Survival horror has been a genre in video games that’s really been dominated by the Resident Evil franchise, with attempts to dethrone it coming in spurts.  In comes Dead Space and Isaac Clarke, making quite the name for itself recently, especially after netting a plethora of awards at the E3 Expo.

Dead Space is damn scary, simply put.  I don’t care if you’re playing the game at noon with all of the lights on in your room, you’re going to jump at some point.  The characters models are gruesomely detailed, and disturbing at that, and the looks and movements generated from your enemies in the game will have you screaming obscenities like never before.  The brilliance of the character models lies in the fact that while they may be deemed creepy, you can still manage to find the humanistic portion of each creature which adds so much to the realism factor.

In the world of science fiction, it’s incredibly hard to keep a believable environment throughout the game and I have to give a round of applause to the Dead Space team for constructing such a believable one.  The little things in the game such as the writings in the bathroom stalls, or the fire extinguishers you run across in the game may be subtle, but they’re keeping that sense of realism in your mind.

Isaac Clarke is a lover, not a fighter.

Strategic dismemberment is the driving force behind this game, and it was the perfect choice.  Typical shooter loving gamers will find themselves struggling at first as most will be gunning for the head of their foe.  Upon spending more time with the game, they’ll soon realize that each creature has a weak spot, and the battle can be made considerably easier if you attempt to reach them.

Isaac is controlled with a free roam camera, showcasing the left stick as the movement piece and the right stick as the camera view.  The development team took a risk when they decided to go with no visible HUD, and while I was skeptical at first, it works wonderfully.  Rather than pressing start and having to go through an options menu, gamers can pull up a holographic mini-HUD on their screen showcasing things like inventory, or a map.  Ammunition is cleverly displayed through a digital reading on the back of each gun, easily letting you see how much ammo you have left by pulling the left trigger to ready your gun.

In certain sections of the game, there’s no oxygen at all and everything is stuck in an area called “Zero-G”.  Anything that isn’t alive is typically floating through the air or space, but due to the weight of Isaac’s suit, he’ll still be bolted down.  Jumping around from place to place in Zero-G can leave gamers quite confused as to where they were exactly headed, even with using the map function.  By clicking the right thumbstick, a quick holographic path is displayed for a few seconds showing where Isaac needs to be going.  At first it felt rather sheep, but in some levels of the game it’s almost impossible to get past without having it.

Isaac also has two other abilities: telekinesis and stasis.  Don’t let the two abilities hurt your pride, as you’ll need each one when your ammo gets low or when you’re confronted by a horde of enemies.
Whether you slow an enemy down, or slice off a limb or two, make sure that you finish them off.  Well, I take that back, at least once in the game you should let an enemy scurry off into an air vent.  Enemies that you allow to escape back into the vents are going to find their way back to you at some point, and believe me, you’ll be out of your chair.

Isaac Clarke is an engineer, and you’ll fair much better in Dead Space if you capitalize on his ability to upgrade both his gear and his weapons.  Trying to progress through the game with the standard weapons could probably be done, but I don’t recommend it at all.  The weapons and their secondary fire get cooler and more badass as the game progresses, and certain weapons are going to make it much more easy for you to finish off some of the larger monsters.

You’re going to die quite a few times throughout the game, but the team has given you the opportunity to fight out of certain death sequences as long as you’re quick with the buttons.   Mashing the “A” button while you’re being attacked by one of the creatures in the cinematic perspective, you can fight off your enemy and deliver a crushing blow .

Dead Space has went from being one of the games that I was looking forward to playing this year to being one of my most anticipated games of 2008.  Sure, the hands-on time may have something to do with my personal shift, but the team has delivered upon and the gambles they have taken are all working in their favor.  The lighting is some of the most gorgeous I’ve seen, not to mention the sound and voice overs, Dead Space will be a hit.

I just want to thank the good people over at EA for the opportunity to visit their studio and get a chance to talk with everyone, including the executive producer Glen Schofield.  Even after the event, I had the chance to talk with Glen in the airport for about an hour from topics ranging from Dead Space to some of his favorite personal games.  Throughout the conversation, I was only reassured that his passion is truly one of the biggest driving forces behind a game that’s finally getting the attention that it deserves.