Dead Space: A Review

My friend recently purchased Dead Space for the PS3 because I kept insisting that he buy the game, as it looked fun and slightly freaky. And after he beat it I began playing the game. It is a first person shooter, but filled with mystery and puzzles to solve. The game takes place on the USG Ishimura, a mining space craft that has recently sent out a distress call. The protagonist, Isaac Clarke, is a mining engineer that goes on the rescue mission to find his stranded girlfriend, a passenger on the Ishimura. The rescue shuttle arrives at the downed ship to find radio silence and a massacre.

From the beginning of the game you see the Necromorphs, the alien specie that has caused the bloodshed. The creatures basically are human, but appear to be zombies and something else, too. There are several different types of the creatures throughout the game, but the majority are similar to the ones shown in the picture.

The story is told by collecting video, audio, and text logs that have been scattered about the Ishimura. And the player finds that what first seemed like a simple rescue mission to a downed mining ship is in fact much more complex. Religion, faith, brutality, and fear are all very strong themes in this game.

A couple things that make Dead Space so spooky: lighting, sounds, blood. The ship has been all but destroyed, and many lights are busted and not working. However, some lights flicker and others are motion sensored (which are really amazing), and your eyes play tricks on you. The noises of the ship are eerily quiet, and the occasional soft pattern of footsteps or a snarl can cause you to draw your gun so quick that you'll laugh at yourself at your jumpiness. But the blood is the most gruesome, disturbing part of the game. Apparently the passengers were ripped apart and blood splattered everywhere. There is writing on the wall with blood (often which contains hints). There is an infirmary and a morgue onboard the ship, and both of these places are literally covered in crimson.

I highly recommend Dead Space to anyone that has a PS3 or a 360 (there is also a PC version, but it didn't get very good reviews due to the controls or something). The game received amazing reviews throughout the video game world, and I heartily agree. The physics behind the graphics are simply beautiful. Zero gravity is awesome. The story is intriguing. The fright is fun.

Do yourself a favor and at least rent Dead Space. Or download the demo. The game only takes around 10 hours to beat, but it's a game you'll want to beat a couple of times to fully appreciate the complex story and the wonderful gameplay.