This game is definitely an oldie but a goldie. In line to match with the theme we have going this month with sticking to creepy and horror game reviews I've decided to did this one up since I am something of a coward who can't really take horror games. Don't worry, I actually beat game so this is going to be a full review and not just paragraphs of me weeping.
Dead Space like to call itself a survival horror, but it felt more like a shooter horror to me. It was developed by Visceral Games and was published by the great Satan that is Electronic Arts. As the game was published back in 2008 it can be played on the PS3, Xbox 360 and the PC. I played it on my friends PS3 back when I was doing my masters degree in Australia.
As a shooter it was a fairly standard experience. Yes, the twist here is the in order to kill enemies effectively you have to rip their various appendages off instead of just going for the head. But that was more of a gimmick as opposed to an actual game feature. Beyond that the rest of the combat was normal, most of the weapons are pretty standard fare for example, flame thrower, explosive launder, laser shooter and so on. The mechanics of the combat are solid though, there are no issues with hit detection or clipping and it all works quite well to create a seamless combat experience. The tension in the combat experience itself is built from a number of factors though and not just the mechanics. Yes, it is true that getting swarmed by enemies whether they walk or fly is a nerve racking experience, but a big reason that is also the case is the way these enemies look and the general mind set you are in before you even see them.
The best part about Dead Space for me was the atmosphere. Granted, I do not have that much experience when it came to horror but when this game started and I was told to roam the halls of a gore filled ship I was beyond tense. The clang of my characters boots on the ground, the blood covered walls, the beyond rubbish but deliberate lighting and the grating music had my heart pumping long before I even saw a single enemy and when I did see this first enemy I responded with a hail of shots wholly and utterly disproportional to the threat I was facing. Yes, as the game went on and I picked up more weapons and got more used to the mechanics the horror of the game started to fade, but that doesn't take away from the dozens of near heart attacks that I almost had before I became numb to the horror show that is this game.
The reason the game was able to pull off the creation of such an strong atmospheric experience was the quality of its visual and audio design. Its also the reason that despite the game being seven years old I find it only marginally objectionable to review the game. It is beautiful, not in the sense of something like lets say the Mona Lisa, but maybe something like Guernica. The sheer gore fest that are the necromorphs in the game are just creations that will unnerve anyone at first sight and create a very lasting impression on them. The few seconds that the death camera staying on you as well as you die and the monsters rip you apart really servers to drive the point home as well.
The weakest part of the game for me was the story. Yes, it tries to deal with a few interesting things like fear, madness and courage but it is all very superficial. I don't genuinely think any of the "twists" in the game really surprised anyone. You have your token mad scientist, your martyr character, your evil corporation character, your evil government character and even the "surprise" ending isn't that surprising at all. Yeah, I did jump when it happened, but that is more testament to the great visual design of the game that I mentioned earlier because I saw the event that happened at the at the end coming from a mile away.
This is a game that I can pretty easily recommend, I don't know if I can really call it a horror game as I was able to finish it and I consider myself a pretty massive coward when it comes to horror. However, that doesn't stop the game from being a really fun experience and one of the best original intellectual properties to come out in a long time from one of the larger publishers. Granted, I have boycotted the second version of this game for its insult "Your Mother will hate this!" campaign and the third one for just turning itself into a cooperative shooter and thus losing any sense of resemblance it had with the first Dead Space aside from the microtransactions. The first Dead Space though is a classic, it is a very solid game, yes some of its part are a little mediocre but that doesn't hold back the whole experience of the game from being a great one.
As a shooter it was a fairly standard experience. Yes, the twist here is the in order to kill enemies effectively you have to rip their various appendages off instead of just going for the head. But that was more of a gimmick as opposed to an actual game feature. Beyond that the rest of the combat was normal, most of the weapons are pretty standard fare for example, flame thrower, explosive launder, laser shooter and so on. The mechanics of the combat are solid though, there are no issues with hit detection or clipping and it all works quite well to create a seamless combat experience. The tension in the combat experience itself is built from a number of factors though and not just the mechanics. Yes, it is true that getting swarmed by enemies whether they walk or fly is a nerve racking experience, but a big reason that is also the case is the way these enemies look and the general mind set you are in before you even see them.
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| Guys, maybe we should leave? |
The reason the game was able to pull off the creation of such an strong atmospheric experience was the quality of its visual and audio design. Its also the reason that despite the game being seven years old I find it only marginally objectionable to review the game. It is beautiful, not in the sense of something like lets say the Mona Lisa, but maybe something like Guernica. The sheer gore fest that are the necromorphs in the game are just creations that will unnerve anyone at first sight and create a very lasting impression on them. The few seconds that the death camera staying on you as well as you die and the monsters rip you apart really servers to drive the point home as well.
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| You hear that sound? That is the sound of me shitting myself. |
This is a game that I can pretty easily recommend, I don't know if I can really call it a horror game as I was able to finish it and I consider myself a pretty massive coward when it comes to horror. However, that doesn't stop the game from being a really fun experience and one of the best original intellectual properties to come out in a long time from one of the larger publishers. Granted, I have boycotted the second version of this game for its insult "Your Mother will hate this!" campaign and the third one for just turning itself into a cooperative shooter and thus losing any sense of resemblance it had with the first Dead Space aside from the microtransactions. The first Dead Space though is a classic, it is a very solid game, yes some of its part are a little mediocre but that doesn't hold back the whole experience of the game from being a great one.
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