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[dark10x]

I'll pass then. I'll probably pick it up when it's on sale/used.

If you can draw similarities, what other game do you find most similar to Dead Space?

It's still very much worth playing, however. The actual GAMEPLAY is really solid.

It feels like a mix of Resident Evil 4 and Doom 3 with its own unique spin on certain things. The environments are more varied and interesting than Doom 3, I should note, and the gunplay is satisfying in an RE4-like manner (though the controls are superior in Dead Space).

I suppose, aside from the lack of horror, the sound is the other letdown for me. As noted above, I believe it is technically well done, but it lacks a unique personality. That's not to say games like RE4 or Doom 3 did it any better, though (Dead Space sounds better than either of them). It's just that, a unique sound design can really create a special atmosphere. For instance, the film "Sunshine" was given such a unique flavor by its audio design. It presented a similar type of environment, but it felt original as a result of the audio. Same deal with many of the other horror games I mentioned above.

 

[Zeliard]

You can by them from the store for 10k a pop. I've purchased around 10-15 this way so far.

How are you getting so many credits? I'm only on Chapter 3 so far, but I've taken my time and looked in various nooks and crannies, and credits don't seem all that easy to come by either (at least relative to how pricey stuff is in the store). And that's even with selling off medpacks and those golden semiconductors or whatever you can find and sell.

Then again, I have bought three weapons and a level 2 suit (so far it seems like getting the flamethrower was a mistake since it sucks at low levels, though it looks damn cool in action).

 

[Ethereal]

One thing I have noted after going back and reading some of the previous posts is that some people are regarding medium as being too easy... I think that if you have a keen understanding of how to properly kill the Necros then yes its not overly difficult. For the first hour or so I was double tapping knee caps and then running up for a curb stomp.. But that doesn't always work so well. I will definitely go back and play this game on hard.. I wanna at least beat it before I get LBP & Fallout 3 as I know those are going to be huge time sinks for me. Not to mention Rock Band 2/GH World Tour

 

[MickeyKnox]

OK, DON"T EQUIP THE DLC SUIT.

So I d/led the suit and kept it off till I unlocked and bought the lvl5 suit, armour rating for it is 10% compared to the 20% of the standard lvl5 suit, so it has the same defense as a lvl3 fyi.

 

[Mango Positive]

It's still very much worth playing, however. The actual GAMEPLAY is really solid.

It feels like a mix of Resident Evil 4 and Doom 3 with its own unique spin on certain things. The environments are more varied and interesting than Doom 3, I should note, and the gunplay is satisfying in an RE4-like manner (though the controls are superior in Dead Space).

I suppose, aside from the lack of horror, the sound is the other letdown for me. As noted above, I believe it is technically well done, but it lacks a unique personality. That's not to say games like RE4 or Doom 3 did it any better, though (Dead Space sounds better than either of them). It's just that, a unique sound design can really create a special atmosphere. For instance, the film "Sunshine" was given such a unique flavor by its audio design. It presented a similar type of environment, but it felt original as a result of the audio. Same deal with many of the other horror games I mentioned above.

Wait a minute... just freaking WAIT!

Are you implying that Sunshine was in any way anything other than "absolute total garbage, one of the worst sci-fi movies of the last 5 years", but also making the claim that Dead Space is both "not scary" (it is) and that the sound is a let down?

You write very well... let's work on content now, shall we?

 

[Zeliard]

Wait a minute... just freaking WAIT!

Are you implying that Sunshine was in any way anything other than "absolute total garbage, one of the worst sci-fi movies of the last 5 years", but also making the claim that Dead Space is both "not scary" (it is) and that the sound is a let down?

You write very well... let's work on content now, shall we?

Sunshine wasn't garbage up until the ridiculous, inexcusably shitty ending. Rest of the film was pretty great, though.

 

[dark10x]

Wait a minute... just freaking WAIT!

Are you implying that Sunshine was in any way anything other than "absolute total garbage, one of the worst sci-fi movies of the last 5 years", but also making the claim that Dead Space is both "not scary" (it is) and that the sound is a let down?

You write very well... let's work on content now, shall we?

I was talking about the SOUND DESIGN of Sunshine (it created a memorable, unique atmosphere). I thought the music created for Sunshine was absolutely fantastic. The overall audio design was one of the highlights of that particular film which I thought most could appreciate regardless of whether they enjoyed the movie itself.

