Dead Space

[wdm0744]

I've been playing "Dead Space" the last couple nights.

It is truly excellent and a must for any horror fan. The setting and tone are similar to "Alien" and "Event Horizon", the creatures look like "The Thing", and the gameplay is very similar to "Resident Evil 4".

It's a very cinematic game, but the thing that impresses me most is the combat. Usually, the combat in survival horror is weak and something to be avoided.

In this game, though, the combat is so unique and well-executed that I actually look forward to the next enemy encounter almost as much as I dread seeing one of the monsters pop out of the next airshaft.

Do yourself a favor and pick it up. Just don't play it around the kiddies as the gore is exceptionally heavy.

[rabidmonkeys]

I downloaded the demo for this. Love the atmosphere, the graphics, the immersive sound effects. but the demo is HARD! I know that you are supposed to forget about the 'shooting monsters in the head' thing and shoot their limbs off instead, but it feels like the aiming mechanic isn't precise enough for that.

[Storm_Rider]

At the beginning you mostly just have to aim at their limbs, after you upgrade your plasma cutter a bit, and maybe get the line cutter(I suggest you get the line cutter - I didn't try the saw thing but Yahtzee did and he said it was somewhat overpowered, which makes me glad I went for the line cutter) you'll see it won't be that difficult to de-limb the fu...enemies.

[remaxwell]

The game isn't that difficult when it comes to taking out the limbs. Of course, if one of 'em catches you in an ambush, you'll probably have to just start shooting, but other than that, the limbs are long and can be hard to miss, especially with the line cutter.

But the game became exponentially easier when I figured this out: You don't REALLY have to shoot them in the limbs. Maybe I was dumb, but I got the idea that they wouldn't go down if they had all their limbs, so I'd waste precious time during ambushes lining up my shots and waiting for the creature to get into a good position when he was ripping me to shreds. Now, unless I'm getting bingo on ammo, I just take a few body shots with my upgraded plasma cutter and the normies usually go down.

By the way: you really don't need anything other than the plasma cutter for this game. You know in most games the first weapon you get, usually a pistol, is the "last bastion" weapon before you're overwhelmed? Not in Dead Space. It's your meat and potatoes, and it remains useful throughout the ENTIRE GAME. When you have the dmg fully upgraded, it's a powerful beast, too.

People have told me that the Force Gun is great too, but I could never bring myself to use it. Seemed like it dragged out a battle for longer than it had to, when I could just pump a shot or two into the limbs or body.

And if you have to get a second weapon, I'd recommend the Pulse Rifle. There are a few times in a game where you'll waste ammo ridiculously fast if you try and use the plasma cutter, so just Pulse Rifle spam. All of the rest (really, including the line cutter) are arguably superfluous except in some circumstances. Also, you can't switch vertical-horizontal with the Line cutter, which is a BIG help when you face multiple kinds of enemies.

But it's a great game, in all. Turn off the lights, turn up the sound, and enjoy it.