Dead Space (2023) review

    DEAD SPACE (2023) is a remake of the classic 2008 video game. It is a welcome revival of a franchise that briefly was on top of the world with animated movies, comics, and multiple sequels before crashing into a spectacular inferno with the incredibly ill-received Dead Space 3. The premise is simple: in the far future, humanity discovers a series of dark mystical artifacts called Markers that drive people insane before transforming them into horrible zombie-like monsters.

    Dead Space is something of a victim of its own success as the premise is excellent but somewhat limited. The mystery of the Markers, Unitology, and the forces behind them both were intriguing but the games never really added behind them. Familiarity breeds contempt and the universe started to feel limited as well as static rather than constantly growing. Resident Evil and Silent Hills were always growing, while Dead Space didn't. Oh and the fact the third game was an action multiplayer game in a series about survival hero.

    Despite this, I was really excited about the remake as the original game was easily the best of them. As a huge fan of sci-fi horror, like Alien: Isolation, I've always been of the mind that we could use more of it in gaming. It's also good to continually reintroduce the best games to new console generations so that future gamers can appreciate what was fantastic. It's why I absolutely loved the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 remakes.

    While I've already shared the premise of the games, the plot is a bit more specific and interesting in both this version as well as the remake. Isaac Clarke is a technician who is sent to the USG Ishimura that has lost all contact with the outside universe despite just being a mining ship. Heading with a couple of soldiers, Isaac has the mission to repair it and see to helping any survivors. Isaac has a personal motivation as well with his ex-girlfriend, Nicole, being one of the people onboard the Ishimura.

    The gameplay is the biggest change this time around as it more resembles Dead Space 2's more actionized but still scary version. You can go back to the original controls if you want but I much preferred the more streamlined and enjoyable version. The name of the game in the remake is tweaking rather than generally modifying. Virtually the entirety of the original game is present with a bunch of additions rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. There's no "empty" nodes in leveling up either.

    Genuine improvements to gameplay would include the fact the Zero G system of the game is no longer bare bones. In the areas where Isaac can move around without gravity, you are no longer restricted to a preset path but can move around at will. They've also removed the incredibly poor turrett section and replaced it with one that has auto-turrets that Isaac must repair. Those turrets more or less destroyed me the last time I played the game so that's a massive improvement.

    Perhaps the biggest change is the fact that the Ishimura is one gigantic open world map now rather than something you are only able to explore once. A bit like the Spencer Mansion or the Racoon City Police Department, they provide you the opportunity to go around at your leisure. There's also the addition of sidequests that were absolutely terrible ideas in Dead Space 3 but work surprisingly well here. There's more interactivity as well with the previously unopenable red light boxes being available to loot this time around.

    The plot is about 90% the same this time around and that's a good thing even if I went in knowing the big "twist" that was such a shocker in 2008. I also appreciated the larger role for Nicole in this game as she's a character that was somewhat of a Macguffin the first time around but is a fully realized entity this time. Because she and Isaac are played by their original voice actors, we also have the change to their characters that they're a pair of middle aged lovers rather than twenty somethings.

    Lore-wise, we actually get more nods toward Dead Space 3 and the revelations there. At least some of the Unitologists aren't complete morons this time around and are full-on Call of Cthulhu cultists who want to bring about the end of reality for their dark masters. Given the games have always been heavily HP Lovecraft inspired, I'm not against this and hope this is a sign we're going to eventually get a Dead Space 4.

    In conclusion, I think this is a solid and impressive remake. I am a huge fan of HP Lovecraft cosmic horror but like when people take the themes and expand on them in a way that, well a 1920s oddball couldn't, like done here. I have high hopes for the continuation of the Dead Space series and think fans of both the old game as well as ones who never gave it a shot will enjoy this too.

9.5/10

Available here

Dead Space: Martyr review

    The Dead Space franchise is a series of works which I've devoted a good deal of effort to familiarizing myself with. The series premise is the galaxy is littered with "Markers" which are worshiped by a cult called the Unitologists. These Markers are, unfortunately, not very helpful to humanity as they result in horrific mutations along with violent resurrection into space zombies. The trilogy of video games star Isaac Clarke as the only man in the universe with any luck fighting them while the spin-off fiction (books, movies, and comics) tend to star others.

