Dead Space. I know what you think of when you see those words. You think, “Oh, a survival-horror game that’s kinda like Resident Evil 4, but takes place in space and is just a little less creepy”. But when I see that title… I think pretty much the same thing as you.
But that little difference between the two games, that whole being in space thing, makes a big difference that looks and feels great in a game. I have never played a game that is so… unique, yet so alike another game. The look and feel of Dead Space really can send chills down your spine.
Dead Space is set in space. What a surprise, that’s in the title. You play as Isaac Clarke, an engineer who is sent to the ship/planet-cracker (a mining ship) Ishimura to repair some damage it has taken. For some reason Isaac knows how to dismember zombies without thought or regret, and seems very experienced at it right from the beginning. Hmm…
You get near the ship, which you see has no lights on and the communications array is blown. Kinda… ominous.
You get on the ship and go to activate a uh… what’s it called… a disinfectant thing. Your team gets attacked and you have to run away. After running for a minute or so you load up on an elevator and a necromorph (one of the crazy zombies that kind of resemble plaga from RE4) gets its head chopped off in the elevator doors after getting too close for comfort. Some pretty sharp doors. They’re like bladed or something. Reinforced for a freak zombie outbreak. But anyway, the beginning is very exciting and a great start to such a great survival horror game.
The gameplay is fun. The combat really shines because of the way the developers made it. You use “strategic dismemberment” to save ammo and to weaken the enemies. So strategic dismemberment is where instead of just pumping rounds into the enemies, you aim at their limbs and blow them off to kill them faster and more efficiently.
The atmosphere definitely creeps you out. And because the developer doesn’t succeed in creeping you out with the necromorphs it makes it a little less horror-ey than I would have liked.
One of the things about the atmosphere that makes it so creepy is the sound. In one room, there is a sound as you walk across the floor that just makes you want to get away from wherever you are. EA did a great job with that.
The story is good, but not very good. It’s not complicated, and it doesn’t make sense sometimes, but it kinda reminds me of a sci-fi/horror novel. You do all you can to get off the Ishimura with your two friends, who don’t seem capable of doing anything but opening locked doors for you and getting hurt.
One of the coolest things about the game are the zero-g rooms. You can jump from one side of the room to another, and you often get ambushed in these special rooms. You can really have some fun with battles in the zero-g (that’s where the title of my post comes from). There is even Z-ball, the zero-g basketball in the ship. I bet you can’t beat my high score.
Overall, Dead Space is a fun game and a great one to play if you’re really in the mood for a survival horror game. If you liked RE4 then definitely give this one a try when you get some spare moneys.
Once again, please put some comments up if you have anything else to add, or anything to disagree with.
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