Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #385 in Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Model: 15424
• Published on: 2008-10
• Released on: 2008-10-14
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .59" h x 5.39" w x 6.80" l, .30 pounds

Features

• Dead Space for PlayStation 3 is sure to please any action, adventure gamer looking for a bloody battle against deadly aliens
• Gameplay takes place on the USG Ishimura where the crew has been infected by an alien scourge
• Neutralize the attacking enemies by shearing off limbs with powerful weapons
• Telekinetic powers allow you to pick up objects (even the aliens own severed arms and legs) and hurl them at your advancing enemies
• Battling enemies and solving puzzles takes on new challenges and present ingenious opportunities with the Zero-G gameplay

Amazon.com Product Description
Dead Space from EA is sure to please any action-adventure gamer looking for a bloody battle against deadly aliens. Dead Space for PlayStation 3 begins when a massive mining ship, the USG Ishimura, comes in contact with a mysterious alien artifact and suddenly loses its communications with Earth. Engineer Isaac Clarke is sent to repair

Deep Space pits Isaac Clarke against deadly aliens. View larger.

Zero-G game play allows you to walk on walls and the ceiling. View larger.

EA delivers an incredibly frightening experience with state-of-the-art graphics and effects. View larger.

Neutralize the attacking enemies with weapons and telekinetic powers. View larger.

the Ishimura's communications, but arrives to find a floating vessel that has become a complete bloodbath. The crew is mutilated and infected with an ancient alien scourge. Clarke's repair mission is transformed to one of survival as he fights to save himself and return the artifact to the planet at any cost.

Fight with Weapons and Telekinesis
The alien hordes are incredibly resilient. You'll have to find creative ways to neutralize the attacking enemies by shearing off limbs with powerful weapons. And when the ammo runs out you'll be thankful that you can use your telekinetic powers to pick up objects (even the aliens' own severed arms and legs) and hurl them at your advancing enemies.

Graphics, Effects, and Sound Increase the Horror
EA delivers an incredibly frightening experience with state-of-the-art graphics and effects, an audio system that will have you jumping out of your seat, and a truly horrific atmosphere that is permeated with death, mutilation, and despair. You'll have to be resilient to slash through the alien onslaught and stop this virulent scourge. As you explore the ship, the tragic story of the USG Ishimura will unfold in gory detail as you discover frantic logs from the hideously transformed crew in their final days.

True Zero-G Effects
You'll be able to take full advantage of zero gravity in Deep Space. Battling enemies and solving puzzles takes on new challenges and present ingenious opportunities with the Zero-G game play. You can use zero gravity to create your own path around obstacles by walking on walls and the ceiling. Leap across vast distances or change your perspective to gain a strategic advantage over your enemies.

Amazon.com
Electronic Arts guarantees a happy Halloween for survival horror fans with the release of this terrifying, deeply personal thriller. Developed as a single-player game, Dead Space delivers the chilling, claustrophobic feeling of being isolated in a dark environment -- all the while being stalked by some truly horrific enemies!

Set in the far future, Earth's appetite for natural resources has become a major motivator for deep space exploration. Immense, privately-owned and operated mining ships called "planetcrackers" orbit planets and use sophisticated equipment to carve out entire city-sized chunks of rock, reducing them to component elements and raw ore. When communications go dead on-board the USG Ishimura, a famous planetcracker -- systems engineer Isaac Clarke -- is sent in to fix the problem. Once on-board the vessel, Isaac discovers that the crew has unearthed an ancient and malevolent alien presence far beneath the planet's surface and brought it on-board. Weaponless, alone and terrified, this lone engineer is burdened with much more than simple survival -- he must seal the alien horror back into the dark rock.

Customer Reviews

Seriously they have nailed it. What a start for this holiday season
I have been playing shooters for a long long time. After DOOM, no one had the guts to move away from head shots. Almost 3 decades has come and gone and shooters have remained the same. Woow these guys did get away with it, and they have come out with amazing results. This is the power of creativity.

We have played shooters with zombies in them, horror sci-fi games, different permutations and combinations. All have few different monsters as enemies. Either you shoot them in the head or it is some kind of quick press events to kill the bosses. Here you have to understand what every enemy is, remember how to kill when you see them again. As you walk through the levels, you see clues written in blood on what to do with each enemy.

The game continuously throws new surprises. You have to explore every level to find items to upgrade your weapons. When you first step into ZeroG... the fights gets crazy. Enemies will come from every direction, the map is a big globe. The level design is fantastic. Every single detail from hospital rooms, kitchens what ever that will be required in a big space ship is there. It is not like the super tidy carpeted Trek space ship. It is supposed to be some thing like a dirty mining rig, and you surely get the feel of it.

