Your Parents Can Still Hear You Scream From Their Basement: A Dead Space Review

Dead Space is a game of many space helmets. Some try to classify it in the survival horror category, and while it is scary and you are trying to survive, it is much more than that. I would classify it more as an action horror space simulation. Let me break it down for you.

You play as Isaac, an engineer who has traveled to the Ishimura to help repair some things that went wrong. But he soon found the place overrun with Necromorphs (zombie-like creatures) and dead bodies and realized that he would be doing less repairing and more severing. Luckily, he has a couple of firearms to dispose of the Necromorph masses.

While there are six weapons to purchase, I found that many of them were for novelty use only and that you can get by with about two. Don’t get me wrong, they are cool weapons with plenty of upgrades, but it can be expensive to manage them all. There is a flamethrower, pulse rifle, plasma rifle, a more powerful and larger plasma rifle, a gun that shoots saw blades, and a gun that shoots out force. Wind, maybe? It’s kind of unclear. But there is a nice variety to please anyone and to make things more robust, each weapon has secondary fire which usually ends up shooting out a grenade or explosive of some sort.

Unlike most survival horrors, ammo is hardly a problem here. Enemies routinely drop ammo pick ups and you usually get back more ammo from the Necromorph than what you put into them. Plus, much like Metroid, you get what you need. You will get plasma ammo if you’re using the plasma rifle and flame fuel if you’re using the flame thrower. It’s convenient and makes things less frustrating.

Can't we all just get along?

That’s not to say the game coddles the player; while there are save points in nearly every hallway, there are also loads of enemies. Often times you will be locked in a room with Necromorphs, some you can’t even kill, but only maim. Dead Space employs a dismemberment system that is more useful than merely for show. Enemies take much more damage when limbs are lobbed. Shooting for the head may seem logical, but cutting their legs off, then their arms, is much more efficient.

A very important part of horror games is the atmosphere and Dead Space has set the bar high. There is always a sound somewhere that you can hear. Sometimes it will be a wet sound of a Necromorph emerging from a human husk, or the high pitched growl of a Necromorph coming to slaughter you. When you’re catching your breath you will often begin to hear something along the lines of satanic whisperings. Blood is splattered across the walls, along with some sort of rune system. Even when you are being attacked, loud battle music begins to play. It trains you so that later on, when the effects of the crazy begin to kick in, the music begins to play even when you’re all alone. Along the ship are audio logs à la BioShock that help flesh out the story and how it all went down. They run the gamut from tame to totally sickening. Never have I experienced such ambiance in a horror game.

Exploration is fun even when you are forced to travel back to the same parts of the ship. It never feels the same because Necromorphs don’t rest and they are busy making this place their new home. Routinely you will run into new enemies and hazards as you travel back to old places. Often times you will be forced into zero-g or into space. In zero-g, you can jump freely from wall to wall and the view re-orients itself relative to Isaac. It’s interesting, but sometimes I found myself confused, disoriented, and even nauseous.

I must also mention the HUD. While there is no true HUD, all of the information is relayed to you via Isaac’s suit. His health and stasis bar display themselves as gauges on the suit. The inventory system is limited at first, but there are many upgrades that help that issue. When you go into the inventory it is wise to seek some shelter first, since it is all real time. It also displays itself relative to Isaac, so it is actually him looking at the inventory and not you. This is the same for the map system and any video transmissions Isaac may be receiving. It never pauses to take you out of the game and you always feel as though you’re right there with Isaac, helping him solve this mystery.

Hey! It's the inventory!

Dead Space succeeds in being a scary game with action around every corner. It’s fun, takes place in space and sure, the plot lacks, but the atmosphere more than makes up any incentive to explore and press onward. And yes, I did scream out loud no less than five times, like a little girl who just saw a spider, while playing this game.