Dead Space

[Don Flamenco]

hmmmm   


I mean, the graphics are excellent, sound design puts most games to shame, but there is seriously zero tension.  It's easy as hell and not all that rewarding...and you're just kind of the gopher for these two annoying people who won't stop bickering.   It's like my childhood all over again. 

welp, just played for a couple hours and got to chapter 4, but I don't feel very compelled to go on.

[Jansen]

even if you did feel any tension you could just run to the nearest doorway and pick off the enemies because for some reason they can't cross certain thresholds

[Beezy]

All of that is true, yet some people think it's a better game than RE5. smh...

It gets better, but not by much. I had to force myself to finish the game.

[Don Flamenco]

yeah, I think I'm just gonna send it back to gamefly tomorrow.  No way, no how.  Not my chair, not my problem.

[fistfulofmetal]

hahaha lamer.

better than RE5 by a country mile.



better boss battles, better enemies, better controls, better storyline, better characters, better weapons, better setting, it's like a total wash holy shit

[Don Flamenco]

well, that pretty much clinches it.  gamefly envelope sealed 

[Don Flamenco]

i realize the two are compared a lot here, but I wasn't really thinking of RE5 while playing it...they are very different games.  RE made the transition to action game nicely (awesome, just baited another fistful response of shame), whereas Dead Space is still in this no-man's land between action and survival horror. 

The controls aren't clunky enough and the health system isn't strict enough to artificially ratchet up tension. and the tasks don't require enough exploration to be survival horror, though I have my doubts about whether that's really a genre, but that's a different story.  The action is just too easy, but not frequent enough.  Taking out four of those alien/zombies at a time is no sweat.  The fact that the plasma cutter shoots such a wide width makes shooting of limbs rather easy.  but while you're doing your "run here, hit A at the glowing thing" tasks, they don't pop up enough.  There aren't enough tense situations, only tense atmosphere. 

It feels like EA was going for a casual horror game experience...the Prince of Persia/Assassin's Creed of horror, if you will.  Though far better than either of those turds, of course.

[duckman2000]

I thought they did a really good job making you feel like you were controlling a real character in a real, but ghastly, game world. Beyond that, I wasn't incredibly enthralled with the shooting, but it was good enough to keep playing. As for comparing it to RE5, I think the enemies are much more interesting, and I give EA credit for reaching a much more intense swarming feel, and doing so without having to gimp the controls. I certainly wouldn't argue that it's the overall better game, though. But it was a great entry into the genre.

[Don Flamenco]

funny thing about the controls...running around gets you hurt   a few times I thought I'd go for a little more space to get a little more time to reload.  nope-- the instant you start trying to move around, those fuckers close the gap and hit you.  It was better to aim well instead. 

[Bildi]

It was probably my favourite game last year.  I found the difficulty moderate on the hard setting, and enjoyed it.  It wasn't scary (like virtually all survival horrors), but I really liked the atmosphere. 

If you don't like it so far, I doubt that's really going to change.  Sorry it wasn't your cup of tea Kranz.

[dark1x]

One thing I suggest everyone try is turning down the music slider to zero.  It doesn't disable some of the cinematic music (such as the music played during the intro sequence), but it does remove all of those musical cues that play when a monster appears.  The sudden burst of strings every time a monster would appear really killed the mood.  Even if you were looking in another direction, the music would always alert you to the presence of an enemy.

I do think games like Dead Space and Doom 3 both focus a bit too heavily on sudden encounters, however.  I feel that having creatures that seem to be inhabiting the environment increases tension.  If you're exploring and you know there are enemies around that haven't yet spotted you, it really makes it seem as if you are a part of the game world rather than the focus of it.

[Third]

This and Siren are the best horror survival sp experiences from this gen.

Such an amazing game. I loved the story and it was quite creepy at times.

Dead Space 2 is a day 1 purchase. Dead Space Extraction is a day 1 download.

[The Sceneman]

Dead Space was fantastic.... for about 3 hours. The presentation and sound design is top notch but the game overstayed its welcome way too fast and became a tiresome excercise with lame, repetitive enemies

[Third]

This and Siren are the best horror survival sp experiences from this gen.

How good is Siren compared the this gen's survival horror games? I have a brand new copy, wrapped, just waiting to be played.

It's totally different actually.
Siren is a real horror survival game. It's more about evading action and hiding from danger instead of shooting at everything that moves.
You won't have to play as a Rambo-like character with ammo and heavy weapons scattered everywhere. 
You're very fragile in the game.

If you liked the original Silent Hill and its atmosphere, you'll have to play Siren and you'll probably like it too.
It's from the same dev team who made the first few Silent Hill games.

Siren is definitely one of the most scary horror games of all time. I already played the original Ps2 version, but this is an amazing remake.
I hope Sony is going to remake Siren 2 also...

[BobFromPikeCreek]

Presentation and atmosphere were so slick that I didn't even really notice how meh the action was until after I had beaten it.