    Martyr is a novel which takes place centuries earlier than Isaac's adventures, before humanity has even journeyed to the stars. In a world not too dissimilar to our own, Michael Altman (future founder of Unitology), is a archaeologist studying in Mexico to be close to his girlfriend. Unbeknownst to him, though, he is right next to the most important discovery of the next few centuries. A corporation operating nearby has located the Black Marker, an object which appears to have originated in space.

    As insanity and monsters begin to result from the experiments on the Marker, Michael must decide whether or not to cooperate with the mysterious device's will or defy it. Even if he attempts the latter, he may not be able to achieve anything because history has already been written and he will go down as the man who inspires trillions to serve the cause of Convergence. What is a man capable of resisting the Markers supposed to do?

    Martyr provides a great deal of background information on the Dead Space universe as well as the origins of Unitology. It also provides reasons for how the cult managed to gain so much influence in the past few centuries. We also get a general sense of what they believe in, going from a pseudo-version of Space Scientology to a twisted version of alien-worshiping New Age version of apocalyptic Christianity. The book relies a bit too much on, "believers in Unitology are only that way because the Marker fried their brain" but it's not like the games have ever had a very sympathetic view to the religion.

    Michael Altman is an enjoyable protagonist, even if his myopia is somewhat irritating at times. He's an everyman who only cares about his girlfriend and his career until events start utterly spiraling out of control. Even so, it's somewhat irritating that he keeps interpreting events through a specific mindset that is probably right but doesn't always fit the evidence. For example, disbelieving in the "ghosts" everyone is seeing is fine. However, Michael insists the ghosts are caused by the Marker and working to its will despite the fact the ghosts routinely attempt to thwart the Marker's will. It's a disconnect which is never explained in the narrative and one I would have liked examined.

    The ending to the novel is an extreme downer but not inappropriate for the franchise. If you don't mind stories which end in a thoroughly depressing manner then and are a fan of the series then this is a worthwhile book to check out. Is it a necessity? Not really. It's more effective than Dead Space: Catalyst in expanding on the universe but its revelations aren't as surprising as they could have been. For example, the discovery Unitology was initially backed by the government as a means of control is presented as a huge revelation but is established early on in the book.

    The supporting characters are somewhat lacking with none of them having any real characterization other than deluded, evil, or stupid. The villains are particularly cartoonish, being nothing than psychopath manipulators who switch their loyalty from fascism to religious control at the drop of a hat. I would have appreciated Michael Altman having other sane three-dimensional individuals to talk to in the game but even his girlfriend is treated as a deluded fool. The stock characters really weakens the narrative overall.

    In conclusion, Dead Space: Martyr is a decent entry into the games and entertaining throughout. It's not great but there's plenty of mythology, world-building, and use of the setting's pre-established characters. If you're a hardcore fan of Dead Space this is a must but it's not for everyone.

8.5/10

Dead Space 3 review

    Dead Space is a series which changed the way horror video games were made. It released three very well-received video games (though not without controversy), a pair of animated movies, many comic books, and quite a bit of merchandise before essentially ceasing to exist as a franchise. That is in large part due to the financial difficulties at Electronic Arts but more particularly due to the mixed reception of this game.

    Dead Space 3 is a big transition from the previous games. There's shooting segments with guns rather than repurposed tools as well as human enemies rather than just Necromorphs. EarthGov, previously an evil fascist state which set most of the horrible events in motion, is re-imagined as a noble ally of Isaac Clarke out to stop the Necromorphs.

    There's cover-based shooting as well as combat rolls. There's numerous bosses which require puzzle techniques to defeat rather than simply expenditure of ammo. There's a tacked-on love triangle between Isaac Clarke, his former partner Ellie, and a psychotic EarthGov military officer which hardly needs to be explained as ending in our hero's favor. Finally, sections of the game are only playable in co-op and there's the option of microtransactions to craft the best weapons.

The starship graveyard is the best part of the game.

    It was controversial (to say the least) with old-school Dead Space fans. Ironically, Dead Space 3 sold roughly twice as many copies as both its predecessors put together. However, Electronic Arts decided this was under-performing and more or less put the kibosh on the series for the indefinite future. It's unfortunate as the series was still quite enjoyable and one not-even-bad-but-just-sort-of-okay game shouldn't put the kibosh on an entire franchise.

