What can I say about Dead Space, hmmm well I think WOW may just sum it up.
From start to finish this game is a zombie/mutant/space creature dismembering joy to behold. From the haunting melodic rendition of twinkle twinkle little star in the intro movie before you even hit the start button, to the unexpected twist at the very end of the credits, this game has it all.
Hmm a little plot detail here I think, although I can’t really go too far into detail without spoiling the game.
Names and specific events will be kept for you to discover as you play through this wonderful game and trust me you really should make sure you get yourself a copy (especially since it’s quite a bargain in most stores at £12.99 or even cheaper pre-owned). The basic premise is that you are on a mission to repair a planet cracking (I kid you not) ship that had ceased communication with Earth after blowing up a desolate world in order to mine it for valuable resources. However when your vessel reaches said ship, all communication have been ceased and as you would you assume that the electrics have gone(or they haven’t paid their phone bill lol). Anyway, after a short tour of your buttons and suits capabilities, you are flung straight into the action. No namby pamby training levels in this game, in fact you can’t even fight the first few monsters, all you can do is run for your life. Now as I said I shouldn’t really go into too much plot detail as it will ruin the surprises in store for you as you progress through the ship. Needless to say that the creatures aren’t all that they seem (oooh spooky).
The genius of this game stems from the fact it emulates the very best parts of a lot of space based horror movies out there, such as Aliens, Event Horizon, even Hellraiser 4 was casually walking past when one of the developers tipped his hat at it whilst whistling a jaunty tune. And it works, it’s eerie in places, jump out your chair freaky in others and on occasion you’ll be wishing you had played with the lights on. Now for a horror movie buff like myself this game encapsulates everything that modern movies does not. It has enemies to be feared, then ran away from, then chopped up into itty bitty enemy bits. The chopping up as I mentioned is an integral part of the games fighting mechanics. Enemies in the easier modes of the game can be shot in a variety of ways, but the only true way of dispatching them is to chop them up limb from limb using your various gadgets, or even by occasionally stomping on joints and neck bones. This makes for a most amusing blasting session with some of the enemies, who having more limbs than the rest usually end up walking in circles (bwa ha ha ha ha). Anyway enough of this foolish banter and on with the review.
Walking around a spaceship has never been easier (apart from afore mentioned enemies and various repair missions) and if you ever get lost you just need to click your right thumbstick in order to bring up a beacon line from your suit which lights the way forward, trust me you’ll use this a lot on your first play through, there are sections in the game where you’ll be expected to walk in zero gravity, making for some visually stunning battles with certain jumping enemies who in no way resemble the lickers from Resident Evil at all, honestly. And a meteor shooting section that feels like it jumped out of a Star Wars movie. Not that that’s a bad thing at all.
As you progress through the game you can upgrade your armoury through various store points located in mostly safe sections of the ship. The weapons are as fun to use as they are to look at, with all of them featuring double uses with the click of a shoulder button. Upgrading your suits and weapons capabilities however is a costly affair, you have to locate or buy Nodes which are used with work benches in order to reconnect failing pieces of circuitry in your apparel. You have to be picky first play through as money and nodes are not as plentiful as you first may think (there are cheats out there to help but cleverly the developers only allow you to use them once a play through and in a specific order). I would recommend that first time players concentrate on upgrading your basic cutter weapon all the way and only collecting the others, store them though as there is an achievement for hoarding a lot of items. There are downloadable weapons and armours on Xbox Live but unless you’re made of money I would just stick with what you’re given, after all they are basically just repaints and re-skinned versions of what you have to start with.
My conclusion is that you should head out, buy this game and set yourself down for a good hour or two to get to grips with the various aspects which make it so fantastic. Don’t be afraid to explore levels and if you can, please use your ammo sparingly as it can be quite a while before you get the opportunity to pick some up without having your head destroyed in a variety of amusing ways.
This is definitely not one for the kids.
Oh and I just found out the movie version is in pre-production as I write this. I can honestly say if they do it right it will be a game adaptation classic! (keep your grubby mitts off of it Uwe Boll)
VideogameUK verdict: 9/10
