'Dead Space' (2008) Game Review

“In space, no one can hear you scream.” That famous tagline from Ridley Scott’s classic Sci-Fi horror ‘Alien’ gets thrown around quite a lot. I now have to assume that this line cannot be applied to Visceral Game’s astoundingly scary survival horror title ‘Dead Space’. Not only will people hear you scream, people will also melt around you, Raiders style, as your ridiculous real body motions of fear during an escape send shivers down the currently melting spines of your comrades as they watch you succumb to what many in the 1500s may have assumed to be a severe case of good ol’ demonic possession.

The game follows CEC Engineer Isaac Clarke as he boards the Planet Cracker class mining vessel named the USG Ishimura after communications to the ship were lost during its illegal mining operation on the colonist planet of Aegis VII. The reason for Isaac’s posting on the Ishimura not only being a result of his engineering skill, but also his personal ties to one of the crew members, his girlfriend, Nicole. However, as with all the best horror works, things didn’t quite go to plan.

This game, is fantastic in so many ways. The atmosphere it creates is second to none among other survival horror games of its time, and many of the previous generation’s offerings.  The HUD offers no safety in game, as you are still left in play when checking your inventory which is displayed as a holographic panel projected by your engineer suit’s ‘RIG’, along with your healthbar which is displayed along Isaac’s back as blue segments, turning green, yellow and red according to the number of hit points that remain lit. Even the tutorial panels are projected by the ‘RIG’, again offering no protection from any enemies nearby. Rather than the more traditional compass or waypoint for objectives, Dead Space opts again for a more immersive approach in this regard, having a holographic locator activated in Isaac’s hand that traces a glowing blue line on the floor towards his next objective. All these features merge to create a game that is built upon almost total immersion. Even items inside lockers or the corpses of enemies come up as a projected panel. The controls are also very well done, with a Resi Evil style aim system, and a simple melee system to boot.

The enemies themselves take the form of Necromorphs. These are ex-humans who died and became reanimated into terrifying creatures, similar to The Thing, that come in several varieties. Every weapon in their arsenal, be it blades on their arms or spikes fired from their dangly mandibles, is supposed to be composed of something within the human body, giving them a very organic, alien, but also quite human appearance, and one that I found quite refreshing compared to the usual bipedal zombies from other games of its kind. Perhaps one of Dead Space’s most unique features is its kill mechanic. Rather than placing most damage points within shots to the head, Dead Space instead decides to make dismemberment the most effective way to dispose of enemies, adding a very original and gory touch to an already very uniquely terrifying experience.

Resource scarcity is punishing in Dead Space, forcing you to ration ammunition and prioritise which weapons are more useful and when to use them. This sense of desperation as the ammo counter falls adds to the tension, creating an effect similar to that which was created by the ammo levels on the Sentry Guns and Pulse Rifles in Jim Cameron’s ‘Aliens’. It also adds to the difficulty of the game. It can be truly torturous at times, especially if you wrongly prioritise one weapon over another in a situation, a scenario all too common for those who wish to simply storm through the game all guns blazing. There is always of course the two option melee system of a semi rapid punch for standing enemies and a slow but effective ghetto stomp for grounded enemies, as well as a ‘Kinesis Module’ which allows you to use the game’s wide array of inanimate objects as weapons, also allowing you to use the limbs of your Necromorph foes against them. Either way, it’s far more appealing to have a fully loaded Plasma Cutter at your disposal rather than your hands and feet…as well as other people’s hands and feet.

Surprisingly enough, despite having a mute protagonist (if you ignore his cries of pain that is), the game’s story is still pretty enjoyable, with a plot twist that I had in a way predicted but still had to appreciate as I was a bit blindsided by it in the end. The world that is built up also gives a sense of real thought having been put into making the world of Dead Space as real as possible. I also really felt for Isaac more than most videogame characters, and he currently stands as one of my favourites.

My only gripe with the game lay in the sometimes repetitive mission structures, which at times followed a pattern of finding your ally, getting told to do something, then going off to find another ally. Apart from that, I really can’t complain, whilst many note the melee system as a problem when overwhelmed by enemies, I found it to simply add to the tension for better.

Verdict:

Dead Space was a breath of fresh, blood tinged air in a world of action horror and cheap jumps scares that actually has the amazing element of a story! A real, functioning story! It also plays well and keeps you constantly on your toes. If you like being scared, and if you like survival horror games, you’re gonna love this. Imagine Alien as a game, ramp up the fear and gore by 100. Voila.

Score:

10/10

-Jamie

Copyright Jamie King 2013, All Rights Reserved, permissions may be granted upon request