Dead Space Review

The gaming scene would be better off without the publishers' increased need to mass-produce as many game sequels and add-ons on the market as possible. Talented development teams rarely get a chance to experiment with new ideas and that leaves an almost crippling effect on gaming in general. While it's certainly a common symptom of the industry, there are a few encouraging releases every year, moving things a bit forward, both in terms of design and gameplay. Luckily for us, someone at Electronic Arts saw potential in the company's brand new IP, Dead Space. As fate would have it, so did we, especially after seeing the game in action prior release.

I like this weapon.

Okay, consult the manual first.

Experienced gamers are bound to see the incontestable similarities between Dead Space and Capcom's top-selling Resident Evil series. The developers have indeed used the Resident Evil recipe, relying on many recognizable elements from the popular survival horror game. Keep in mind, it would be a mistake to label this as just another blatant copy of RE. The truth is, the game is so much more.

Contrary to many character stereotypes, the concept of the lead role in Dead Space is actually quite good. Set 500 years in the future, the game puts you into a bulky space suit of one Isaac Clarke (yes, a colorful combo of two important sci-fiction authors - Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke). So, instead of being a typical brainless marine bad-ass trooper on steroids, Isaac is a space engineer working for the Concordance Extraction Corporation, a company in charge of numerous massive mining ships operating throughout the galaxy. Answering a distress call from USG Ishimura, Isaac gets into more trouble than he bargained for. The Ishimura, by the way is classed as "Planet Cracker" - a space vessel designed to destroy planets to extract precious ore. At first, you and your crew assess that the ship experienced nothing more than a mechanical failure. They were wrong. Pretty soon they come across a dangerous and extremely hostile alien life form and... I assume you can figure out the rest.

The story doesn't overburden players with too much unimportant info about the world they've stepped into. It doesn't miss its point though. Clearly enough, the point is survival and the dialogue more than adequately explains all you need to know about the characters and the world they live in. Isaac remains silent throughout the game Gordon Freeman style, which is fine in our book.

Let's face it, 90% of this game focuses on survival, so most of the time players are going to react on instinct. Your not restricted to a certain type of weapon or play style. You may choose to run and hide, save your ammo or just confront enemies with a few melee moves. Close combat is often a last resort, but can be quite effective against certain types of foes if used properly. To make his way through the corridors and decks of USG Ishimura, Isaac has a range of useful items to defend himself with. He's not a highly-trained soldier and has a good chance of staying alive if he sticks to using mining tools against oncoming monsters, as opposed to ordinary weapons such as the Pulse Rifle. Every tool or weapon has an alternate fire mode. Additionally, it's possible to buy new weapons and tools or upgrade them via terminals scattered throughout the ship. As you progress, there's less cash and ammo around, so you have to make every bullet count - another aspect that makes the gameplay work.

Taking out all the weird creatures and monstrosities coming at you depends on tactics. It's not just down to mere shooting. Carefully positioning each shot in brings an enemy down quickly, how you finish it off is you choice. Not doing this frequently results in Isaac's violent and gruesome death. One of my preferable strategies in combat is to use "Statis" to slow down opponents and then take out their limbs one by one with the futuristic Plasma Cutter, which can be positioned horizontally or vertically. Doing all this may not be enough to kill certain abominations, so I regularly stomp on them a few times, just to make sure they're not getting up. While we're on the subject of abominations, I was rather impressed with what the developers have come up with. It's not easy to create monsters that look and sound scary these days. Also, each of them requires a different approach in battle nearly every time, requiring you to act fast and use your noggin at the same time.

What's bad about this title are the repetitive objectives as well as lots and lots of backtracking. Going back to the same areas of the ship is something that occurs regularly in Dead Space and is a rather disappointing aspect of the game.