somewhat oppressive claustrophobic air that the game seems to be shooting for. Only between missions when you have a chance to shop, upgrade, and talk to NPCs do the cramped quarters take a break and you’re given a somewhat gorgeous hub to breathe in.

The music is very enjoyable, and that’s something I appreciate because I found even two hours in still having it running. I normally cut music within 10 minutes of playing a game, but the pseudo organ music helps to end the right vibe to the game.

A huge amount of gear is available, but unfortunately you’re only going to have the money to buy a small fraction of it, so make your choices wisely. Do you go for the more long ranged rifle? How about the automatic lead sprayer? Maybe you’d be better off with a reliable melee weapon? Then again it’s hard to skip the shotgun. The game starts you with three classes, and I haven’t had a chance to try out the other two, but the main character I chose, “Gunnar” has a gruff ‘space marine’ esque vibe to him that hearkens back to the doom games all the way back in the 90s. However you’re not limited to his playstyle when you choose him, you can gear and spec your character to be more ninja-like. That is a freedom of gameplay that I appreciate.

The game does have it’s flaws. Most notably the graphics are on the whole quite amazing. Some of the effects are gorgeous and some of the character models of the enemies are great. But that does set the counterpoint when you see a graphic that isn’t. The first NPC you meet up with for example just looks…. Off. It’s hard to describe why exactly, maybe her body proportions aren’t right, or her unit’s polygon count is too low, or then again maybe it’s just the distracting nipple bumps on her outfit, much like Rachel from Friends, circa the mid 90s.

Likewise the voice acting is decent, but not great. The main character is terse, and when he does speak it’s somewhat cliched. Then again so is the mysterious female npc, the mentally deficient engineer, and the horribly voice acted russian doctor. This is probably the game’s biggest flaw in my book, you really want everyone to shut up so you can enjoy the games, the gunshots, the dog growls, and the zombie groans. But unfortunately the mentally deficient engineer has to blubber his own name over and over in hodor like fashion even when you’re on a mission.

The one thing that I find very interesting and haven’t had a chance to test out is the co-op play. I like that the ability for friends to drop into a mission as they like is integrated right into the gameplay. More multiplayer only helps this type of game in my opinion.

As the final word on this review, I’d say that this game isn’t perfect, but if you want an action FPS in a semi horror / space genre, Dead Effect 2 delivers. It doesn’t revolutionize the wheel, but it’s absolutely worth the entry price.

NOTE - I was given a free copy of this game in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Dead Effect 2 is an interesting mashup of a few sci-fi shooter tropes that seems to work quite well. I chuckled at the name of the game, Dead Effect because in fact it does remind me a little bit of two other sci fi shooters, Dead Space and Mass Effect. Dead Effect 2 does in fact show some of it’s inspiration from these games with a touch of Borderlands and Doom thrown into the mix as well. While the game that you get as a result isn’t exactly wholly unique, it is none the less quite fun and engaging. With a play style that feels polished, focusing on tight combat zones, cramped hallways, and life or death firefights, it adds to the somewhat oppressive claustrophobic air that the game seems to be shooting for. Only between missions when you have a chance to shop, upgrade, and talk to NPCs do the cramped quarters take a break and you’re given a somewhat gorgeous hub to breathe in. The music is very enjoyable, and that’s something I appreciate because I found even two hours in still having it running. I normally cut music within 10 minutes of playing a game, but the pseudo organ music helps to end the right vibe to the game. A huge amount of gear is available, but unfortunately you’re only going to have the money to buy a small fraction of it, so make your choices wisely. Do you go for the more long ranged rifle? How about the automatic lead sprayer? Maybe you’d be better off with a reliable melee weapon? Then again it’s hard to skip the shotgun. The game starts you with three classes, and I haven’t had a chance to try out the other two, but the main character I chose, “Gunnar” has a gruff ‘space marine’ esque vibe to him that hearkens back to the doom games all the way back in the 90s. However you’re not limited to his playstyle when you choose him, you can gear and spec your character to be more ninja-like. That is a freedom of gameplay that I appreciate. The game does have it’s flaws. Most notably the graphics are on the whole quite amazing. Some of the effects are gorgeous and some of the character models of the enemies are great. But that does set the counterpoint when you see a graphic that isn’t. The first NPC you meet up with for example just looks…. Off. It’s hard to describe why exactly, maybe her body proportions aren’t right, or her unit’s polygon count is too low, or then again maybe it’s just the distracting nipple bumps on her outfit, much like Rachel from Friends, circa the mid 90s. Likewise the voice acting is decent, but not great. The main character is terse, and when he does speak it’s somewhat cliched. Then again so is the mysterious female npc, the mentally deficient engineer, and the horribly voice acted russian doctor. This is probably the game’s biggest flaw in my book, you really want everyone to shut up so you can enjoy the games, the gunshots, the dog growls, and the zombie groans. But unfortunately the mentally deficient engineer has to blubber his own name over and over in hodor like fashion even when you’re on a mission. The one thing that I find very interesting and haven’t had a chance to test out is the co-op play. I like that the ability for friends to drop into a mission as they like is integrated right into the gameplay. More multiplayer only helps this type of game in my opinion. As the final word on this review, I’d say that this game isn’t perfect, but if you want an action FPS in a semi horror / space genre, Dead Effect 2 delivers. It doesn’t revolutionize the wheel, but it’s absolutely worth the entry price. NOTE - I was given a free copy of this game in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.