There is lot of creativity that has gone in.. which I didn't expect from a big publisher like EA. You don't find any M16, AK46, turret gun here. All the weapons are mining equipment. Our future mining equipments are lot more interesting than what we have today. As the main character is a engineer lot of things he does very cohesive with the gameplay. When you actually fix a lever and move things around it feels lot more natural.

I do have to say one thing about this game. It is truly meant for mature audience. Please don't buy this game for very young children. There are few sections where you have to kick and stomp baby zombies. It gets too violent and scary. But as a horror/survival/thriller you need creepy enemies. Also they do give you a reason to keep searching and not quit half way around. The theme may be slightly similar to DMC4 girl friend search... but executed very well.

One gripe I have with this game as with DMC4 is backtracking. The game is quite long by today's standard. The space ship feels much better because you are visiting some of the same areas while backtracking. It is not horrible, but it is there. I wish they hadn't done that.

To give developers credit, they have done enough to avoid the regular backtracking nightmares like lost routes. You can always use your analog stick to show the dotted green walk line.

Previously I thought this one will be like Silent hill, this one is more closer to Resident Evil. Falls more in the creepy, scary game than survival horror game.

Technically, I don't have to say much. Any one who has seen videos of the game already know this game looks stunning. Fantastic way to start the holiday season. Brand new IP, silky smooth game play, really well done game. Go treat yourself.

Scariest game ever? Naw, but it is damn good
After reading reviews that Dead Space was the second coming of the original Resident Evil, I decided I'd give it a try. Review sites were claiming it to be "the scariest game evar!" Hell, when I picked the game up from a local store I was boldly told, "within two minutes of gaining control of your character, you will jump out of your skin!" Eagerly, I rushed home, ready for my next jolt of adrenaline. So, it was with a pair of rubber underwear (I kid...or do I?) and some excitement that I set out to see what dark terrors Dead Space would contain.

Turns out there's not much here we haven't seen before. No, I didn't jump two minutes into the game...and in fact the first chapter felt pretty tame. Monsters pop out of vents or can be seen in the distance, usually followed by a loud "DUN!" from the soundtrack. Maybe I've grown so hardened from my years of playing horror games that the thrills in Dead Space don't amount to much. I'm also wondering who these reviewers are. If Dead Space is so terrifying to them, I'd hate to see what'd happen if they got their hands on F.E.A.R. or Condemned, for example, two games that have made me jump out of my skin.

Things improve as the story continues, though, with some disturbing images (usually involving a crazed survivor) and some stick with me, even now. The game does improve on its terror level, the further in you get and there are some shocking moments, both in terms of graphic depictions but also in a "holy crap, I'm being dragged by a tentacle" way. But, as a personal opinion, I've never really been fond of the silent protagonist. And here we have not only Isaac, the mute, but Isaac the faceless since he's always holed up behind some mask. Sure there is a personal story here for him, what with his girlfriend stuck on the ship somewhere, but it never really clicked for me simply because Isaac felt like a doll and not a real person.

This isn't to say Dead Space is a bad game, just the opposite! I had an absolute blast playing it because what it does, it does exceedingly well. The weapons are never your cliched space marine-type fare, which brings a fresh feel to the game. They can be "leveled up" via work benches, and you can really design both your suit and your weapons to fit your play style. Dead Space also controls amazingly well and you'll never feel like the game is hampering you by horrible movement. The graphics are pretty damn awesome, especially in terms of the grotesque monster designs (which remind me of The Thing) and the animations. The concept of "strategic dismembering" is also a fun little twist of the genre, as you'll find yourself blowing the hell out of their limbs, just to keep them from coming at you.

I also appreciate how each level feels completely different from the last and EA has truly made the Ishimura come alive. When I first heard that the game took place on a ship, I was worried. Usually that means the same old corridors and bad level design, but here it means a fully realized space ship. Breaking up the action are sections taking place in zero-G areas, which are great, and some puzzles that require you to utlize the environment.

All in all, and even though I don't share the opinion that it's the scariest game ever, Dead Space is a terrific game. The plot is very intriguing and pulls you along, but it's everything else that really adds up to making it what it is. In the end, Dead Space feels more like Aliens than Alien, and that ain't shabby.

Definitely recommend a purchase.

Atmospheric, creepy and...fun?
Let's face it: October's a rather crowded month. Literally every single week has one top-tier title that's massively anticipated and will instantly become day one purchases for many. Call it the Summer Blockbuster Season in games, really and thankfully a game like Dead Space has generated quite a bit of excitement and won't become one of those forgotten Ico/Beyond Good and Evil-type gems that barely anyone played yet people who have sing its praises whenever they can. While it's not exactly original and there's incredibly small gripes about the gameplay, Dead Space has all the makings of a great experience and I'd recommend it to anyone...provided you're over 18.

