About the Dead Space: Downfall, it doesn't answer anything about the end of the game I believe.
I watched it yesterday at a local press event for Dead Space and it is a simple introduction story, some peeps from the ship fighting the necromorphs and (SPOILERS: dying).

It was a really bad movie actually and I don't believe you'll find any clues in it, but I still have not finished the game, so: WHO KNOWS?

I'm really just hoping to see if it talks about Mercer, Nicole, or Klein at all in any form...specifically Nicole.

Ya know, after playing through it for the third time, there is still one part that confuses the hell out of me.  When you first fight the brute, and you go up the third floor of the elevator there is a human on the opposite side, he says "make us whole again" and stands there for like 4 seconds before running away.  You can shoot him but he never falls down or dies.  The only other person that said this was Nicole, and I figured that was because Issac knew her the most and the Hive mind figured she would have the biggest effect on him, but who the hell is the random guy?

I think you guys are giving the story a lot more credit than it deserves. Don't get me wrong, I love Dead Space. A lot. But the overall story wasn't too great but not to say it was bad either. It was a pretty standard alien sci-fi storyline if you ask me. Though, I do definitely disagree that this was not a cliffhanger. Even though EA said that Dead Space 2 is coming, Issac is most definitely dead. I think he needed to die because that was just the kind of game Dead Space was. It was dark, scary, depressing and all these other things. There was no way that Issac could just go home. I knew he was dead from the start.

Also, please don't compare BioShock's story to Dead Space's story. BioShock story>>>>>>>>>>>>Dead Space story

"Did anyone else get the text log that labels the marker "3A"? The first marker was found on Earth, where is the other one?"

"I think you guys are giving the story a lot more credit than it deserves. Don't get me wrong, I love Dead Space. A lot. But the overall story wasn't too great but not to say it was bad either. It was a pretty standard alien sci-fi storyline if you ask me. Though, I do definitely disagree that this was not a cliffhanger. Even though EA said that Dead Space 2 is coming, Issac is most definitely dead. I think he needed to die because that was just the kind of game Dead Space was. It was dark, scary, depressing and all these other things. There was no way that Issac could just go home. I knew he was dead from the start.

Also, please don't compare BioShock's story to Dead Space's story. BioShock story>>>>>>>>>>>>Dead Space story"

"Milkman said:

"I think you guys are giving the story a lot more credit than it deserves. Don't get me wrong, I love Dead Space. A lot. But the overall story wasn't too great but not to say it was bad either. It was a pretty standard alien sci-fi storyline if you ask me. Though, I do definitely disagree that this was not a cliffhanger. Even though EA said that Dead Space 2 is coming, Issac is most definitely dead. I think he needed to die because that was just the kind of game Dead Space was. It was dark, scary, depressing and all these other things. There was no way that Issac could just go home. I knew he was dead from the start.

Also, please don't compare BioShock's story to Dead Space's story. BioShock story>>>>>>>>>>>>Dead Space story"

I'm sorry, but I can't agree on that.  The Bioshock story was good, but I still think the twist was something that could be seen from 100 miles away and the overall way it unfolded was too minimalistic.  Meanwhile, Dead Space was just dead on with everything it needed to present, and the twists were relatively fresh in a genre filled with too many cliches."

"jakob187 said:

"Milkman said:

"I think you guys are giving the story a lot more credit than it deserves. Don't get me wrong, I love Dead Space. A lot. But the overall story wasn't too great but not to say it was bad either. It was a pretty standard alien sci-fi storyline if you ask me. Though, I do definitely disagree that this was not a cliffhanger. Even though EA said that Dead Space 2 is coming, Issac is most definitely dead. I think he needed to die because that was just the kind of game Dead Space was. It was dark, scary, depressing and all these other things. There was no way that Issac could just go home. I knew he was dead from the start.

Also, please don't compare BioShock's story to Dead Space's story. BioShock story>>>>>>>>>>>>Dead Space story"

I'm sorry, but I can't agree on that.  The Bioshock story was good, but I still think the twist was something that could be seen from 100 miles away and the overall way it unfolded was too minimalistic.  Meanwhile, Dead Space was just dead on with everything it needed to present, and the twists were relatively fresh in a genre filled with too many cliches."

