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Dead Space Review

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Review by Rob Wright

Electronic Arts' new horror survival title Dead Space blends extreme gore with nightmarish aliens on an abandoned ship in the far reaches of space. Tom's Games reviews the PC version of Dead Space to see if the title achieves bloody greatness.

http://www.tomsgames.com/us/2008/1 [...] ce_review/

------------------------------ "Would you qualify that as a launch problem or a design problem?"
--Chris Knight

 

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- 0 +

I'm so happy :) Finally reviewed a multiplatform game on PC. I honestly don't have anything bad to say about this game (keep in mind this is EA!), the only thing I disliked was the poor sensitivity, I'm using a 1800dpi mouse and had to max sensitivity on game settings just to make it "bearable". Keep in mind I'm one of those guys who likes doing a 180 turn within half an inch to one inch.

Other than that, it would've been nice to be able to set AA higher in game, but overall it's a fun game. This game was a very welcomed surprise, especially considering all the disappointment that came from Far Cry 2.

TIP: For those of you who feel the mouse control and unresponsive extremely sluggish, just turn off V-sync, believe it or not that's what causing all the problems.

------------------------------ Anxiously awaiting the Hydra 100 and the Hydra Engine...
www.lucidlogix.com
Reply to emp

emp wrote :

I'm so happy :) Finally reviewed a multiplatform game on PC. I honestly don't have anything bad to say about this game (keep in mind this is EA!), the only thing I disliked was the poor sensitivity, I'm using a 1800dpi mouse and had to max sensitivity on game settings just to make it "bearable". Keep in mind I'm one of those guys who likes doing a 180 turn within half an inch to one inch.

Other than that, it would've been nice to be able to set AA higher in game, but overall it's a fun game. This game was a very welcomed surprise, especially considering all the disappointment that came from Far Cry 2.

TIP: For those of you who feel the mouse control and unresponsive extremely sluggish, just turn off V-sync, believe it or not that's what causing all the problems.



I saw the Vsynch tip in the official forum and thought that was kind of strange, but apparently it works. I just upped my mouse sensitivity by about a quarter and never had a problem after that. And I played with two different mice.

------------------------------ "Would you qualify that as a launch problem or a design problem?"
--Chris Knight

 

Reply to robwright

- 0 +

Yeah, it's not THAT bad. I'm just really picky on my sensitivity, since I don't like to move my hand that much, I wouldn't take any points from the score because of that, but it would've been nice for EA to allow for higher sensitivity. I guess it's not really a big deal, but it's just not what I'm used to.

------------------------------ Anxiously awaiting the Hydra 100 and the Hydra Engine...
www.lucidlogix.com
Reply to emp
- 0 +

robwright wrote :

I saw the Vsynch tip in the official forum and thought that was kind of strange, but apparently it works. I just upped my mouse sensitivity by about a quarter and never had a problem after that. And I played with two different mice.



It is strange that you say that as I have never played a game with vsync on that doesnt make my mouse feel very very slugish and floaty other than in most RTS games it seems to be ok. I personally hate vsync in about 90% of situations do to this issue that seems to be so prevalent to me. lol maybe I have been doing something wrong for the past 10 years.

Best,

3Ball

------------------------------ ASUS P5Q Pro P45 Motherboard
Intel C2Q Q9550 @ 3.40ghz w/ (8.5x400mhz, 1.20v, Zalman 9500 & 24+ Hours Prime95 Stable)
6gb G. Skill DDR2 6400 @ 800mhz w/ (5-5-5-15: 2T, 2.04v)
EVGA 8800GTS 512MB @ 745mhz/1825mhz/2010mhz
Reply to 3Ball

Ive been waiting for your review of this to come out Rob.

However I bought it before you got your review up based on you mentioning it over and over for the past few months on Second Take. But I must say "I have NOT been disappointed". Havnt completed the game yet only on Chapter 7, but Im really loving the frights this game gives.

Its gotten to the point where my wife wont let me play it at night because it gives her nightmares and she cant help but watch me play it when i do.

Also, Id like to make a note: Ive been playing this over my THX sound system and this game sounds better then just about any horror movie out there, Im thinking of letting the sound run on holloween night for when the kiddies come to the door.

Personally I bought it for the 360 knowing that Secure Rom would be on the PC.

I was however anxious to see your score and I believe its fair. I know Dead Space isnt a 10 but its got my vote for Game of the year.