Story: You play as Isaac Clarke (a little nod to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, writer of 2001)who is an engineer that gets called in to investigate the distress beacon activated by the USG Ishimura, a "planet cracker" ship that literally rips holes in planets and mines the chunks for minerals and ore. But upon arrival, Isaac and a couple of his shipmates crash onto the ship and have to investigate what happened. But instead of finding its crew, it seems to be infested with new residents: that of grotesque, mutated creatures.

Graphics: This game is different than say Heavenly Sword or Uncharted which had lush and colorful visuals. Dead Space is more about poor lighting, flickering light sources and shadows across the floor. That being said, the graphics are unbelievably impressive and the immersion into the environments is stellar thanks to how the ship is presented. Also notable is the gore which is decidedly ramped up and whether it's you being on the losing end or you besting your enemies, you're guaranteed to run into some gruesomeness.

Sound/Music: Anyone who knows anything about horror is that it's just as much about how it's presented than what and all that is thanks to sound. The sound here is unbelievably impressive with clanks, roars and screeches, the unexpected loud encounter and even faint whispering, the aural design here will definately be effective if you have a killer surround sound system. The voice acting is also quite good and while they're not exactly flashy roles, there's no breaking the atmosphere with awful line delivery or melodramatic bellowing.

Gameplay: Strangely, the PS3 version of Bioshock is being released a week after this game which is a creepy, atmospheric FPS. This is a creepy, atmospheric 3rd-person shooter similar to Resident Evil 4. But what helps the game is the completely intuitive and immediate feel in the controls. While the controlling is simple and seen before, it's the weapons and others where it becomes key since I found switching weapons in previous games slightly clunky. Basically pressing L1 makes you aim and your action depends on what button you pressed. Pressing Square activates your Stasis, a kind of slow-motion weapon for those fast enemies, or just managing the battlefield. X is Reload while Circle activates your Kinesis which works similarily to the Force Grab in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (and not as awfully done either). R1 controls your firing while R2 is the weapon's secondary mode so your first weapon, Plasma Cutter cuts horizontally in default, pressing R2 changes it to vertically which is perfect for arm dismembering while the default is great for legs. You also have several other weaponry to use, all based on mining equipment so you have one gun which has saw blades, a flamethrower or a rapid-fire pulse rifle.

By the way, don't think you can rely on headshots galore in this game since that can make it worse. Instead, you have to essentially take your enemies apart to wipe them out. Blowing their legs off reduces them to a crawl while going for their arms robs them of anything to attack you with (and with Kinesis on the arms, they make for great impalement tools). That also gets a great use as well is the bigger variety in how you kill your enemies. For example, in addition to the arm-blade tactic, you can grab a flammable tank with Kinesis and launch them, creating a bomb or squishing them in doorways or getting them into gravity panels on the floor and launching them towards the ceiling with a nice, satisfying "squish" sound. While we're not talking about Bioshock-levels of variety, it's a great change of pace from just shoot-shoot-grenade-shoot in other games.

The other thing to mention is that in order to completely immerse you in the environment, EA didn't do a traditional HUD with your health bar, ammo and mini-map in the corners of the screen. Instead, everything is on your body with a vertebrae-like meter running up your spine that drops when you take damage to a half-circle for your Stasis meter, a pop-up for Air and a visible hologram for your ammo. It's a wonder that nobody seems to do this more. Word of caution: entering your inventory does not pause the game (that's what Start is for). So this effectively can leave you wide open for enemy attacks so best to wait till the coast is relatively clear. But having video logs and transmissions coming in front of Isaac and not a separate cutscene is great.

Oh, and speaking of air: on occasion you'll hit Zero-G environments where there's no air and you're able to jump to other parts of the room which lets you even stand on the walls, complete with shifted perspective. While it's disorientating and hard to tell what's exactly jumpable until you tried to jump, it quite works within the game and the near lack of sound really helps sell it. Plus let's face it: it's hard not to yell "woohoo!" like you're on a roller coaster every time you jump.

There's a couple parts in the game where I hit a proverbial wall and died a few times (it's reminiscent of "Star Wars" and even has a trophy named after one of Han Solo's lines), this isn't a difficult game so much as it's intense. Only brief times I can recall where I was more overwhelmed by enemies and didn't have a good strategy as opposed to Uncharted where enemies seem to have bullet-stopping skin or Call of Duty 4 where enemies seem to have better aim at 200 yards away than you do. While you can separate the game's experience into sizable chunks thanks to the clear chapter progression, the difficulty is so inviting that you just want to keep playing and not feel like Ninja Gaiden-levels of frustration and "finally for the 10th time!" shouts.

Is this worth a purchase? Well for me it is and I had such a blast with this game but for others, some might not get the big deal or they're too busy playing the other big games of the month to bother but I say definately do not pass this one up.