I died within the first thirty seconds of Dead Space 2. That should immediately impart an idea of what kind of horror experience to expect. Dead Space 2 is not a slow-burn, psychological thriller that kept me up at night, playing on my natural fear of the unknown. It is an action title that rarely slowed long enough to let me soak in the atmosphere or take stock of the horrors around me. That's unfortunate, because the few moments when things do slow down are genuinely creepy.

More often, Dead Space 2 -- like its predecessor -- leans on quick shocks, rote horror tricks, plenty of gore and, more importantly, murdering lots of monsters in interesting ways.