10 reasons why Dead Space will be the next great sci fi saga.

Although previews are normally positive, the vast majority of previews for Dead Space have gone beyond that. In fact, most gaming outlets that have had hands on time with the game have been floored by it. And here is yet another preview which even goes so far as to state that this game could be the next great sci fi saga in gaming. And they go on to list 10 reasons in several pages worth of explaining as to why they think so. This game will kick ass, make no mistake.

http://www.gameplayer.com.au/gp_documents/Dead-Space-10-Things.aspx

that's niceKGB32

Yes, it is.

Seems like another shoot-em-up with no subtley or atmosphere, and the enemies look like Flood rip-offs.

Won't come close to System Shock 2.V_Isle

No atmosphere? Actually, if anything, atmosphere will be it's bread and butter. As is evidenced by every gameplay video and hands on preview that went above and beyond the call to praise this game. Then again, what defines 'atmosphere' is different for everyone. So, maybe it is just not your thing....which is understandable.

As for the enemies being a rip off of the flood from Halo....:lol: Maybe you need to watch more footage, as there are many enemy variations that are nothing like the flood, especially when it comes to the ways which are required to dispose of them.

No atmosphere? Actually, if anything, atmosphere will be it's bread and butter. As is evidenced by every gameplay video and hands on preview that went above and beyond the call to praise this game. Then again, what defines 'atmosphere' is different for everyone. So, maybe it is just not your thing....which is understandable.

As for the enemies being a rip off of the flood from Halo....:lol: Maybe you need to watch more footage, as there are many enemy variations that are nothing like the flood, especially when it comes to the ways which are required to dispose of them.

ironcreed

QFT, Strategic dismemberment is incredibly awesome and pretty innovative too.

Seems like another shoot-em-up with no subtley or atmosphere, and the enemies look like Flood rip-offs.

Won't come close to System Shock 2.V_Isle

You are pretty crazy man. Well it's your opinion so w/e. To me the game looks great! Especially the zero-G stuff and the tenticle event :D

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36348.html

Tenticle event!

[QUOTE="KGB32"]that's niceironcreed

Yes, it is.

While it definitely will not match SS2 in terms of depth, it looks like it could match or even surpass it in terms of atmosphere and terror, and, IMO, it is that that makes SS2 one of my favorite games of all time, not the depth (though the depth is an added bonus).

You have not experienced video game horror until you have heard the moans of a half-dozen hybrids punctuated with the shrieks of their simian neighbors in the next room when you have nothing left but a wrench.

Is this game 1st or 3rd person?

Is this game 1st or 3rd person?

HenriH-42

3rd!

You have not experienced video game horror until you have heard the moans of a half-dozen hybrids punctuated with the shrieks of their simian neighbors in the next room when you have nothing left but a wrench.

thepwninator

Even if you had a BFG 9000, I doubt you'd fearlessly walk into a room full of hybrids, simply because the atmosphere is pitch perfect.

System Shock 2 is my second favourite game of all time (and frankly the only other shooter on my top 10 list, Halo being number 1), so I share your love for the game.

I think this is going to be just as good, if not better, than what System Shock 2 had in the atmosphere department though. It's like these guys are purely banking on cinematic stuff.

I'm still skeptical because of the big "EA" on the front of the box, but Dead Space is really shaping up well. PBSnipes

[QUOTE="HenriH-42"]

Is this game 1st or 3rd person?

Espada12

3rd!

Aww damn! Why does every horror game need to be in 3rd person?! Why not 1st person?! It's more immersive -> more scary, and I thought that was the point! 3rd person = FAIL.

So... System Shock 2 & Penumbra > This.

Aww damn! Why does every horror game need to be in 3rd person?! Why not 1st person?! It's more immersive -> more scary, and I thought that was the point! 3rd person = FAIL.

So... System Shock 2 & Penumbra > This.

HenriH-42

Not necessarily. Silent Hill is one of the scariest games out there, as with (Forbidden) Siren and Fatal Frame.

