Guys, I think my girlfriend joined a cult.
I played Dead Space in 2008 under some pretty lousy pretenses. Someone I was into was playing the game, and so I ran out to buy a copy just so I could talk to her about it. I didn't have any inherent interest beyond that, not initially anyway.
That lack of interest turned around when I saw "CUT OFF THEIR LIMBS" scrawled in blood - an invitation to arm yourself with the plasma cutter, one of the best handguns in gaming. Of course, the plasma cutter is not specifically designed as such. Rather, it's a tool. One that can be employed in dangerous, even deadly ways, but protagonist Isaac Clark isn't a space marine or some sort of special operative. He's just some schlub being sent out to repair a mining vessel his girlfriend is stationed on. I've worked in medical claims, I know engineers and repairmen don't shoot people, they tear off limbs and fuck things up with power tools. Usually themselves, granted, but like, sometimes other people are involved!
Being an engineer means a lot of your objectives involve repairing the derelict USG Ishimura. The engines aren't working, asteroid/debris defense systems are down, gravity is messed up, and various sectors of the ship are closed off. Not only do you have to cut your way through Necromorphs, you have to do your damn job. Conceptually, I think the idea of having to repair the ship in order to navigate it is interesting, but the objectives you're given typically feel rote and unengaging. You have telekinetic powers and the ability to slow things down, but they're very rarely used in any interesting ways, and although you're armed to the teeth with power tools, you'll never make use of any of their unique functions in order to solve puzzles or patch up the Ishimura. It feels like they had this great concept for a setting and conceived of some cool ways to roadblock the player but struggled to realize it in a way that's consistently fun.
Perhaps it's because I played Resident Evil 4 right before this that I find myself so disinterested in Dead Space's structure. According to co-designer Ben Wanat, Dead Space started life as System Shock 3, but after the release of Resident Evil 4 it was decided to create a game based around it instead. Although RE4's DNA is here, I feel like Dead Space succeeds in creating its own identity and that it is mechanically distinct enough for direct comparisons to feel somewhat weak, but I'm gonna make one anyway and point out that Resident Evil 4's more audacious nature makes it a far more compelling game even though I find Dead Space to have better combat. You won't be running away from any gigantic, animated statues like you're in the opening of Excel Saga, or calling in helicopter support to execute Necromorphs in slow motion. Instead, you'll be slowing down fan blades so you can run down a tube or throwing giant green orbs through a hole. Exciting stuff. I do think they have something going on with the zero-gravity mechanic, but like a lot of other elements of Dead Space's design, it's just not used to its fullest potential.
Every time you lumber your way through another task, the game follows it up with another heart-pounding Necromorph attack, so it's good that Dead Space's combat is so satisfying that it carries as much of the game as it does. The setting and atmosphere pulls a lot of weight here, too. I love Alien and Event Horizon, and body horror speaks to me in some incredibly dark ways, so this is explicitly my jam. There is something terrifying not only about the visceral nature of the human form contorting, exploding, expanding, and crunching into a new shape, but the loss of identity and of bodily autonomy is what all that gore is meant to truly represent, giving it a psychological edge that fires off all the right chemicals in my brain. I really like this stuff, and even if the remake (Haven't played it yet, it's an EA game so it'll hit ten bucks by the end of the year or be free on PS+ before that) changes nothing but the fidelity, I imagine I'll end up liking it more.
It better not remove Isaac's animation whenever he's stepping in gunk, though. He just stomps around like a kid splashing in a puddle, I love it.
Actually, I never played this to impress anyone. I thought I did, but they never existed in the first place. A figment of my imagination, placed there by the Xbox 360, compelling me to buy Dead Space and to become part of a greater, horrific animal.
Guys, I think I joined a cult.
I played Dead Space in 2008 under some pretty lousy pretenses. Someone I was into was playing the game, and so I ran out to buy a copy just so I could talk to her about it. I didn't have any inherent interest beyond that, not initially anyway.
That lack of interest turned around when I saw "CUT OFF THEIR LIMBS" scrawled in blood - an invitation to arm yourself with the plasma cutter, one of the best handguns in gaming. Of course, the plasma cutter is not specifically designed as such. Rather, it's a tool. One that can be employed in dangerous, even deadly ways, but protagonist Isaac Clark isn't a space marine or some sort of special operative. He's just some schlub being sent out to repair a mining vessel his girlfriend is stationed on. I've worked in medical claims, I know engineers and repairmen don't shoot people, they tear off limbs and fuck things up with power tools. Usually themselves, granted, but like, sometimes other people are involved!
Being an engineer means a lot of your objectives involve repairing the derelict USG Ishimura. The engines aren't working, asteroid/debris defense systems are down, gravity is messed up, and various sectors of the ship are closed off. Not only do you have to cut your way through Necromorphs, you have to do your damn job. Conceptually, I think the idea of having to repair the ship in order to navigate it is interesting, but the objectives you're given typically feel rote and unengaging. You have telekinetic powers and the ability to slow things down, but they're very rarely used in any interesting ways, and although you're armed to the teeth with power tools, you'll never make use of any of their unique functions in order to solve puzzles or patch up the Ishimura. It feels like they had this great concept for a setting and conceived of some cool ways to roadblock the player but struggled to realize it in a way that's consistently fun.
Perhaps it's because I played Resident Evil 4 right before this that I find myself so disinterested in Dead Space's structure. According to co-designer Ben Wanat, Dead Space started life as System Shock 3, but after the release of Resident Evil 4 it was decided to create a game based around it instead. Although RE4's DNA is here, I feel like Dead Space succeeds in creating its own identity and that it is mechanically distinct enough for direct comparisons to feel somewhat weak, but I'm gonna make one anyway and point out that Resident Evil 4's more audacious nature makes it a far more compelling game even though I find Dead Space to have better combat. You won't be running away from any gigantic, animated statues like you're in the opening of Excel Saga, or calling in helicopter support to execute Necromorphs in slow motion. Instead, you'll be slowing down fan blades so you can run down a tube or throwing giant green orbs through a hole. Exciting stuff. I do think they have something going on with the zero-gravity mechanic, but like a lot of other elements of Dead Space's design, it's just not used to its fullest potential.
Every time you lumber your way through another task, the game follows it up with another heart-pounding Necromorph attack, so it's good that Dead Space's combat is so satisfying that it carries as much of the game as it does. The setting and atmosphere pulls a lot of weight here, too. I love Alien and Event Horizon, and body horror speaks to me in some incredibly dark ways, so this is explicitly my jam. There is something terrifying not only about the visceral nature of the human form contorting, exploding, expanding, and crunching into a new shape, but the loss of identity and of bodily autonomy is what all that gore is meant to truly represent, giving it a psychological edge that fires off all the right chemicals in my brain. I really like this stuff, and even if the remake (Haven't played it yet, it's an EA game so it'll hit ten bucks by the end of the year or be free on PS+ before that) changes nothing but the fidelity, I imagine I'll end up liking it more.
It better not remove Isaac's animation whenever he's stepping in gunk, though. He just stomps around like a kid splashing in a puddle, I love it.
Actually, I never played this to impress anyone. I thought I did, but they never existed in the first place. A figment of my imagination, placed there by the Xbox 360, compelling me to buy Dead Space and to become part of a greater, horrific animal.
Guys, I think I joined a cult.
2 Comments
You have unlocked: A disturbing part of your deep psyche!
Another successful Dead Space playthrough!
Another successful Dead Space playthrough!
Weatherby
1 year ago
Michael Condrey whispering directly into your ear with poorly restrained glee: you wanna stomp some babies?