Reply to sicundercover

I really love this game. At chapter 9 and not done yet but Far Cry 2 left such a dissapointed taste in my mouth this game is such a treat. Besides hearing the buzz from toms and kotaku+shack, on this game to keep me interested and I'm not to sure what I was expecting from it by the time I got to play it, whatever I was expecting the game exceeded it completly.


Great story and will probably finish it tonight so I can start with Fallout 3 by the weekend.

Not even going to finish Far Cry 2 and I'll just sell it but this the first game in a while besides Crysis or a RTS that I've rushed to finish.


EDIT: Just read the review and I increased the sensitivity also and had no problem after that. I really like the no-hud feature but do hate the backtracking also. The only savior to that is the quick blue line button that you have to hit to see where you need to go next so it really helps to stop the backtracking from feeling too daunting.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by bruce555 on 10-29-2008 at 11:41:46 PM
Reply to bruce555
- 0 +

Graphics isn't as what EA hyped it up to be. I was looking for some genuine bloody mess, but it turns out they just made everything really dark to cover up the mediocre graphics, just like second rate horror flicks always take place in the dark so people can't see the cheap effects.

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger

sicundercover wrote :

Ive been waiting for your review of this to come out Rob.

However I bought it before you got your review up based on you mentioning it over and over for the past few months on Second Take. But I must say "I have NOT been disappointed". Havnt completed the game yet only on Chapter 7, but Im really loving the frights this game gives.

Its gotten to the point where my wife wont let me play it at night because it gives her nightmares and she cant help but watch me play it when i do.

Also, Id like to make a note: Ive been playing this over my THX sound system and this game sounds better then just about any horror movie out there, Im thinking of letting the sound run on holloween night for when the kiddies come to the door.

Personally I bought it for the 360 knowing that Secure Rom would be on the PC.

I was however anxious to see your score and I believe its fair. I know Dead Space isnt a 10 but its got my vote for Game of the year.



How did the controls for for the 360? I played the 360 demo at E3, which was parts of Chapter 6 plus the Leviathan boss battle (I got absolutely housed, BTW). I thought the controls worked quite well for a console shooter, all things considered.

I played this on my 5.1 surround Turtle Beach headset and it freaked the hell out of me. I know I mentioned this a lot in the review, but the audio is breathtaking in Dead Space and was a big reason it worked so well as a horror game.

------------------------------ "Would you qualify that as a launch problem or a design problem?"
--Chris Knight

 

Reply to robwright

bruce555 wrote :

I really love this game. At chapter 9 and not done yet but Far Cry 2 left such a dissapointed taste in my mouth this game is such a treat. Besides hearing the buzz from toms and kotaku+shack, on this game to keep me interested and I'm not to sure what I was expecting from it by the time I got to play it, whatever I was expecting the game exceeded it completly.


Great story and will probably finish it tonight so I can start with Fallout 3 by the weekend.

Not even going to finish Far Cry 2 and I'll just sell it but this the first game in a while besides Crysis or a RTS that I've rushed to finish.


EDIT: Just read the review and I increased the sensitivity also and had no problem after that. I really like the no-hud feature but do hate the backtracking also. The only savior to that is the quick blue line button that you have to hit to see where you need to go next so it really helps to stop the backtracking from feeling too daunting.



We should discuss the ending once you guys are finished with it. Lots of material to talk about....

------------------------------ "Would you qualify that as a launch problem or a design problem?"
--Chris Knight

 

Reply to robwright

- 0 +

robwright wrote :

How did the controls for for the 360? I played the 360 demo at E3, which was parts of Chapter 6 plus the Leviathan boss battle (I got absolutely housed, BTW). I thought the controls worked quite well for a console shooter, all things considered.

I played this on my 5.1 surround Turtle Beach headset and it freaked the hell out of me. I know I mentioned this a lot in the review, but the audio is breathtaking in Dead Space and was a big reason it worked so well as a horror game.



Are you sure you're not just easily scared? My regular 2.0 headphones isn't as good, but they're still big. The sound is clearly designed to be errie, but it doesn't seem genuine since most of the time you can't actually see anything. It's not in Bioshock, where there are posters and all kinds of interesting things that catches your attention and builds up a real sense of immersion. The levels aren't nearly as well designed either.

Also, the monsters lack real innovation. They could have made some neat stuff, like the amputated male torso from the old Quake 4.
http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/658/658263/quake-4-20051013035247335.jpg
When it squirms and growls in game, it's looks really hot, in a strange way. I used to stop in game just to stare at it. :D

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger

dagger wrote :

Also, the monsters lack real innovation. They could have made some neat stuff, like the amputated male torso from the old Quake 4.