Gears of War may be a TPS, but it bests most FPSs in terms of suspense and engagement, in particular the sequences featuring a Berserker.

First person isn't always more immersive. I like that you've mentioned Penumbra, though it seems to be the only recent adventure game that non-adventure game fans know. Anyway, another game, Darkness Within: In Pursuit of Loath Nolder, is also a first person adventure; in fact, it's a FPA set in the Lovecraft universe. Should equal big terror, right? Well, to be quite frank, it's executed poorly.

If the dev plays the perspective well, then it will be fine.

[QUOTE="Espada12"][QUOTE="HenriH-42"]

Is this game 1st or 3rd person?

HenriH-42

3rd!

Aww damn! Why does every horror game need to be in 3rd person?! Why not 1st person?! It's more immersive -> more scary, and I thought that was the point! 3rd person = FAIL.

So... System Shock 2 & Penumbra > This.

This game does a really good job even though it's third.

[QUOTE="HenriH-42"]

Aww damn! Why does every horror game need to be in 3rd person?! Why not 1st person?! It's more immersive -> more scary, and I thought that was the point! 3rd person = FAIL.

So... System Shock 2 & Penumbra > This.

FrozenLiquid

Not necessarily. Silent Hill is one of the scariest games out there, as with (Forbidden) Siren and Fatal Frame.

Gears of War may be a TPS, but it bests most FPSs in terms of suspense and engagement, in particular the sequences featuring a Berserker.

First person isn't always more immersive. I like that you've mentioned Penumbra, though it seems to be the only recent adventure game that non-adventure game fans know. Anyway, another game, Darkness Within: In Pursuit of Loath Nolder, is also a first person adventure; in fact, it's a FPA set in the Lovecraft universe. Should equal big terror, right? Well, to be quite frank, it's executed poorly.

If the dev plays the perspective well, then it will be fine.

I have Silent Hill 2, I haven't finished it but I thought it was pretty creepy... BUT it could've been genuinely scary if it were in 1st person! Why not give us at least an option to use 1st person view? I don't know a single 3rd person game that has scared me at all.

I'm not even gonna comment about Gears of War lol :P

How is 1st person not more immersive? Seeing the world from the character's eyes (and actually feeling that you're him/her) is A LOT more immersive than just controlling a random dude/gal and watching the action from a floating camera.

Anyway my point is that 3rd person camera is good for certain genres, like platformers. But when I'm playing a game that tries to be scary and immersive, 3rd person camera feels too.. gamey and unrealistic.

[QUOTE="PBSnipes"]I'm still skeptical because of the big "EA" on the front of the box, but Dead Space is really shaping up well. lettuceman44

I have Silent Hill 2, I haven't finished it but I thought it was pretty creepy... BUT it could've been genuinely scary if it were in 1st person! Why not give us at least an option to use 1st person view? I don't know a single 3rd person game that has scared me at all.

I'm not even gonna comment about Gears of War lol :P

How is 1st person not more immersive? Seeing the world from the character's eyes (and actually feeling that you're him/her) is A LOT more immersive than just controlling a random dude/gal and watching the action from a floating camera.

Anyway my point is that 3rd person camera is good for certain genres, like platformers. But when I'm playing a game that tries to be scary and immersive, 3rd person camera feels too.. gamey and unrealistic.

HenriH-42

I just finished reading the preview, and it says the decision to go third person was that the main character was part of the art design. But that's not the point.

It would seem that putting everything in first person makes everything automatically creepier. If that's the case, all horror movies should use first person POVs to make their sequences scarier, right? Think of how those horror movies build suspense and fear. They use alternative methods to get the same type of response from you if you were to see it in first person.

Dead Space tries to achieve the same thing. One of the videos shows the guy looking into a pitch black corridor, and from out of the darkness crawls a baby monster thing. As it jumps on him, the camera swerves to engage the player more immediately. It's a psychological trigger to compensate for lack of FP view.

