14 DAY TRIAL // Dead Space is a very interesting title originally conceived as part of a whole experience that also included a comic book and an animated movie, designed as a prequel to the action of the game, both of which really gave the action onboard the Ishimura a sense of realism and emphasized certain details that might attract players.
After delving into the very detailed story with the comic and the movie, it was time to test the actual game to see what role Isaac, the engineer, had in the grand scheme of this thoroughly built experience. Here's our one hour with EA's horror survival Dead Space.
15:00 The game starts up and already you can sense the gory action that will follow by looking at the EA logo at the beginning of the game.
15:10 You have to wait through a pretty lengthy cut scene that portrays the arrival of your ship on the Ishimura and how you want to find your girlfriend, who was part of the crew on the ship.
15:15 You get acquainted to your RIG, a futuristic type of body armor that contains different slots and to which you can add different attachments. The "over the shoulder" view seems a bit weird but after a few battles you get used to it.
15:20 Your team gets suddenly attacked by one of the alien Necromorphs, which ambushes them while you are trying to fix the tram system. Another one comes after you and all you can do is run.
15:30 The horror atmosphere kicks in and you are now tasked with fixing the tram system of the Ishimura, which has broken down due to the aliens. Your 5-man team now has only 3 surviving members including you, which is not very comforting.
15:40 Armed only with a Plasma Cutter, you need to face these terrifying aliens that come at you from every direction, often with no warning. You always need to remember to shoot off the limbs, otherwise they are still going to come after you, with or without their heads on.
15:50 After a lot of dismemberment and a few jumps out of your seat, the tram system is back online and you can go back to your ship and prepare it to get off the Ishimura.
16:00 Your ship has been damaged by the aliens and now you have no choice but to explore the Ishimura. Prepare for a long and very terrifying journey through this massive spacecraft.
All in all, although a bit cliché, the first hour with this title really promises to bring some interesting innovations to the usual shoot and run horror adventure game. It is definitely worth a try if you're still not sure you want to buy it. Look forward to the full review next week, and, until then, be careful what aliens you shoot.