Dead Effect 2 Review (PS4)

Introduction

Dead Effect 2, developed and published by BadFly Interactive, is a first-person shooter game driven by a science fiction based story. Originally made for mobile devices in 2015, the game found its way onto PC the next year, and now consoles in 2017. Players will find themselves controlling one of three main characters (Gunnar Davis, Jane Frey, or Kay Rayner) as they return to the ESS Meridian, continuing a story that had previously ended with the death of the antagonist from the original Dead Effect. The title focuses on taking players through a story via class based characters and other RPG elements, as well as loot hunting and mission level evaluations. On PC, players can invite friends to join in the slaughtering of foes. On consoles however, it is currently a single player only experience. No DLC has been released or announced.

You can buy the game on Steam or PlayStation 4 or Xbox One for $11.99.

Gameplay

They game opens up pretty quickly, throwing you into the action and initial horrors of the infected beings screaming as they roam the corridors of the space ship. Upon waking up in to an overran ship in traditional science-fiction fashion, you move your way through the first hallways with the help of a woman speaking to you over the radio. Soon you'll find your first weapon laying ontop of a brutally murdered individual who no longer has a need for it. Depending on which of the three characters you chose to play as, you'll either find a pistol, hand cannon, or a sword. It won't be long before you eventually get your first assault rifle, shotgun, or bow and arrow, where you'll then begin your adventure of collect and upgrade.

As you collect weapons from a huge arsenal of options, you'll be able to upgrade them in areas such as accuracy, damage, and clip size. The RPG elements of the game extend even further with the way players will need to upgrade the chips within their bodies as well as decide which class skills they wish to specialize in. These upgrade options don't come right at the start of the game though; you'll need to proceed through the first few missions that will have you venturing out and bringing back a few key NPCs. Once they are all together and safe, your hub will be complete, and will act like… well, a hub. Here is where you can pick which missions to try (even going back to repeat already completed ones) or trying a survival/horde mode in an attempt to acquire loot. Although the missions are fairly linear, checking all of the cracks and corners of the corridors and rooms will yield better findings of gear, guns, supplies, and even money.

Again, taking place in the hub area, the money can be used to purchase new items and or upgrade ones already owned. Selling things you don't need is another way to gain that precious money. While out on missions, you'll run into a few different variations of enemies such as infected people, large dogs, space suit skeletons, and other armed militia type soldiers. The combat, and how you decide to approach each encounter, is pretty similar across the board; you want to shoot for the head, and you have a crap load of time to do so. Enemies typically walk around, rarely causing a chaotic fight. I liked the way the guns aimed and hit, even though a little sluggish. It feels similar to a Borderlands or Destiny style, where enemies have the floating health, level, and shield bars.

Sound and Graphics

The guns are great but the people are up for debate. When it comes to the sounds of the weapons firing and reloading, you can be satisfied enough. When any of the characters talk though, they sound extremely cheesy and Im not sure if it was entirely on purpose. At times the characters (specifically Gunnar Davis) sound as though they are aware of the dangers but not actually scared, and instead are trying to give you an entertaining script. It breaks immersion that other elements and audio within the game make, and will most likely cause cringing, but it's light hearted in nature and in the end is pure perspective as the characters still say the important things that matter to the story. The music and sound effects fit the environments and can really make you feel like you are walking through eerie hallways.

Graphically the game noticeably looks ported from mobile platform but it honesty surprised me with how good it ended up looking anyways. There's nothing special about the environments in regards to how they look, but things fit as they need to and will make you feel immersed. Blood splatter and all of the attacks synchronize well together, but too look extremely simplified. The deepest attention to details comes with the gun designs/models, and Danette's shirt (you'll know what I mean when you see it for yourself).

Conclusion

Dead Effect 2 is rough around the edges, but anyone can see the potential in it just by playing a few of the missions. The gameplay felt like a first person shooter game made for the PS2 or early PS3 (when in actuality it was originally made for mobile devices), with stiff controls and predictable enemy actions. I never felt as though the older style of gameplay was a lack of development or creativity, but rather its own style that felt closer to a sense of nostalgia for me. It was developed by a small team, so its comparison to AAA titles should be non existent and is immediately noticeable by the price point of $11.99 across all platforms. Co-op is a major concern to some players (including myself), so it was dissappointing to say the least that, on consoles, the game lacked the option to play in such a way when it was included on Steam.