I was more or less referring to the creation of a unique feeling through sound rather than the fear factor. I didn't find Sunshine to be scary either (though I didn't think that was really its intent). Very few films have ever achieved that. Stuff like Eraserhead with its bizarre imagery and audio left an impression on me in that regard.

 

[Zophar]

I suppose, aside from the lack of horror, the sound is the other letdown for me. As noted above, I believe it is technically well done, but it lacks a unique personality. That's not to say games like RE4 or Doom 3 did it any better, though (Dead Space sounds better than either of them). It's just that, a unique sound design can really create a special atmosphere. For instance, the film "Sunshine" was given such a unique flavor by its audio design. It presented a similar type of environment, but it felt original as a result of the audio. Same deal with many of the other horror games I mentioned above.

No way man. The persistent "whispering voice" you hear is one of the most chilling and inventive ideas I've seen in a horror game. That combined with the eerily oblivious PA announcements really work wonderfully.

 

[t0va]

OK, DON"T EQUIP THE DLC SUIT.

So I d/led the suit and kept it off till I unlocked and bought the lvl5 suit, armour rating for it is 10% compared to the 20% of the standard lvl5 suit, so it has the same defense as a lvl3 fyi.

you're talking about the scorpion suit?

 

[Zeliard]

No way man. The persistent "whispering voice" you hear is one of the most chilling and inventive ideas I've seen in a horror game. That combined with the eerily oblivious PA announcements really work wonderfully.

The general sound design and background noise when you're just walking around the ship (the creaks and groans, the whispers, gas leaks, etc) is fantastic, but the game overdoes it when the actual enemies show up, and it bombards you with loud, discordant sounds. It's just too much and loses some of the impact, IMO. They should've gone a bit more subtle there. The enemies themselves simply showing up is what should be scary, ideally, not the music that starts playing when they do.

 

[dark10x]

No way man. The persistent "whispering voice" you hear is one of the most chilling and inventive ideas I've seen in a horror game. That combined with the eerily oblivious PA announcements really work wonderfully.

The PA announcements are indeed a nice addition (similar in concept to the onboard voice of Xerxes in System Shock 2). Again, I don't think the sound is BAD, per se, it simply lacks a unique identity. This is all my opinion, however, as fear is a very subjective topic.

but the game overdoes it when the actual enemies show up, and it bombards you with loud, discordant sounds. It's just too much and loses some of the impact, IMO.

That's precisely what I was referring to.

 

[cleveridea]

you're talking about the scorpion suit?

no the free one does that. the scorpion gives you 25% armor

 

[Mofro]

Alright, so this is OT compared to how this thread is going, but did anyone else notice on the PS3 screen when you just have the game selected before you start it, the image of Isaac from behind in his suit that there is no stasis meter on the suit.

Am I crazy or did I just miss it.

Not even the slightest big deal, I just noticed it last night and want to make sure I was right.

 

[beelzebozo]

immediately equipping the dlc suit seems like such a waste of a first experience to me. the game was designed and balanced to be played from the ground up with a suit that isn't all jacked up. it's like immediately popping in a cheat code. so i guess if that's something you're routinely into, it's all good.

 

[Zeliard]

immediately equipping the dlc suit seems like such a waste of a first experience to me. the game was designed and balanced to be played from the ground up with a suit that isn't all jacked up. it's like immediately popping in a cheat code. so i guess if that's something you're routinely into, it's all good.

I love how rare nodes and credits are. That alone makes you really think ahead about what you want to buy and upgrade, and it also greatly enhances the value of finding nodes/credits. It also adds to replay value, since you'd be hard-pressed unlocking everything and maxing yourself out in your first playthrough.

 

[beelzebozo]

I love how rare nodes and credits are. That alone makes you really think ahead about what you want to buy and upgrade, and it also greatly enhances the value of finding nodes/credits. It also adds to replay value, since you'd be hard-pressed unlocking everything and maxing yourself out in your first playthrough.

definitely man. like i said earlier, i'm already thinking about how i'm going to adjust my strategy the next time i go through the game. i've made a couple of mistakes with my upgrade choices i won't make again. i'm sort of intentionally avoiding a couple of the weapons and using my credits to buy more nodes and upgrade, saving some surprises for my dead space redux.

the game is MUCH more polished than i expected, and the combat is more than i hoped for.

