Dead Space

With Dead Space 2 out and my copy still in the mail, I thought it would be a good idea to run through the game that got the franchise its start to get me back up to speed before plunging into the very well-received sequel (with an average rating of 90 from 73 critics on Metacritic).  I only played through the game once when I originally purchased it, and that was a couple years ago, so playing through it again was a relatively fresh experience.  For this review, I decided to go at it on Impossible.

As an avid fan of the horror genre, in film as well as games, I find myself drawn to titles with promise of scares regardless of production values—it’s usually a question of when and not if I will get a “survival horror” game.  With that said, I’m a sucker for environment and psychological scares (like those offered in the Silent Hill franchise); the kind of stuff that really messes with your mind and affects you beyond your play time.  With games like Resident Evil (another franchise I hold in high regards)—at least the pre RE5 games (don’t get me wrong, I love RE5… it’s just not a survival horror)—you are treated to “jump scares;” the kind of stuff that “gets” you while you are indulging yourself in the interactive medium, but once the startle is gone, you move on with your life and don’t really think much of it (unless it’s a very well-constructed jump scare that stands tall above the rest (I’m looking at you, dude in the locker in Condemned… that game is freaky)).

Dead Space is an ambitious game that attempts to combine the atmospheric tension and psychological scares with the jump starts and falls short of its lofty goals by being painfully predictable.  That isn’t to say that Dead Space isn’t a fun game to play or that it doesn’t have its moments, but the scripted ones fall short of the desired effect and leave you wishing that they would have spent time constructing something more unique instead of relying on their heavy Doom 3 and Resident Evil 4 influences.  Scripted moments aside, some of the most intense situations in the game are when you find yourself oblivious to an enemy in a combat arena (something we’ll discuss further down thither) and you think you’re clear to progress only to be greeted with an unexpected death from behind.

Dead Space is an action game that presents itself as a survival horror but manages to abandon some of the finer points of the horror genre by supplying you with endless amounts of ammo (which can also be purchased in shops) and health—there’s rarely a moment in this game where you can’t just shoot your way through a problem.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, shooters are fun, too, but it is a downfall that robs the game from being a true redefinition of the horror genre by presenting you with a scenario that could have been heart-pounding in its intensity only to be a mere speed bump to be resolved with your upgraded weapons and copious ammo supply (playing on Impossible, I started with default equipment; I had no money or upgrades when I began playing on the hardest difficulty in the game and still found it to be relatively easy to just shoot my way around a problem without fear of running low on ammo).

Running away should always be an option available in survival horror games—when you don’t have enough ammo to kill everything on screen, so you use your gun as more a last-ditch effort to stun an enemy long enough for you to pass by than your means of progression.  That’s hardly even a choice in Dead Space as throughout the game you will find yourself locked in a combat arena (you’ll hear a computer voice announce, “Anomaly detected.  Lockdown initiated,” and all the doors will lock) and you’ll be unable to progress until you’ve killed everything in the room with you.  This isn’t a survival horror mechanic—this is an archaic relic from a bygone era of action games intended to artificially increase a game’s duration (combat arenas still exist in games, yeah, but it doesn’t mean they should… at least not in the main campaign—that kind of gameplay should be reserved for a challenge mode or something supplemental).

I know it sounds like I’m being overly harsh on the game but, when I first purchased it, I had high hopes that it would be something truly great and was disappointed by the lack of horror in this supposedly scary game.  So, what did I like about the game?  As I said earlier Dead Space attempts to combine the jumps with a memorably creepy atmosphere and psychological scares and, even though the mind games Dead Space tries to play with you fall short, the environment is wonderfully dark, disturbing, and creepy.  It’s unfortunate, then, that areas are reused multiple times as you have to backtrack through the Ishimura to complete redundant objectives that no one else seems capable of completing.  The backtracking through environments is somewhat forgivable, though, as there are changes with each passage that helps quell the repetition (some nasties may have grown around the environment, new passageways opened, and new lockers with goodies inside become inexplicably unlocked).

