Gno Schitt

I finally put the nail in the coffin for Dead Space last night and I can honestly say that this was yet another fantastic game from EA. I know there are tons of haters out there and I guess they can keep hating, but I'd like to fly through this one for anybody who's interested.


1. I Wasn't Sick This Weekend
First, I'd like to point out that I'm doing some writing about games without being deathly sick or down for the count. Usually when I write about a game it's because I've been at home for 3 or more days sick, but this time, it's just because the game was great. I usually also roll two games into a single post but this time around it's just a single with no witty comparrisons (sorry).

2. 4 zombies out of 5
Zombies and gore games are all the rage these days - to wit: Left4Dead, Resident Evil, Dead Rising... and while those games are all neato, I really enjoyed the specific touches in this game that gave me the sense that I was playing some realtime interactive version of Event Horizon mixed with Aliens/Alien Resurrection.

3. If it's Plot or Underwear, I'll take Plot
The story in Dead Space was full of good plot. A decent intro gets you liking the few crew members that are out there with you pretty easily, and you're presented with fragments of some woman that you should ostensibly be able to rescue if you make it in time. Things start to go a bit circus side-ways when, about 3/4 of the way through the game, you start talking to said missing girlfriend (and by the time she shows up, you're already convinced that you didn't make it in time to actually save her). It was very creepy and very interesting.

4. Zero-Grav = 23 Kinds of Awesome
One of the most suprisingly fun parts of hte game was the mix of zero-g and airless zones that you have to cross or explore with the help of your environment suit. Being able to push off of any flat surface and land and re-orient on any number of other surfaces (including a meteor chunk at one point) was super fun. I remember thinking to myself at one point, that a whole game could be based on that movement principle where you'd explore the outside of various ships and bodies of matter - but I digress.

5. Back to that Plot (spoiler warning)...
Right, so, as the game draws to a close you realize that this setup throughout the game of zealots vs. corporate whores is really just a ruse. During the reveal you find out who the real evil is - and while it's definitely unexpected (I bought the 'zealots are the bad guys' bit a little too easily I guess) it was a bit disappointing.

6. A Huge Finish
The final fight is great fun - and not every game can honestly boast that as a selling feature. Often great games have lack luster finales (Uncharted) or repetitive boss fights (Heavenly Sword) or bosses that are just plain too difficult (Lost Planet) - but Dead Space has none of these problems. The end cinematic is short but really catches you off guard in a good way.

7. Other Mentionables
Time to complete: 12 hours, 32 minutes on difficulty setting Easy.
I'm going to replay it on "Impossible" now that it's unlocked (you get to start with lots of stuff, so I think I should be able to do it). Oh, and the weapons are fantastic in this game, a good mix of standard shooter stuff (the pulse cannon) and unique weapons that are really 'tools' repurposed to be weapons. Variable fire modes for weapons expands the limited selection set nicely.

Anyway, I'm done with this one now for a bit, so if you'd like to check it out, just ask and I'll gladly hand it off to you - it's definitely worth the look.