In space, no one can hear you cut limbs

I've been playing through quite a few games since my last post, but haven’t had the time to write about them. I'll just kick-start it with Dead Space. Yes, I know, I’m late to the party for this one.

It's been out a couple of years already. I watched the first part of the game, back then, when a friend played it. I’ve been holding back to buy the game myself, so I'd forget some of the events I saw.


Review

Played on: Xbox 360
Released: 2008

Dead Space begins onboard the bridge of a spaceship. The crew is going to find out what’s wrong with a mining station, which has sent out distress signals. Being a horror game, the alarm bells rang in my head, and I must stress this: If you ever find yourself in space and get a distress signal from anybody, DON'T GO THERE, JUST DON'T! It always ends up in nasty aliens and horrible deaths!

Of course, you do end up at the space station and it doesn't take long time, before you realise the place is seriously messed up by horrible creatures. These alien life forms take over dead bodies and roam around with sharp, claw-like, arms and legs.

To kill them, you need to cut of each limb off with your gun. This is the genius gameplay part of Dead Space. You need to kill enemies in a different way than just headshot them, like in a typical zombie horror title.


 

Dead Space is made up of chapters, which represent different parts of the space station. Each chapter presents you with a different task to complete. Be it to start up generators, restoring power etc. There are some backtracking chapters but it helps give a sense of familiarity to the environments. There are doors to unlock and items to find, the latter helps you upgrade your spacesuit and guns.

A note on the chapter structure: I'm not a fan. It should have been one massive, free to roam space station. The chapters break off the fluidty and consistency of the space station.

Visually the game is stunning, it depicts a dark and modern space station in glorious detail. The outside views of space and planets, together with the lighting, really look superb.

In fact, the lighting plays a huge part indoors too. It casts shadows from things like spinning ventilation fans and moving enemies. Building up a fantastic atmosphere with moving shadows and light sources.

If there's a downside though, I would have liked more outdoor sections, less corridors and more colour variety. From what I've seen in trailers, I’m guessing Dead Space 2 is fixing this.



I've already explained the gameplay part about how to take down enemies, however, this great limb-cutting idea wouldn't help if the controls weren't good. Luckily, they're awesome in Dead Space. The game controls like a good quality third person shooter, with a over the shoulder view and free aiming. This game is a lesson to developers like Capcom: there's no excuse to have slow, stagnant controls that won’t allow you to move freely while shooting.

I hear people say: “but then the game gets too easy”. Bullshit. Dead Space never has that many enemies onscreen, and lets you control it like a proper modern third person shooter, yet it’s still difficult to keep enemies under control. Putting you in many excellent, stressing, disturbing and tense moments.

I went into many rooms SWAT-style with my gun aimed up high and cautiously turned each corner, still I was scared as hell and the free controls only added a sense of it all being under my control and skill to survive.



I have to make a small note of the outdoor sections and gravity-less rooms, which had no sound except your heavy breathing, they really spiced up the game! They made the fighting a little more tricky and added variety to the gameplay. The way they depict it all with the reduced sound is excellent for further scares when enemies creep up silently behind you.

These intense moments of enemies attacking you, either in a locked room or sneaking up when you don’t realise it, added with the sheer amount of extreme gore, make Dead Space one of the best survival horror games I've played. It’s right up there next to Silent Hill and Resident Evil.

They give you this intense fight for survival, which just gets harder, but never unfair, up towards the end where you can finally breathe out. You get the feeling you've taken part in surviving and fighting for your life.


And oh, a little side note to the developers: Next time, don’t add a shitty asteroid mini-game. That was just terrible.