Dead Space

[frostytheplebe]

I know this game is a couple of months old now, but I didn't want to post on it until I beat it. Any thoughts from those who tried it?

My take:

Good: The game definitely lived up to its type as a horror/survival. The use of lighting and the graphic engine made this game more interesting then previous games of the same type. Good Graphics, good controls, excellent interaction, and the use of zero G was definitely a plus in this game's favor.

Bad: The action got a little repetitive. Shoot the arms, shoot the legs, that's it. In the case of the big monster, shoot him from behind once you stasis him. Plus once you killed a creature in one area. You could rest easy most of the time as you were most likely not attacked there again. I'd kill for a game where enemies could pop out at you randomly from anywhere at any time.
Finally, the story line... it started out okay. But it just felt forced as the game went on and pretty much turned into a "Ok we fixed all the problems, oh look ANOTHER problem popped up coincidentally right as we solved all the other ones." Also, the chief antagonist's (Dr. Mercer) death was pretty anticlimactic.


Overall: Its a game I'll keep in my collection as I love these types of games. The gameplay was definitely ambitious and its a new take on Space Horror, which is awesome. So I guess my rating is about a B-, keeping it on the honor roll.

 

[Frosty]

I do not like this game.

Aside from the fact that it was seriously overhyped, causing me to feel more disappointment at the mediocre characters and setting than I otherwise would have, it is a thoroughly unpleasant game.

Shit comes out of the floor and the ceiling and all the walls and it barely makes a sound and it's faster than you and it's made of jiggling weird-ass knives and it can't die and you have 3 bullets left and it's difficult to aim and your gun is slow and now you're dead. I can't think of a less amusing way to spend my time.

In Doom 3 it's cool when that imp busts out of a vent and crawls along the ceiling at you. In Dead Space you just spend the entire game on-edge, and when the baddies finally do attack you experience this surreal combination of emotions, equal parts total lack of surprise, despair, and panic.

Screw that game.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

I haven't actually played Dead Space (I know, my gamercard says otherwise), so I can't decide between fake Frosty and real Frosty yet... but I will say that I conceptually *love* the tie-in work they did. The fact that there's a comic series, an animated movie and a prequel game on a different console to go with Dead Space all win points from me (even if they're all dreadful - and at least the animated movie was).

I want the guys who planned the Dead Space launch to do Wing Commander 7.

 

[Dyret]

The action got a little repetitive. Shoot the arms, shoot the legs, that's it. In the case of the big monster, shoot him from behind once you stasis him.

Yeah, that was the reason I never bothered to try it. All of the look-how-awesome-our-game is videos pretty much showed some dude walking around a creepy space station thing cutting the limbs of space zombies. When all they talked about was how awesome and tactically challenging the limb-chopping feature was.

I figured it was the same old space-horror story built around some new special feature that would grow old pretty fast. I'd probably enjoy the scary parts, but still...

 

[frostytheplebe]

Aside from the fact that it was seriously overhyped, causing me to feel more disappointment at the mediocre characters and setting than I otherwise would have, it is a thoroughly unpleasant game.

Shit comes out of the floor and the ceiling and all the walls and it barely makes a sound and it's faster than you and it's made of jiggling weird-ass knives and it can't die and you have 3 bullets left and it's difficult to aim and your gun is slow and now you're dead. I can't think of a less amusing way to spend my time.

In Doom 3 it's cool when that imp busts out of a vent and crawls along the ceiling at you. In Dead Space you just spend the entire game on-edge, and when the baddies finally do attack you experience this surreal combination of emotions, equal parts total lack of surprise, despair, and panic.

Its funny... everything you just mentioned is why I liked the game. Horror games are supposed to keep you tense, they're not doing their job otherwise. Ammo... well yeah your not supposed to get an abundance of Ammo, you're supposed to conserve it. As for stuff sneaking up on you, you are supposed to be startled by them.

so I can't decide between fake Frosty and real Frosty yet...

Yeah, that was the reason I never bothered to try it. All of the look-how-awesome-our-game is videos pretty much showed some dude walking around a creepy space station thing cutting the limbs of space zombies. When all they talked about was how awesome and tactically challenging the limb-chopping feature was.

