A damaged spaceship in which you can hear noises which can't be from humans...fear is in the space
----------------------- -------------------- Dead Space ------------------------ ------------------------
A damaged spaceship in which you can hear noises which can't be from humans...fear is in the space
Based on many successful horror and SF games, Dead Space can be described in a short sentence: exploring of a space ship which is now home to aliens. And I told everything. You already know that you can expect dark corridors, enemies which are coming out from vents and the remains of the crew on the walls of the space ship which is traditional in such situations. What is harder to explain is the amazing atmosphere which is so dark and so morbid that it is on the on the border of tolerance.
"The adventure elements are in the form of travelling from position to position to activate a lever"
The main character is one of the rare survivors on the space ship which crew was counting more then 1000 people, which are now scattered all around. The aliens are also very disgusting, no matter if there are alive or dead. It's enough to say that the designers, just to make the corpses more realistic, were observing photos from victims of traffic accidents. Nastier then that is impossible.
But the game can't be called bad in any way. The quality of the graphic is on the top, although gray walls and the darkness aren't a good example to proof that. In fact, the best seems something that otherwise we rarely comment: the map, list of items and the extra screens. They, in fact, appear in the form of holograms in the air in front of the main character, so that we don't have the sense of interruption the action in any moment - and that enemies can attack you while looking for a package of energy or the path to the next key locations. But there is a new way to find the path to your next key location and it's by activating a laser which will guide you to the location - another nice idea. That laser will guide you directly to your next key location so there is no fear to get lost in the labyrinth of corridors. In general, Dead Space a game is very simple, that is, the difficulty comes from the struggle with opponents using a limited amount of ammunition, and not from finding a path or solving the puzzles. I got bothered by the "adventure" elements of the game which are brought to roaming the spaceship from location to location to pull a lever here or to activate a system there. I understand that an action game should also have a story that takes us from location to location - but somehow it seems to me that this story could be more interesting although it's already excellent. On the other hand, the relationship between the main character and his girlfriend who was a member of the unfortunate spaceship called "USG Ishimura" is developing very interesting through the game and exactly this element seems interesting and important.
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------------------------ ----------- About the causes of fear ------------------------ -------------
Dead Space was initially announced as a "survival horror" and many are putting it in that genre. We could talk a lot about genres and I don't intend to discuss much. But I have few words about the approach to capturing the feeling of fear in the game because it may affect your decision about purchasing. It is, in fact, a game where you constantly have to be ready for attacks in front of you (or behind you) where the enemy would jump and attack you, and the enemies are really disgusting, which increases their intimidation factor. After this happens about thirty times, this form of scaring ceases to be a problem, although the tension you feel while waiting to be attacked by an enemy - and you know you will be - never stops. The game also offers sequences in which you have a limited amount of air, which means that the location should be crossed in limited amount of time. It is not very scary, but certainly creates the feeling of tension. Finally, we must not forget that all the time you move through an environment which is full of blood and scattered body and extremities, and in the struggle with the opponents and yourself you can separate them in component parts of them with spraying red liquid flying in all directions. Neither that will be scary after the first hour of playing, but the decision to play this game immediately before or after lunch will not be easy. Do not forget that it is all accompanied by sound base which especially comes into play if you have surround sound support, but even without, it has a significant share in creating a sense of discomfort and tension. In short, is Dead Space really a horror or an action game with a lot of tension? It is hard to say. However, more important than how it is called is if your stomach can handle it.
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However, the key element of the game is to fight with unearthly adversaries, and to make it more interesting, with the use of unusual weapons. Since the only member of the rescue team arrives unarmed on an attacked spaceship (ok, we can let that to pass), the main character by the name of Issac Clarke must collect devices that can inflict harm, including the laser cutter, a kind of chainsaw and similar tools.
"The main character was named after famous SF writers Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke"
There are "traditional" weapons, but the dynamics of the fight is different than most similar sequences, because the enemies in this game are easiest to kill by shooting them in the limbs - while, for example, shooting them in the head or body may infuriate or even enable them to transform into stronger forms. Relatively quickly you will understand that the opponent does not have a lot of species and for each type you will find the appropriate tactic, that is, places on their bodies, which should be shot. The problem is that enemies always appear suddenly and often from behind. This goes to the level that you will soon develop a feel from which side and when an opponent will run into you. However, the fear that arises from the effect of surprise is quite strong, and even when there isn't any opponents, feel that you will be attacked by something disgusting from behind any moment will constantly keep you on the alert. By system upgrades of weapons and suits you will become more powerful and resistant, and the fear for your live will fall down - but until the very end they will be somewhere behind the corner.
I have some more complaints - for example, the progression system which looks like it is implanted in the game just because someone desired to have RPG elements (which jerk goes in action without arms, with a garment that can be upgraded - but without the upgrades, what is the trick that the electronic Shop can offer an item only when the user is on the floor find a scheme for their creation, and why the alleged "engineer" doesn't have two crucial skills needed to perform the majority of repairs - which are obviously galactic standard). Despite quality graphics, interactivity with the environment is minimal and limited to the details in which it is clearly stated, and although everything looks really nice, the main character in situations when shadow falls on him or the camera comes near to him suffers from abominable attacks "squarness" i.e. low-resolution textures. All of these objections, however, can not negate the fact that while playing Dead Space will fill you with tension as rare as any game recently, you palms will sweat and you eyes will stop to blink in an attempt to brake through the darkness and to detected disgusting enemies in time and then, with an ineffable thick, destroy them in component parts. Intensity of action and atmosphere are very strong elements of the game, which therefore deserves the praise and high score. But be ready to expect - aside the average story which is much more interesting if you explore all the extra materials (the movie-Dead Space Downfall, comics and a little game on Dead Space official web site called No know Survivors) which are available outside the game - Dead Space hardly provides anything else.
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Anel Zukic