You can achieve the same amount of scares in third person, and movies are a testament to that. What's more, even though this game is in third person, you've in complete control of the character, and there's no cutscenes whatsoever. I don't even think the protagonist even talks. So really, I think this is more immersive than Crysis, where there were cutscenes and Nomad talks out of his own accord.

Super hyped for this game, but I'm going to quit reading previews before it comes out.

I don't even think the protagonist even talks. FrozenLiquid

Gaah! Another one? Jeez, what's the point of having a name then? :x

I just finished reading the preview, and it says the decision to go third person was that the main character was part of the art design. But that's not the point.

It would seem that putting everything in first person makes everything automatically creepier. If that's the case, all horror movies should use first person POVs to make their sequences scarier, right? Think of how those horror movies build suspense and fear. They use alternative methods to get the same type of response from you if you were to see it in first person.

Dead Space tries to achieve the same thing. One of the videos shows the guy looking into a pitch black corridor, and from out of the darkness crawls a baby monster thing. As it jumps on him, the camera swerves to engage the player more immediately. It's a psychological trigger to compensate for lack of FP view.

You can achieve the same amount of scares in third person, and movies are a testament to that. What's more, even though this game is in third person, you've in complete control of the character, and there's no cutscenes whatsoever. I don't even think the protagonist even talks. So really, I think this is more immersive than Crysis, where there were cutscenes and Nomad talks out of his own accord.

FrozenLiquid

[QUOTE="lettuceman44"][QUOTE="PBSnipes"]I'm still skeptical because of the big "EA" on the front of the box, but Dead Space is really shaping up well. PBSnipes

[QUOTE="FrozenLiquid"]I don't even think the protagonist even talks. Mordred19

Gaah! Another one? Jeez, what's the point of having a name then? :x

Actually I thought he wouldn't, but someone said he goes onboard with a couple of colleagues. So he might, at least in the beginning.

I guess having a name humanizes him in the same way the name Gordon Freeman does lol

I just finished reading the preview, and it says the decision to go third person was that the main character was part of the art design. But that's not the point.

It would seem that putting everything in first person makes everything automatically creepier. If that's the case, all horror movies should use first person POVs to make their sequences scarier, right? Think of how those horror movies build suspense and fear. They use alternative methods to get the same type of response from you if you were to see it in first person.

Dead Space tries to achieve the same thing. One of the videos shows the guy looking into a pitch black corridor, and from out of the darkness crawls a baby monster thing. As it jumps on him, the camera swerves to engage the player more immediately. It's a psychological trigger to compensate for lack of FP view.

You can achieve the same amount of scares in third person, and movies are a testament to that. What's more, even though this game is in third person, you've in complete control of the character, and there's no cutscenes whatsoever. I don't even think the protagonist even talks. So really, I think this is more immersive than Crysis, where there were cutscenes and Nomad talks out of his own accord.

FrozenLiquid

Games should not be in any way like movies, period. And... I don't like horror movies because what's the point, you're just watching some random people getting scared/killed. Same with 3rd person horror games. If I don't get the feeling that I am the character, I'm not going to be immersed -> I'm not going to be scared. Horror games IMO are the hardest games to do right.

Only a few games that I've played have succeeded in being really scary, and they are: System Shock 2, Penumbra series (including the tech demo), Aliens vs Predator, Thief 1-3, STALKER and Condemned.

Say what you will but in my opinion, 3rd person camera is not one bit immersive and lack of immersion is what makes a game not scary for me.

[QUOTE="Mordred19"]

[QUOTE="FrozenLiquid"]I don't even think the protagonist even talks. FrozenLiquid

Gaah! Another one? Jeez, what's the point of having a name then? :x

Actually I thought he wouldn't, but someone said he goes onboard with a couple of colleagues. So he might, at least in the beginning.