I figured it was the same old space-horror story built around some new special feature that would grow old pretty fast. I'd probably enjoy the scary parts, but still...

Well its not a standard "Beat em up." game like almost every game based on a movie where you follow a single direct path, where you get different enemies that require different combos to kill like POTC: At Worlds End, ST Force Unleashed, Two towers, etc. etc. But pretty much everything dies the same way.

 

[Frosty]

Its funny... everything you just mentioned is why I liked the game. Horror games are supposed to keep you tense, they're not doing their job otherwise.

I knew this would come up.

There is one kind of tense that's fun because you don't know what to expect and you want to be ready to take it on...

...and then there's another kind of tense that's oppressive and punishing because you know exactly what's going to happen, you know it's going to be stupid and unoriginal, and you know there's a fairly high chance you'll be killed and have to reload from a save point somewhere in the past, so you spend the entire game wishing it would end so you can get the achievements and never play again.

One of these is what you shoot for in game design, the other is where you end up if you fail.

Well its not a standard "Beat em up." game like almost every game based on a movie...

I'm sorry, what do movie tie-in games have to do with anything?

 

[frostytheplebe]

I knew this would come up.

There is one kind of tense that's fun because you don't know what to expect and you want to be ready to take it on...

...and then there's another kind of tense that's oppressive and punishing because you know exactly what's going to happen, you know it's going to be stupid and unoriginal, and you know there's a fairly high chance you'll be killed and have to reload from a save point somewhere in the past, so you spend the entire game wishing it would end so you can get the achievements and never play again.

One of these is what you shoot for in game design, the other is where you end up if you fail.I'm sorry, what do movie tie-in games have to do with anything?

Alright I'll concede that point.

As for the movie tie-in, it doesn't really. There is a certain type of action game where you run down a path, can't deviate from it, and get attacked by three different types of baddies the entire game, each of which requires a two-3 move combo to kill. I used the movie tie ins as an example because most (if not all) games based on movies these days are made like that thus are a good example. But Dead Space is not like that and uses a different engine.

 

[RogueBanshee]

I haven't actually played Dead Space (I know, my gamercard says otherwise), so I can't decide between fake Frosty and real Frosty yet... but I will say that I conceptually *love* the tie-in work they did. The fact that there's a comic series, an animated movie and a prequel game on a different console to go with Dead Space all win points from me (even if they're all dreadful - and at least the animated movie was).

I want the guys who planned the Dead Space launch to do Wing Commander 7.

Yeah a new Privateer, new Armada (perhaps following the career of an officer through the Kilrathi war rather then one mission or campaign) and new Wing Commander game with novels would rule.

 

[stevetamis]

Though its an pretty much old game, I really liked this game because it's all about the atmosphere, as if it slowly consumes you and the tension builds. Which is exactly what a horror game should be like.

 

[frostytheplebe]

Though its an pretty much old game, I really liked this game because it's all about the atmosphere, as if it slowly consumes you and the tension builds. Which is exactly what a horror game should be like.

Play Eternal Darkness. Really old and Rare, but worth it.

 

[Frosty]

Really old

It was published in 2002 for the Gamecube. That's hardly "really old."

and Rare

Not Rare. Silicon Knights.

Oh, you meant it's rare, lower-case, as in uncommon. Nope, not that either.

Fantastic game, though, one of many brilliant and enthralling games availabe for the Cube. I would definitely recommend it, although it's nothing like Dead Space.

 

[QuailPilot]

Best moment ever in Eternal Darkness was when I got up to get a drink, and my friend was saving the game, and all the sudden he screamed, "HOLY SHIT!"

Instead of saying Saving Game, it said Deleting Game

He thought he just deleted the game

 

[frostytheplebe]

Best moment ever in Eternal Darkness was when I got up to get a drink, and my friend was saving the game, and all the sudden he screamed, "HOLY SHIT!"

Instead of saying Saving Game, it said Deleting Game

He thought he just deleted the game

I remember that. I stopped playing the game for a week because of that! Plus the other crap that game pulls when your sanity points get low!