    The premise of the game is Isaac Clarke has spent the past three years in hiding on Luna in hopes of escaping EarthGov as well as the Unitologist's insanity. Unfortunately, this is not something Ellie is up for as she's undergone a personality change from the ruthless survival-orientated soldier of Dead Space 2 to a heroic do-gooder who wants to stop the Markers at all costs.

    This resulted in Isaac and Ellie's breakup off-screen, meaning we've never actually seen the two in a relationship save as backstory. Isaac is then kidnapped by the "last battalion of EarthGov" who reveal the Unitologists have overthrown the government (which Isaac seems to have missed) before they unleash a Marker on Luna. Billions of lives are at stake. Which they promptly abandon for another location.

Ellie is made four times as sexy with half the competence.

    Yeah, I get the impression Dead Space 3 went through a lot of rewrites as the next part of the game is a creeptacular starship's graveyard which would have made an excellent setting for the rest of the game but which quickly changed to the rest of the game being set on a Hoth-like ice planet. From there, Isaac struggles to piece together the planet's connection to the Necromorphs and the Markers. Oh, and also deal with the fact he's jealous of Ellie and her jerkass boyfriend.

    The biggest flaw with the game is probably its handling of the characters. Ellie was one of my favorite characters from Dead Space 2, tough and uncompromising wiith a morally dubious set of values chiefly focused on survival. Here, she's unarmed, emotional, idealistic, and mostly helpless with her piloting as well as combat skills having disappeared. Too much of the game is spent on the love triangle between her, Isaac, and Norton despite the fact the latter is little more than a third wheel destined to do something psychotic.

    The combat is quite changed from the original Dead Space and is, in my humble opinion, inferior. Gone is the focus on precision shooting of limbs with a new emphasis on simply filling the Necromorphs with as much lead as possible. The addition of guns versus the use of converted power tools feels like a step backwards honestly. The Necromorphs are also much faster, which does much to detract from the slow building terror of previous games. The addition of human enemies also undermines Isaac Clarke's character a bit as he slaughters his way through numerous Unitologist enemies led by a villain which I charitably believe is one of the worst I've ever seen.

I admit to enjoying the ice world of Tau Volantis, which invokes The Thing.

    There's definitely much to recommend Dead Space 3 and it's certainly fun but the genre shift from horror game to cover-based shooter is irritating. There's a lot of big action movie set pieces like fighting a gigantic Necromorph who swallows you, re-fighting a Necromorph Boss three times, and running down the side of a cliff-face using futuristic mountain-climbing equipment.

    Unfortunately, the action isn't all that great as Isaac handles awkwardly, which was a plus in a horror game but undermines the move to something more akin to Gears of War. There's several genuinely creepy moments in the game, though, as well as an explanation of the series' mythology which elevates a mediocre shooter to above-average but this is damning with faint praise.

This is the villain. Seriously. Scientologist Elton John!

    I should note Dead Space 3 was designed for Co-Op play and if you can get a partner for it, the game is quite frenetic and fun with more story content. I find Co-Op character Carver to be interesting as they seemed to have moved all of Isaac Clarke's "insane antihero" elements to him. I also recommend the DLC Awakened which is a much more traditional horror-based game with disturbing new monsters as well as a genuinely scary atmosphere.

    Unfortunately, Awakened ends on a cliffhanger which may never be resolved thanks to the treatment of the game by Electronic Arts. This is perhaps my biggest disappointment with the game as it answers a ton of questions about the series but generates a thousand more. I will say I regret the chance to not use a planet-cracker on one of the Brethren Moons. Would it be horror? Hell no, but it would be awesome.

I admit, this dude came close to becoming my archenemy in video games.

    In conclusion, I recommend Dead Space fans pick up a copy of Dead Space 3 only if they're completionists. Much like the Alien movies, you're not really missing anything if you only enjoy the first two and decide to skip the rest of the franchise. Despite this, there's nothing particularly wrong with the game aside from some character assassination, a bad villain, and a cop-out pair of endings. It's just underwhelming compared to two really good games.

5/10

Dead Space: Catalyst review

    Dead Space: Catalyst is an excellent book with a really awful opening. The writing isn't bad, don't get me wrong, but it's a bit of a case of the author doing a set up which is far removed from the premise of what the audience came here to enjoy. For those who may be put off by the introduction, I encourage readers to stick with it as you'll be rewarded with plenty of traditional Dead Space fun with Unitologists, Necromorphs, Markers, action, and horror.

