Dead Space: Will Scare Horror-Addicts

I'm not even the horror-loving type but this game has a certain appeal that draws you toward it. Dead Space is the most brilliant and awesome-looking sci-fi horror game I have ever seen. The game combines various features of other hits in the genre to produce a nasty and thrilling mix.

Unfortunately, I don't have any 3rd-generation game consoles so even though I won't be able to play this game, I still feel like I have an attachment to it (or maybe it's that tentacle-sucking-my-insides-out type of attachment). However, I love interesting storylines, and it sounds like this one is pretty sweet.

Introduction
The game takes place in the future where Earth mines whole planets for minerals ("planet cracking"). USG Ishimura was one of these Planet Cracking ships that got caught up in something. You play as Isaac Clarke, an engineer that's been called to the USG Ishimura after receiving a distress signal.


Impressions
Since I haven't played the game myself, I'll just give you my impressions. Considering that the Flood in Halo actually kinda got me spooked out, I feel that if I ever play this game, I might just shit my pants. Something that really gets me interested in games is not the gameplay but the storyline. I really like games (no matter how simple or complicated) that have some interesting plot and develop it throughout the story. Just imagine what it would be like completely taking apart a planet for mining. What would you even encounter?

Apparently, some weird things called Necromorphs had taken over the ship and you basically find out more about the infestation and you slice your way through hordes of gory and grotesque pieces of flesh. After I got over the setting, I was actually looking at Isaac's actual suit/armor.

Super-Cool Mask
Isaac really wears something that I feel is realistic. You're a miner... so you might need a helmet/mask. It kind of reminded me of those masks you wear when you're welding things. But his mask looks very gothic and dark. It wouldn't be really surprising if he was a murderer in a horror-film but since he's the good guy, it feels so much more powerful. Too bad you might get your whole head bitten off by a Necromorph.

Lighting
Indescribably fantastic lighting makes the game more mysterious and will probably get you crawling closer to the screen before something jumps out of a air duct and impales you. Dead Space uses something called deferred shading which determines the texture/shade of an object in real-time. Most games have pre-defined shades in the environments so that a wall has a certain shade with the lights on and a different shade for a candle. Every situation has been pre-defined so you'll never find anything interesting in the walls. Deferred lighting determines what shade the wall needs to have while you play the game. So if there's multiple small light sources throughout the screen, then the walls will have some reflections appropriate to the situation. End-effect: everything looks spookier...

Real-Time Phobia
Everything is in real-time so even when you look through menus and stuff, the Necromorphs moving toward you will... keep moving towards you. There's no quick way to turn around other than to turn around the way you normally do. The sense of vulnerability keeps your heart racing every minute you play. The "weapons" are pretty interesting though since they are make-shift versions of mining equipment. Your Kinesis power let's you push and pull things around (in unlimited amounts). So feel free to grab some limbs and beat a Necromorph with it. The Statis power slows down objects. Probably very useful when you have angry dead things rushing towards you.

Never feel safe again, or at least not until you make Necromorphs into mush. Headshots don't work anymore. I used to feel so safe with a shotgot in Halo. In Dead Space, you have to dismember every limb before the Necromorph stops (I just hope arms don't move on their own).

In conclusion, you'll never feel safe in spaceships floating in the dark ever again. No really, considering I only look at games, this is the most exciting scare-myself-to-death game I've seen that I wouldn't mind buying a game console for.