Dead Space Banned Internationally? Whatever. I’m American.

There have been reports from EA about its upcoming, deep-space survival horror game Dead Space not being released in Germany, Japan, and China. Other sources suspect that it’s untrue and that EA is just pulling our chains. I used to care less about the restrictions that other countries put on their imported video games, but with survival horror, it has made me appreciate being a violence-loving, desensitized, blood-thirsty, American-born horror game fanatic.

While superfluous in many games, the survival horror genre is definitely aided by gore. Last year, I was able to play an imported Japanese copy of Resident Evil 4 on the Wii. I had beaten it both the Gamecube and Playstation 2 versions, on Normal and Hard. I even unlocked the hand cannon by getting 5-stars on every stage with every character in Mercenary Mode. Popping in the Japanese import, I found myself loving the Wii controls, and was looking forward to further adventures with Leon and company. I got the shotgun, and deciding to forego my usual ammo conservation game, I ran up to a villager to blow his brains out, but I couldn’t. No brains were to be had. The villager died as usual, but the head remained intact.

After confirming that decapitations were impossible, I approached a chainsaw-wielding villager, cringed, and let him have at me. Many chainsaw swings and blood splatters later, “You Are Dead” appeared on the screen. I tried to continue playing, but it just wasn’t the same. No longer did I fear the chainsaws, feel satisfied with the shotgun, or even worry about instant-kills. The first time I was chainsaw-decapitated in Resident Evil, I felt abused. Nay, conquered. The next time I heard that sound, my heart raced, my fingers became frantic, and I feared for the safety of Leon. Basically, I was horrified. I pity the Japanese players who consume the shell of a game that is the censored version.

Other countries are getting either robbed of Dead Space or at least getting a censored version like Resident Evil 4. Too bad for them, because I am pumped for this game. Good old-fashioned USA brand violence. The combat uses dismemberment, with players having to blow off enemy limbs in order to dispatch them. No pause-inventory and a HUD-less screen (the lifebar is shown on the player’s spine and ammo is displayed directly on your weapon) shows that EA is really trying to push towards realism to create a better atmosphere and better mood. They’ve been creative with monster designs as well, revealing a monster that plays dead, and another than can use dead bodies as hosts. Couple this with an Alien-esque futuristic setting featuring both anti-gravity sequences and space-mining tools for weapons, and you have yourself a great recipe for terror. Sure, our media might blow certain video game stories out of proportion, but at least they aren’t being banned or censored outright yet.

Additionally, whereas most games get their release dates pushed back, Dead Space’s release date has recently been pushed forward. Sounds like a good sign from the development team to me. The 360 version hits stores October 14th and PC gamers get a crack at it in time for Halloween on the 20th.