Dead Space (2008) Review

By Kevin "Berserker" Hall

Player(s): 1
Memory: 600KB

Dead Space is EA's first journey into the realm of survival horror and I'm proud to say that it certainly lives up to the expectations and hype that it has received up till its release. The story begins as a deep-space mining ship, known as the USG Ishimura, goes dark after unearthing a strange artifact. A repair group, along with engineer Isaac Clarke, is called in to make repairs and investigate the USG Ishimura. After a problem trying to dock, the repair group crash lands on the vessel and ventures out into the ship to meet up with the crew and get assistance on their own ship repairs. Hostile life forms soon attack as the group searches the ship for help and the group eventually becomes stranded. The game places the player in the role of Isaac Clark as he battles hordes of alien life forms while him and his surviving crew members search for a way off the USG Ishimura.

If I had to describe Dead Space's gameplay in one word, I would say "convenient". Dead Space has the most user-friendly gameplay setup that I have seen in a survival horror up till now. The first thing to catch my attention was how the main character's life bar and many other gauges are displayed on his back, so you don't even have to worry about pulling up a menu to check on these vital areas. Guns also display their current ammo whenever they are held up for aiming.

When the inventory menu is called up, it is displayed in a real time hologram image as Isaac views it from his right side. Maps and text files can be pulled up in the same fashion as well. A player can actually move in real time while any of these holograms are up. An objective list can be pulled up to help out on objectives or you can simply press down on the right analog (R3) to make a blue light path show the way to the next destination - it's hard to get lost in Dead Space since the game always has a helping hand there for the player. This is not to say that the direction is always open to Isaac however, sometimes you will still have to figure out how to get around obstacles.

Even the story is played out in real time - most of the story is told through holograms that appear beside Isaac. Cutscenes basically only appear during the beginning and end of a chapter and even then they are very short to give more of an emphasis on gameplay. This entire real time setup makes the gameplay so very pleasant as the game progresses. You basically never even have to sit down your controller or stop to watch anything except for the slight break in between chapters. If an enemy attacks during a holographic projection then the hologram simply disappears as the audio continues to play while Isaac aims.

The aliens that Isaac faces throughout the Ishimura are called Necromorphs. These Necropmophs that Isaac faces come in all shapes and sizes. The game encourages you to shoot off each enemy's limbs to greatly increase the damage of each shot fired. Each gun has a laser sighting (usually multiple lasers) that help to make this task much easier. Some weapons can cut through an enemy easier than others but all weapons can cut off body parts. A few enemies have appendages that are only showcased during certain actions. Isaac also has an incredibly cool stomp that will allow you to mutilate a fallen enemy or just simply add insult to a dead foe.

Later enemies can become incredibly aggressive, especially in groups, but they are not aggressive enough to seem overwhelming to the point where precise aiming is thrown out the window. With Isaac's easy to use d-pad inventory menu, you can quickly switch to a more powerful weapon to knock an enemy or group of enemies away from him then switch over to another weapon to start shooting off limbs.

Enemies lie in ambush throughout the various corridors of the ship. Some of them even play dead among their fallen in hopes that Isaac will move near them, so they can perform a surprise attack. Every now and then, some of the enemies will run and sometimes they will even use the vents to get behind Isaac. There were a few times where I was shooting one enemy only to notice claws appearing behind Isaac's back as another enemy crept up from behind. Even when shooting a normal enemy, it's sometimes hard to tell if an enemy is defeated. There were several times where I walked up to a still enemy that I had shot only to have it lash out at me again. They sometimes drop items once they are defeated, but not all the time.

The game only has a few major boss battles, but there are many enemies that could be considered midbosses with the increased difficulty that it takes to defeat them when compared to a normal foe. Midboss battles are just as memorable as major bosses. All major boss fights are epic and felt unique in their own way.

Isaac starts with a plasma cutter gun but can also obtain many other useful weapons throughout his journey. These are usually far more than just a simple upgrade to a current weapon also. Each weapon is unique and useful in its own way. The ripper weapon launches out a circular saw that can be controlled from a distance as it slices through enemies. The force gun can act much like a shotgun to cover wide areas and its alternate fire launches a grenade that can damage long-range groups of enemies. The default plasma cutter is easily one of the best weapons in the game if precision aiming is used. Besides his amusing stomp, Isaac can actually melee attack as well by tapping R1 while not aiming, and this man hits hard - knocking off arms with some swings!

While fighting an enemy, Isaac can slow it down with his stasis gun making it basically freeze in place. This will allow you to get in some perfectly placed shots to greatly damage an enemy before the stasis shot wears off. Some enemies in the game have a much more aggressive approach to attacking making the stasis feature really help out when fighting them. The ability cannot be overused, however, since Isaac only has a certain amount of stasis energy and it can only be replenished through stasis power-ups or stasis refill controls.

Isaac also has a kinesis gun that allows him to lift objects and enemies then toss them - think of the Half-Life 2 gravity gun. Both features come into play with puzzle solving at some point. Sometimes a constantly slamming door has to be stopped with stasis in order to move through a doorway and sometimes Isaac has to carry an object to a location with kinesis.

All of Isaac's weapons can be upgraded through the use of a Bench option and power nodes. Collecting power nodes will allow you to place them on a grid that will upgrade various aspects of the weapon such as capacity and damage. Extra weapons and items can be bought from a ship in exchange for credits that are found throughout the environment or taken from fallen enemies. Isaac has a limited inventory based on his current suit, but he can drop items or store them at a safe, which is found at each shop. He can also collect schematics in some rooms that will allow extra items to be purchased at the shop after accessing it the next time.