 

[weehomer]

Again, the musical cues employed during virtually every enemy encounter really cheapens them and ruins the atmopshere. The sound is technically well done, but it just lacks any kind of unique sound that you find in the best horror games. When you think back to System Shock 2, Silent Hill, Thief, and Siren 2 it was the sound design that really created the sense of dread.

I agree; Try turning down the music volume or even completely off. The game has been much more intense and immersive for me after I did that.

I also disagree about the uniqueness, which is probably more noticeable with the music off. I'm not saying it's necessarily better than the sound in the games you listed, but I would still argue that it's unique and very well done.

 

[-tetsuo-]

I suppose, aside from the lack of horror, the sound is the other letdown for me. As noted above, I believe it is technically well done, but it lacks a unique personality.

You gotta be kidding.

The music is jarring though. In would turn it off but the slightly off key strings they play sometimes puts my nerves on end, and i like it.

 

[TheFallen]

If anyone has been curious about the dev team's attention to detail and variation in the environments, check out this bit. It's a bit of a spoiler from Chapter 3/4 (forgot which one):

Spoiler

I absolutely love the attention to detail the dev team has taken with the environments. There's a section within Chapter 3 or 4 (not sure which it was, likely the tail end of 3) where the walls are covered in the necromorph-looking skin, slimy and moving, and toward the bottom of the room are a couple of bodies attached to the living walls. If you point your gun at the body, it writhes and screams until you shoot off its head. Very awesome.

 

[Truant]

..and the backfire begins.

 

[-tetsuo-]

..and the backfire begins.

 

[TheFreshPrince]

for those of you who are farther along....

are the later Chapters longer than Chapters 1 and 2? I just finished Chapter 2, and I feel like I explored everywhere, went slow, collected every pickup....and I'm only at 1.5 hours! So, that means that the game would only take about 9 hours, at this rate. I'm hoping the subsequent Chapters are a bit longer....game is great though!

 

[beelzebozo]

..and the backfire begins.

you mean backlash? don't mess with my head. my ability to cogitate different terminology is really limited

 

[Choke on the Magic]

turning the music off makes it a lot scarier for me. Not that I think the music is bad, but you can almost tell when somethings going to happen.

 

[Zeliard]

..and the backfire begins.

I think people bringing up what they feel is a single flaw with the game is hardly a backlash, particularly when those same people are praising the rest of it.

Playing it without music is probably a great idea. I can easily see how that would increase tension and unpredictability, since the music cues are often dead giveaways that an enemy is, say, right behind you. I'll have to try that.

 

[TheFreshPrince]

also, does the difficulty ever ramp up on Normal? I'm on Ch.3...but I'm so tempted to restart on Hard...

 

[dark10x]

I'm going to have to try turning the music off. I didn't even think of that.

Of course, on the flipside, I don't want to miss any of the GOOD musical cues that may crop up. Hmm, I will try it, though.

Reminds me of playing Primal. The orchestral music was incredible, but the battle music was some generic rock bullshit that totally ruined the mood. Thankfully you could disable the battle music.

..and the backfire begins.

Just because some of us my critique certain aspects of the game doesn't mean there is a backlash. I still think the game is extremely well done overall.

 

[-tetsuo-]

also, does the difficulty ever ramp up on Normal? I'm on Ch.3...but I'm so tempted to restart on Hard...

Hard is the way to go.

 

[wayward archer]

Wait a minute... just freaking WAIT!

Are you implying that Sunshine was in any way anything other than "absolute total garbage, one of the worst sci-fi movies of the last 5 years", but also making the claim that Dead Space is both "not scary" (it is) and that the sound is a let down?

You write very well... let's work on content now, shall we?

Sunshine was incredible until the last 20 min or so.

 

[HugBasket]

..and the backfire begins.

I wouldn't say it is a backfire so much as it is people have some odd expectations of video games.

I don't personally see how video games can be scary. This game isn't scary in the sense of "OMG MONSTER!" but "Oh shit, what do I do?!" System Shock was the same way.