[Smooth Groove]

Graphics didn't even seem that impressive when I played it at max settings in 1920x1200. 

I only played it for about 3 chapters but I'm kinda leery about going back to it now that y'all are saying that it's just more of the same. 

[dark1x]

I didn't think it was as good as people had stated.  It definitely DOES get a lot better beyond the first three chapters, but it never reaches the heights of my favorite horror titles.  I never found the enemy designs to be scary nor did I enjoy the way they attacked the player.  They could really have improved that aspect of the game.

Graphics didn't even seem that impressive when I played it at max settings in 1920x1200. 

Honestly, it depends on the display.

I recently picked up a 1080p Samsung LCD for the back room (one of the new P2370 models) so that I could display 1920x1080 on both displays.  Dead Space looks really nice on my Pioneer plasma thanks to the rich contrast, but it looks terrible on the Samsung LCD simply due to its inability to display a deep black.  It literally makes a night and day difference.  If you played it at 1920x1200, that suggests to me that you did so on your LCD. 

I still don't think the game is super impressive or anything, but it's amazing how much of a difference the display can make in a dark game like Dead Space.  Dark horror games are, in my slightly warped opinion, unplayable on 95% of the LCDs out there.

[trippingmartian]

Played the demo. Found the enemy design to be laughable. Also the weapon they give you in the demo is quite assy.

Saw the Dead Space figure in the latest Diamond Previews. Pretty neat:

[Smooth Groove]

Honestly, it depends on the display.

I recently picked up a 1080p Samsung LCD for the back room (one of the new P2370 models) so that I could display 1920x1080 on both displays. 

I'm never gonna hook up my PC to my TV unless I get a TV with wireless HDMI.  It's just too much of a hassle. 

My LCD is a P-MVA, which has better contrast than the TN panels found in most LCD monitors.  With the lights on, the black levels look pretty decent. 

If you really want better contrast in your monitor, you should have gotten a S-IPS.  I'm pretty sure most mainstream Samsung models use TNs nowadays. 

HP has a 24" S-IPS and the new Apple 24" is even better as it has LED lighting in addition to a S-IPS.  The Apple is expensive as hell though and might not even work with a PC. 

[Eric P]

am i allowed to say that i enjoyed my time with it, but wasn't compelled for multiple play throughs?

[dark1x]

Honestly, it depends on the display.

I recently picked up a 1080p Samsung LCD for the back room (one of the new P2370 models) so that I could display 1920x1080 on both displays. 

I'm never gonna hook up my PC to my TV unless I get a TV with wireless HDMI.  It's just too much of a hassle. 

My LCD is a P-MVA, which has better contrast than the TN panels found in most LCD monitors.  With the lights on, the black levels look pretty decent. 

If you really want better contrast in your monitor, you should have gotten a S-IPS.  I'm pretty sure most mainstream Samsung models use TNs nowadays. 

HP has a 24" S-IPS and the new Apple 24" is even better as it has LED lighting in addition to a S-IPS.  The Apple is expensive as hell though and might not even work with a PC. 

I only picked up an LCD so that I could use the PC in the back room when I didn't feel like sitting on the couch or when guests come by for CO-OP play (so that I have an extra display compatible with all hardware).  I do most (non strategy) gaming on the plasma.  Compared to the Kuro in the living room, there isn't an LCD on the planet that can compare (not that any other plasma can compare either ).  I was just noting that LCDs in general do a terrible job with games as dark as Dead Space.  I actually have an S-IPS LCD, though it's quite a bit smaller and is only 1680x1050, and while the contrast ratio is better than the TN panel, it still sucks.  Just out of curiosity, are you aware of any 1920x1080 S-IPS panels on the market?  I wanted to make certain that the LCD would match my TV 1:1, but I was unable to locate any 1080p non-TN panels in my admittedly brief search.

How far apart are your PC and TV, though?  I'm using 75ft cables which I've run through the wall in order to use my PC on the TV.  The results are super clean with only a small USB hub serving as evidence that a PC is being used in the living room.  I have two mice, two keyboards, a wireless 360 pad adapter, two sound setups, and both displays set up so that they can run simultaneously.  It's very sweet and works beautifully.  If you're happy with your current PC setup, however, I suppose there's no point in upgrading.

[Smooth Groove]

My PC and TV are on different floors.  Like I said, it's just not worth the hassle to me. 

I'm not sure about a 1920x1080 S-IPS.  Go to hardforum.com and ask.  There are many knowledgeable people in that forum. 

[chronovore]

am i allowed to say that i enjoyed my time with it, but wasn't compelled for multiple play throughs?

This will eventually be the boat I find myself in, I think. I've stalled out at the beginning of Chapter 3 or 4, I want to like it... actually I /do/ like it for audio and visual design, but the cheap "boo" scares are not what I was hoping for. I wanted more suspense, similar to the way System Shock and Bioshock handled player expectations.

I'll play it through once with only the cutter for the 'chieveee, then probably toss it to a friend.