Dead Space Preview

Last time we saw Dead Space was at the E3 event held in LA last July. The game was shaping up quite nicely, offering a deep sense atmosphere and great survival horror gameplay. Now, GameZone has gotten a chance to check out a more updated build of the game, and the game’s progress is looking great. If all proceeds, Dead Space will be the title for survival horror fans to check out this fall.

Your character in Dead Space, Isaac, is the “strong, silent” type of videogame hero, with no real lines outside of the occasional grunt and a mask covering his face at all times. As an engineer, you and a small crew are answering a distress call from the USG Ishimura, a ship that has been overrun by an unknown alien threat. Things quickly get out of hand, and you find yourself alone and trying to escape the ship alive.

The gameplay in Dead Space feels a lot like a cross between Doom 3 and Resident Evil 4. Like in Doom 3, you’ll navigate dark corridors searching for special items and collecting audio and video logs in order to get more information on what occurred on the ship.

Aside from your basic weaponry, you’ll also have access to different abilities, namely Stasis and Kinesis abilities that let you slow down objects and move objects in the environment, respectively. These not only help you when it comes to solving puzzles, but they help out when taking out enemies.

Your weapons, RIG suit, and your Stasis and Kinesis abilities can all be upgraded through benches that you’ll find throughout the Ishimura, and new weapons and items can be purchased at stores placed at the central hub of each of the game’s levels.

One of the most interesting features in the game is the lack of a HUD. That is not to say that you won’t have access to information like ammo, health, and so on, but all of this info is presented within the game’s universe. Your current ammo will be displayed on the gun itself, while your health and stasis bars will appear on Isaac’s back. A holographic image representing your inventory or map will pop up when you press the select button, but as it’s technically within the game universe, it is happening in real-time, meaning that you can still be attacked.

The Strategic Dismemberment System in the game is another important factor of the gameplay. In order to properly take out your enemies, you have to dismember them, aiming just the right way so that you’ll knock off a limb or two. If you just shoot them without trying to take off their limbs, then you’ll end up wasting more ammo than necessary.

Graphically, the game looks excellent, and does a great job of presenting a terrifying visual atmosphere. Some of the enemy character models look a bit plain, but the environments are teeming with ambiance and great details, and Isaac’s character model looks fantastic, with tons of detail down to the fuzz on his uniform.

The sound effects also do a great job of presenting the game’s atmosphere, through ambient noise and eerie music that does its part to keep you from getting comfortable.

Filled with frightening situations and great gameplay, Dead Space is definitely a title that survival horror fans should be excited about this fall.