When I start up a video game I'm aware it is a video game, the shocks and thrills don't make me jump, any load curse from me is mainly because I'm fucked and that is where the thrills come from. In System Shock it was turning the corner and realizing you only had your wrench available, in Dead Space it is running out of ammo as more and more enemies push on you. The games put you in a state of frenzy, the push you to do whatever you can to survive.

Frankly, I think the Survival Horror genre should just be called the Survival genre.

I agree with dark on the sound, I'm usually able to tell when something is coming but the enemies still get the drop on me every now and then. I like that they reduced pretty much all sound in space, nice little touch.

 

[Philthy]

for those of you who are farther along....

are the later Chapters longer than Chapters 1 and 2? I just finished Chapter 2, and I feel like I explored everywhere, went slow, collected every pickup....and I'm only at 1.5 hours! So, that means that the game would only take about 9 hours, at this rate. I'm hoping the subsequent Chapters are a bit longer....game is great though!

I JUST finished chapter 2 and I'm close to four hours now.

Edit: I don't use the right stick to show where I'm supposed to go. So I end up puttering around exploring multiple areas over again and such. The first white med lab(?) room that looked down onto another level with three more rooms below it I must have spent nearly an hour in alone. I explored everything in there, never found out how to get behind the book case, but I have an idea now.

Normal mode for me.

 

[Zeliard]

I JUST finished chapter 2 and I'm close to four hours now.

Same here. I'm somewhere in Chapter 3 (probably closer to the start of it) and I must have played at least 4 hours last night. Seems like a long ass game. I'm the type that takes my time and explores, though.

 

[TheFreshPrince]

Zeliard, are you playing on Hard or Normal?

 

[garath]

What's adding to the tension for me isn't the monsters themselves, but the PROMISE of monsters. The game goes through great lengths to establish the fact that the beasties move through the vents. Walking around a corridor hearing (with the amazing surround sound) some scraping up and behind you as if something is walking around the vents really gets to me. They also have glimpses of shadows and monsters walking around that you can't engage. They are there, they are coming, you just don't know when.

Sure some of the pop up "BOO!" scares aren't as much as they could be but the ambient noises in surround with the little glimpses of things really make the tension for me.

 

[Zeliard]

Zeliard, are you playing on Hard or Normal?

On normal. I haven't died at all so far, but I'm cool with that. The game still provides enough of a challenge, especially since ammo for anything other than your plasma cutter seems quite rare, and I wanted to leave hard mode for my second playthrough.

 

[Zzoram]

Just got this, and wow it's scary. The first 30 minutes have been pretty atmospheric and creepy. I kind of hate the camera though, I would prefer if it was pulled out a bit more. The way it is now, I barely have a field of view.

 

[Philthy]

On normal. I haven't died at all so far, but I'm cool with that. The game still provides enough of a challenge, especially since ammo for anything other than your plasma cutter seems quite rare, and I wanted to leave hard mode for my second playthrough.

I find that I am constantly out of ammo for anything but the pulse rifle. Which is useless. I had to spend about 5k on ammo for my plasma cutter at the end of chapter 2. I've died maybe three times now, once because I was dumb and didn't look both ways before crossing the street.

 

[Choke on the Magic]

also, does the difficulty ever ramp up on Normal? I'm on Ch.3...but I'm so tempted to restart on Hard...

I am too. Normal is really too easy. I'm on chapter 4 and haven't died yet, but I may as well finish it. It'll give me a reason to play it again.

 

[RavenFox]

for those of you who are farther along....

are the later Chapters longer than Chapters 1 and 2? I just finished Chapter 2, and I feel like I explored everywhere, went slow, collected every pickup....and I'm only at 1.5 hours! So, that means that the game would only take about 9 hours, at this rate. I'm hoping the subsequent Chapters are a bit longer....game is great though!

Not all chapters are the same. You cannot make that assumption without actually playing the other chapters.

 

[Zeliard]

Just got this, and wow it's scary. The first 30 minutes have been pretty atmospheric and creepy. I kind of hate the camera though, I would prefer if it was pulled out a bit more. The way it is now, I barely have a field of view.

I think the camera is wonderful. It's close enough that you feel like you're always a part of the action and not detached from it, and it skews the field of view way to the right so that the huge character model is almost completely out of the way. I don't think they could've done it any better. The only I wish for, and I keep wanting it while I'm playing, is a zoom button. It doesn't even have to be a weapon zoom, but something like Gears where it zooms up right behind the guy's head. A shooter without a zoom option just feels odd to me, especially since the gunplay in Dead Space is so incredibly strong.

