I just finished Dead Space last night, and I want to say a few words about it. This review contains spoilers, so stop reading now unless you'd like to know the ending. I am really glad that I entered with low expectations especially regarding the game's level of innovation, horror, and cinematic quality. These were lacking, but entering the game with eyes open on that topic made it easier to enjoy.
What the game did have going for it was a huge level of badassness. Isaac Clarke does what every victim of a horror movie should do: he gets armed with a variety of ad hoc but extremely deadly weaponry and protective armor, then proceeds with the task of murdering zombies. All of the weapons felt powerful, and the weapon upgrade mechanic was good.
One of the key game features, enemy dismemberment, was entertaining throughout, though not perhaps as novel as the game's authors might believe. It wasn't always "new" to see a zombie's limb shatter as a blasted it with a line of plasma. But the challenge of aiming and getting that job done while being assaulted on all sides never got dull.
Thematically, Dead Space was all over the place. You start the game looking at the back of Isaac's head as he and one other crew member are briefed on the status of the Ishimura, a damaged ship orbiting a planet that was being "cracked" for mining. Get ready, because you're going to see a lot of Isaac's back before your ten hour odyssey is over. However, before you can see his face, he dons his engineer's mask, which he wears throughout the game until the end.
Isaac is a mere engineer with no combat training but a familiarity with tools that put to uncommon use can be quite deadly. That said I question the authors' decision-making in interpreting him as a human. By wearing a mask for the entire game and exhibiting no emotional reaction to anything that happens, I began to feel that Isaac was my limb extending into the game world. He doesn't need emotional reactions: I am experiencing whatever feelings he might feel for him.
Over the course of the game it becomes apparent very quickly to everyone except Isaac's game-internal humanness that his wife is either dead or aiding and abetting the aliens. Which makes it faintly ridiculous when after this is revealed explicitly in the final moments of the game, he puts his hand to his mask like he's sad. Worse was the decision to have him take off his mask in relief after he escapes the planet. I've gone the whole game without seeing this guy's poorly-rendered face. There was no need to change that at the end.
All in all, an enjoyable game with very questionable storytelling. 3.5/5
Playing the Game
While I'm on the topic, a couple of pieces of advice on how to play the game.
- You only need two guns: the plasma cutter and the line gun.
- In the same vein, you ought to only buy the guns you want to use. The game has a nice mechanic where it only drops ammunition for guns you own. Buying ammunition is very expensive compared to drops, so stock up.
- The number of situations in the game (at least on medium settings) where your original health bar is not enough are few. Don't upgrade your suit health until everything else is done.
- Stasis is your friend. Upgrade your stasis energy early and often, and use it to slow down enemies. When enemies are slow, it's easier to shoot their limbs off, which will in turn help you save ammunition, which in turn pays for the cost of using stasis. Do this especially near locations with free stasis recharging.
- Likewise, if a suit upgrade becomes available you should make that your first priority. The extra 5% damage reduction from each new armor level are the most valuable bonuses in the game, followed by the expansion to your inventory slots, which armor upgrades also provide. Let me repeat: the two most valuable bonuses in the game are both delivered through armor upgrades, so make sure to do them immediately when new armor is available.
- Sell extra ammunition and health packs to buy power nodes and upgrade the damage output of your weapons. This will enable you to use less ammunition, and therefore have more extra to sell and buy even more power nodes with.
