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17 Nov 2008 at 06:07:50 by Jim Diaz
Systems used to review this title: (360)

The other area that excels is the gameplay setup. The crew at EA must have focus-grouped this game to death as well as listening to what gamers want in their action games. A prime example of this is the temporary auto-save feature that kicks in when you die. Instead of going all the way back to your previous save, you just restart the level at a location prior to where you died. Throw in the numerous save stations and you'll completely forget about the game not having a save-anywhere option. I also like the built-in navigation system that shows a line to your next objective as you progress through the spacecraft. There is also a holographic management screen that shows a highly detailed 3D map, your inventory, objectives, and logs from the ship’s former crew members. There is also no on-screen HUD as health, oxygen level (when in space) and Stasis level are located on the back of your character's spacesuit and ammo count falls right above the weapon you're wielding. I mentioned Stasis, which is used to slow down time and there is Kinesis for grabbing or moving objects. Both of these abilities are used primarily for getting past environmental obstacles but Statis does come in handy in slowing down enemies who are rushing towards you.

So with all of these positives, you must be wondering if the game fails at anything. Well, it does stumble in one area, which is gameplay depth. Dead Space doesn’t deviate much from its core gameplay of having the player move one objective to another. It also doesn’t help that your character, Issac Clarke doesn’t talk or really interact with his crew mates who are telling him what to do all of the time. Something as simple as having him verbally interact would have gone a long way in addressing this. It’s not a huge deal but it's a fairly obvious weakness in the game.

The linear aspect of the game doesn't take as much of a negative hit since the gripping tension and intense combat virtually eliminate the reality that you are moving from point A to point B the whole time. It sort of like when the movie, Alien first came out in the theaters - some people were calling it “Jaws in Space” since it boiled down to being about a hostile creature loose on a spacecraft. Personally, I didn’t have a problem with that since it was a hell of a thrill ride. The same can be said about Dead Space – it won’t bend your mind but it will give you plenty of scares and hours of thrilling entertainment, which is all I need from a video game.

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