Combat and the enemies you face are also thrilling in Dead Space (yes, I know I complained earlier about how combat is over-emphasized in Dead Space, but it’s well-done, so I can’t fault them for that).  Even though it may grow tiresome or repetitious to be locked in a room with a set amount of enemies time after time, the combat mechanics themselves never grow old.  Strategic dismemberment is key in Dead Space; opting out of the traditional “just shoot ‘til it dies” gameplay of action titles, Dead Space has you use your arsenal of weapons to free the necromorphs of their threatening appendages.  Each weapon features an alternate fire mode which can allow you to better place your shots for a more accurate dismemberment (e.g. the plasma cutter rotates between a horizontal and a vertical beam).  Necromorphs vary widely in levels of threat and intensity and you’ll find yourself constantly switching between fire modes to keep the upper hand.

One complaint I do have with the combat is the lack of a quick stasis reload (you have a stasis module which is often used in solving minor puzzles in order to progress through the campaign, but it is also very useful in dispatching enemies by slowing them down and allowing you ample time to take aim).  You can quick heal yourself by pressing “X” (I imagine it’d be square in the PS3 version) to use a med pack (something I wish they would have done is take into consideration how much health you have to decide which size health pack to use—there’s three sizes of health pack (small, medium, and large), and if I’m in the red on health in the heat of battle, it would be nice if it used a medium or large instead of small), but there’s no equivalent to reload your stasis—instead, you’re forced to open up your real-time inventory (which means that when you open your inventory, the game doesn’t pause… so, if something is trying to make a meal of your face, tough noodles, you’re likely going to die trying to get your stasis refilled) and fumble about trying to get your stasis refilled before death comes crashing down upon you.  Sure, you can use a start menu cheat code to instantly refill your stasis, but that, as the name implies, is cheating.

Dead Space also weaves an interesting tale, which is a refreshing breath of air in the stagnating genre (as much as I love the Silent Hill franchise, they haven’t told a worthwhile story in years (I, sadly, haven’t played Shattered Memories, but I do look forward to Downpour)).  The game’s main plot is told like a search and rescue/repair mission gone totally wrong and becomes a desperate fight for survival against an unknown enemy dubbed “necromorphs.”  That plot is supplemented by a back story told through written, audio, and video logs which detail the outbreak of this gruesome infestation and the radical religious ideals that caused these horrors to be unleashed.  There’s obviously a lot of story to be told in this universe; it’d be impossible to fit it all in one game (which is why there’s the sequel, Extraction, the comics, as well as the two animated flicks out) and it’s a lore I would very much like to continue exploring.

One of my favorite things, if not my favorite thing, about Dead Space is the upgrades.  It’s similar to an RPG system, but rather than focusing on customization, it’s all about making your armour and weaponry the most badass of them all.  It’s an idea they borrowed from RE4 and made their own and a feature that makes the game exceedingly replayable (all of your upgrades will carry over into each subsequent playthrough on that difficulty (this is another thing I like about Dead Space—upgrades don’t carry over into higher difficulties.  This is something I admire because it means that difficulty levels still have weight—hard or impossible would be a cakewalk if you were fully upgraded)).  Throughout the game’s campaign, you will find power nodes (which can also be purchased at the store) which you use to upgrade your weapons and armour by assigning a node to a circuit.  Not every node actually makes an improvement, however, but bridges the gaps between stages of improvement; it’s a neat feature that prevents you from becoming too overpowered too quickly.

Dead Space is a game that draws obvious influences from games like Resident Evil and Doom while trying to stand on its own, shaky ground.  It’s not truly revolutionary, but it’s a game that shows great promise for a franchise that could redefine horror games.  The broken and creepy halls of the USG Ishimura might not haunt you beyond the 10-13 hours it takes you to beat the game (on your first playthrough—each subsequent playthrough, with all your upgrades and such, will be even quicker), but it gives you hope for the future of the franchise—and the genre.