P8I: Dead Space Review

[Legend]

Originally posted on June 20th, 2009

Game Title: Dead Space
Genre: Survival horror, Third-person shooter
Platform: PlayStation 3
OFLC Rating: Mature
Developer: Visceral Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: October 14, 2008

Dead Space is a new start to the survival horror genre and looks too become a well-received franchise from horror fans. The story of Dead Space is set hundreds of years in the future and mankind has consumed all natural resources on Earth. Fortunately, man has mastered space travel and the process of ‘Planet-Cracking’ has been developed too counter this drought. A celestial body is cracked and its resources taken aboard the vessel too be strip-mined and melted, returning the byproducts to Earth for consumption. An entire fleet of these ‘Planet-Crackers’ cruise the galaxy performing these tasks, and the crown jewel of this mining fleet is the USG Ishimura, which has performed more planet cracks than any other vessel in the fleet. However, on a routine mission, the ship cuts off all communication from command, which is somewhat strange. To discover what’s going on, a small maintenance crew is quickly dispatched from a nearby vessel.

The player steps into the boots of Isaac Clarke, an engineer that’s a part of the dispatched maintenance crew. Other than fixing communication issues, Isaac has a number of reasons for arriving on the Ishimura — his girlfriend Nicole is stationed on the Ishimura and sends him an urgent holovid with a few cryptic massages. Unfortunately for Isaac and his crew, shortly after ariving on the crippled vessel, all hell breaks loose. Their craft is destroyed, leaving them stranded on the Ishimura. The crew is attacked by nightmarish creatures known as Necromorphs, who kill most of Isaac’s team and separate him from the surviving members. Even worse, the ships systems are failing thanks to the Necromorphic infestation and it’s up to Isaac to fix as many of these problems as he can and then escape the doomed ship which can take up to 12 hours to complete.

Isaac isn’t the typical hero that you’d find in most sci-fi games; he doesn’t walk into the Ishimura packing a firearm or grenades, nor does he have specialized training with firearms. Apart from the first weapon Isaac acquires, all his weaponry and items are found via schematics that are scattered across the ship. Only one is a true firearm — the pulse rifle; the rest of his “guns” are tools used for splittingand cracking small chunks for rock. However, Isaac can use his knowledge in engineering to make these weapons much more deadly by analyzing their blueprints and rewiring them at workbenches with the use of power nodes found throughout the game or purchased at the in-game store for 10,000 credits. Thanks to these nodes, Isaac can improve their performance in a number of ways, such as been able to carry more rounds, shortening his reload time, or increasing their damage. This upgrade system even expands to Isaac’s suit, which can be improved to strengthen his suit’s armor or his oxygen supply in case he enters a vacuum. He can even use the nodes to upgrade the stasis or kinesis modules on his suit, which can be used to freeze monsters as they charge at him or propel/move objects. What’s great about this system is that players won’t be able to max out every weapon or every bit of gear that they have in one playthrough; this forces them to choose what they’ll specialize in as they progress through the ship.

This is an important decision to make, particularly because some weapons are more effective against Necromorphs than others, and since you’ll need to use strategic dismemberment to weaken and effectively kill them, the right weapon in the right situation can be the fine line between life or death in the game. See, unlike monsters in other games, Necromorphs will shrug off direct attacks to the head or chest and keep coming for more. Shooting their limbs off is the only way to cause enough damage to kill these beasts, and you’ll frequently need to focus on aiming accurately and quickly at these weak points before you’re surrounded and dismembered yourself. This is particularly true in later stages, when some of the Necromorphs start moving faster than before. Thanks to the over-the-shoulder, third-person camera this can add an extra level of tension to the game while you’re fending off swarms of beasts, but be forewarned: there is no quick turnaround command. While some people may consider this to be a problem, this is actually a wise design decision because it makes you feel much more vulnerable and claustrophobic and whether you’re moving through a hallway covered in bodies or floating in a zero gravity environment, you always feel as though something could reach out and kill you at any time. The unsettling nature of the world is heightened by the fact that there is no specific HUD to speak of — Isaac’s health is presented on his back as a glowing neon tube, his ammunition is holographically projected above the gun, and incoming transmissions that he receives pop up in front of his face. Even checking his inventory is pulled up via holograms, and it is done in real time, meaning that a Necromorph can come crawling through the floor or leap from a vent behind you and strike you at any time.

