The “Break it Down” Blog

Summary [9.0 out of 10]

While mildly repetitive, Dead Space is one of the most surprising games this year. Not only has it redefined the control scheme made famous in Resident Evil 4, but it has also proven its self worthy of being crowned the best horror game of all time.

Introduction

In 1999, Konami published Silent Hill on the original Playstation. Its moody atmosphere and original plot helped cement its place as a killer franchise. Fast forward to 2005 when Capcom releases Resident Evil 4, a game that was seen as a total overhaul to classic Resident Evil gameplay. So what would happen if you combined the two? In short you’d get Dead Space, an original ip from EA’s Redwood Shores studio.

The main plot of Dead Space is fairly simple, you play Issac Clarke an engineer sent along with the crew of the crew of USG Kellion to investigate a distress call sent from the USG Ishimura, the ship where the game primarily takes place.

Issac has motives of his own for going, his ex-girlfriend Nicole is aboard the USG Ishimura, and has sent him Issac a cryptic message.

Shortly after you arrive on on the USG Ishimura the game kicks off pretty fast. Two of the crew members from the USG Kellion survive the first attack of enemies and serve as your eyes and ears in the game. Of course, just like with most horror games there are twists in the story. Some of them you might see right off the bat and some of them you might not see at all.

The Good

• The gameplay is really original. Strategic dismemberment really forces you to think about every move you make.
  
• The environment is very moody and realistic. Sometimes it’s not even the monsters that will give you the goosebumps. The Zero G segments were some of the most impressive I’ve seen in any single player game. Did I mention the lighting? Oh God the lighting is amazing.
• The sound is another key part to making the game work so well. The smallest creeks and rattles can send you into a panic.
• Enemy’s are also impressive. The Dead Space team was able to be creative enough to keep them somewhat realistic but still creative enough where they avoids being very generic.
• The interface is the slickest I’ve seen in a game. It doesn’t take you out of the game at all, the map and inventory is all done in real time by using a “holographic projection” of the UI right into the gameworld in front of your character, forcing you to pick and chose what you want on-the-fly… that might even mean in the middle of a fight.
  
• Stats carry over if you want to play the game again!

The Bad

• Some puzzles can be a total pain in the ass. Chapter seven was a real problem for me because it didn’t really make sense at first after a few tries.
• The Weapons are a mixed bag. Some of them are very useful while others just seem like they were included just to be there (I’m looking at you, line gun).
• A lot of the back story in Dead Space comes from Logs found in the game. Unfortunately you can’t really take the time and read them all if you’re scared shitless the entire time. Unlike Doom 3 which pulled you into the PDA interface where you could listen casually, Dead Space is much more intense.
• Using the DLC suits right off the bat isn’t a great idea. It’s a great suit right off the bat but you can’t upgrade to the better suits which sucks after playing the game a few time.

The Ugly

• Issac isn’t super macho marine that can rip a monster in half with his 10 feet long rocket launcher, so why doesn’t he seemed a little more freaked out? If I was him I’d probably be crying every time a monster popped out from the wall. Granted, he does make noise but I’d like a little more emotion from him.
• A lot of objectives are repetitive and require backtracking. I was just in the medical lab dammit, why do I have to go all the way back to kill whatever is ruining the air? Why couldn’t you tell me this while I was there?
• Why do your crew members get to hang around in safe spots? Why can’t they pick up a plasma cutter and go on risky missions?

Conclusion [9.0 out of 10]

If you like horror games, get Dead Space. If you are too jumpy or don’t enjoy the constant stress of survival horror, you might want to pass on this title as it can be a very intense experience.

Also, if you enjoyed Dead Space (the game) I would recommend you pick up Dead Space: Downfall. It’s an animated film that serves as a prequel to the game. It does a great job building up the pre-story to what takes place in the game. With EA’s intention of turning Dead Space into a new franchise, it’s not too surprising to see the amount of story development EA has thrown around this title… and it looks like it will pay off.