Well, played up to Chapter 4, I think? I’m in the engine section, just turned on the centrifuge.
So far it’s kind of failing to live up to expectations. A lot of the environs feel like Quake 4 all over again, although the zero G and vacuum areas are quite trippy. Visuals overall however are quite good and the Ishimura is starting to take a life of its own.
However my main gripe is the predictabilty so far. I run into an alien corpse that I haven’t killed yet, and of course it jumps to life just as I slice its head off. Walk into a well lit laboratory with intact ventilation hatches, of course the lights will fail and a gunfight will ensue. Even the story isn’t surprising, I’m just seeing a standard “crazy guy goes mutant and spreads his infection” plot, so I’m desperately hoping for a twist.
It’s this predictability which makes the game a lot less scary than it should. After playing games like FEAR and STALKER I know that the key to making something scary is using a fuckton of foreshadowing. Dead Space tries to do this, but half-heartedly with the occasional dark corridor, loud noise or simple shadow. It doesn’t put you on edge enough and when the enemy does appear it’s more akin to some soldier rushing out at you than a fear-commanding predator.
That said it isn’t a bad game. The visuals are great, with plenty of little details such as survivor messages, maggot ridden corpses and loose everyday items. The blood decals seem a bit overused though in areas which are mostly devoid of actual bodies.
The whole inventory and store system is very reminiscent of Dino Crisis 2, which is slightly nostalgic but also quite comforting. Even the aiming system is similar, except that melee is actually a feaseable option in this game.
I did encounter mouse problems that were described here, but turning off Vsynch made the pointer respond less laggily. There was also a point at the start where the camera would get into an uncontrollable spin, which I discovered was due to the Z-Axis throttle on my joytstick! After these were sorted out it was fine, however I’ve noticed that the aiming mode camera is quite sluggish. Is this normal? I’m unable to make it any faster, but this is more of an inconvienience than a life threatening control issue.
I’ve had some good moments so far. Just as standard necroforms had become unfrightening and simple enemies to deal with, I run into a swarm of gooey things. A long streak of not dying was broken as they crawled all over me and bit me to death. Oddly enjoyable to be killed by what appeared to be a harmless enemy. There was also a point where I was opening a door, only to see a shadow move across the wall in front of me. After turning around to see nothing there I KNEW it was just a trick, but I went and rechecked the hallway anyway!
Strangley enough the creepiest parts of the game have been the ones with crewmembers in it. Seeing insane people slamming their heads into a wall or cutting their own throats is far more rattling than a random monster dropping from the ceiling. I also found the laboratory full of babies nightmarish; the occasional infant cry proving just as unnerving as the soft whispering in the morgue.
All in all it’s a solid game but not quite up to its reputation. I’m still fairly early in though, so I’ll see if Dead Space can surprise (or scare) me yet.
