Dead Space
About the Game
The starship USG Ishimura sends out a distress signal to the Concordance Extraction Corporation during a mining operation on the planet Aegis VII. Another ship is sent to investigate the causes of the signal; however, as it attempts to dock with the Ishimura, it crashes into it because of a system malfunction. The crew is attacked by terrifying monsters. Only three people survive, among them an engineer named Isaac Clarke.
Gameplay & Core Systems
It looks like the ship is barely able to sustain its existence, many of its systems critically damaged. Dead Space is a third-person sci-fi shooter with elements of survival horror. Controlling Isaac, players explore the ship, fighting reanimated corpses known as Necromorphs. Combat heavily relies on the so-called "strategic dismemberment", which forces players to cut off limbs or parts of the Necromorphs to defeat them. Wounding a particular part of the Necromorph's body may either allow players to kill it, make it change attack patterns, or even become more dangerous.
Standout Features
- Many of the weapons in the game are improvised mining tools, such as a rotary saw, a plasma cutter, a hydrazine torch used as a flamethrower, and others.
- All the weapons feature a secondary fire mode; for example, the plasma cutter can be rotated to cut off vertical limbs more efficiently.
- Isaac can also use special abilities, allowing him to slow down enemies or pick up and throw items from a distance.
- Ammo and tools can be found during exploration or purchased in automatic shops available on the ship.
- Workbenches can be used to upgrade Isaac's weapons and armor.
Presentation & Atmosphere
A few sections in the game have Isaac float in a zero-gravity environment.
Display support includes HDTV 720p, HDTV 1080i, and HDTV 1080p. Audio support includes Dolby Digital and DTS.
