Dead Space - 3rd Person Horror Shooter (Xbox 360, PC, Playstation 3)
Dead Space was a game i had never heard of until Poke pointed it out to me and showed me the creepy trailer with a disturbing version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" as the background music.
After seeing the trailer, i was instantly hooked, being that a guilty pleasure of mine is horror shooters (except Resident Evil).
Fast forward to its street drop date, Oct. 15th, and Poke and I stand in our friendly neighborhood GameStop waiting for me to pick up my copy.
We head back to Poke's apartment but decide it's essentially un-American to play this game before it's dark outside. So we wait and around 10PM we crank it up and sit down to play. As a result, this is one of the best games in recent memory.
Now, I can only describe the beginning of this game as a descent into hell. You start out as a part of a repair crew for the "planet-cracker" USG Ishimura, but five minutes in you crash land in the ship, everything is broken, and you begin a search for repair parts. Along the way though, you're introduced to your only company aboard this ship - the Necromorphs. These zombie-esque death machines kill half your squad and seperate you from your remaining crew. Did i mention that the only way to kill the 'morphs is to shoot off their legs/arms/various bladed appendages? This is a very important part of the game, you will die a lot if you don't blow off legs and arms. The latter of the game is spent trying to fix various ship parts so you can get off this death trap.
I'm not one to scare all that easily, and Poke even less so, but i have gotta say, there were more than a few nasty suprises that had me checking to see if i needed new pants on. In all truth, that's what this game does best - scares you shitless. This game is not for the faint of heart, there are lots of dismembered limbs, gory deaths, and bloody curb-stomps.
Ok so enough of me blathering about the game's premise. On to the good stuff!
Right so this game is from the 3rd person perspective, but set at a angle so you peer over our good hero's (Isaac Clarke) shoulder. This at first seems annoying, but it's really quite fine as you get into the game. It contributes to the intensity, always making you check to see if you are being chased. (You probably are.) Oh, did I mention that unless you hit the pause button (start, duh) the game won't pause. This sounds like I'm being stupid but let me give you an example. In, oh, say, Halo 3, if you clear the room of enemies, you don't have to pause, you could just leave good ol' Chief sitting there and he'll be there when you get back. In Dead Space however, if you cleared the room and then left Isaac sitting there, you would 99% of the time come back to a very mangled and very dead Isaac.
Like i said, this game doesn't pause. You are always vulnerable. Using your inventory? Hope there isn't anything near you, because you're going to get bum-rushed while fumbling with your ammo. Oh, thought you were safe because you're saving the game? Wrong again, should have killed that enemy you thought was dead because guess what? It got up and raped you in the ear. This feature is not as frustrating as it sounds, it simply makes you think before you act. You don't have the luxury of time. You gotta kill or be killed, and that's always the way it is. You will eventually become so paranoid about enemies that might come after you you will just curb stomp every dead body until it has no limbs left, because it's the only way you feel safe.
I just feel this needs menitoning and i didnt really know where - Isaac is a bad-ass. I don't care who you are, this guy is stuck on a ship from hell, with zombies that are fast and smart, conniving crew members, and he speaks maybe a sentence the whole time. Like i said, BAD-ASS. Anyway.
On to the possibly best (if not most hilarious) feature of this game - the weapons. Since you're on a mining ship, there are relatively no guns available.
The only real gun is called the Pulse Rifle, and it is your friend. If you upgrade it, it can hold up to 175 rounds per clip, eliminating the "Oh shit oh shit, six enemies on top of me and i gotta reload" factor. It shoot pretty fast, does reasonable damage, and kills the smaller enemies dead. All in all, you'll be falling back on it a lot.
Next is the first weapon you ever get your hands on, a mining tool called the plasma cutter. Don't dismiss it as crap. Ok, in the beginning, it is crap, but strap a few upgrades on it, and it will be a limb-cutting machine. Again, a good fall back weapon.
Now we have the flamethrower. This thing is useless. It sucks, and it sucks hard. If you buy it, you will regret not saving the 5,000 or so credits. It only catches the enemies on fire, and as it doesn't cut off limbs, they will just run over to you and kick your pansy, flamethrower wielding ass. Don't use this, evereververvevevereverever.
Next up, and my personal favorite, the Ripper. Or a more accurate description, a long range circular saw. Yes. That's right. It works real nice too, and as it's a circular saw, it cuts your enemies to shreds, and they don't get back up. It's pretty decent, but not as reliable as the good ol's cutter or pulse rifle, but if you're like me and use it constantly, you get good with it, and eventually i was dropping even the biggest enemies with this thing.
Then there's the Line Gun. Oh, man, If there is a overpowered gun in this game, this thing is it. It shoots a thin and flat beam of death in a straight line, cutting anything in its path to pieces. That's before you even upgrade it. You can make this thing shoot a beam as wide as most of the game's hallways, eventally making it hilariously broken. Simply walk into a hallway, wait to be charged by enemies, and mow em' down. It gets very ridiculous. Still, it is made less broken by the fact that it isn't really all that effective on big enemies...definitely better against groups of mobs.
