AdvertisementĮach one of the three necromorph types requires a different strategy, though they all share one thing in common: unlike in the single-player game, it only takes a few shots to take them down. There's also an adult necromorph that can spit venom from a distance and a disturbingly small one that sprouts giant, thrashing tentacles and can climb up walls.

They do have a very satisfying leaping attack, one that requires some precise timing to pull off. You can play as the aforementioned evil children, who are quick and small but have no long-range attack at all. And even amongst the necromorphs, there is still plenty of variety. This means that the two sides play very differently from one another. The necromorphs, meanwhile, have no such goals. In the single map playable in the beta, the team had to find the different parts of a bomb and then detonate it. The four-man human squads are also burdened with various goals to accomplish. When you get separated from the pack it's easy to get overwhelmed. Playing Dead Space amongst a group of fellow soldiers is a much less terrifying experience than being forced to explore a creepy space station solo. Since the character controls exactly the same, the biggest change in the multiplayer mode is how the game feels. It does look like there will be some form of character customization, but none of the options were available in the demo, so it's hard to say just how extensive it will be. You have your plasma rifle and melee attacks, and fallen enemies will drop extra weapons and ammo as well.

On the human side, you get to play as an Isaac Clarke-style character that controls exactly like his single player counterpart: slow and plodding. It feels like a combination of the slow paced, methodical gameplay the series is known for and an Aliens vs. The solitary Dead Space may seem like the last series to require multiplayer play, but based on the beta it looks like it just might actually work. The multiplayer component of the game is currently in closed beta, and Ars recently had a chance to go hands-on with the necromorph-versus-human mode. If the single-player portion of Dead Space 2 is notable for allowing you to shoot swarms of creepy necromorph children, then the multiplayer is notable for letting you play as those children.

Is dead space 2 multiplayer