When it squirms and growls in game, it's looks really hot, in a strange way. I used to stop in game just to stare at it. :D



oh wow.

Um, Dagger....listen, necrophelia is an affliction that is widely recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and many, many other mental health organizations and associations. So believe me when I tell you that there's no shame in seeking professional help for your unhealthy Quake 4 Amputated Male Torso Obssession Syndrome (QAMTOS). ;)

------------------------------ "Would you qualify that as a launch problem or a design problem?"
--Chris Knight

 

Reply to robwright

- 0 +

+1

Lol @ QAMTOS. Dead Space has a severe lack of sexy corpses...

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger
- 0 +

When the primary concern of the game is to encourage you in every way possible to dismember a body, I don't think you really need a sexy body. This game had me when I got the notice to stop taking bodyshots and start aiming the limbs.

------------------------------ Anxiously awaiting the Hydra 100 and the Hydra Engine...
www.lucidlogix.com
Reply to emp

robwright wrote :

We should discuss the ending once you guys are finished with it. Lots of material to talk about....





Even though I told myself I wouldn't, I bought Fallout 3 at lunch and installed it yesterday to see how it runs and all that. Going to finish Dead Space tonight, I'm in no rush to get through Fallout, but I have to finish this game.


My third pair of Zalman 5.1 headphones crapped out on me not to long ago and lately I've been playing all my games on my 46" LCD but I have the sound running through there also so even though I'm really impressed with how the audio is, the music progression alone at times is enough to get under your skin, I also like the subtle wispering and all around production of the sound. But no matter what, since the sound is through my TV, I know I'm missing out on allot of good stuff.

Reply to bruce555
- 0 +

emp wrote :

When the primary concern of the game is to encourage you in every way possible to dismember a body, I don't think you really need a sexy body. This game had me when I got the notice to stop taking bodyshots and start aiming the limbs.



Yes, but they don't look human at all anymore. It's only fun if you amputate human limbs. :p

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger

dagger wrote :

Yes, but they don't look human at all anymore. It's only fun if you amputate human limbs. :p





Woah :o

Reply to bruce555

robwright wrote :

How did the controls for for the 360? I played the 360 demo at E3, which was parts of Chapter 6 plus the Leviathan boss battle (I got absolutely housed, BTW). I thought the controls worked quite well for a console shooter, all things considered.

I played this on my 5.1 surround Turtle Beach headset and it freaked the hell out of me. I know I mentioned this a lot in the review, but the audio is breathtaking in Dead Space and was a big reason it worked so well as a horror game.



I thought the 360 controls worked really good 0 complaint about out. BTW, Leviathan housed me too, took me three times to beat it. Wasnt until I figured out that you could send the ball things back at it to destroy the next one out. However now Im very...Very low on ammo and I think im screwed for the next chapter.

As for the gore, come on. How about the guy in chapter 1 (or 2 i forget) thats just standing there banging his busted bloody skull into the steel wall, or the Doctor chick in the tube that cuts her own throat. I love this game but now i cant play it till the weekend because my wife keeps having nightmares. Lol and i dont help either because I like to make the weird squishy noises like stomping on the bodies when i get board around the house.

Reply to sicundercover
- 0 +

That funny thing was called Leviathan, I thought that was just the rear of the Hive Mind while on the toilet :P... Hehehe I figured out how to use kinesis properly on that fight with the propane cylinders, then it was rather easy to shoot back the blobs.

 

Just finished the game, it was fun :D Went as far as restarting it to check out the new suit, but I really hate when games lock out the hardest difficulty, I don't feel right now like going through all of the tram traveling-party again.


Message edited by emp on 10-31-2008 at 01:56:37 AM
------------------------------ Anxiously awaiting the Hydra 100 and the Hydra Engine...
www.lucidlogix.com
Reply to emp
- 0 +

Well, so far it's a pretty sweet game. I'm only just starting Chapter 3, it certainly brings a whole new way of killing monsters to a game.

At present i have just the one gripe, i feel the controls are kind of klunky. Like some said before even with a sensitive mouse maxed out it still seems a little slow. I use a Razer Lachesis and i set it at 3750dpi, and max in game. It's playable, but i feel sorry for people with mice with ave dpi settings. I have done the vsync trick.

Another thing i noticed, it's no really a gripe, but this game makes your graphics card get hot. Running Crysis Warhead i don't remember my card getting any higher then 73C, but with Dead Space it has hit 83C. This is with the fan at 75%. It's also OC, but it has been overclocked a very long time. Settings were the exact same with Crysis and Dead Space.