I had the exact same feelings about Dead Space. I could definitely could tell that there was something up with Kendra from her constant "Damn, we lost Hammond's signal AGAIN" every 10 minutes. Although I admit that Nicole twist caught me a bit off guard, although I knew something was up once she just appeared behind the Marker. Though once again, it was a fine story, just nothing special."

"Milkman said:

"jakob187 said:

"Milkman said:

"I think you guys are giving the story a lot more credit than it deserves. Don't get me wrong, I love Dead Space. A lot. But the overall story wasn't too great but not to say it was bad either. It was a pretty standard alien sci-fi storyline if you ask me. Though, I do definitely disagree that this was not a cliffhanger. Even though EA said that Dead Space 2 is coming, Issac is most definitely dead. I think he needed to die because that was just the kind of game Dead Space was. It was dark, scary, depressing and all these other things. There was no way that Issac could just go home. I knew he was dead from the start.

Also, please don't compare BioShock's story to Dead Space's story. BioShock story>>>>>>>>>>>>Dead Space story"

I'm sorry, but I can't agree on that.  The Bioshock story was good, but I still think the twist was something that could be seen from 100 miles away and the overall way it unfolded was too minimalistic.  Meanwhile, Dead Space was just dead on with everything it needed to present, and the twists were relatively fresh in a genre filled with too many cliches."

I had the exact same feelings about Dead Space. I could definitely could tell that there was something up with Kendra from her constant "Damn, we lost Hammond's signal AGAIN" every 10 minutes. Although I admit that Nicole twist caught me a bit off guard, although I knew something was up once she just appeared behind the Marker. Though once again, it was a fine story, just nothing special."

After my first playthrough, it was pretty obvious that Kendra was the betrayer and Hammond was the "innocent", but the first time through, I was very much under the belief that Hammond was the bad guy.  It was the tone, the way he denied all this shit being brought up...but during my second playthrough, it was that "ooooooh, gotcha" factor that made me realize how narrow-minded I was being about it all.  I think, however, that Kendra's betrayal and such was played off quite a bit better then Andrew Ryan's betrayal.  The thing is, though, that the story's are ridiculously similar.

Crazy doc?  Check.

Betrayer leading you along?  Check.

Hydroponics stuff?  Check.

Brutes/Big Daddies?  Check.

Audio logs?  Check.

Story of what's going on in-game as well as what happened to this fucked-up playground you are in?  Check.

It's all EXTREMELY similar.  The only thing is that Dead Space has Nicole.  That's where it got me.  It hit with the love story, but it didn't pound it into your head.  It just did it.  Then you get the ending, and it makes you ask all these questions about HER.  I don't think there are many other questions except about Nicole.

That's the part that keeps me going back to the game and playing through it a million times:  I want to find out what the damn deal is with Nicole.  If there were any cliffhanger, it's that you don't know everything about Nicole.

Nicole, Nicole, Nicole, Nicole.  That's what Dead Space has become to me:  a search for the answers about her.  That's why I'm hoping that there's something explained in Downfall, because if not, it's going to take forever for me to get closure.  They never once specifically say "yes, it's really her" or "it's a vision from the Marker leading you along" or "you're crazy".  I mean, Kendra says you are demented, but then again, isn't she demented in her own right?

I'm digging too hard again.  Need to play more Dead Space.  Unfortunately, I've been rockin' some Dead Rising...because it's that time of year, ya know.  = D

"

"Honestly, I think you're reading too much into the Nicole thing. To me, it was pretty simple. Issac suffered from the same dementia that was going on with mostly all the crew members on the Ishimura, as a result he thought he saw Nicole throughout the game. As the actual ending, I think that was a just a bit of irony that the developers decided to throw into the game to just top off the depressing and dark nature of the game. The one person you truly cared about saving is the one who kills you in the end. Maybe, I'm just seeing the story in black & white but I'm usually not the one who is analyzing endings. It's not really my thing. But, hey, more power to you."

So I just finished the game. Call me crazy, but I thought the story, while having numerous similarities, was more captivating than Bioshocks. The one moment that truly stood out was when Kendra killed the doctor, taking off with my shuttle. It was pretty devastating, a lot to take in. I felt bad, because I didn't really trust the guy, then angry because she stabbed me in the back, then the sense of doom set in, not having a ship and all...

This is probably the best game I've played all year. That's saying a lot since I'm gay for Solid Snake.

I beat it on hard last night and got the same ending. The chick jumps issac then it cuts to the credits. I think the boss fight at the end and what you learn about the unitologists is enough to warrant a cliff hanger ending. I was satisfied with what the story revealed and how the game played that I was just glad I got through it.

 A few things I hope the next games cover. Why the unitology church was making the marker on the colony. The "Mosoleum ships" that make up the unitologists secret fleet. Where is the original marker.  And Issac's past - His father is supposed to be a hot shot star ship designer who disapeared with a classified background.

The story was awesome.

Okay, I posted this on another topic but I'll put here as well.

About Nicole. Doesn't that doctor that get killed says that the Hive Mind controls all the Necromorphs? If that's the case he would be controling Nicole to a certain degree. Also the Hive Mind wanted the Marker to go back to planet, which was the oposite that the evil doctor and all cientology dudes wished. They wanted to take it back to earth.
So the Hive Mind controlled Nicole's body to use Isaac to get the Marker back to the planet. I'm pretty sure Nicole is part of the Hive Mind because she keeps repeating "make as whole again", which I think refers to the Hive Mind being together with the Marker. Once Kendra screws everything up the Hive Mind gets pissed and decides to attack you too. And maybe controlling the remains of Nicole to finally finish him when he thinks he's safe.

What least that's how logicaly I can make it out. But to be honest I think it's just an end that has no explanation.  Like most horros movies that make something in the last ten seconds to kill everyone off.

Honestly, I think you're reading too much into the Nicole thing. To me, it was pretty simple. Issac suffered from the same dementia that was going on with mostly all the crew members on the Ishimura, as a result he thought he saw Nicole throughout the game. As the actual ending, I think that was a just a bit of irony that the developers decided to throw into the game to just top off the depressing and dark nature of the game. The one person you truly cared about saving is the one who kills you in the end. Maybe, I'm just seeing the story in black & white but I'm usually not the one who is analyzing endings. It's not really my thing. But, hey, more power to you."

"I'm pretty sure Nicole is part of the Hive Mind because she keeps repeating "make as whole again", which I think refers to the Hive Mind being together with the Marker."

"zitosilva said:

"I'm pretty sure Nicole is part of the Hive Mind because she keeps repeating "make as whole again", which I think refers to the Hive Mind being together with the Marker."

Dr. Klein also happens to keep repeating "make us whole again", but from what I know, he hasn't died at all.  On top of which, I believe that Nicole was saying that before she died, but I don't have any confirmation of that (and without seeing Downfall yet and I haven't touched the game since Fallout 3 hit, I don't see that answer coming anytime soon).

Needless to say, just by seeing that this thread continues to go, there is OBVIOUSLY more to this story that people want elaborated.  I'm just hoping that when EA DOES decide to elaborate, they do it with these steps in mind:

1.  Don't bring back Isaac.  Leave him dead.  Have someone new start the next game off.

2.  Don't cop out by showing off everything and making it "grand" and "epic".  Pitch Black was a fantastic movie because of the mystery behind the character of Riddick, and then after that, they showed all their cards...which weakened the franchise considerably.

3.  Don't stop making high-quality products.  = D

"

Wait....wait....whoa....what the hell are you talking about with this "logs after you beat the game" thing?  I don't remember any logs...

"Wait....wait....whoa....what the hell are you talking about with this "logs after you beat the game" thing?  I don't remember any logs...

...or did I yet again miss something?  -_-  Dammit, I'm gonna have to drop Fallout 3 for a couple days, ain't I?  Because I don't remember anything about Isaac's FATHER being mentioned...

"

I'm gonna say Nicole was a necromorph being controlled by the marker. She only looked normal because Isaac was hallucinating. As soon as Isaac realized he was going crazy, (the very end in the ship) he turned off the display of Nicole. The marker then allowed Nicole to kill him, because he stopped following orders.

I was thinking the same thing, that she cant be a projection of issacs dimentia/insanity/whatever beacuse she does physically does things in the game. You have to protect her when she unlocks that door for you, and then theres the whole recalling of the stolen shuttle... Unless Issac done all of those things and, due to his mental instability, we see nicole doing them.? 

Assuming some things, the sequel could still happen WITH Issac dead, the could just use a new main character and say "Blah Blah Blah, some ship went where Issac's escape pod crashed and those two necromorphs spread to a whole other ship, and maybe that hip landed at a colony or something, so it's pretty easy to make a sequel without the main character from the first game, and it's been done a lot of time too.

Issac is NOT dead.  Nicole was a hallucination caused by the marker.

I'm still saying Nicole was a physical entity.  There's no reason for me to believe otherwise.

"Issac is NOT dead.  Nicole was a hallucination caused by the marker."

A)  Necromorphs carry no actually physical resemblance to their host bodies.  Not once in the game is that evident, except for the ending.  They also never appear as humanoid as Nicole is.

B) Nicole, specifically throughout the end of the game comes and goes as she pleases, once even literally appearing from behind the Marker, seemingly out of mid air.  As if she doesn't actually exist.  The doctor kept speaking of a dead loved one he kept seeing.  There's a reason you're the only one who sees Nicole. 

C) The runes on the digital screen near the end are directly from the Marker.  They also can be seen in the final scene when Nicole attacks you.  The marker is pissed, you failed it.

D) Nicoles body happens to be chilling out on the shuttle?  It's much more plausible that the marker was pissed at Issac.

"A)  Necromorphs carry no actually physical resemblance to their host bodies.  Not once in the game is that evident, except for the ending.  They also never appear as humanoid as Nicole is.

B) Nicole, specifically throughout the end of the game comes and goes as she pleases, once even literally appearing from behind the Marker, seemingly out of mid air.  As if she doesn't actually exist.  The doctor kept speaking of a dead loved one he kept seeing.  There's a reason you're the only one who sees Nicole. 

C) The runes on the digital screen near the end are directly from the Marker.  They also can be seen in the final scene when Nicole attacks you.  The marker is pissed, you failed it.

D) Nicoles body happens to be chilling out on the shuttle?  It's much more plausible that the marker was pissed at Issac.

"

The story is bad.. the directing, cutscenes.. It really was the worst part of the game. I like the action, visuals, and audio..

The story is utter garbage. Too much effort spent on stealing ideas from other franchises than developing their own. The stuff with Nicole was terrible and made absolutely no sense not to mention how dire the stuff with Kendra and Hammond was. Also, was there any mention of how Mercer and the rest were just mooching round the ship on their own while you had to kill all kinds of creatures and sort out locks?

"The story is utter garbage. Too much effort spent on stealing ideas from other franchises than developing their own. The stuff with Nicole was terrible and made absolutely no sense not to mention how dire the stuff with Kendra and Hammond was. Also, was there any mention of how Mercer and the rest were just mooching round the ship on their own while you had to kill all kinds of creatures and sort out locks?"

"HandsomeDead said:

"The story is utter garbage. Too much effort spent on stealing ideas from other franchises than developing their own. The stuff with Nicole was terrible and made absolutely no sense not to mention how dire the stuff with Kendra and Hammond was. Also, was there any mention of how Mercer and the rest were just mooching round the ship on their own while you had to kill all kinds of creatures and sort out locks?"

What?  Tell me then, name a game with a good story, I can guarantee I can point out "LOLSTOLEN IDEA RIGHT THAR"  How was the stuff with nicole terrible?  It actually developed a sense of mystery and made the players think what the hell is going on.  Sorry the game didn't present a big "YOU WIN!!!" sign at the end of the game and blow balloons all over the screen.  By the way, maybe Mercer and Klein just got lucky?  Or locked themselves into certain areas, if you watch Downfall you see that the necromorphs are pretty dumb, there a few times when people just walk by them without being seen."

Well, given that Mercer was trying to actually advance the Necromorph race - had you actually been paying any attention when the Necromorph that kills him doesn't just go ballistic the minute it sees him - then that would tell me that the Marker which is communicating with the Necromorphs is easily saying "hey, don't fuck with this dood".  As for Klein, why would the Marker want to attack him?  He's trying to HELP Isaac get the Marker back to Aegis 7, which is the whole reason the marker hasn't outright killed Isaac yet.  Before you start claiming that to be a double standard, remember that Isaac's mission from the get-go was to see what the hell went wrong, and then it turns into Kendra, Hammond, and him needing to get off the Ishimura...so not until the very end was his purpose to get the Marker back on the planet.  Now, that doesn't explain the ending parts on Aegis 7 where the quarantines lock down and you end up fighting a bajillion Necromorphs...other than the fact that Kendra could've easily been spying away somewhere in there and it was recognizing her and shit.  I don't know, that's digging like crazy, but given that Kendra is a step away from you at all times (how else did she end up at the Marker when you were stepping into the decontamination chamber), it's not out of plausibility.

"As for saying the story is like Lost...I can't even agree in the slightest on that, as I'm an avid hater of Lost.  The stuff thrown here isn't random.  It's part of a bigger puzzle.  Given that they are making Dead Space a multimedia...dare I say...phenomenon (we all know we were ridiculously surprised by the reviews for the game, as well as the reaction it has received)...it's easy to see that they don't need to show all their cards before the river comes up...so to speak.

The story is a rip-off?  What isn't anymore?  The thing is that we KNOW this story is a rip-off.  There's no denying that. Event Horizon, Alien, and The Thing (The Thing is pretty much only in design of creatures I would say, because this doesn't have the same kind of suspense as that)...I would say those are all viable references...and if I were making a game, I would definitely want to look towards the pedigree of those films in order to make a game.  I mean, you say it like it's a bad thing, but I love all three of those movies...so if someone can do a good job in an interactive experience with influence from those, then I'm all for it!!!  The game also borrows heavily from Bioshock, Doom 3, Resident Evil 4, and a slew of other titles...and again, if I was going to steal from something, I would definitely want it to be from high quality titles like that.

So what if the game is a rip-off?  It's a rip-off enough to notice the influences...the same way a Tarantino flick is a rip-off...but it does all of it extremely well."

"The thing is, the concepts mentioned in those two paragraphs are what stops it from being good. Had they just come out with it being a stright forward schlocky action-horror with references taken from everywhere, then fine, but trying ot make it more than it is by introducing some half-arsed mystery into it just kills that mood completely. Like you say with Tarantino, no matter how good you may think his films are, they're all derivative of his sources and at least he knows that. This doesn't so it comes across like a blown opportunity."

"HandsomeDead said:

"The thing is, the concepts mentioned in those two paragraphs are what stops it from being good. Had they just come out with it being a stright forward schlocky action-horror with references taken from everywhere, then fine, but trying ot make it more than it is by introducing some half-arsed mystery into it just kills that mood completely. Like you say with Tarantino, no matter how good you may think his films are, they're all derivative of his sources and at least he knows that. This doesn't so it comes across like a blown opportunity."

Yeah, but Tarantino sucks ass.  lol

I mean, I totally get what you are saying.  I also understand that it's a minority opinion, however.  But it's cool that someone else has something to add to the thread rather than the same ol', same ol'.  We can always rely on you for that, Handsome.

"

It's not that the story ripping off other material is bad.  I mean marker = 2001's monolith to the power of ten...

The story problems come where it's needlessly complicated.  It's confusing and convoluted in a bad way.  A game like this doesn't need this kind of cryptic story, and frankly it didn't pull it off.  At least LOST is answering questions left and right these days.

"It's not that the story ripping off other material is bad.  I mean marker = 2001's monolith to the power of ten...

The story problems come where it's needlessly complicated.  It's confusing and convoluted in a bad way.  A game like this doesn't need this kind of cryptic story, and frankly it didn't pull it off.  At least LOST is answering questions left and right these days."

Are you seriously telling me that I'm expected to wait about five or six years for this story to fit together?  LOST never confuses you, it leaves you with clear questions about what's happening.  Dead Space leaves tons of questions unanswered.   This game is an original IP!  A stand alone video game!  It's not LOST at all, which is why it's expected that I at least have a clear idea of what just happened by the end, even if all my questions aren't answered.

"Are you seriously telling me that I'm expected to wait about five or six years for this story to fit together?  LOST never confuses you, it leaves you with clear questions about what's happening.  Dead Space leaves tons of questions unanswered.   This game is an original IP!  A stand alone video game!  It's not LOST at all, which is why it's expected that I at least have a clear idea of what just happened by the end, even if all my questions aren't answered."

"Are you seriously telling me that I'm expected to wait about five or six years for this story to fit together?  LOST never confuses you, it leaves you with clear questions about what's happening.  Dead Space leaves tons of questions unanswered.   This game is an original IP!  A stand alone video game!  It's not LOST at all, which is why it's expected that I at least have a clear idea of what just happened by the end, even if all my questions aren't answered."

Actually the comparison between Lost and Dead Space does make sense in the way that both of the stories are not good.

I won't talk about Lost here because, well, that show is aboslute crap.

On to Dead Space, I love the game. But the story is not its stronger elements. It is a mix of everything we have already seen but put together in a good way. I think it's pretty much pointless to try to figure out that ending because I doubt it does have any meaning or sense. It's pretty much that "evryone one dies" ending that the majority of horros stories have. Everything seems to be fine and BAM! Everyone is dead. It's cliché, and I seriously have no idea why it's there. We can't know if Isaac is dead, and I doubt we'll ever find out. It's there just to give you one last scary moment after you think everything is fine. And I can tell it worked with me.

"Lost is a good show."

I just finished the game a second time and it really doesn't get any clearer to me. Nicole is dead, that is certain. Though there's one thing I don't get. What is that Amelia that doctor keeps refering to? Like "I'm sorry Amelia" or "I knew I could count with you". I mentioned it on a few post ago, but I thought the name was Alice. The only thing I can think about is that Amelia is a Hallucination that the doctor is having of a loved one that has died.

"Tarsier said:

"Lost is a good show."

Troll status: Confirmed.

Anyway, look at the first letter of every chapter:

Chapter 01: New Arrivals
Chapter 02: Intensive Care
Chapter 03: Course Correction
Chapter 04: Obliteration Imminent
Chapter 05: Lethal Devotion
Chapter 06: Environmental Hazard
Chapter 07: Into the Void
Chapter 08: Search and Rescue
Chapter 09: Dead on Arrival
Chapter 10: End of Days
Chapter 11: Alternate Solutions
Chapter 12: Dead Space

'NICOLEISDEAD' Interesting, or something."

So ok the general consensus in this forum is that..
Nicole is dead?
Issac is dead (i hope not however)?
Very confusing story
Alot of unanswered questions
Lost Sucks
Issac went insance
And someone else can fill in the blanks

So ok the general consensus in this forum is that..
Nicole is dead?
Issac is dead (i hope not however)?
Very confusing story
Alot of unanswered questions
Lost Sucks
Issac went insance
And someone else can fill in the blanks

Nicole is very, very dead.
Can't say if Issac is dead or not.  Maybe?  Nobody can know until a sequel.
Somewhat needlessly confusing.
When push comes to shove not that many.
Lost is awesome, how dare you.
More likely the marker was showing him Nicole, just like it was showing the doc his dead wife.  You only think he's insane because back stabber bitch wrongly implied it.
Depends what the blanks are.