Once the semester ended I started up Dead Space which was at the top of the small stack of games I had purchased but not yet played. (I know our usually silent partner Kai has also been working through it so perhaps he’ll weigh in with his thoughts.) I’m about two thirds through it and have been surprised how much I’ve enjoyed it given that survival horror games have never really grabbed my attention. 

Dead Space takes place in space (surprise!), specifically on a stranded mining ship you’ve been sent to repair. You battle zombies (they’re called necromorphs but lets be honest here) as you explore the many part of the ship patching things together and being creeped out by shadows and spooky noises. The gameplay feels very much like Resident Evil 4, which is probably  a big part of why I’m enjoying Dead Space given that RE4 was the only other survival horror game I really got into. Whereas Resident Evil 4 frequently distracted me with bizarre puzzles and story twists (now you have to go to an island! now there’s a giant walking statue!) Dead Space seems to stay much more rooted in cultivating a scary deep-space environment. The ship is dark and desolate, usually pretty empty but not without peril in frequent undead and industrial environment forms. The story is at times cliche, but reasonably interesting and feels reminiscent of  both Alien and one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes. Even the way they’ve implement menus, the inventory,and an interface without a constant heads-up display adds greatly to the immersive qualities of the game. I’ll let you know if my opinion changes by the time I finish it, but I’ve been told this game actually has an ending so that is certainly something to look forward to.