Dead Space (Xbox 360)

If Doom3, Resident Evil 4, Aliens, Half-Life 2, and Prey had a secret baby, Dead Space would be it. This game snuck up on everyone's radar this season. Not only is this game a competitor for Game of the Year, but it raises the bar of the survivor horror genre. EA has really created a game with a suspenseful and downright scary game through such wonderful level design and overall atmosphere of the world.

The game goes beyond cheap "dog crashing through the window" moments and uses every element of video game narrative storytelling and design to create a game that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The audio design is this game is some of the best I've ever heard and adds a whole new dimension of horror and scare.

It's difficult to discuss the game in more specific detail without giving away much of the plot or surprises that's to be had. All I can suggest is that through out skepticism and purchase this game. Don't forget to fire up that 5.1 setup and to play in the dark, if you dare.

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This game is hands down one of the most captivating and thrilling experiences I have had on xbox 360. From the initial cinematic to the amazing graphics and sound direction, this is how a survival horror game should be done. I do agree that in many cases the game is TOO scary, to the point where I had to take a break because the adrenaline was running for too long and I couldn't take it anymore. However, hook this game up to some great surround sound, on a nice big HDTV and sit back in awe at how immersed you are in the game. This is hands down the best use of surround sound I've encountered in a game. At the greatest hits price its a steal and worth a try for anyone.

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I got my little brother Dead Space for his X-Box 360 for Christmas. The game ended up spooking him enough so that he was barely able to get past the 2nd chapter, and so he flew it my way to see what I would make of it. The game took me roughly a week to polish off (between work and sleep) and I found a thoroughly frightening game with beautiful graphics and one of the spookiest atmospheres to be found in any horror/survival shooter game. Beware, a few mild spoilers ahead!

Dead Space takes place in the ever far-flung future around a distant planet called Aegis VII on board a derelict mining ship called the Ishimura. It seems that that CEC (Concordance Extraction Corporation), the company which owns and operates that mammoth ship, has lost contact with it. To make matters worse the ship, populated by 1,000 miners, scientists, and ship command types, is transmitting a distress call. So the CEC sends another ship, the CEC Kellion off to Aegis VII to see what's happening. The Ishimura is an interesting vessel, officially titled a "Planet Cracker". It cuts away a huge portion of the planetary landscape, pulls it up into orbit, and commences to refining these large chunks of rock into ore. And, predictably, a ship with this capability is going to be, by necessity, a rather large vessel by default.

The Kellion carries a small complement of personnel who are there to find out why the ship went silent and are tasked with repairing it. But shortly after arrival the Kellion crashes inside the landing bay of the Ishimura due to a malfunction of the guidance control. Among the personnel on the Kellion is Isaac Clarke, the story's protaganist, and the guy you'll be playing as. Seems Isaac has a girlfriend on the Ishimura named Nicole, and Nicole sent him a strange little video before the ship went offline. Isaac also happens to be an engineer, and he has a real knack for taking existing mining tools and weapons and "upgrading" them to make them very palatable for use as weapons. From the time the Kellion crashes in the Ishimura's landing bay you'll know that something has gone horribly awry because the ship seems to be deserted. By the end of the first hour of play you'll wish it *was* deserted and filled with anything *but* the nasties that now inhabit it. By the time Chapter 8 rolled around (there are 12 total) all I wanted was to go home. I did not want to be on this ship at all and the feeling of constant dread that accompanies the game really amps up the fear factor considerably and in turn makes it that much more viscerally enjoyable.

Dead Space isn't a FPS but rather a Third-Person Shooter (like Tomb Raider). The view the player has is over Isaac's right shoulder, which is a bit unusual in a game of this type. There are numerous weapons for use by the player, starting with the basic Plasma Cutter (a mining tool) to the Pulse Rifle (a military assault rifle) on up to flamethrowers and a nasty little weapon called the Ripper, which teleports a circular sawblade out about 10 feet where it hovers (and in turn shreds) any mutants that happen to be standing there. All weapons have a secondary fire mode. The Plasma Cutter can swivel 90 degrees allowing you better "cutting" angles for severing limbs off of baddies, while the Line Gun can fire off a mine which deals blast damage to any monsters standing in its radius. In addition to this Isaac gets a nifty little item called a Stasis Module, which can dramatically slow down moving objects (including monsters) so that they can be bypassed or taken apart at the player's leisure. Isaac also wears a specialized suit called a RIG, with armor plates and visual aids which let the player know his current health and how much juice he has for his Stasis Module. If all else fails Isaac can use two melee attacks, one in which he stomps his rather large, armored boot on the ground (which destroys little swarming enemies) and one in which he swings a big ol' haymaker at his opponent using his weapon. It's a lot to keep track of, but after the first chapter or two much of it becomes second nature.

