Tech: Dead Space

Making a truly scary video game is a rare accomplishment, so EA's Redwood Shores development team should be proud of "Dead Space":



In the game, Isaac is an engineer who's part of a team sent to repair the USG Ishimura, a mining craft located in an isolated planetary system. Unfortunately, the place is devoid of human life when Isaac's crew arrives. As you might expect, things go haywire, Isaac is trapped inside the derelict ship, and it's going to take a miracle for him to survive.


Playing the game is a fantastically creepy experience, thanks to top-tier production values and some slick gameplay design. The sound in particular is spot-on; whether it's the groaning of the ship's machinery or the howls of some unseen menace, you're rarely going to feel at ease in the corridors of the Ishimura.

The graphics are polished, with a solid framerate and good textures and models. It's perhaps a small step below something like the upcoming "Gears of War 2," but the game looks great in any case. There's no heads-up display in the game, either; all the interface elements (like your health bar and ammo counter) are slickly integrated into the gameworld. Your inventory and map appear as 3D holograms in-game, not as a separate screen. This means there's no break in the action - and that you're still vulnerable to attack when you're browsing through your inventory.


Admittedly, "Dead Space" cribs from a lot of other games. "System Shock 2" is the most obvious inspiration, but surely "Resident Evil 4" and the "Doom" series are influences. "Dead Space" also takes from a whole bunch of sci-fi horror movies. The hideous tentacled monsters Isaac fights are obviously inspired from "The Thing," while the monsters' tactic of moving through the ship's ventilation system is a nod to "Alien" and "Aliens".


The default "normal" difficulty is probably suitable for most people, but I found it to be a little on the easy side (my third-person shooter reflexes have been honed by "Gears of War," after all). If you pick hard mode, you're in for a long, thrilling ride.

Rating: 90/100