I guess having a name humanizes him in the same way the name Gordon Freeman does lol

At least the protagonist has a reason not to talk.. I mean.. who is he going to talk to? The necromorphs?

yea...i REALLY want this game to be kickass

I mean, we haven't seen a real horror/survival game in years. I hope this changes that (though I don't think you could call this a survival horror game, horror and survival do seem to be major themes. that might not have made sense to you, but it does)

[QUOTE="FrozenLiquid"][QUOTE="Mordred19"]

[QUOTE="FrozenLiquid"]I don't even think the protagonist even talks. Espada12

Gaah! Another one? Jeez, what's the point of having a name then? :x

Actually I thought he wouldn't, but someone said he goes onboard with a couple of colleagues. So he might, at least in the beginning.

I guess having a name humanizes him in the same way the name Gordon Freeman does lol

At least the protagonist has a reason not to talk.. I mean.. who is he going to talk to? The necromorphs?

YES HE DOES TALK

in some of the videos you can hear isaac talking to himself about how disgusted or freaked out he is

This game looks and sounds incredible.

YES HE DOES TALK

in some of the videos you can hear isaac talking to himself about how disgusted or freaked out he is

REforever101

I know he does, what I'm saying is he has no reason to talk :p

[QUOTE="REforever101"]

YES HE DOES TALK

in some of the videos you can hear isaac talking to himself about how disgusted or freaked out he is

Espada12

I know he does, what I'm saying is he has no reason to talk :p

hey...theres always a reason to talk...

As a matter of fact, I'm talking to myself right now

I'm still skeptical because of the big "EA" on the front of the box, but Dead Space is really shaping up well. PBSnipes

Publisher, not developer.

Games should not be in any way like movies, period. And... I don't like horror movies because what's the point, you're just watching some random people getting scared/killed. Same with 3rd person horror games. If I don't get the feeling that I am the character, I'm not going to be immersed -> I'm not going to be scared. Horror games IMO are the hardest games to do right.

Only a few games that I've played have succeeded in being really scary, and they are: System Shock 2, Penumbra series (including the tech demo), Aliens vs Predator, Thief 1-3, STALKER and Condemned.

Say what you will but in my opinion, 3rd person camera is not one bit immersive and lack of immersion is what makes a game not scary for me.

HenriH-42

In terms of unfolding a narrative, yes. But when a video game includes almost everything that makes a movie with the addition of interactivity, there's going to be inevitable similarities. You gave Max Payne 2 a 9.4. Obviously, you don't mind video games taking a leaf out of the film medium ;).

You called a fallacy when you said horror movies are about watching some random people getting scared and killed. Luckily I don't see you in real life, coz as a film freak, I'd beat you with a stick. In fact, you're now opening a whole new can of worms, because the history of narrative has an extensive range of literature of all kinds in the third person. Tell me, do you only ever like entertainment that's in the first person? Do you only read literature that's in the first person? Sure, you may get some gems like Lolita, but you're missing out on 75% of the greatest novels.

Do you only ever listen to music in the first person? That is, if an artist talks about his or her personal life (which, in fact, is some of the most highly rated music out there), you'll automatically disregard it?

Do you totally despise movies for their lack of first person immersion? Movies are one of the most, if not the most notable medium which stirs a string of emotions to the audience, be it sad, happy, angry, scared etc, but according to you, none of that matters because it's all in third person. Because they are third person, you never feel anything towards movies. That means, if there was suspense, or if there was action, or if there was overly long monologues, you would feel exactly the same in all of them because you're not engaged. Why? It's not in first person. Luckily for you, there's a first person sequence in the Doom movie. Obviously the most engaging scene in the history of cinema, right?

I would also suspect that as you play Max Payne 2, the story is irrelevant because you don't feel anything, since it's all entirely in third person. So whatever sad noir sequences are happening there, it really doesn't matter coz it's not immersive.

All I did was took your logic, and applied it to a broader field. See how much harder it is now to sound legit.

Those 10 reasons seem very weak. And gore as an essential element to horror? Nikalai_88

Good you explain why those ten reasons are very weak? I read the preview, then saw those put into action via gameplay videos, and it looks amazing.

[QUOTE="PBSnipes"]I'm still skeptical because of the big "EA" on the front of the box, but Dead Space is really shaping up well. Koalakommander

Publisher, not developer.