    The premise of the book is brothers Istavan and Jensi live on one of Earth's many space colonies. Unfortunately, despite being five hundred years in the future, they haven't found a cure for either poverty or mental illness as Istavan suffers from paranoid schizophrenia which goes undiagnosed as well as untreated.

    In an introduction which has nothing to do with the Dead Space universe for almost a third of the book, Jensi struggles between his desire to abandon Istavan and his love for him. Eventually, because this is Dead Space and not a drama about a difficult real-life situation, Istavan kills a politician under a belief he's not actually hurting him and is sent off to a prison-planet version of Guantanamo Bay.

    It's there the Unitologists, dastardly space-cult they are, are experimenting with the prisoners using yet another artificial marker. Jensi, riddled with guilt for not doing more for his brother, uses every resource he can to track down his brother so he can rescue him. By the time he arrives, though, the Marker has already done its usual thing and it becomes a race to see if he can save his brother (or the world from him).

    I give props to the authors for the fact they handled a sensitive subject, mental illness and the challenges it poses, with a deft hand. Unfortunately, it rather throws the pacing off tremendously in the book. There's neither hide nor hair of the Dead Space universe for much of the book and things don't get going until the final third.

    I believe video games can and should be able to tackle a wide variety of sensitive subjects but I can't help feel this is a work which would have benefited from reducing the sections devoted to Jensi caring for Istavan to a single chapter. Either that or spread the events of the story through flashback while keeping us in the middle of Necromorph action.

    The treatment of mental illness is handled well with Istavan not being a bad person, merely confused and unable to interact with the world the way other people do. The book doesn't hold onto this view completely as this provides him a minor protection against the Necromorph's Marker's effects but it doesn't turn his disability into a superpower either.

    The best part of the book is, for me, the parts which deal with the Necromorphs and their outbreak as well as the thoroughly bleak ending. There's a lot of fun homages to the games spread throughout this and I wish this section had been longer. I would have gladly read a book about a pair of brothers struggling with infirmity as well as a non-stop alien-zombie action adventure but I'm not sure those two things went well together here. Still, I enjoyed 2/3rds of the book very much and loved the ending.

7/10

Dead Space 2 review

    Dead Space was a really enjoyable game to me. It was a wonderful homage to Alien, The Thing, Event Horizon, and just about every other good science-fiction horror movie made during the Eighties. The game suffered for the fact there were too many killable monsters and after slaying your 60th or 70th Necromorph, they're not really all that intimidating. Despite this, I was entertained and decided to pick up the remaining two in the trilogy.

    The premise of Dead Space 2 is Isaac Clarke has spent the past three years completely off his rocker in a Jupiter Space Station insane asylum. His doctors seem less interested in curing our demented protagonist than trying to extract whatever information he might have gleaned about the Necromorphs and the mysterious Marker which created them. So, of course, one day a new Necromorph outbreak occurs within a major metropolitan area in the same system as Earth.

The straight-jacket section neither lasts too long nor is too short.

    Despite this promising premise, I was skeptical if lightning could hit the same spot twice. Horror games are a different sort of genre, science fiction or not, than action adventure games. Isaac Clarke, silent protagonist or not, was a very good lead for the first game but how would the game cope with him confronting Necromorphs for a second time? Surely, the monsters would be less intimidating now that he can and has dealt with them before?

    If they wanted to do a horror game then shouldn't they have done what they did in spin-offs by having a new protagonist? Perhaps another one with a funny name derived from science fiction authors or actors? Howard Phillips? Sigourney Hamilton? [note: Howard Phillips actually shows up as a dead NPC in this game.] Isaac Clarke's return was a welcome one but he couldn't react with newcomer's eyes this time around. No matter what, Isaac is an action survivor and knows how to deal with the situation.

The Church of Unitology is one of my favorite parts of the game. Creepy and atmospheric.

    Alas, this turns out to be the case and Dead Space 2 has a dramatically different pacing than the original. This isn't really a horror game but a over-the-top action horror game. More Warhammer 40K and Doom than the original Dead Space.

    It is an extremely fast-paced adventure where you're constantly shooting enemies which have the potential to overwhelm you at any moment. Things never let up in the game so there's not an easy break between chapters the same way there was in the original game. You never get to catch your breath in Dead Space 2 as one disaster invariably leads to the next and this has both its highs and lows.

