Dead Space (Xbox 360)

In space, no one can hear you getting bored.
10/14/2008 7:09 PM | 0 Comments | Page 2 of 2

Blame BioShock for spoiling me, but this vacant spaceship never felt like a real place to me. I never believed -- not for a second -- that actual people ever lived here, the way that I did in practically every moment of BioShock. Sure, there were toilets -- the squarest damn toilets I've ever seen -- and trams, and waiting rooms, etc. But the architectural proportions of these places always seemed off, making the whole ship feel sort of like a dollhouse that's been cobbled together from the parts of other dollhouses.

I did appreciate the retro aesthetic of Isaac's mining suit. I like how he hunches over as he walks, as if that big, diving-bell helmet is simply too heavy for him to carry. He looks more like a reluctant welder going to work rather than your typical videogame bad-ass. That's a good thing.

The game plays some nifty Eternal Darkness-like tricks on you during the later stages, making you question if what you're seeing -- and hearing -- is real or not, making you truly feel as if Isaac is slowly becoming psychologically unhinged. The soundtrack is simply superb: Even on my fairly low-end 5.1 surround sound system, I heard machinery clanging off in the distance, this hiss of air vents kicking on and, occasionally, weird, soft voices whispering from somewhere. At least, I thought I heard whispers.

Yet there's also a hint of sweaty desperation in Dead Space. In the name of mixing things up, the developers unwisely included several zero-gravity sections in the game. During these sections, you can float and fly around, solving puzzles and fighting monsters. In theory, a good idea; but in practice, zero-gravity doesn't work. Typically, I'd lose my bearings, losing sight of where I was supposed to go. And it's in these moments that you can depend on the developers dropping several monsters into the environment, making the game's camera spin out of control, while the monsters take turns giving you zero-gravity wedgies.

But the most unforgivable flaw of Dead Space can be found in the inherent stupidity of the monsters. Remember that moment in Resident Evil 4 -- what, you thought I was going to make it through the entire review without invoking RE4? -- when one of the possessed villagers barks out orders in Spanish to the other possessed villagers? I remember thinking, Shit, these mofos are organized. There was always this sense that there was a pecking order, a social hierarchy that was respected by the evils in RE4.

In contrast, the evils in Dead Space are an unorganized lot. Their sole motivation: kill, kill, kill. Their sole combat tactic: to run headlong at you, waving their arms above their heads.

If only the things you lumber everywhere to fight exhibited some crude smarts; if only they did something vaguely interesting, or different, now and then. Instead, in the end, it's their far-too-predictable behaviors that diminish the dramatic momentum Dead Space begins with, making the sojourn into space tedious instead of tense.

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.