[QUOTE="Koalakommander"]

[QUOTE="PBSnipes"]I'm still skeptical because of the big "EA" on the front of the box, but Dead Space is really shaping up well. PBSnipes

Publisher, not developer.

What's all this big hate on EA? I think some of their games turn out fine.

The only problem is that they sometimes like to bring out their games every year, like the sports games. They'd stop if people stopped buying them, though.

But of course, Liquid(LIQUID!), you have to contend with an "alien artifiact" backstory to this game. Gee, I wonder how big their artificial planets were. :P

Also, I have a tiny issue with something. They've apparently given a name to this alien "race". Isn't that the first step toward taking away the fear of something, giving it a name? If we have no official label to fall back on when thinking about these things, wouldn't they feel more creepy at a gut level?
But then again, I supose that could extend to the backstory itself, not just labels. Maybe there should be no backstory, where does it end? IDK. :P

[QUOTE="Koalakommander"]

[QUOTE="PBSnipes"]I'm still skeptical because of the big "EA" on the front of the box, but Dead Space is really shaping up well. PBSnipes

Publisher, not developer.

Oh my:(

I want to play this more than any other game this year.

I love horror and it looks like so much fun.

this game will be fun and worth a rent but it has a lot of gimmicky ideas. like you cant just shoot enemies to kill them, you have to dismember them thats stupid. plus some of the weapons look lameblues35301

Because the creatures apparently aren't reliant on a system of organs to survive, shooting them in the head or center mass is pointless. There's a reason for it in the game's universe, and it provides different gameplay. The weapons are mining tools, so they don't look sleek and effecient and killing things.

Space saga? Should have been xenosaga if namco didn't cut it short and ruin it.:x

Just kidding totally different game.

Looks interesting.

But of course, Liquid(LIQUID!), you have to contend with an "alien artifiact" backstory to this game. Gee, I wonder how big their artificial planets were. :P

Also, I have a tiny issue with something. They've apparently given a name to this alien "race". Isn't that the first step toward taking away the fear of something, giving it a name? If we have no official label to fall back on when thinking about these things, wouldn't they feel more creepy at a gut level?

Mordred19

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. This game has stopped being a survival horror and has become some like super elaborate universe. I had my fingers crossed that this would be a legendary one-off, though with the hype surrounding it, I should've known this would've turned into a franchise. That means, it needs lore.

I honestly thought the premise of the game was that you'd go on the Ishimura thinking that it genuinely was routine, then everything would mess up from there. But this game is truly taking not just a leaf, but 50 odd pages from H.P Lovecraft's tales. Even then, Lovecraft handled with care (read Dagon. Starts normal, ends up horrific. 2000 words. Takes 5 minutes. Read now :P). Instead, the devs have chucked religion even into the first comic, and the ghosts of dead relatives, so yeah, it's getting more personal and a little more recognizable. Not in the good Silent Hill 2 wow-my-psyche-is-really-scary kind of way, but shedding enough light to know where the origins of the monsters come from.

The story is good nevertheless, and the atmosphere still looks amazing. Apart from Tomb Raider: Underworld, I think this is another must-buy game for me.

Hmm... Haven't been paying much attention to this game. It does looks very interesting though. I like some of the ideas behind the game, especially the gravity one. Two of my favorite games this gen (Super Mario Galaxy and Portal) do a great job at twisting perspective and thinking outside the box, and I've been hoping to see more games like that. This game seems like it will be to Third Person Shooters what SMG was to platformers and Portal was to puzzle games, at least in terms of unique ideas. Hopefully it will be as fun as those were. I'll definitely be keeping a close eye on this game.

The story is good nevertheless, and the atmosphere still looks amazing. Apart from Tomb Raider: Underworld, I think this is another must-buy game for me.

FrozenLiquid

You should rent the DVD when it comes out, that's what I'm doing :D. Story really sucked me in, and it doesn't end with this first game, there is going to be at least one more.