Dead Space Review: True Stories Of Space Horror

Space is a frightening place, even without the monsters; a soundless, airless void where nothing can survive. Even in the most well-fortified spaceship, you’re still moments away from death. Science fiction movies and novels have explored this primal fear on numerous occasions, with classics films like Alien capitalising on the fact that the only thing more hopeless than being trapped with unidentified flesh-hungry creatures is to be trapped with them millions of light-years away from home.

Now EA hopes to translate that experience into a video game with the release of Dead Space, a twisted tale of horror, madness, and betrayal set within an abandoned deep-space mining colony. Have they succeeded in creating something truly terrifying, or does Redwood Shores’ effort evoke more laughter than screams?

Loved
Oh The Horror: Dead Space does an amazing job of scaring the piss out of the player. The lighting, the sound, the enemies, and the situations you are put in all come together to deliver a truly terrifying experience. By the end of the game you’ll be used to the creatures popping out and dropping down, but damn if getting to that point isn’t a nerve-wracking experience.

In Space, You Can Hear A Lot, Actually: The sound design in Dead Space deserves special recognition in creating one of the eeriest atmospheres I’ve ever spent twelve hours traipsing through. While you get the standard horror game whispers, mutterings, bumps, and screams, it’s when you’re out in the generally soundless void that the sound design truly excels, muting to the point where you feel the sound rather than hear it.

Twisted Tales Of Space: Dead Space’s fiction is a rather twisted tale of religion, science, and madness. It kept me guessing up until the very end, at which point I realised I had guessed wrong, and that doesn’t happen to me too often. The only thing I saw coming was the very end, just before the credits roll, though I suppose it had to be that way. Audio, video, and text logs only make the game that much deeper.

The HUD-less Spaceman: The fact that the game has no HUD to speak of is a key factor in the immersive atmosphere of Dead Space. Your health and power indicators are on your back, your weapons display all contain displays showing the amount of ammo you have left. The only time you access a screen during normal gameplay is to open up your inventory, and even that is a projected image rather than a floating box.

Fun With Gravity: Story and presentation aside, Dead Space is a relatively standard third-person shooter until you find yourself propelling yourself through space from platform to platform in zero gravity environments. Some of the game’s most impressive moments come during moments of weightlessness, and the physics engine governing objects in motion is very satisfying.

Space Engineering 101: Upgrading equipment using the tool bench is an excellent way to customise the game to your liking. Finding power cores, needed to upgrade weapons, armour, and gadgets, almost immediately set me thinking about what I was going to modify next, should I make it to the next workbench alive. Being able to focus power on the weapons you are comfortable with is a major plus.

Hated
Magic Enemy-Proof Doorways: When you are trying to create a video game that scares the bejeezus out of people, you might want to allow the enemies to pass through doorways. I don’t know if they are allergic or what, but most of the time the enemies in a room will stay in the room, allowing you to take potshots from the other side of the door.

Big, Dumb, And Ugly Bosses: The bosses in Dead Space are weak, compared to some of the regular challenges you encounter while playing through the game. They are certainly impressive looking, but become far less so when you realise that all you have to do to kill them is strafe and shoot.

Creating a survival horror game that truly excels is a rather delicate operation, with many factors to take into consideration. You have to create an atmosphere that is fantastic while still feeling like a real place. You have to have a protagonist who is well-equipped to handle the situation, yet not so powerful that the threat is lessened. You need a story that twists about and keeps the player intrigued without slipping into the realm of the ridiculous, a task made even more difficult by combining a science fiction setting with a horror theme. The developers of Dead Space have managed to hit every mark, crafting a game that defines what sci-fi horror should be.

Dead Space is a masterful combination of two different genres that will keep your knuckles white around your controller until the ending credits roll.

Dead Space was developed by EA Redwood Shores, published by Electronic Arts. Released on Oct. 14 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Oct. 20th for PC. Retails for $US59.99 on console, $US49.99 PC. Played story to completion on standard difficulty.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)

  • awwyeadatsright

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • MoreSandvich

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Figment

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ZonalFear

    @playguns:

    Thanks very much for confirming.

    Moved from "Maybe..." To "Definately".

    ZonalFear

  • KingSnorky

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Laxcat

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • y2julio

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Oyn

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • AdeptVoice

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • y2julio

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Ehardergardens

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • y2julio

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • aden.exe

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • NeoXY

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Telecinision

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • MiGo316

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Daisuash

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • aden.exe

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Brine

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Lazlo

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Wizzard

    @alb1221: Goodbye.

