Post by Lord FunkyHoof on Oct 16, 2008 16:16:45 GMT -5
Don't really know why I'm doing this, just wanted to get my thoughts down.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I like to think of myself as the kind of person that gives chances to people and things in general. When I first read the premise and description for Dead Space I immediately thought of Bio Shock, not because I loved the game (in fact I found it too easy), but let me run this by you: A faceless man runs around a once well living community using vending machines to purchase weapons that can be upgraded and obtaining powers that allow him to do many extraordinary abilities, such as slow down objects and telekinesis. Sound a little familiar?
Nonetheless, I remained optimistic and kept the game in my radar, even though I don’t have a console the game is being released to. So release day came about and I happened to be able to get my hands on a PS3 controller and play (and observe) the game for a few hours. And that’s when I thought, “Wait this game isn’t a rip off of Bio Shock, it’s a rip off of everything before and including Bio Shock!”. If you were to take Resident Evil 4, Bio Shock, Ratchet and Clank and Resistance: Fall of Man, blend well, pour into a cake pan and cook for a few hours this is what you’d get.
The game passes itself off as a horror game, unfortunately it’s definition of ‘Horror’ involves noises and shadows just around the corner, blaring loud music whenever a monster appears, shock value and jack-in-the-box monster attacks. I admit though, there were a handful of moments that were executed very well. At the very least it’s able to keep you on your toes and enforces you to keep your guard up at all times. And I know the game takes place on a giant space ship the size of Massachusetts but it’d be nice if there were varied environments. Me and my friends played up till the third chapter, and all it’s been are dark corridors and confined spaces, and I thanked God whenever I came across a room that was well lit that you could actually see. I mean you’d think a space diving suit would have a decent flash light to go with it.
In a game where your main means of defeating monsters is by dismembering them, why is there a Flame Thrower and an Assault Rifle? I found the Plasma Cutter and The Ripper to be much more efficient weapons for most of the time, in fact I’d imagine the best weapon in the game would be a big gun that shoots bladed chainsaws that shoots even more smaller chain saws at your enemies. But when things get really hectic and there’s five different creatures on screen charging at you, it kinda helps to have one of these big weapons in handy. And how many times are games gonna throw in a ‘Monsters attack you while an elevator/room is opening which conveniently opens just as soon as you kill the last baddy’ scenario? It was annoying in Resident Evil 2 and it certainly isn’t faring any better now.
Despite all the nit picking I’ve been doing with this, I actually found the game to be quite enjoyable. Dead Space is like a well made dish, taking the best aspects of a past action games and adds a little uniqueness of it’s own before throwing it into a pot. The Anti-Gravity environments are well welcomed intermissions between all the monster mashing (which is more than I can say for the Vacuum Environments) and the game plays well, which is all that I ask for in a video game these days. The map and inventory screen are really creative as well, instead of the game pausing while a menu comes up, a small holographic screen displays in front of your character in real time. The same goes for the Audio/Visual/Text files you pick up and transmissions you get from your comrades. Though it does get annoying when you’re trying to prevent a monster from decapitating you and your partner is giving you information on what to do next. And there’s some primitive joy I get out of curb stomping a fallen monstrosity until it’s nothing more than a de-limbed bloodied torso.
Dead Space does nothing extravagant that we haven’t seen before, but it presents itself well and has it’s own quirks that makes it unique in it’s own way. With the exception of the animated movie coming on DVD later on, I wouldn’t be surprised if Hollywood tries to make a movie adaptation of this game.
Oh wait, they already have.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I like to think of myself as the kind of person that gives chances to people and things in general. When I first read the premise and description for Dead Space I immediately thought of Bio Shock, not because I loved the game (in fact I found it too easy), but let me run this by you: A faceless man runs around a once well living community using vending machines to purchase weapons that can be upgraded and obtaining powers that allow him to do many extraordinary abilities, such as slow down objects and telekinesis. Sound a little familiar?
Nonetheless, I remained optimistic and kept the game in my radar, even though I don’t have a console the game is being released to. So release day came about and I happened to be able to get my hands on a PS3 controller and play (and observe) the game for a few hours. And that’s when I thought, “Wait this game isn’t a rip off of Bio Shock, it’s a rip off of everything before and including Bio Shock!”. If you were to take Resident Evil 4, Bio Shock, Ratchet and Clank and Resistance: Fall of Man, blend well, pour into a cake pan and cook for a few hours this is what you’d get.
The game passes itself off as a horror game, unfortunately it’s definition of ‘Horror’ involves noises and shadows just around the corner, blaring loud music whenever a monster appears, shock value and jack-in-the-box monster attacks. I admit though, there were a handful of moments that were executed very well. At the very least it’s able to keep you on your toes and enforces you to keep your guard up at all times. And I know the game takes place on a giant space ship the size of Massachusetts but it’d be nice if there were varied environments. Me and my friends played up till the third chapter, and all it’s been are dark corridors and confined spaces, and I thanked God whenever I came across a room that was well lit that you could actually see. I mean you’d think a space diving suit would have a decent flash light to go with it.
In a game where your main means of defeating monsters is by dismembering them, why is there a Flame Thrower and an Assault Rifle? I found the Plasma Cutter and The Ripper to be much more efficient weapons for most of the time, in fact I’d imagine the best weapon in the game would be a big gun that shoots bladed chainsaws that shoots even more smaller chain saws at your enemies. But when things get really hectic and there’s five different creatures on screen charging at you, it kinda helps to have one of these big weapons in handy. And how many times are games gonna throw in a ‘Monsters attack you while an elevator/room is opening which conveniently opens just as soon as you kill the last baddy’ scenario? It was annoying in Resident Evil 2 and it certainly isn’t faring any better now.
Despite all the nit picking I’ve been doing with this, I actually found the game to be quite enjoyable. Dead Space is like a well made dish, taking the best aspects of a past action games and adds a little uniqueness of it’s own before throwing it into a pot. The Anti-Gravity environments are well welcomed intermissions between all the monster mashing (which is more than I can say for the Vacuum Environments) and the game plays well, which is all that I ask for in a video game these days. The map and inventory screen are really creative as well, instead of the game pausing while a menu comes up, a small holographic screen displays in front of your character in real time. The same goes for the Audio/Visual/Text files you pick up and transmissions you get from your comrades. Though it does get annoying when you’re trying to prevent a monster from decapitating you and your partner is giving you information on what to do next. And there’s some primitive joy I get out of curb stomping a fallen monstrosity until it’s nothing more than a de-limbed bloodied torso.
Dead Space does nothing extravagant that we haven’t seen before, but it presents itself well and has it’s own quirks that makes it unique in it’s own way. With the exception of the animated movie coming on DVD later on, I wouldn’t be surprised if Hollywood tries to make a movie adaptation of this game.
Oh wait, they already have.
