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The game is set on a deep space mining ship.Engineer Isaac Clarke arrives for what appears to be a routine mission.He has been sent to repair the ships communications systems.Once onboard he finds the ship has been taken over by a vicious alien lifeform.Trapped inside the vessel and with no possibility of assistance,Isaac must embark on a series of dangerous repair missions if he is to have any chance of making it home alive.
The graphics in this game are top notch with no hint of slowdown.The lighting effects are also very impressive with flickering lightbulbs and subdued misty hallways adding perfectly to the atmosphere of the game.On the Audio front,the game sounds fantastic as its eerie silence is shattered by some pretty unwelcome creatures leaping out when you really least expect it.Technically the game looks and sounds as good as anything seen on the current generation consoles.
Where the game really excels though is in its combat.You can dissect the creatures in order to conserve ammo.Shooting off an enemies limbs before stamping on its skull is just great fun.You can momentarily freeze enemies using the power of stasis,this gives you the opportunity to hack them into tiny pieces.The kinesis power allows you to shift certain objects using the power of your mind.You can finish off enemies by firing their hacked off body parts into them.Its a great feature and one that never failed to put a smile on my face.It is also very helpful when you are running low on ammo.There is a wide and impressive array of creatures each with their own strengths and weaknesses.As you progress through the game you work out how to take each enemy down using the least amount of resources.The weapons in this game are amongst the very best that I have seen in any game.Some examples are a hand held plasma cutter which is essential for dismembering certain creatures,a flamethrower for torching enemies at close quarters,the pulse rifle which has a high fire rate and long range,the line gun which can slice creatures clean in half and my personal favourite the ripper,this is an industrial saw which fires rotating circular blades which you can then control with a kind of aftertouch.Its great fun as you use it to grind enemies into bloody pulp.As you have probably guessed this game is very violent and totally earns its 18 certificate.Each weapon also has an alternative firing mode which is a neat touch and proves to be very useful at certain points of this game.
There are stores where you can buy and trade items and benches where you can upgrade weapons.These are placed at certain points throughout the ship.Save points are also located throughout the playing area.All of these features can be located using your map if you need to get to one in a hurry.The map is displayed like a 3D model of the ship which you can zoom in and out of.This also provides you with directions of how to get to your next mission.
Dead Space has some very neat original touches which make it stand out from other similar types of game.As well as the mentioned creatures and weapons,the game creates a superb gaming experience in the form of its zero gravity feature.During these sequences you can jump huge areas by locking your weapon onto a surface and leaping to it.Zero gravity also effects your enemies,this makes for some great fighting sequences.
Good as this game is,its not perfect.You never really get into the characters in it or seem to have a reason to care about any of them.This was slightly disappointing as Dead Space is only a single player game,with no multiplayer modes.The story itself flags a little in the middle of the game,although it does improve as it reaches its climax.In some parts of the game I found myself wandering aimlessly from mission to mission.But saying that,most parts of the game are fun even if it does get a little repetitive at times.Playing through the game though I couldn’t help noticing the amount of things the game seems to blatantly rip off.From movies such as Alien and Event Horizon to games such as Resident Evil and Bioshock there are many things in this game which have been ‘borrowed’ from other sources for sure.These negative points I have listed are really nothing more than minor niggles and are no reasons for not buying this game.
Overall Dead Space is a very good survival horror game which really is worth picking up if you missed it,especially as its so cheap these days.Its a game which if it had have come out in the middle of the summer games drought would have got noticed a lot more for sure.At the moment though it represents one of the best value for money gaming experiences around and I would no hesitation in recommending it.
8.5/10
Dead Space 360 Version £11.73
Dead Space PS3 Version £11.73
Less 5% Quidco cashback makes a possible £11.15 but hurry if you want a copy as this deal ends tomorrow (Sunday).
The game is set on a deep space mining ship.Engineer Isaac Clarke arrives for what appears to be a routine mission.He has been sent to repair the ships communications systems.Once onboard he finds the ship has been taken over by a vicious alien lifeform.Trapped inside the vessel and with no possibility of assistance,Isaac must embark on a series of dangerous repair missions if he is to have any chance of making it home alive.
The graphics in this game are top notch with no hint of slowdown.The lighting effects are also very impressive with flickering lightbulbs and subdued misty hallways adding perfectly to the atmosphere of the game.On the Audio front,the game sounds fantastic as its eerie silence is shattered by some pretty unwelcome creatures leaping out when you really least expect it.Technically the game looks and sounds as good as anything seen on the current generation consoles.
Where the game really excels though is in its combat.You can dissect the creatures in order to conserve ammo.Shooting off an enemies limbs before stamping on its skull is just great fun.You can momentarily freeze enemies using the power of stasis,this gives you the opportunity to hack them into tiny pieces.The kinesis power allows you to shift certain objects using the power of your mind.You can finish off enemies by firing their hacked off body parts into them.Its a great feature and one that never failed to put a smile on my face.It is also very helpful when you are running low on ammo.There is a wide and impressive array of creatures each with their own strengths and weaknesses.As you progress through the game you work out how to take each enemy down using the least amount of resources.The weapons in this game are amongst the very best that I have seen in any game.Some examples are a hand held plasma cutter which is essential for dismembering certain creatures,a flamethrower for torching enemies at close quarters,the pulse rifle which has a high fire rate and long range,the line gun which can slice creatures clean in half and my personal favourite the ripper,this is an industrial saw which fires rotating circular blades which you can then control with a kind of aftertouch.Its great fun as you use it to grind enemies into bloody pulp.As you have probably guessed this game is very violent and totally earns its 18 certificate.Each weapon also has an alternative firing mode which is a neat touch and proves to be very useful at certain points of this game.
There are stores where you can buy and trade items and benches where you can upgrade weapons.These are placed at certain points throughout the ship.Save points are also located throughout the playing area.All of these features can be located using your map if you need to get to one in a hurry.The map is displayed like a 3D model of the ship which you can zoom in and out of.This also provides you with directions of how to get to your next mission.
Dead Space has some very neat original touches which make it stand out from other similar types of game.As well as the mentioned creatures and weapons,the game creates a superb gaming experience in the form of its zero gravity feature.During these sequences you can jump huge areas by locking your weapon onto a surface and leaping to it.Zero gravity also effects your enemies,this makes for some great fighting sequences.
Good as this game is,its not perfect.You never really get into the characters in it or seem to have a reason to care about any of them.This was slightly disappointing as Dead Space is only a single player game,with no multiplayer modes.The story itself flags a little in the middle of the game,although it does improve as it reaches its climax.In some parts of the game I found myself wandering aimlessly from mission to mission.But saying that,most parts of the game are fun even if it does get a little repetitive at times.Playing through the game though I couldn’t help noticing the amount of things the game seems to blatantly rip off.From movies such as Alien and Event Horizon to games such as Resident Evil and Bioshock there are many things in this game which have been ‘borrowed’ from other sources for sure.These negative points I have listed are really nothing more than minor niggles and are no reasons for not buying this game.
Overall Dead Space is a very good survival horror game which really is worth picking up if you missed it,especially as its so cheap these days.Its a game which if it had have come out in the middle of the summer games drought would have got noticed a lot more for sure.At the moment though it represents one of the best value for money gaming experiences around and I would no hesitation in recommending it.
8.5/10