    Wizzard

  • 3lias

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • playguns

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Rubix42

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Morphie

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • brooklynwolf

    awesome review to an awesome game.

    brooklynwolf

  • KaneTaker

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • SHiZZAM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • PsycheE

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Touy

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ZonalFear

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • alb1221

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • alb1221

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • SLiFE

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Zenrick3.0

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • SuperCracker

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Michael McWhertor

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • MasterYong

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • MasterYong

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Ehardergardens

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • MasterYong

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Mr.Wilson

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • SuedeGopher

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • sascha23

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • OoBaSNoRk

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • sascha23

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Project_J187

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Shakespeare

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • sascha23

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • will mutters something rude and then says:

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • sascha23

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Ping5000

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Ehardergardens

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • MentalNote

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Brine

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • valleyshrew

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • phunky420

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • valleyshrew

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • MiGo316

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Alaron

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • 2SBs

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • camdentayler

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Solidus

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • camdentayler

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • camdentayler

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Comatose Turtle

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • camdentayler

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Mesren_Makai

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • AlanR

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • sascha23

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Rubix42

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • JohnnyHash

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • sascha23

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Rika Aiuchi is SeXXXy

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • SuedeGopher

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • gravyleaves

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • BunnyForce

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ReconArmor

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • firstworldman

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • y2julio

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • 3inst3in

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Ehardergardens

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • 3inst3in

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • 3inst3in

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ghostadv

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • darthpepito

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • darthpepito

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • alb1221

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • darthpepito

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Strife56

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • darthpepito

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Kenny

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • godmoney

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • darthpepito

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • darthpepito

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • TheIrishNinja

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • alb1221

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Strife56

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • camdentayler

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • psychobaka

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • camdentayler

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Blinklink11

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Comatose Turtle

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Tofuonophd

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • OoBaSNoRk

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • CSat420

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Cameroo

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Cameroo

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • underground_slacker

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • xMindPrintsx

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Shinta

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Atheist Jew

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • KingDavid73

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • jporter313

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • sanzen

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • HELLSRIDER

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Thousandfaces

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Itri

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • [ZTF]

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • NKato

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Padder

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • s0nlxaftrsh0ck

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • s0nlxaftrsh0ck

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • s0nlxaftrsh0ck

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • s0nlxaftrsh0ck

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Dirk Dorkelson

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • SentientPudding

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • asTer0id

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • asTer0id

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ThisCharmingMan

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Thousandfaces

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • karmaghost

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • PurpleMonkey

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • face0324

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Shinta

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • asTer0id

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ServiceMaster

    This game is so great, though they should have just named it Resident Doom.

    ServiceMaster

  • blue_jeep

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Shinta

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • DELICIOUS BUNNY

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • deejwitaj

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • DTG

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • salmonax

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • eponym

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • eponym

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • stryker1800

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • eponym

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Smurph

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • domhnall

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ArmyofJuan

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • spinozai

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • stryker1800

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • khuntilla

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • NeVeRMoRe666

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ironmiso

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Marauderz

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • susurrate

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • princess_stomper

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • monkeysaresilly

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Kymeira

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Kymeira

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Kymeira

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • 4lejandro

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Vundu

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Atheist Jew

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Danilov.-

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • betterthantelevision

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Pantsman

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • smuai

    @Brine: lol... wow. how many of us have missed that the medi-kits had an assigned button?

    smuai

  • EffieAdonis

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • NathaniaDictys

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • seanminion

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ShilpaBison

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • capillary-action

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • LarinaDelphi

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • MeganFelange

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • DiMulate

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • IsabellaCorcyra

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • LombardCachinga

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Herc

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • lukejf01

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • seppukake

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ArmyofJuan

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • LastFace

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Lian_Kazairl

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ironmiso

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ZhouYu

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • NLMantia

    @alb1221:

    does your friend live in your body?

    NLMantia

  • Kennadian

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Eso

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Viciouschan

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • notquitedeadyet

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • moonletters

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • mewfew

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • LiviaChthonius

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • zacparis

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Bergerac

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • NovaCanthus

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Crayon Box

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • disposableaccount28873287328

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Trailnutz

    @Pantsman: I was thinking, what if someone types "FIRST!" without the vowel? So that it looks like "FRST!" Can the disemvoweling still occur?

    Trailnutz

  • Trailnutz

    @alb1221: Nice try buddy. Later! XD

    Trailnutz

  • TheGavel

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • neo177117

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • merebito

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Al Bino

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Ehardergardens

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Glass_bomb

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Ehardergardens

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • neo177117

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • sbsoccerman13

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • HELLSRIDER

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • jackburtonHERO

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Sotiris

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

Post Your Comments

Got something to say? There are two ways to comment:

1. Guests

Click here to comment instantly.

2. Facebook Users

Click below to comment using your Facebook account.

We're looking for comments that are interesting, substantial or highly amusing. If your comments are excessively self-promotional, obnoxious, or even worse, boring, you will be banned from commenting. All comments are moderated.