There is also the Force Gun, a semi-useless weapon i never bothered to upgrade. It appears it actually kills enemies unlike the flamethrower, but it takes a few shots, and it only has about 5 rounds a clip. I never used it much though, so i might not be offering the most objective insight.
Finally there is the Contact Gun, better known as the the Red-Ray Beam of Death, the BFG, the rocket launcher, the boss-killer, or the mob-sweeper. (Ok, it's not really a rocket launcher.) This awesome weapon shoots a bright red puncturing burst of plasma that kills most everything in one go, save for bosses, and the Brutes. Save it for the bosses though, its much better to use it then than against smaller enemies.
In addition to weapons, you character can make use of the Stasis module, which temporarily slows down the targeted object, enabling you to solve puzzles or simply make a enemy easier to kill.
Also there is a Kinesis module. This useful tool lets you pick up most any loose object and move it around to solve puzzles or better yet crush a hapless enemy with a box, or with the body of another enemy, if you're the sick humor type.
About the enemies. There are several different types, and all of them have a normal version, and a "elite" version, which is harder to kill, and moves faster. Also, the most common type of enemy eventually absorbs a Stasis module, and it reproduces, creating a creature that is constantly trpping balls, and runs really fast and twitches a lot. They're damn annoying.
The basic enemy is a (generally) two legged creature with bladed arms that rushes at you. They're not all that dangerous alone, but they can and will kill you in groups. Blow their legs off with the cutter, then curb stomp them, they really aren't worth the ammo one on one. In groups, take em' down with the Pulse Rifle or Line Gun. The elite version takes a few more hits, and the fastest version takes determination to kill. There is also a fat version of these that when killed, spews little enemies that crawl on you.
The next enemy is a small, dog-like thing that will hiss and shoot blades at you . Not all that dangerous, but if there is one in a room, kill it early or it will snipe you and you will hate it. Use the pulse rifle, the plasma cutter seems to suck against it.
Then are the quick moving scorpion like enemies. You see these often in zero-g combat. They aren't really all that dangerous, but in groups, it gets a little hairy. The ripper is my weapon of choice against them.
Combine a zombie with a suicidal instinct and a explosive sac on its arm, and you get the next enemy, a realatively slow moving suicide bombing creature. Just shoot its explosive sac and move on.
Resembling the head crabs of HalfLife, the next enemy is annoying at best, not really all that dangerous, even in numbers. For big lolz, let one get on you then shake it off to watch Isaac go ballistic on it. Pretty ridiculous. There is also a large enemy later on that when killed, drops about three of these. Just deal with it carefully.
Then there are the bat-like creatures. These are not dangerous combat wise, most they can do is scratch at you, but they are dangerous because they go from body to body, crawl inside it, and create a new necromorph. Not good. Kill them fast as possible. Curb stomping works well if they are close, but just kill it quick.
The biggest standard enemy are the Brutes. Brutes are huge, armor plated, 'morphs. They are fast for their size, they will charge you, they will hit you across the face, they will tackle you to the ground. Pull out the pulse rifle and put as many rounds into it as possible, or if you're a Boy Scout and FREAKING COME PREPARED, whip out you Ripper and tear these things to shreds. If you hurt it enough, it curls up in a ball, and this is your cue to keep going and finish it off. Ripper vs. Brute = you win. Remember this.
Randomly thoroughout the game, a tentacle will ome out of the wall and grab you and begin dragging you towards a death hole. (If you get there, you will die in a violent and gory way.)
Cue pulling out the biggest, baddest gun you have and blasting away. As long as you act quickly, you will be ok.
Ah yes. And my favorite enemy ever, the invincible Necromorph. That's all i can tell you about it, otherwise I'd be spoiling. But seriously this thing is gay as shit, it runs megafast, hurts a lot when it punches you in the face, and doesn't die. Ever. Shoot its legs off to slow it down, and it will lay there for a while but it will regrow legs and chase you down. Your only option is to run a lot. Also it likes to growl at you to remind you that you are its bitch, and it will remain that way until you find a way to temporarily ditch it.
Now to talk about the game design. The levels are beatuiful, with perfect rendering. Everthing is shiny and looks realistic. The cutscenes are good too, and the story is film-worthy. Really, the story is very gripping and will have you hooked, twist after twist. All in all, EA has done a wonderful job.
Unfortunately I have a few things to complain about. These things are mostly nipicky, because really, this game is quite close to as perfect as you can get. The puzzles occasionally are annoying and clunky, but not enough to make you want to stop playing. The camera is annoying but eventually it's not a problem anymore. The reasons for going on to each new levels seem contrived somtimes, with your fellow marooned crew members always telling you to do this, that, and the other, sometimes you just want to scream, "If you want it done so bad, YOU F*CKING DO IT!." These are all minor obstructions to the game though, never really causing you to want to stop.
To wrap it all up, Dead Space is more than worth your $60. Just make sure you're ready for a lot of cursing, gore, and flying body parts. But if you're a gamer that's anything like Poke or myself, you will like this game a lot.
Dead Space gets a all time high of 9/10 win-Isaacs.
Till next time, everyone.
----------------
Now playing: Chimaira - Pictures In the Gold Room
via FoxyTunes
----------------
Now playing: Chimaira - Pictures In the Gold Room
via FoxyTunes
