By Kevin "Berserker" Hall
If you're a hardcore fan of EA's recently released Dead Space game then you
are most likely familiar with the horrific events that take place after the USG
Kellion shuttle lands aboard the deep space mining ship known as the USG
Ishimura. The game covers the events of the alien infestation after the USG
Ishimura has already been overrun with the alien creatures known as "necromorphs".
The comics that were released shortly before Dead Space's initial release
covered the story of the space colony's alien infestation through the recovered
Marker that was unearthed on the colony. A slight gap is left in the Dead Space
storyline as to the events that took place aboard the Ishimura shortly after the
colony's infestation and before the USG Kellion lands on the Ishimura.
Dead Space: Downfall begins with the discovery of the Marker and quickly
takes the viewer through a quick synopsis of the colony's infestation of
necromorphs, all from the view of the USG Ishimura crew. Downfall reveals how
the alien infestation spread to the USG Ishimura and showcases the many events
that took place aboard the mining ship - the events caused the USG Kellion
rescue shuttle to be sent in to investigate. The movie is very faithful to the
game. It has a few scenes that were only briefly shown in the actual game now
displayed in the main story. Dr. Kyne's character along with Captain Mathius get
much more backstory in this feature.
The main story follows a security chief by the name of Alissa Vincent along
with her crew as they help out while the alien infestation spreads throughout
the USG Ishimura. Alissa and her team fit right into the Dead Space storyline
and match up with the existing characters that you might already be familiar
with rather well. A good bit of the story is seen through Alissa's actions but
the overall plot still doesn't focus solely on her; it focuses more on the
overall situation aboard the Ishimura while Alissa and her team fight to
survive.
The Marker's mind effects on humans, which were basically only hinted at in
the game, plays a big role in the conflict aboard the ship. Battles with the
necromorph creatures and many of the slaughter scenes are full of blood and gore
just like the game. Intestines and body parts fly and blood splatters on walls
throughout the alien encounters. Just about all of the different varieties of
normal enemies found in the game are included in the movie. The entire movie
gives off a survival horror type feel just like the game as Alissa's crew
struggles to survive while attempting to help out the trapped civilians aboard
the ship.
The overall animation for the movie is really nothing cutting edge but it's
not bad at all. Sometimes characters stand out a bit too much from the CG
backgrounds and at times the animations don't look real fluid when compared to
other animated features, but overall the movie still maintains a good appearance
and animation style that fans of the game will most likely enjoy. Character
voices of the more familiar characters such as Dr. Kyne and Captain Mathius
sound just like they do in the game which is especially pleasing in Dr. Kyne's
case since he has a good amount of screen time in the movie and his fair share
of spotlight in the game as well, so it's quite pleasing to hear the same voice
during both appearances. All characters were voiced appropriately, but some of
the profanity was delivered a bit too much for my tastes during certain portions
of the movie making it seem out of place and unneeded at times.
Even though the feature does give some pleasing backstory to the events
aboard the USG Ishimura I can't help but feel that some of the other characters
that were briefly mentioned in the Dead Space game could have been given some
screen time. Why couldn't they have worked Jacob Temple and Dr. Elizabeth Cross
into the movie as well? I really feel that the overall Dead Space storyline has
so much extra potential that could have been explored a bit more here. Hopefully
EA will realize this and release some additional episodes to add to the
backstory of the alien infestation before the actual game.
The movie is 74 minutes long and in the way of extras it has a soundtrack, a
deleted scene, a photo gallery, a Dead Space game trailer and a trailer for the
movie itself. I highly recommend checking out Dead Space: Downfall if you
enjoyed the game. The comics cover the colony disaster through the eyes of Bram
and Marla, the movie covers the USG Ishimura infestation from the viewpoint of
Alissa Vincent and her team and the game covers the arrival of Isaac Clarke and
the crew aboard the USG Kellion shortly after the necromorphs invade the USG
Ishimura. So basically Dead Space downfall is the mid-portion of a much greater
story of the necromorph invasion and one story that is needed to fully complete
the saga of Dead Space!
Final Rating:
