Dead Space

Dead Space is a scary game. The lighting, sound, and pacing blend perfectly together to create an experience unlike any other, even when it's clear that EA has aped a few of the design mechanics. The control scheme, for example, shares a number of elements with Capcom's RE4, while the audio logs and ruined environment reek of Bioshock. The genius of Dead Space comes when players realize that the game has come together to be so much more than the sum of its parts.

Let's get this out of the way as soon as possible: The sound work in Dead Space is absolutely ingenious. Usually I wait until the end of the review to briefly mention the audio portion of a game, but Dead Space deserves so much more than that. During my 11 years of gaming, never have I heard such mastery of audio. Everything from the strained grinding of the Ishimura's engines to the dull thud of Issac's boots against the floor adds significantly to the foreboding atmosphere that permeates every second of gameplay. These effects are made even more impressive when one realizes that in a video game, every single sound must be created from scratch. That grinding noise of the engines isn't actually a single engine at all; it was recorded under a bridge during heavy traffic, but it really does sound terrifying. The voice acting in Dead Space is also very solid. However, if I have one complaint about the audio, it is that your fellow crew simply does not sound as panicked as someone in the Ishimura probably should. They're scared, make no mistake, but I bet most people would be crapping their pants in terror.

Now that I've given the audio portion due priase, let's examine the gameplay. As I mentioned before, Dead Space plays similarly to Resident Evil 4 on the PS2/GC, but with a few significant enhancements. For one thing, it is possible to shoot and move at the same time in Dead Space, and this addition does nothing to compromise the feeling of horror. Another big addition to the RE4 control scheme is a health pack button which will heal Issac as long as he has a health pack in his inventory. This saves the player from having to dive into a pause screen every time he/she needs to heal and increases the sense of immersion. In fact, everything about the gameplay of Dead Space has been molded to be more immersive. Both the map screen and the inventory screen are displayed in real time, meaning that Issac can be attacked while fishing around for items, although this happens rarely, if ever. The biggest flaw with the gameplay lies in the game's difficulty, or lack thereof. I have been playing Dead Space for around 7 hours and have yet to die on the Normal difficulty setting. The relative ease with which many of the battles can be completed usually does nothing to diminish the horror, though. I have experienced several near-death instances during which only an appropriately timed health pack saved me from the void. It's easy to forget about the simple difficulty when there are five disgustingly warped creatures breathing down your neck.

Dead Space's graphical presentation is very strong, almost matching the sound. It is easily one of the best looking multiplatform games. Shadows play off the walls in eerie ways, making players think that danger lurks in areas of relative safety. Flickering lights play tricks on player's minds. Each area of this ship has a unique look while still retaining similarities with the other areas. A theme of gothic, ribbed architecture pulls each of the disparate artistic elements together into a cohesive whole. Seeing these often majestic environments stained with the gore of brutalized civilians adds that much more to the creepy atmosphere. Also, again like Bioshock, Dead Space's art designers have made it clear that people once lived peacefully in the Ishimura by adding warning signs, functioning tram signs, billboards, stores, and even basketball courts. This makes the environments look all the more striking. Despite many similarities to Bioshock and RE4, Dead Space manages to establish itself as a wholly unique franchise largely because of the art and sound direction. Everything is rendered admirably, making Dead Space the graphical equal of almost any multiplatform game this generation. There are, however, two faults with the graphical presentation of Dead Space, one glaring and one not so obvious. The not-so-obvious fault is Issac's shadow. While every other shadow is beautifully done, Issac's own shadow, while rarely seen, is horribly pixelated. The most glaring flaw with the graphical presentation, though, is how small the text of the abandoned diaries appears, especially on SDTVs. I played through part of the game at a friend's house on his SDTV, and the text was painfully small. I have pretty good eyesight and could still read it, but my friend could barely make anything out.

Dead Space sports an intriguing story that is told in even more intriguing ways. While much of the back story is told through abandoned diaries, once again like in Bioshock, the rest of the narrative is relayed through holographic projections of your fellow mechanics that hover in midair about a foot in front of Issac's face. This is a really cool effect that allows players to always stay in control.

Dead Space is a masterpiece of horror gaming, and it is all the more shocking that such an excellent and ultimately original game came out of EA. If EA were to put this much effort into all or even most of their releases, they would quickly transform from the bane of hardcore gamers to their savior.

Graphics: 9.75/10: Absolutely stunning, other than the pixelated shadow of its lead character and the wretchedly small text.
Sound: 10/10: As good as, no, better than the MGS4 sound track, which makes Dead Space the best sounding game of all time. It simply has to be heard; thankfully this game is nice and loud.
Gameplay: 9/10: Rock solid, but I can't help but feel that a lot of Dead Space was culled from RE4 and Bioshock.
Entertainment: 9.5/10: Despite being horrified, players will not put the controller down for hours, and will be thoroughly shaken when they finally do.

To all PS3 owners who do not have a 360 or gaming PC on hand and who enjoy Dead Space: I highly reccomend that you also buy Bioshock, which releases this October on PS3. Both Dead Space and Bioshock are masterpieces, and both share similar themes. These games simply must be experienced.