I find that I am constantly out of ammo for anything but the pulse rifle. Which is useless. I had to spend about 5k on ammo for my plasma cutter at the end of chapter 2. I've died maybe three times now, once because I was dumb and didn't look both ways before crossing the street.

Really? I find so much ammo for the plasma cutter that it usually fills up my inventory completely, and I have to sell some off or just leave some lying around because I can't pick up any more. It's the opposite with every other weapon, where ammo is pretty hard to come by and I generally have to buy some.

Everyone says that Hard is a huge bump in difficulty up from Normal. Hard mode, from what I've heard, seems like it's mainly designed for a New Game+ where you'll have already upgraded your weapons and suit quite a bit off the bat.

 

[nathkenn]

Another review that likes the fear factor.

hrm nm guess that's banned or something

 

[stuminus3]

Man, you guys with your "how long is the game" and "does it have any replay value", screw you guys. 10 hours of this much awesome beats 100 hours of complete fucking boredom any day of the week.

Small counter-point to what dark10x has been saying regarding the sound design - while I agree I kind of wish Dead Space was more like System Shock 2 in the way that SS2 used almost complete silence to mess with your head, there's a certain ebb and flow to the build-up and wind-down of the music that matches the action, which works because as you say the actual gameplay is superb.

You walk into an area, you can tell by the audio that something's just about to go wrong. The music kicks in loud and fast as all hell breaks loose (and all hell quite often literally breaks loose). Then... silence, but for the eerie background noise of the ship. That's when you know it's time to exhale, and it feels great to do so. Unrealistic, sure, and it can definitely detract from the scare value for some - but Dead Space is a good example of contextual music and sound done right.

I guess it's down to which way of doing things you prefer. I like both, as long as it's done right.

 

[Draft]

SS2... silent?

SS2 has a varied and hilarious super techno album that plays like all the damn time.

 

[Zzoram]

Should I upgrade my RIG suit, or save nodes for better stuff later? Or do suit upgrades carry over to new suits? What about guns, which ones are worth upgrading?

 

[plagiarize]

i'm amazed to see any Dead Space fans trashing Sunshine.

the developers screened it for us when i visited the studio to play the game. something tells me they're big fans.

 

[Y2Kev]

I'm going to take a CRT and smash it over your face.

 

[GuessWho]

so way to go is Hard w/ no music?

 

[Gorechylde]

How are you getting so many credits? I'm only on Chapter 3 so far, but I've taken my time and looked in various nooks and crannies, and credits don't seem all that easy to come by either (at least relative to how pricey stuff is in the store). And that's even with selling off medpacks and those golden semiconductors or whatever you can find and sell.

Then again, I have bought three weapons and a level 2 suit (so far it seems like getting the flamethrower was a mistake since it sucks at low levels, though it looks damn cool in action).

I only purchased the line gun. Turned out that the max level mine is usually enough to clear a room if you can bunch the enemies together. I keep it stocked on ammo and leave one large med-kit and one medium med-kit in my inventory. Everything else gets sold. Also, when I come accross single bad guys, I usually stasis them and melee them to death to save ammo. I just started chapter 6 and have the lvl 3 suit and am 4 nodes from maxing my line gun. I placed the rest into my rig, going high enough to get all but one of the hp increases.

 

[Draft]

I'm going to take a CRT and smash it over your face.

:lol

 

[Zeliard]

Should I upgrade my RIG suit, or save nodes for better stuff later? Or do suit upgrades carry over to new suits? What about guns, which ones are worth upgrading?

I'm in Ch. 3 and I haven't upgraded my suit at all (other than buying new ones), and I honestly don't know if I will. When you go up a suit level, your defense increases, which makes upgrading hit points less necessary. And I don't see any use in putting any nodes in Air so far, though I assume that will be different in later chapters.

As far as weapons, definitely upgrade your plasma cutter and buy/upgrade the line gun, the latter of which is awesome and very useful. I bought the flamethrower, but it seems quite weak and ineffective so far, though I haven't upgraded it at all yet. I also bought the pulse rifle, but I barely got to use it since I got it towards the end of my gaming session last night. I'd imagine putting nodes in Stasis would come in handy as well.