Review: Dead Space

Yeah, I know, this has been out forever, but I only just recently have been playing it. So sue me!

Dead Space will go down in history along with Okami and Odin Sphere as one of the most under appreciated games. In fact, the game was rented/resold as often as it was sold new. That's not saying it didn't sell modestly well; in fact, EA claim they sold 1.5 million copies of the game--that should be profitable. But when compared with GTA IV, which sold 6 million copies in its first week of retail, well . . . Dead Space was under appreciated.

Premise:

If Resident Evil 4 and System Shock 2 had a baby, Dead Space would be it.

The comparisons to RE4 are painfully obvious. The game is played from an over-the-shoulder perspective, you have to go into aiming mode to fire, you can melee monsters if/when you run out of ammo . . . yeah. It's very RE4.

The comparisons to SS2 are also pretty obvious. The entire game is real-time, including all menu navigation (except saving the game). You use items in the game world to solve puzzles, check your map, and manage your inventory all in real time, risking monster attacks at every turn. You have certain telekinetic powers (like a stasis/freeze beam and telekinesis). Furthermore, the game takes place on a derelict space ship (sound familiar?), and you are guided from objective to objective by an ally over a radio (conveniently, he's always doing something that keeps him from having to go into the monster infested med labs and engineering levels). Oh, and ammo is very limited. Very. Almost too limited; just like SS2.

These comparisons are not bad. In fact, they're great. SS2 and RE4 were both 10/10 games in my opinion, and combining the best of the two is a great idea. Slap current gen graphics and various well-placed mini games onto that framework, and you have a winner of a game.

Gameplay:

The game plays just like RE4 + SS2. That means "quality." There isn't much here to say that I didn't already say in the premise. Perfect gameplay.

Score: 10/10

Graphics and Level Design:

The game is beautiful, and the developers were brilliant in their use of the technology.

Dead Space is all about the use of shadows. The game is dark--you are on a derelict space ship, after all--and the broad use of shadows turns the game from a run-and-gun into a real survival-horror title. The weapons (most of which are converted mining tools, since the ship was a mining vessel) all project a beam of light when aimed (think the flashlight in Doom 3, but duct-taped to a gun). The result is you spinning around like mad, looking for the danger lurking in the shadows, and jumping when you find it.

The monsters, character outfits, and ship design are all gorgeous. It's hard not to love this game for the eye candy.

Graphics score: 10/10
Level design score: 10/10

Audio:

This is one of the only places where the game falls flat. There isn't enough "moody music" to really scare ya, and when you're fighting monsters, the audio may as well just be someone crumbling up a sheet of aluminum foil behind a bull horn. Its just "noise," and that doesn't work for me.

The audio partially redeems itself when you enter the vacuum outside the ship. Sounds are severely muted, and the sound of your breathing is greatly increased. Technically, there should be /no/ sounds from outside in the vacuum of space, of course, but the muted sounds give the game a better ambiance.

Score: 8/10

Story:

I haven't finished the game yet, so take my score with a grain of salt. But that said, the story seems kinda hackneyed--space ship goes silent, you're on a rescue team, you find the ship crawling with zombies, you discover something-or-other caused everyone to be zombified. Ho-hum.

Score: 7/10

Replay:

Replay for Dead Space is like the replay for RE4--on second (and third and fourth) playthroughs, the goal is to get all collectibles and unlock all unlockables. It has no online mode (that I know of), but there's still alot here to keep you coming back for more.

Score: 8/10

Bottom line:

This game rocks the house. Don't come to the table expecting to be blown away by the story. Instead, expect this to follow your standard zombie-movie formula: get trapped by zombies, kill and/ or escape from zombies, destroy source of zombies. But the game still stands on its own as a great experience because of its gameplay mechanics.

Score: 9/10