Well today has been an awfully so-so day. I went to study with Lizzie my ex which was quite fun :) I have two exams tomorrow and i can't concentrate and i'm really scared of failing. English i can't really revise for and Science is completely going over my head.
On top of that Laura has cancelled without reason :( I need a hug ;) Anyway on the weekend i'll be doing all my Christmas shopping, i have a fair bit to do. Completed Portal again which is good because that means one less distraction lol.
Anyway nothing really new here just me being blown off and failing to revise lol.
Talk laters.
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P.S. seeing as i can't see how popular my reviews are now i thought i would just blog them from here on.
DEAD SPACE
What makes a good survival horror? loads of jumps? scares? or does it involve more of a solid atmosphere? Dead Space is a mixed bag and takes a lot of its pros from other games.
You basically play as Isaac Clarke, a mechanic sent to the USG Ishimura, a planet cracking ship. However all is not what it seems. When you arrive on the Ishimura you realize that it is empty, or so it appears.
The game has no HUD which actually works a lot better than you might think with everything vital to the player located on Isaac's rig. Health is shown on your characters back and ammo shown as a holographic image on your weapon whenever aimed.
This game takes a lot from games such as Resident Evil 4 and Silent Hill. The set up is generally like Resident Evil 4, you use over the shoulder aiming but there is an addition of the ability to move slowly. When you are not aiming R1 and R2 act as basic melee attacks such as a punch or stomp. The Zero gravity sections add a new pace to the game and is one of the few real innovations. The game has a lot in common with Silent Hill with the fact that the game is mostly atmosphere with very little scares.
The graphics are superb. Lighting effects are generally top notch and character detail is also very good. The bloody corridors of the USG Ishimura are enough to make anyone feel unnerved. The art design though is generally very dull with much of the USG Ishimura looking pretty much the same, you won't even realize your backtracking half the game.
Sound plays quite a big role. There are so many sound effects which help build up atmosphere from the scuttling of a necromorph to the sound of a woman singing twinkle twinkle. Overall the sound is one of the bigger highlights in the game.
The game isn't all that scary but this is not to say there are no horror elements at all. Its just not what you were promised. However one enemy in the game is potentially the most terrifying creature i have ever come across in a video game and this makes for one hell of a section. Shame it doesn't last all too long.
The story to the game is actually pretty good. There are many twists and turns but some are pretty predictable. The overall plot though is fairly straight forward but the pretty interesting characters add an element to the story telling. Unfortunately Isaac is not one of the more interesting characters for he is a mute. This worked very well in Bioshock but at least they gave the character an amazing back story. Isaac however is just your boring hero looking for his girlfriend. Another element that does not work in favour of the story telling is the fact that most of the story is told via tape recordings and hardly any real communication between characters which is a real shame.
Think of this game as a mix between Event Horizon and Alien.
Overall Dead Space is a mixed bag what it lacks in originality is more than made up for with some interesting elements such as Zero gravity sections and Vaccuums. Just don't go expecting the next Resident Evil and you'll have a good time with this game. You just probably won't come back.
7/10
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