From the get go Dead Space makes you feel very alone. The Ishimura is a *huge* ship and it is filled with hundreds of nooks and crannies potentially filled with monsters that want to dismember you piece by piece. And the monsters (named Necromorphs) are actually dead members of the original crew. And since there were originally 1,000+ crew this means a whole pile of monsters. Necromorphs come in several varieties. The most common are former humans whose arms have been transformed into stabbing weapons with long spikes where the hands used to be, while others were transformed from infants who like to crawl on walls and shoot long range barbs at you. Others have been absorbed into the ship itself and blast explosive, sentient tentacle beasts in your direction. Early in the story you're separated from your compatriots and have to work entirely alone to repair the ship and bring its basic systems back online, and Necromorphs will drop in to visit at typically the worst possible times. There were moments in the game where I audibly yelped in surprise at my TV screen as a Necromorph dropped from the air vent above me, depositing a bundle of undead nastiness right in front of me. The game is loaded with moments of this type and I found I was unable to play more than 3-4 hours at a time because it was simply too much for my nerves to handle. This isn't helped by the ambient atmosphere, filled with sounds of metal clanging below you, or air vents hissing above. You're constantly looking around to see where the next attack is going to come, even when none does.

The graphics for the game are really pretty and the Ishimura reminds me a great deal of the Nostromo from the movie Alien with its "used future" look. There's no doubt this is intentional and fans of Alien will probably react with the same degree of paranoia and fear inside the Ishimura. At various points around the ship the player can stock up on supplies from Stores, sort of an electronic vending machine, as well as Power Nodes, which are the critical component used to upgrade weapons and armor for use on the Work Bench. Enemies routinely drop ammunition and money (possibly what their previously living human incarnations were carrying at the time of their...necromorphing). By far the most precious commodity are the Power Nodes, and collecting them becomes a pastime of its own. They don't drop from monsters (except for one or two bosses) and can only be found in power boxes located sporadically throughout the ship, as well as being purchased for hefty sums from the Store. But even the humble Plasma Cutter can be come a customized killing machine if it is upgraded enough (the P.C. became my weapon of choice as a direct result of it).

Dead Space also separates itself from the rest of the horror/shooter genre by including two very unique spins on the basic theme. The first is to be found in Zero-G operations. Newtonian physics, monsters, and loaded guns always make for an interesting experience, and the Zero-G segments tend to come across as a puzzle of sorts loaded with adrenaline. The second nuance is that there are numerous spots on the Ishimura where the hull is exposed to open space and requires that you use a finite source of oxygen in your suit. Once the O2 runs out so does your life. One can carry small oxygen canisters around with them, but they take up valuable space and when one isn't sure when these airless episodes are coming one may be disinclined to carry them. Fortunatley the player can upgrade the amount of air their RIG carries by upgrading it at the Work Bench using the aforementioned Power Nodes.

Deep Space draws from many sources, but at the end of the day I was amazed at how very close in flavor it was to System Shock 2. In fact one can put the plotlines for both games side by side and say they're almost the same game, just with different names, monsters, and a few added bells and whistles to Dead Space. The plot for both involves a lone player tackling on a crew transformed after death and tackling a biological entity which controls the whole collective. Both plots involve a ship that is slowly turning into a biological organism and which have a device of some sort which instigates the whole problem in the first place (Shodan in SS2, the Marker in Dead Space). Both involve betrayal from trusted friends and sometimes even helping your enemies a bit when your purpose temporarily is in line with their goals. And both contain video and audio logs of deceased crewmembers providing hints on how to beat the Great Opponent, as well as backstory. However to say that Dead Space is a remake of System Shock 2 is a bit unfair to it too because many games have given nods to SS2 (Doom 3, Bioshock, and several others) in very similar ways. Dead Space also takes a healthy heap of atmosphere from movies like Event Horizon, the aforementioned Alien, Aliens, and yes, even a pinch from Night of the Living Dead. Thus I would sum up by saying that Dead Space is really a fusion of the best these games and movies have to offer presented to the player in a very cinematic way. It's literally like starring in your own sci-fi/horror film. And there may just be a moment that comes along and makes you soil yourself, as the title of my review indicates. Fortunately this didn't happen to me (like I'd admit it!) but I will say that when my dog came up behind me and put her cold, wet nose on my ankle at 2am I jumped 3 feet in the air. Now that, my friends, is a game!

For the price Dead Space *cannot* be beaten. For a paltry $20 this is a horror/survival game that very much is worth every penny you'll pay for it. If you loved the System Shock series, Bioshock, Doom, Aliens versus Predator (PC games), and the like then you will want this game on your shelf. Now, off to go find a fresh pair of drawers.

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