One of the most rewarding experiences you'll encounter. If there's one horror game you musn't miss, make it this one.
But in actuality, the one game of 2008 everyone thought would be disapointing, ended up being the most underappreciated title of the year. The game is not only a great game, but an experience so phenomenal, that it urges you to playthrough one more time... than another... than maybe one more.
You play Isaac Clarke, a specialised engineer who must investigate and repair the mining ship 'USG Ishimura'. Accomponied by a small crew, you aboard the huge ship, and thats when the cliche occurs. All isn't what it seems, and soon you realise it's infested by a swarm of Necromorphs, many types of enemies in which were once human corpses, reanimated into grotesque and monstrous creatures. As your crew is picked off one by one, and even more bizarre happenings follow, you are required to fight for your survival, tracing back and forth to get your corrupted ship repaired.
Escorted with a mind blowing storyline and remarkable character designs, lies Dead Space's ultimate highlight: sound. Never has a game entertained us so much through it's sound ability, but hearing a Slasher scream at you from behind, or even the most minor things such as the hissing of an opening door, adds a large slice for a unique and fufilling game. Wether you appreciate sound design or not, this game will change your mind. And the music adds to the atmosphere, always appearing at the right time. Silent are the hallways, until you reach the end of it, and out comes the Slasher, backed up with a haunting, high tempo music clip.
A delightful addition to the survival factor is the unique HUD display, in which all plays real time. It gives a great sense of the whole 'doom' feeling, for example, if you were to use an item of your choice, the inventory menu is featured in a hologram, thus being alert at all times as a Necromorph could jump out from nowhere. Also, another satisfying feature includes your health bar along your spine. This somewhat gives a more realistic feeling for there are no random bars placed on the screen, although it does take away from the fear factor due to you focusing on the protagonist's model the majority of the time, so you barely have to move your eyes to see where your current health lies.
The game features a brilliant and possibly influential combat system in which you are forced to shoot at the enemies limbs and not the typical torso or headshot routine. Infact, headshots would anger them. This gives off a more challenging vibe, as aiming for each limb is a risk strategy, as by time you have your crosshair on the last leg, it could be right at your face prepared to execute you. The whole dismembering system also adds to the gorefest, as gallons of blood will be seen throughout the playthrough. And as if the dismemberent system wasnt enough, wait till you view some of the executions for poor Isaac. It may be a joy to see, but if you're disturbed easily, this is the last game on your list.
Along with the challenging limb blasting structure, requires various thinking cap moments. Puzzles are not dedicated to literally put your brain to test, but some will take time and patience to accompish.
The weapons in this game are some of my favourite in any other, and are not your typical shotgun and machine gun fest. It includes an original arsenal of guns, from the line gun, in which shoots a straight ray cutting the limbs off anything in it's way, the force gun in which blasts a field, knocking over any enemy within feets of distance. And the ripper, which sends a razor blade for a limited number of time, and disguised as a melee gun. And did I miss out that all 7 weapons have an alternative fire mode, all of whice include mines, 190 degrees angle, and fireballs. But the real focus is the plasma cutter: possibly the greatest default weapon in any game. Literally, you only really need this weapon to complete this game.
Dead Space even has it's RPG moments, in which you are required to upgrade every element to your disposel. These include enhancing the damage and capacity of your guns, boosting your health bar to a higher limitation and advancing the duration and range of your kenesis and stasis module. Each of these are available by acquiring 'power nodes', which are scattered amongst the ship, some hidden and others made obvious for story issues.
The enemies in this game are incredibly gritty and morbid. Even the simpliest of enemies will give you the chills ten hours into story mode. The are countless styles of antogonists, so you won't get bored of facing the same 5 enemies. The boss battles, although I won't reveal anything about their role in the story, are pretty much boring and are little in difficulty when compared to certain points in the game. Although I must admit, the design of them are epic, and utterly spellbinding.
The game also has it's other unique functions, such as Stasis, in which you freeze objects if they are too fast or dangerous to pass. Obviously, enemies will become a little too challenging that you will begin to realise you should use this against main threats. Zero gravity is where gravity becomes minimum, and because of this able to jump across the room. We mean up side down, along the walls, whatever. Although it's an original and unique idea, I found it useless and often tedious. Kenisis also makes it role in this game, which actually becomes useful in certain puzzles and when you are limited in ammo.
My favourite feature of the whole game is the amazing storyline. Although it's slow in progression, the last 3 chapters are where it truly shines, and include numerous twists that you must be lying if you say you expected it. There are likable characters throughout the whole game, wether it be hero or villain, and the voice acting is spot on. The climax of the game is truly magnificent, will you literally be gobsmacked. Adding to the horror elements are 'audio logs', in which listening to these are real treat, and a satisfying extra to the game. This will make the game much scarier, in which you discover the member's last few days as a human being. Both heart breaking and foreboding.
The game will take roughly 11-13 hours if you take your time and treat this as an experience, and explore every part of the ship for power nodes and audio logs. It should take around 7-9 hours to complete if you're simply ready to get the game over. Achievement wise, it dosen't take long to get, and for harder and more time consuming achievements, you are rewarded fairly. It should take no more than 2 playthroughs, excluding completing it on hardest difficulty, to gain 1000 gamerscore.
Overall, I don't know if it's the whole action horror RPG games taht I have a softspot to, but this new breed of genre is becoming my favourite. If you liked BioShock (which is my obvious refrence), then get this game. They both have amazing storylines, incredibly combat systems, immersive gameplay, unbelievable twists and terrifying moments. This game is targeted mainly towards both shooter fans, and survival horror fans. If you're a casual gamer, expect a bit of a challenge, but if you are dedicated to them, this shoudl be completed with ease. It should only take a couple of hours to fully master. Never has a game terrified me so much. Not just the whole eerie and gritty atmosphere, but the story itself, being near enough alone in space, with no one to help, basically thrown in as bait surrounded by hundreds of ruthless and bloodthirsty freaks. Put yourself in Isaac's position, and let this game disturb you than no other. This isn't your typical horror. Prepared to be jumped a thousand times, even when you're expecting it.