Dead Space: The Early Review

after getting through about 2 hours of Dead Space, i wanted to share my impressions.

the game is fantastic. i do not have a single complaint about anything in the game yet. the controls are just grand. the combat is fresh while at the same time being familiar. the HUD being displayed primarily on your suit and through a holographic projection work well and are easy to understand. the enemies thus far have been a suitable challenge, they were not pushovers and they certainly weren`t rat bastards either.

strategic dismemberment in the name of the game in combat. you aim your weapons to cut off limbs, and that is how you deal the damage needed to put enemies down. sounds easy enough, what can fight back when it doesn`t have a head? well, so far everything i faced. they are less likely to come after you when they do not have their appendages that are clearly the means of attack. if their arms are blades, those have to go. when they have weird tentacles coming out of their back, gotta cut those off.

the pacing of the game is probably the weakest point, but it isn`t a negative really. it has been a pretty constant pace, with very few dead spots in the action. i happen to be a fan of the dead spot when it comes to enemy encounters, but i can also see the value of having enemies throughout.

the weapons have taken a little getting used to. the first two weapons i have gotten both have 3 laser sights on them. the line formed by these lasers corresponds to the length of the cut they produce. so you basically are firing at what is within this line. each weapon is said to have an ALTERNATE FIRE. the first weapon lets you switch the cut direction from horizontal to verticle, which is extremely useful since different enemies require a different angle. the second weapon i got fires a mine, but i haven`t used it yet so i don`t know how useful it is.

by picking up power nodes throughout the game you can upgrade your armor to give you more health or oxygen (for when you are operating in breached areas of the ship), as well as upgrade your weapons in various areas such as ammo capacity, damage, and reload speed. these power nodes can also be used on certain locked doors, i`m assuming these doors are all optional.

i could probably babble on about this more, but i`ll spare you all (all 2 of you). i`ll be sure to report on this further after i complete it.

~Maxie