In the great sci-fi survival-horror contest of the early 2020s, "The Callisto Protocol" (open in new tab) has already played its hand, and the "Dead Space Remake" will decide whether "A Bug's Life" or "Antz" (or vice versa if you're an Antz fan) will win the war. The two are not the only two films that have been in the works for a long time. However, as Rock Paper Shotgun (opens in new tab) points out, "Dead Space Remake" has a new advantage. If you pre-order "Dead Space Remake," you will unlock "Dead Space 2" for free when "Dead Space Remake" is released on January 27.

In his 2011 review of Dead Space 2 (opens in new tab), Dan Stapleton gave the game an enviable 87%, concluding that "Dead Space 2 doesn't try to innovate, but it is a highly polished gameplay experience. "Dead Space 2 has recently been bundled with EA Play and sells for $20 if not on sale, so this pre-order bonus is a pretty good deal by any measure.

Including a sequel to a game as a pre-order bonus seems like a ridiculous logical consequence of remake mania, but it's still a pretty appealing addition; if the Dead Space Remake sells well enough, one wonders what EA's plans for the future of Dead Space will be. Did they leave "Dead Space 3" in a particularly good place to continue the series, or is "Dead Space 2" just begging for 4K textures and ray-traced lighting? ......

Whatever the distant future holds, "Dead Space Remake" and its sequel pack-in bonus will be available on January 27; those looking for more information on purchasing "Dead Space Remake" can check out our October hands-on preview (new tab).