I hate, hate, HATE the monster kids.

    Ironically, the game makes several changes I suggested for the original installment to be better. The opening of the game has Isaac Clarke in a straight jacket where he doesn't have any ability to fight the Necromorphs and must simply run from them. Even when he gets out of it, it's still some time before he gets his plasma cutter. Ammunition is scarce and diverse so you're constantly switching between weapons just to have something you can throw at the much-more numerous enemies.

    Isaac Clarke is also a voiced protagonist now so he no longer is silent during ridiculously perilous scenes like when he's covered with monsters trying to rip his body apart. Admittedly, a large portion of his vocabulary is exclamations of surprise or profanity but that's pretty much how most people react to constant unexpected disaster.

My other favorite part of the game is where you visit an elementary school.

    Another area of the game which is improved is the addition of a larger supporting cast. While the original game had Kendra and Hammond, both of them felt as invulnerable as Isaac himself until the very end. Here, we get a more rotating cast with quite a few switches as well as surprises making things more notable. I'm particularly fond of Ellie who is a British EarthGov pilot who has managed to survive the worst of the station by herself. I also liked the character of Dana and find it a pity she and Ellie never got to interact because it would have been nice to have a science fiction game pass the Bechdel Test.

    The villain is nothing to write home about as the EarthGov Station Commander wants Isaac to be killed and it's not until halfway through the game you even get an inkling as to why he's expending massive amounts of force to get at our protagonist. Even then, I find his motivations weak as Isaac is every bit as devoted to stopping the Necromorph threat as he is. This is compensated by the addition of Ghost Nicole, who exists to torment Isaac with accusations of letting her die as well as reminders that he failed to stop the first Necromorph outbreak from spreading. She wears out her welcome but I think the fact the game avoids forgetting about Nicole's existence like so many others would have to be a plus.

The action is fast-paced and lethal.

     As stated, Dead Space 2 is a fast paced action game which is constantly sending Isaac from one perilous situation to the next. One minute he's hanging from the ruins of a destroyed subway tram, unable to move, and the next he's in the middle of a completely dark laundromat which is filled with a dozen Necromorphs he can't see. The game is a bit ridiculous as everything which can possibly go wrong to prevent Isaac from reaching the Marker in order to destroy it does but that's video games for you.

     Besides, it's not exactly easy to cross a space station full of literally millions of monsters. The situation was tense and claustrophobic the first time around onboard the Ishimura but this feels outright apocalyptic. Wandering through familiar seeming places like apartment complexes, food courts, shopping centers, and offices adds a sense of groundedness to an otherwise space opera-esque setting.

Ellie is a great character, even if I was distracted by a badass Brit in pig-tails.

    The enemies are more diverse from the start as well. They have all the classics from the first game plus running monster children as well hideous new variants. There's even the addition of Necromorph velociraptors. No, seriously, they act and sound exactly like the monsters from Jurassic Park and are some of the most dangerous ones you encounter. You even get an achievement called, "Clever Girl" if you defeat a room full of them.

    The world's background gets a good deal more development as we come to understand the role of Unitology in the setting, its influence, and a little bit more about what the Markers want to achieve. I also give props to the developers for creating many well-designed levels with a minimum of backtracking. 

    The aforementioned Church of Unitology is a great place to fight monsters in and so is the creepily traumatic elementary school level. They don't shy away from the fact kids are murdered and turned into monsters in this game. I also loved the zero-g sections which are fun and not at all tedious, unlike the previous game. There's also an unexpected benefit of everything being silent in zero-G, so you can't hear the monsters coming. Jump scares are replaced with gore as Necromorphs explode in spectacularly splatterpunk fashions.

The best possible weapon against vampires is a solar satellite weapon.

    Those sensitive to such things should note Dead Space 2 is spectacularly more violent than the previous entry of the series which had a sense of restraint about such things. Corpses are violently dismembered on screen and weapons do all manner of brutal things. Isaac's death scenes are rendered in a grand guginol glory which are as oftentimes comical as they are horrifying.

    In general, none of this offended me because the violence was rarely against people and Isaac is usually in his Iron Man-esque suit. Still, you get to see a human being dismembered from the inside out as he turns into a necromorph in your first five minutes of gameplay. The game might have benefited from dialing it down a notch.