------------------------------ http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2577559697_bdb9aec12f_o.png
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3098/2577559521_edb3ac038e_o.png14591 3DMark06 6210/6104/4507 Vista 64bit
Reply to Lucuis
- 0 +

Lucuis wrote :

Well, so far it's a pretty sweet game. I'm only just starting Chapter 3, it certainly brings a whole new way of killing monsters to a game.

At present i have just the one gripe, i feel the controls are kind of klunky. Like some said before even with a sensitive mouse maxed out it still seems a little slow. I use a Razer Lachesis and i set it at 3750dpi, and max in game. It's playable, but i feel sorry for people with mice with ave dpi settings. I have done the vsync trick.

Another thing i noticed, it's no really a gripe, but this game makes your graphics card get hot. Running Crysis Warhead i don't remember my card getting any higher then 73C, but with Dead Space it has hit 83C. This is with the fan at 75%. It's also OC, but it has been overclocked a very long time. Settings were the exact same with Crysis and Dead Space.



You should properly stress that card. Try this, stress mode, default resolution, no AA. :p
http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger
- 0 +

Yeah it hit 86C after 120seconds and was still going up, although slowly at that point.

The OC i have was tested a long time ago using ATITool, and i don't remember it ever getting that hot.

It sitting at 761core 1026mem 1907shader. It's a G92 8800GTS.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by Lucuis on 10-31-2008 at 04:25:33 AM
------------------------------ http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2577559697_bdb9aec12f_o.png
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3098/2577559521_edb3ac038e_o.png14591 3DMark06 6210/6104/4507 Vista 64bit
Reply to Lucuis
- 0 +

Lucuis wrote :

Yeah it hit 86C after 120seconds and was still going up, although slowly at that point.

The OC i have was tested a long time ago using ATITool, and i don't remember it ever getting that hot.

It sitting at 761core 1026mem 1907shader. It's a G92 8800GTS.



Strange, I'm running the same card at 780 core with shader linked, 2200 mem, at 50% fan load and it never gets that hot. Maybe the heatsink is loose. :p

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger
- 0 +

Yeah, i'm wondering. Perhaps there just some dust buildup, i'll take it out a clean the case soon.

------------------------------ http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2577559697_bdb9aec12f_o.png
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3098/2577559521_edb3ac038e_o.png14591 3DMark06 6210/6104/4507 Vista 64bit
Reply to Lucuis
- 0 +

Hi

I am trying to play this game but I cant!! I cant stop the camera!!
No idea what to do
Please check this vid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mxssELB5jo
thanks

Reply to deadcat
- 1 +

To me this game is just brilliantly done. Close to one of the best I have ever played if not the best. Story is top notch, graphics are just awe inspiring, the lighting is perfect, and the audio is perfect. I have never jumped in a game but this one made me jump a few times. It should go down as one of the greatest games ever.

Reply to Cuddles

Cuddles wrote :

To me this game is just brilliantly done. Close to one of the best I have ever played if not the best. Story is top notch, graphics are just awe inspiring, the lighting is perfect, and the audio is perfect. I have never jumped in a game but this one made me jump a few times. It should go down as one of the greatest games ever.


booooooo, i played it at my friends house and played for 5 min, his pc isnt the greatest maybe thats why but i didnt like it so i stopped playing and played cs 1.6 and pwned noobs for hrs (cs 1.6 is the best pc game ever)

Reply to wahjahka
- -1 +

i think your being a bit to generous with the score for this game... its about a 6..

ive been playing it on my PC, and i find the controls laggy(i have vsync off, and my computer isnt slow), also with vsync turned off i can see massive screen tearing on any light emitting object, player models are worse than hl2, atmosphere is non existent cause everything is predictable.

I personally cant stand the third person view, i think the game would feel more involved if it was first person. I was expecting allot more from the graphics, they remind me of a game of 2 years ago rather than a brand new title.

its a mediocre game at best.

Reply to Flakes

Flakes wrote :

i think your being a bit to generous with the score for this game... its about a 6..

ive been playing it on my PC, and i find the controls laggy(i have vsync off, and my computer isnt slow), also with vsync turned off i can see massive screen tearing on any light emitting object, player models are worse than hl2, atmosphere is non existent cause everything is predictable.

I personally cant stand the third person view, i think the game would feel more involved if it was first person. I was expecting allot more from the graphics, they remind me of a game of 2 years ago rather than a brand new title.

its a mediocre game at best.


i agree, the third person aspect ruins it (thats why i hate gears of war) i dont see what the hype is about.....everyone should play cs 1.6

Reply to wahjahka
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