E3 2008 Preview
– Hands On
One of the most anticipated titles from EA’s
camp is Dead Space, a unique take on the third-person survival-horror genre.
Dead Space puts you in space, while taking on some truly horrific opponents,
while offering up plenty of action to go with the suspense. With no shortage of
gore and a great sense of atmosphere, Dead Space is one that fans of horror
games will want to keep an eye out for.
In Dead Space, you play as Isaac, an
engineer who crash-lands on a planet that has been taken over by a nasty alien
species known as necromorphs. As Isaac is merely an engineer and not a space
marine, he only has access to his engineering tools and not a full arsenal,
which adds an interesting element to the game and how you’d use your weaponry.
The controls in Dead Space are pretty easy
to get the hang of. It feels a lot like Resident Evil 4, as the game will have
the same kind of behind-the-back camera angle and a similar aiming system. One
interesting touch is that the game won’t have an on-screen HUD, so everything
that appears on the screen will be exactly what Isaac is seeing as well. Plus,
any menus that you open will occur in real-time, meaning that you have to be
quick, or else you’ll get attacked and killed by enemies.
The game has several really cool additions
aside from this. The dismemberment engine allows you to literally rip through
your enemies limbs, and even use their sharp appendages as projectiles should
you want to conserve your ammunition.
Another nice touch is the zero gravity
system, which is quite a bit more realistic than in other situations. Whereas
other games might have you floating around “jet-pack” style, Dead Space allows
you to “push” off from platform to platform while staying firm onto whatever
surface you’re on, resulting in a jumping puzzle of sorts where you have to
carefully aim your next jump or else get killed.
Another element shown off was the upgrade
system, or the upgrade bench. By sitting at the upgrade bench, you can upgrade
your arsenal, using the node-based interface to improve your weapon’s strength,
accuracy and so on with the items that you’ve picked up throughout the
environment.
Dead Space is a frightening entry to the
survival-horror genre, and one inspired by many great sources, both in film and
games. Look for it to launch this October.