    So, was it a good thing or a bad thing to change up the game? Well, it's a different sort of game but certainly not worse. I also think it improves in several respects. I also respect the transition in genre as similar to the one which happened between Alien and Aliens. As a result, I'm going to heartily recommend it.

10/10

Dead Space review

    One of the most influential games of all time is System Shock. It is the father of survival horror and gave birth to many other science fiction and horror games. One of the most famous of these is the Bioshock series, which is effectively System Shock set underwater and in the past than in a cyberpunk future. Another series which is the spiritual successor of the series is Dead Space, which takes all of the horror and future atmosphere then adjusts the gameplay to be more of a third-person shooter.

    The premise of Dead Space is a Lovecraftian plot adapted to science fiction. The crew of the USG Ishimura have encountered something...alien... in space and it's turned out to be bad. You, Isaac Clarke, are just some poor repairman who gets summoned to investigate it. Your girlfriend is on board too, as if there's not enough going on. There's ancient space civilizations, cults, and admirable world-building. What's really good about the game, however, is the setting.

Zombies IN SPACE!

    The backstory is pretty good too with a vision of the future dominated by religious fundamentalism as well as economic depression. In the future, humanity has squandered so much of its resources that they're reduced to destroying planet after planet in order to keep barely ahead of its planetary growth. The poverty and depression in the world means more and more people turn to religion with Unitology being the most prolific religion remaining.

    The fact it has taken to using stories of alien markers and tech to make it "true" also means that people misunderstood their true sinister purpose. While some people may think the Scientology-riff is too obvious, I appreciate it because they are the original UFO religion and the connotations of it in the public mindset added to the sense the people are desperate for answers. This is a cosmic horror story, at heart, with the action of a Warhammer 40K game. Religion and moral certainty mean nothing in the face of life or death struggles with monsters.

    And I'm all about the grimdark.

To be pedantic, the scaling of this is off. The Ishimura should be seven times bigger.

    The USG Ishimura is a triumph of world-building in that it truly feels like a town-sized spaceship from the far-flung future. I've seen some well-designed settings for video games over the years but the Ishimura may be the best. It not only has some truly spectacular visuals of both space and its interior but all of this feels plausible within the universe. This feels like it could be a spaceship in the far future.

    The majority of the game takes place in tight narrow corridors with excellent use of lightning, grates, and various places where monsters can pop out. However, there are also massive chambers which include amazing visuals that hold up as well today as they did when the game was first released in 2008. An amazing amount of detail was put into everything from the restroom designs to the graffiti on the wall. This could easily be ported to current generation technology and be considered up-to-date.

Really, this game has some breathtaking visuals.

    It's interesting that the USG Ishimura is so well-designed since the monsters are kind of meh. There's a few which aren't bad but most of them are sort of generic and kind of riff off Silent Hill, IMHO. Part of the problem may be presentation. It's hard to create a horror game when most of the time the monsters just run at you directly, giving you plenty of opportunity to blast them to pieces.

    Yes, they can be really scary with their horrible tentacles and monstrous spider-like movements but I think they get overused so that by the time I was halfway through the game, I was desensitized their revolting appearances. They're terrifying in the first level but once you get a rhythm of "shoot limbs, stomp, repeat" then they lose their sense of danger. It's part of the nature of a shooter that, eventually, your enemies are going to be something you're okay with blowing away.

     This is where I will immediately backtrack as I say while the monsters don't look scary, I think they sound scary. The sound-design is a triumph and if you allow yourself to become immersed in what you hear rather than just what you see then you're likely to be left on the edge of your seat. The place manages to nicely bring up all the creaky old house noises translated to a starship as well as vaguely monstrous noises which had me terrified at times.

The Space Zombie may be overused but it's still effective.

    The use of the monsters in the game is awesome too. The Necromorphs come up from behind, drop down from above, play dead, and often do incredibly surprising things. The fact I often played the game by adjusting the camera angle so I could look behind me during cut-scenes told me how wary I'd become during the game. I also love the fact head shots won't kill the monsters but you have to dismember them and routinely stomp on them to make sure they stay down.

    Ironically, the best monsters in the game are the mooks rather than the bosses. The bosses, while visually impressive, are fairly easy to defeat once you figure out their attack patterns. Whereas the mooks can and often do react in surprising ways. You can easily find yourself dog-piled by them and they often have extremely divergent behaviors. There's no one strategy for all of them, though stomping on everything until it's bloody gibbets is a fairly good one.

