Has anyone else played this yet? I just bought it when it came out Tuesday and I'm already on my second playthrough and enjoying the hell out of it.

Essentially, it DOES kind of feel like an expansion to the original Dead Space, albeit with different game mechanics. You can reload while running, the alternate fire for most of the weapons has been changed to something more practical (Pulse Rifle has a grenade launcher, the Force Gun has a focused beam charge), and the zero-g mechanics have been changed (rather than running and jumping from platform to platform, you use a jet propulsion system built into Isaac's suit, allowing for complete freedom in movement, albeit in a very disorienting manner).

The new multiplayer is rather broken though (considering that there's no way you could make a straight-up deathmatch between humans and necromorphs- the different match types are about the humans completing certain objectives while the necromorphs have to stop them), not so much gameplay wise (you have to use vastly different strategies depending on which you side you play as), but scoring wise. Even if the necromorphs win, in my experience, the human players will almost always gain more points just because of the sheer number of kills they're able to rack up.

So does anyone else have a take on this?

Oh. I did beat it and is also on my second playthough now.
I think i never did get so MANY panic moments as in Dead Space 2. fighting horde after horde. the new necromorphes are creepy... and there is one kind that i call "Peeping tom" necromorphes because it looks at you from the corner before attacking you. hell creepy.
I still like the plasma cutter. now it is completly upgraded and then the enemies fall so easy.
the weapons did get improved indeed. and new characters.. i hate stross for sure.

the suits are so awesome. loving them. :)

I did enjoy the demo, as long as it's more of the same of Dead Space I will be happy. :] Not convinced about Isaac being voiced and having a face and all, but it's probably fine.

Unfortunately I can't afford it until March or later. Although the game should be cheaper then, so maybe that's a good thing.

Lemme see. the weapons in DS2.

Plasma cutter: is a beloved weapon at me. is perfect for smaller targets like the yellow spots.

Ripper: a very good weapon. is perfect against a horde of nercomorphs. especially the pack.

Javelin gun is best to the stalkers or pukers. and if you use the alt mode.. have fun to see them dance. X)

Line gun is not that great in DS2 as it was in the first game. it is somehow weaker but it might be just me. BUT! the Alt mode is so great against the larger nercomorphs like Brutes or tripods.

Pulserifle.. i hated that weapon in DS and it isn't even better in DS2. so completly weak and waste alot of ammo just to hit the weak spots on the nercomorphs.

Seeker rifle is pretty good to far away enemies so far. is also more better than Pulserifle since you don't waste ammo to hit the enemies.

Flamethrower. Well in DS it was abit lously and did use alot of fuel. but if one likes to torture enemies then get this. but i feel this one is the most weakest weapon in the game. but it is just what i think.

the rest of weapons i didn't try out.. yet. :)

They changed the alt fire for the force gun so that it fires a focused long-distance beam (instead of that crappy "grenade" or whatever from the first game). So far, that's been my favorite weapon overall. Upgrade the alt fire all the way and you can completely dismember almost anything in just one or two hits.

Finally got around to finishing this game. I more or less chose the same load out as the first game (pulse rifle, plasma cutter, force gun, and I suppose the seeker rifle is the new addition to my arsenal) since that's what I was most comfortable with.

Overall, it's a great game. Definitely suspenseful, though a degree less than the first one. It's almost like they squeezed all of the terror in DS2 into the first three or four chapters and then after that it somewhat diminished. I just love that fear factor the game instills toward the end of DS1 where you truly felt alone (with the exception of the one crazy still running around) and I felt that was missing in DS2. You always had a contact, even until the very end.

If you're a veteran FPS player coming into this game, you'll probably want to ramp up the difficulty from normal on up. In fact, I restarted after chapter five to switch to Survivalist mode because I felt it was too forgiving in normal mode. However, the level of difficulty seems rather uneven during play because on occasions I would get stuck on one particular fight sequence, as if it wasn't scaled properly. Or maybe I just had to react differently than I did. In any case, I felt like some of the fight sequences stepped up the difficulty a little too abruptly.

And speaking of difficult fights (though I won't give anything away), I found the final boss fight to be ridiculous. Just a warning for those that haven't reached it yet - make sure you're well stocked with ammo, because I wasn't and I seriously spent about an hour and thirty minutes on that fight alone.

I do like the alternate fire modes for the weapons, though I trust in my plasma cutter way too much and didn't even pick up half the new weapons anyway.

It probably sounds like most of my points are complaints, but overall I feel it didn't take away from the great experience DS2 gives. It contains great, action-packed set pieces, creepy and interesting new monsters, as well as the essential familiar aspects of the game from DS1. I'd recommend this to anyone that can stand a good horror game!