Game Reviews - Dead Space

I'll start out by saying this: I'm not much of a survival horror fan. That out of the way, I was presented with Dead Space this week; a survival horror game set in outer space. Now this sort of gave me a strange feeling as the horror genre always seems to end up in space when they have run out of ideas. A perfect example of this is one of the later Friday the 13'th movies where Jason Voorhees (the main big bad of the series) goes to space. It's sort of like when Earnest went to camp... with lots of gore and death.

In Dead Space, you play as the guy wearing the mask and using various cutting tools for combat. You play as Isaac Clarke (science fiction reference obviously intended) some sort of space engineer working on a repair vessel that is about to dock with a gigantic 'planet cracker' type mining vessel. And when I say 'gigantic' I mean that it's obvious that the ship is far to large for whatever power systems its using, because there either seems to be far to few lights that are dim at best, or the guy that built it was some sort of blind cave insect. But, that's all par for the course right?

This is the first survival horror game I've played since Resident Evil 4 released on the Gamecube. I have been a PC gamer for most of my life and I have never gotten used to using joystick nubs to aim in over the shoulder games. Without a mouse and keys, I feel like my character has lost all concept of manual dexterity. So, when I got Dead Space for the PC, it was really my first time playing this sort of game seriously.

Since I'm not one for storyline, I'll get this out of the way fast. You are an engineer, trying to fix a busted up really really big vessel full of monsters and your ex girlfriend and some crew mates fit into the equation somehow. The bottom line is, there's not much storyline here, just enough to keep the pace going.

Now with that done, lets dig into the real meat and potatoes of this game. I'll start with the controls. Honestly, this is about the only low point in this game technically. The mouse always feels like it's lagging; however, as soon as you hit the button to ready and aim the weapon, the mouse seems to become much more precise. I sort of took this as an intentional design decision to recreate that feeling in a dream when it feels like you are trying to run through some sort of ether. Honestly, it's not that bad and doesn't really distract from the experience too much. It just feels sort of console-ish because of it. Running, strafing, using, picking up... all works just fine, standard fare. Using the weapons, on the other hand, is a new ballgame. This game has what they call 'strategic dismemberment. To understand why that's important, you must first understand that the enemies are basically aliens infecting the dead and taking control of them. A few well placed shots to the head will just make it angrier; however, if you specifically target limbs and blow them off, you can slow them down, and make them essentially ineffective and then they just sort of die off. To do this you acquire various engineering and mining tools like the plasma cutter, or the ripper which is essentially a remote controlled circular saw blade. The weapons and the ways you use them is absolutely a blast to experience, but you aren't limited to just weapons, oh no, you also have telekinetic powers (think: gravity gun from HL2 series) and the ability to slow time. The former can be used to pick up various items like boxes, explosive canisters, or even enemies and their body parts and fire them at enemies that were unlucky enough to still be alive, and the later can be used to freeze enemies or objects in the game to get a more strategic position on them.

I've only scratched the surface of Dead Space, so on to graphics. This game is stunning to look at. The PC version runs brilliantly in high graphical detail on an 8000 series Nvidia card and a single core CPU without a problem. Every little detail is there, from the bumpiness on Isaac's suit to the text readout on his chest plate under his chin that you can actually read if you get close enough... the texturing and graphics on display here are incredible. The lighting engine is also one of the best I have seen this year. It's not Bioshock, but it certainly achieves what it sets out to do. Animations and physics are good. In zero gravity, blood flows out naturally, it's all very believable. Isaac feels just right when he's moving about, as if his suit really has a good bit of weight to it. Enemies are properly gruesome and slicing them apart is duly satisfying. The camera controls are more for cinematic effect then anything, and sometimes it can be a fight all of its own to get just the right prospective on something, especially in zero gravity areas. The last, and certainly not least aspect of graphics is how this game handles the heads up displays and in game menu screens. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING you need to know is naturally integrated into the game itself. There is absolutely no heads up display as we know it. Health, and stasis levels are shown as a tube along Isaac's spine and a small semicircle to the right of that respectively. Air supply (not the band!) is shown as a small screen that projects out of Isaac's suit in the back near the neck when needed. Ammunition is shown when the weapon is brought to the ready position as another small projected screen coming off the weapon. Maps, inventory, communications, and logs are show as screens projected in front of Isaac so he can easily see them. Even save spots, work benches, and stores are completely integrated in this way. This factor is what makes Dead Space just that much more immersive.

Next I'll poke at the game play gnomes. The game plays well, but it is soon apparent that Dead Space is a mash up of other popular games. the kinesis ability is straight out of Half Life 2, and stasis is from... well... just about every other game. the 'over the shoulder' combat and inventory system is VERY Resident Evil 4. And zero gravity/manipulating gravity is reminiscent of Prey. These are not bad points, however, as Dead Space pulls each one off in it's own way. The only game play gripe I really have with this game is that I thought it was supposed to be horror. Sure, there are a few jump out scares, but once you get the ripper and learn to use it compounded with Isaac's superhuman kinesis and stasis abilities... the gruesome enemies just don't seem to pose that much of a threat. There are quick time events, however they are very simple and well integrated. If an enemy gets close enough to grapple with you, you basically have to mash the 'use' key until Issac fends them off. With the special abilities, strategic dismemberment mechanics, integrated information displays, and radical gravitational situations, game play is handled quite competently.

It all really boils down to is even while this game takes a cue from some games and blatantly rips off others it still manages to create something new and fresh. It is at the same time like many things you have played, and like nothing you have played before. It may not be the best game of the year, but it's definitely something you'll want to play this year.

Technical score: 85%
Game Play Score: 80%

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