Although the atmospherics add a lot to the game, Dead Space isn’t without issues that hamper some elements of play. The zero gravity areas are a bit strange because even though you can see legitimate areas that you could propel yourself to, you can’t always leap there. Frequently, you’ll need to make a shorter jump that’s closer and then hop to the original target. While that seems a bit nonsensical, the other problem that occurs within the zero gravity space is that in these spaces, the camera can sometimes be restricted to show a specific perspective, particularly if you happen to be on a wall or a ceiling. Unfortunately, when the camera locks up during these moments, you can sometimes get attacked by some creature outside of your peripheral vision, which sucks. It can be extremely frustrating, especially when you’re trying to dodge one monster only to get hit from behind by something that you could have seen if you’d only move one or two steps to the side, which suddenly releases the camera from being stuck.

Another issue within the title is that there’s a lot of backtracking within the game. It all makes sense in the context of the gameplay, especially when you’re going through each situation; instead of being a meaningless fetch quest, it’s completely plausible that you’d have to return to one area you’ve previously moved through once you discover that one vital piece of equipment you need to fix something is stored there. However, it does have a way of making the ship feel much smaller than a massive capital ship. That’s not to say that you get this sense throughout the entire game, because there are plenty of spaces like the medical, engineering and mining decks where you’ll move through large areas, but the repetition can be a bit disappointing. This is particularly heightened with the sometimes flawed nav icon. By pressing in on the right analog stick, a holographic line moves out from Isaac and points him in the right direction to go, even turning him to face the right way. The problem that comes up with this system is that every now and then, the game will spin Isaac in a circle, projecting a line that goes forward a few feet before doubling back on itself and pointing the opposite way.

As an aside, another strange feature that isn’t a horribly bad or major issue is the fact that your foot stomp can be surprisingly powerful, destroying boxes or other items from a rather large distance. Typically, you’d expect that you’d only be able to crush something that was below your boot, but for some reason, you can crush a box suspended on a bench above you or floating in zero gravity. It’s an odd choice, and a minor gripe that’s humorous when you see it, but it does stand out as an oddity.

Whether you spend an hour or a day exploring the Ishimura, you’ll definitely be struck by the visuals of Dead Space, which are eye-catching for both their detail and their gore factor. The detail placed into Isaac’s suit is excellent, particularly as you upgrade it throughout the game, and the same can be said about the weapons themselves, which gain new visual and audio effects when you’ve maxed out their schematics with power nodes. The holographic implementation within the game is excellently done as well and is quite notable because of how it supplements the gameplay. The fact that you can rotate the camera around Isaac as he watches a video in front of him or that you notice little touches like Isaac’s head moving up and down to acknowledge the holographic inventory screen highlights a lot of the great visuals in the game. On top of this, each level truly feels like its own, and whether it’s the white walls that denote the medical decks, the poster-filled entertainment and housing levels, or the industrial mining sections, you get an idea of what these futuristic planet cracking ships are like. It’s even more striking when you move into zero gravity areas and tumble through different areas, including the starkness of space. Supporting the strong visuals is excellent voice acting across the board. While Isaac never utters a word, the other members of the cast perform their lines quite well, whether that’s with an audio journal log or a holographic movie. However, the real standout is the use of sound, which is designed to send shivers up the player’s spine. Whether it’s the skittering through the walls of Necromorphs that are crawling towards you, the screams from the creatures as you blow off their legs, or the sudden sharp noises released as a jump moment occurs, the sound design is fantastic and really draws you into the game action. This is one of those games that you want to just listen to late at night with the lights off if you’re looking to get freaked out.

Comments
Call it science fiction survival horror, but Dead Space does the genre proud with an interesting story; action that’s tense, fast-paced and extremely violent; an incredibly frightening atmosphere. If you like survival horror, action or sci-fi, Dead Space needs to be on your radar.

Presentation 9.0
A deep, interesting story and incredible atmosphere with tons of horrific moments make Dead Space one of those titles that is a great starting point for a franchise.
Graphics 9.0
Visually amazing, everything from the holograms to the Necromorphs is incredible. Pixilation during depressurization and mild slowdown during explosions crimp its style.
Sound 9.5
Voice acting is delivered beautifully, but it’s the sound design that will have you jumping out of your seat and sending shivers down your spine. This game sounds great with the 5.1 surround sound pumped up.
Gameplay 8.7
A strong mix of close quarters action and exploration is only hampered by repetitive, though appropriate, backtracking and odd navigation issues.
Lasting Appeal 8.7
You’ll have to play the game several times to improve your gear and understand the full story. However, not being able to change your difficulty after you beat the game is a bad decision. Heaps of downloadable content helps keep Dead Space fresh.
Overall 8.9 Great