    The interaction between the monsters and the environment is also awesome, especially when they're provided context. For example, you often see horrible growths along the wall and wonder what that's from. Then you remember the majority of dust in the world is skin cells. Another mission has you find out they kept frozen embryos for the growth of clones in one of the medical bays, only to find yourself soon surrounded by hideous yet ratings-appropriate monster babies.

These babies are all clones. Honest. Despite references to others being born naturally.

    The characters in the game aren't the most developed ones, at least the living ones. Still, I enjoyed getting to know Isaac's crew and regret we didn't get to know them better. They're a bunch of people who have crash-landed on a ship full of Necromorphs and justifiably panicking. I also like some of them have a hidden agenda. They're less developed than the crew of the Ishimura, though, and their posthumous logs are really entertaining. I find the Church of Unitology a bit underdeveloped but the larger mythology of Markers, Necromorphs, and the dying civilization of Earth quite entertaining.

     My favorite character is Isaac Clarke, himself. He's a triumph of visual design and while he's somewhat like a Space Marine in that he's fighting off hordes of monsters, both the game-play and the storyline constantly reinforce Isaac is just a repairman. Whole sections of the game are about Isaac trying to figure out how to get the ship running again. I could have used more cut-scenes with him but I understand this is rectified in the sequel. I really like the character.

     Unfortunately, Isaac is a silent protagonist and this hurts our ability to immerse himself in his story. While I often enjoy silent protagonists, here, I would have really enjoyed his reaction to all of the situations going on. Admittedly, I'm not sure the story would realistically be anything but him screaming every other minute but it would have gone a long way to making us sympathize with Isaac's plight. If Isaac talked about his relationship with Nicole or anything other than plot objectives, I think the horror and fear would have been even stronger. Even so, I do like that Isaac doesn't behave like a hero--he's here for Nicole and to survive, nothing more.

There are a couple of characters who come with you but they're sort of one-note (at first).

      Despite this, the game manages to win serious points with me in its setting that is, as I've stated 90% of the game's appeal. The claustrophobic feeling of the starship, occasionally broken up by massive chambers which make you feel microscopic is wonderful. I also like how the storyline really brings home these are people with their lives horribly disrupted by a unimaginable horror they can barely understand. I really developed a feeling for their lives pre-infestation.

    I will say I had a pretty bad case of deja vu at times because the whole business of markers, ancient alien gods, space zombies, and rapid mutation of the living reminded me a great deal of Mass Effect. This is unfair since there's only a year difference between the two games coming out but fans of both series will note a great number of similarities. The main difference is that things like Reaper indoctrination, Husks, and their manipulation of society are played for horror rather than as a basis for science-fiction adventure.

    I also think the game could have taken more time to interact with the survivors. All of the survivors you encounter on the ship save one (and there's a twist there I found to be quite clever) are completely insane. Oftentimes, you'll encounter them only long enough for them to commit suicide. I found this to be a bit annoying and would have liked to have found a group of survivors only for them to be horribly mutilated then killed later. It may have made keeping the mystery more difficult but you could explain that by saying they'd locked themselves up the entire time they were there.

The relationship between Nicole and Isaac could have been developed better.

    Gameplay-wise, Dead Space is somewhat schizophrenic. On the easier difficulties, ammunition is plentiful and it's just a somewhat tense murder-fest. On the higher difficulties, it becomes a true survival horror experience but only if you complete the game first on lower difficulties. Also, the game seems built like it should be an exploration game but works, instead, like a linear corridor shooter. I can't help but think there's a compromise going on between developers who wanted to make the next System Shock and their bosses who wanted them to make the next Resident Evil 4.

    There's a limited number of weapons for Isaac to use but, honestly, there's really no point to switching from your plasma cutter in most respects. The game's upgrade system means you're better off upgrading one weapon exclusively and using it to destroy all your enemies. Other tools like slowing time and telekinesis have their uses but the former is much more so than the latter. Indeed, the telekinesis function could be removed with almost no change to the game whatsoever.

    In conclusion, Dead Space is a great survival horror game but not a perfect one. I think the game would have been improved by a commitment to either shooter, survival horror, or dual-modes with options for both like in Mass Effect. Still, I'm looking forward to playing the sequels.

9/10