The action in Dead Space 2 takes place in churches, apartment buildings, schools, shopping districts and even on moving trains. It's not long before our hero gains a weapon and his trusty suit and begins to encounter the diverse environments featured in the sequel. In one of the more impressive and exciting openings of any game, Isaac's first order of business is to traverse the dankly-lit, Necromorph-infested corridors of the medical facility in nothing more than a straitjacket.

Guided by a mysterious female helper and a fellow mental patient, Isaac must escape the facility and uncover the truth about the outbreak and find a cure for his fragile, fractured mind. Eventually Isaac regains consciousness in the midst of a Necromorph outbreak. Isaac, unaware to him, is now the resident of some sort of medical facility and is clearly still haunted by the events of the first game (there's a handy Dead Space recap video included in the menu screen). The first chapter of the game does a superb job of setting the tone for what's to follow. The game takes place three years after the original on the appropriately named Sprawl - a cityscape locale on Titan, a moon of Saturn. In that time, Visceral Games has been busy ensuring that the few criticisms levelled against the first game have been addressed in a sequel that sees protagonist Isaac Clarke fighting against external aggressors and internal demons.

While the first game seemed to come out of nowhere and leave us all cowering with fear, the sequel has been hotly anticipated and finally makes its way onto the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC a little over two years later. It may not have been the most original of titles, but it's fair to say that its claustrophobic atmosphere, captivating storyline and excellent, limb-slicing combat made it one of the standout games of the year and a welcome addition to the survival horror genre. The original Dead Space was something of a surprise hit when it was released in time for Halloween in 2008.

Dead space 2 ps3 vs xbox 360