User Review : Dead Space

Lost in Space

As technology progresses, it seems that it has become more and more difficult to create a truly frightening video game without back stepping into the old mechanics that made those few classic examples the terrifying experiences the way they were. In comes Dead Space, a brand new property from EA Redwood Shores that attempts to modernize the game play without losing that scary feel.

Dead Space places the you in the role of Isaac Clark, an engineer sent, along with a team of two others, to the USG Ishimura, to repair a broken communications array. Upon arrival it is discovered that all hell has broken loose on the Ishimura and it is up to Isaac to set things right. Right from the opening cut scene, Dead Space provides an incredibly oppressive atmosphere. Not only does the environment look as though something terrible occurred, it feels wrecked and distraught. Bodies line the halls. Messages scrawled in whatever was available to write with plaster the walls. The aura of death and defeat runs rampant. Redwood Shores successfully crafted a terrifying environment for you to experience. Unfortunately a few problems cause Dead Space from being anything more than an tension filled shooter. It makes no attempt, beyond the ambient music that plays within chapter ten, to twist thoughts. There is no "messing with your head" moments. Any sort of "horror" that Dead Space provides is through cheap, creatures jumping at you, moments. Even the oppressive feel of the environment trails off in the last third, as most of the environment are well lit killing any sort of attempt to frighten you. Any tension left at all is due to the constant fear of running out of ammo and health packs; even this eventually subsides if you can properly manage your in game currency.

Where the true greatness of Dead Space resides is in its game play. Breaking away from the "aim for the head" mentality in most games, Dead Space requires you to utilize its Strategic Dismemberment strategy. In which you must cut off limbs in order to do the most damage. While at first this proved quite difficult, after the first hour I found myself cutting off limbs with ease. It also does a good job of introducing a new enemy about each level to stave off repetition, throwing in the occasional boss fight or turret sequence for good measure. The almost RPG elements as you use the power nodes to upgrade your suit and character add nice depth to the story and allow you to grow stronger with your enemies. The true difficult lies in managing your ammo and stasis meter; which is Dead Space's form of bullet time, a bullet time gun, if you would, allowing you to slow down the targeted enemy or rogue slamming door. I ran in to countless encounters in which I would fire my last shot, use stasis and attempt to melee enemies to death before the ripped me limb from bloody limb.

One thing Dead Space did not skimp on is the gore. Enemy gore: limbs are dismembered and blood pours out of the stumps as they still claw after you. Dead body gore: countless bodies of the once living crew members and enemies are waiting, ripe to be stomped on and ooze more blood onto the ground. Your gore: any time you die you watch as you are ripped apart, blood spewing everywhere as you body sickeningly crashes to the ground. Dead Space certainly is not a tame game in any way. It helps set the tone for this hell hole and sets the bar high for gruesome deaths.

All this adds to the immersion factor. From the menus that are all shown in real time holograms projected from Isaac's suit, to the countless tables filled with items that you can crash into and send scurrying across the floor that all display in real time physics, it all makes Dead Space feel like a real world, not just a game environment to run through. Even the weapons, with the exception of the machine gun, are all mining tools that Isaac has repurposed to fight against the necromorphs.

Dead Space is not a bad game at any moment. It is just not a particularly frightening one. It has its own merits: good controls, fun game play, and addictive upgrading. It also has a decent story with a nice turn of events at the very end. I urge you to give Dead Space a fair chance.