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At E3 this year Microsoft choose to show-off its
upcoming Sci-Fi Survival Horror game, Dead Space, with a
previously unseen area and Boss Battle. Expectations have been
 gathering
and hopes are now firmly high that Dead Space will fill the
gap until
Resident Evil 5, and
Electronic Theatre's own impression of the game in its
current state is available for you right here.
The build playable at E3 apparently comes in roughly
half-way through the game. Playing as Isaac Clarke, the player finds
themselves trapped aboard a city-sized space craft known as the
Ishimura. At this point, Isaac finds the Hydroponic Deck, on which
the food for the now somewhat deformed crew is grown. Many areas
have been infected by the Corruption, a liquid secreted by the
Necromorph aliens that have invaded the ship. The Corruption’s only
negative effect currently is limiting Isaac’s ability to run. The
atmosphere here has been altered by Poison Pods – former crew
members who have been mutated by the Necromorphs. The player is
tasked with finding this Poison Pods, and disposing of them.
Four weapons were available, including a Pistol,
Flamethrower, scatter-projectile Shotgun and a Laser. The weapons
are assigned to a specific direction on the D-pad, and each has
their own strengths and weaknesses against differing enemies. You
can upgrade weapons by collecting Tokens throughout the game and
spending them at the Store, and any cash gathered in-game can be
spent buying supplies.
The game features a slight remodelling of the industries
recent passion for Quick-Time Entry set-pieces. An example shown was
quite similar to those seen in
Resident Evil 4 and
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: LEGEND, and saw Isaac turning a
corridor
to find an alien tentacle grabbing hold of his leg and dragging him
down the hall. The player is given the chance to shoot themselves
free, but failing to do so will initiate a Cut-Scene of Isaac’s
unfortunate demise.
The zero-gravity sections add a wonderful
change-of-pace. Debris floats freely and Isaac can easily jump from
floor to ceiling with just a press of the Y Button. Similarly to
Prey, the change of perspective when walking on walls or ceiling
can be disorientating at first, but soon becomes second-nature.
Having located and eliminated all of the Poison Pods,
the formally locked doors to a food-storage unit unlock. Through
here lies a Boss in wait, a huge tentacle-covered beast lying at the
bottom of a huge tank. The room is zero-gravity, and so the player
can whip across the room to avoid the tentacles, while using Isaac’s
telekinesis powers to return rocks thrown at you.
Once defeated, the demo ended. A Cut-Scene hints at the
next part of the storyline, however, having missed roughly the
first-half, it would be ridiculous for us to reveal such details.
Dead Space currently looks on-form, and due for release in
October, we’re likely to see much more of it over the coming months. |
