14 DAY TRIAL // If there is one thing, not that there is just one, but the one big thing that survival horrors can't do, that is online multiplayer. A co-op might work, it's close enough to the spirit of the genre and it's also a plausible concept. But full-out online multiplayer is a bit of a stretch as far as the compatibility between the two ideas goes. The leading train of thought in a survival horror is, wouldn't you know it, fear. The game has to have a strong storyline and a think-enough atmosphere to cut with a knife. Multiplayer takes both of those things away from the game and turns it into a run-of-the-mill title with a dark setting.
Killing enemies after enemies, only to respawn and kill some others, just isn't scary at all. That, along with the thought that behind your adversaries there's no demonic presence, no ultimate evil, just some other guy with dorky glasses and a bag of chips on his lap, makes the whole experience seem really fake. But those things matter not to Visceral Games and Electronic Arts, as, apparently, Dead Space 2 will include some sort of multiplayer scenarios. EA has posted a job opening for a "Senior Online Level Designer" that is needed for the Dead Space sequel.
In the job description, Electronic Arts posted that it needed someone who could "conceptualize, script, direct, and build online levels for the game," and also "own the level design for the online game, be able to work collaboratively with Creative Director and Online Producer to create extremely fun, satisfying and polished multiplayer levels." So, Dead Space 2 will have a proper multiplayer setup, with dedicated maps that, if we take notice of the "script, direct" part, will most likely incorporate plenty of spooks and skeletons-jumping-out-of-the-closet scares.
Since this is all taken from a job listing, not only has the company nothing to comment on, but it also means that it couldn't elaborate on the matter even if it wanted to. If it needs someone to "conceptualize" the multiplayer, then it means just that, namely that not even the foundations for it are build yet. The game could borrow something from the Splinter Cell multiplayer, and the thought of that with a bit of a horror twist might not be that bad after all.