A fairly recent purchase, Dead Space is a survival horror third person shooter that I couldn't wait to play once I saw it for cheap. I had heard the game described as "pants-shittingly scary" but also very fun. It was indeed very fun, and although there was an overall feeling of unease while playing, there weren't that many big scares. I can attest to the fact that someone who watched me play a large portion of the game, who happens to be a wuss, was indeed quite scared and was yelling at the t.v, so results may vary I guess. The essential idea here is Resident Evil in space. You've landed with a small crew on a spaceship for a routine communications repair mission, only to find the place abandoned. You (Isaac Clarke, the protagonist) are quickly separated from your group and are forced to fend for yourself, learning quickly that you're not alone- most of the crew has been killed by aliens, or maybe they were all genetically engineered humans. It doesn't matter much either way. While the gameplay is very similar to the Resident Evil series (third person shooter, limited inventory system, strategic dismembering), the exploration felt more like Bioshock. Each level takes between 40-60 minutes, and just running around the halls of the USG Ishamura conjured up the feeling of wonder I had while running around Rapture. The non-combat portions of the game are also similar to Bioshock, for better or worse. Puzzles are scattered around and were mostly pleasing enough, but sometimes the game felt like a series of fetch quests with a huge number of enemies in between point A and point B. Luckily it never felt that way too long, and the game was overall a very enjoyable experience. Dead Space also did a few new things that I haven't seen before and loved. First, there is no HUD at all. Isaac's stats are displayed non-intrusively on the back of his suit; same with the ammo for his guns. Isaac's inventory and maps are displayed in a hologram in front of him, and thus the game does not pause for this and he can still take damage. This all led to a greater sense of immersion, for me at least. Also, Dead Space introduced a mechanic I haven't seen before in a shooter- zero gravity levels. At some points Isaac will enter a room where he usually has to solve a giant puzzle, at which point zero gravity will kick in allowing Isaac to jump from the floor to a wall or ceiling. The camera follows Isaac and the wall becomes the new floor, allowing a whole new perspective on the room. This interesting mechanic was fun and felt flawlessly integrated. While these two things aren't huge elements of gameplay, they did at least innovate slightly. Basically what Dead Space seems to be is a combination of the great things in Bioshock and Resident Evil, with a few added extras. It's not going to change the world of gaming, but I guess it doesn't matter when the campaign is incredibly fun.
December 23, 2009
Dead Space
A fairly recent purchase, Dead Space is a survival horror third person shooter that I couldn't wait to play once I saw it for cheap. I had heard the game described as "pants-shittingly scary" but also very fun. It was indeed very fun, and although there was an overall feeling of unease while playing, there weren't that many big scares. I can attest to the fact that someone who watched me play a large portion of the game, who happens to be a wuss, was indeed quite scared and was yelling at the t.v, so results may vary I guess. The essential idea here is Resident Evil in space. You've landed with a small crew on a spaceship for a routine communications repair mission, only to find the place abandoned. You (Isaac Clarke, the protagonist) are quickly separated from your group and are forced to fend for yourself, learning quickly that you're not alone- most of the crew has been killed by aliens, or maybe they were all genetically engineered humans. It doesn't matter much either way. While the gameplay is very similar to the Resident Evil series (third person shooter, limited inventory system, strategic dismembering), the exploration felt more like Bioshock. Each level takes between 40-60 minutes, and just running around the halls of the USG Ishamura conjured up the feeling of wonder I had while running around Rapture. The non-combat portions of the game are also similar to Bioshock, for better or worse. Puzzles are scattered around and were mostly pleasing enough, but sometimes the game felt like a series of fetch quests with a huge number of enemies in between point A and point B. Luckily it never felt that way too long, and the game was overall a very enjoyable experience. Dead Space also did a few new things that I haven't seen before and loved. First, there is no HUD at all. Isaac's stats are displayed non-intrusively on the back of his suit; same with the ammo for his guns. Isaac's inventory and maps are displayed in a hologram in front of him, and thus the game does not pause for this and he can still take damage. This all led to a greater sense of immersion, for me at least. Also, Dead Space introduced a mechanic I haven't seen before in a shooter- zero gravity levels. At some points Isaac will enter a room where he usually has to solve a giant puzzle, at which point zero gravity will kick in allowing Isaac to jump from the floor to a wall or ceiling. The camera follows Isaac and the wall becomes the new floor, allowing a whole new perspective on the room. This interesting mechanic was fun and felt flawlessly integrated. While these two things aren't huge elements of gameplay, they did at least innovate slightly. Basically what Dead Space seems to be is a combination of the great things in Bioshock and Resident Evil, with a few added extras. It's not going to change the world of gaming, but I guess it doesn't matter when the campaign is incredibly fun.
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