It can't be anything like Resident Evil 4 - if Leon S Kennedy is not suplexing people through tables then you can't compare the two.
I wanted to try this aswell, but I don't know anyone who plays these games. I've got that Metal Gear Solid 4 heap of shit plus some other stuff to trade in but no idea what to get.
I wanted to try this aswell, but I don't know anyone who plays these games. I've got that Metal Gear Solid 4 heap of shit plus some other stuff to trade in but no idea what to get.
I got it with my new 360 and it's decent, it's like a scarier Metroid really as it has that whole linear exploration thing going on too. You also have to be frugal with all your "weapons" as they're meant for mining rather than eviscerating alien zombies.
The lack of HUD stuff is fucking brilliant though, it's all handled in game by holographic projectors (so you can flip the camera round and see your stats and shit from behind). All your health stuff is showed on the suit (or "rig" as it's called) too.
The rig is upgradeable as well, so that's another nod to Metroid in a way I suppose.
The nice extra bits are the use of stasis and kinesis. The former allows you to slow down objects you fire it at, mostly at the aforementioned zombies, and the latter allows you to pick up and move objects at a distance.
The narrative is "okay" but nothing very involving or clever.
It's not overly like Resident Evil 4 though, it's slow paced admittedly and has the over the shoulder cam but that's it really.
I imagine this is like Gears of War crossed with Bioshock and Resident Evil 4 (IN SPACE!!!). Or I could be way off base.
Well I haven't played it, only watched others, so take this for what it's worth.
From what I've seen it borrows heavily from RE4 in terms of the way it controls, the over-the-shoulder perspective, laser aiming... that sort of thing. But the level design is quite different. Since you're indoors most of the time it's a bit more claustrophobic and there are fewer enemies at once so you never get that overwhelming stampede of aggressors like you do in RE4.
So yeah, there are hints of Resi but there's also a bit of Silent Hill in there as well as a smidge of Bioshock and, dare I say it, Doom 3.
Like I say though... I haven't played it: just operating on gamer's instinct here.
I played it a bit on the PS3, the sound is bloody incredible - as for Resi4, it does have that over the shoulder vibe, but I doubt when you finish it you unlock a Mercs mode...it scared the bejesus out of me more than a few times, but lacks Resi4's wide range of characters - beyond the environment itself which is admittedly awesome and steals the show.
Bought the full game from GAME today for £30 notes.
Just finished Chapter 1 and just like with the demo, I am really impressed and immensly creeped out at the same time. The atmosphere created with the lighting, eery strings music and loud bangs and roars when shit goes down certainly raised my pulse a bit.
Really like how they've incorperated communication transmissions, maps and item selection all in real time and not in menus or lengthy cutscenes. Walking about while the screen infront of Isaac displays any of the former is a really cool touch. I'm sure it's been done before in a game, but I commend it's application here. Keeps you control and in the game constantly.
I've not my shat myself at any of the regular RE type surprise attacks, but was caught a little bit of gaurd or realised just in time that I should probably see whats creeping up behind me or be wary of anything just playing dead on the floor. As I am quite cautious when playing these type of games...anything that looks dead, I usually plug it a few times just to make sure. The one time I didn't...yup, the fucker got up! I think it took me 1 hour to get through Chapter 1...1/4 of that time must have been spent creeping slowly around corners and stomping on dead soldiers limbs...and heads. Just to be sure.
Few clever moments with the enemies so far...I have not get caught out it by any of it though...yet.
There was this one bit where this lanky fucker runs passed the corridor as you enter the door. You follow it round and it dissapears around the other corner. You turn to face it and tries to leap or keep you occupied...while another cunt starts creeping up behind your ass. I was on to him though!!!
I'll tell you what is really grim though. Running over a dead body and having the corpse tangle itself around your legs as you leg it down the corridor. Squishy and dead weight sounds echoing as you do so. Erk.
They should have released Chapter 1 as the demo. Progression in learning the controls and how the game plays was done well. In the demo I was swamped with options and weapons and it took a fair few goes to try and figure out what you was supposed to do and how to do it effectivly.
Great controls I must say as well, it's got me thinking that may be Resident Evil 5 could have done with bit more of a revamp in the controls department. I'm not against the "Tank" controls of Resident Evil games...I love that game...but hmmm, I wonder if it would even make a blind bit of difference to that game?
Just upgraded my suit, don't know why Isaac's suit reminds me of Bioshock. Think it's the glowy marine blue light. Turned the game off as it's getting a bit late...and I just know there is gonna be nasty scare coming up to start the chapter off with a bang. Quite tired...I want to be semi-ready for it!
The woman needs a proper SUPLEX though. HAVE FAITH IN THE BLACK MAN YOU BITCH!
Kaladron wrote:
Speaking of Mercs mode... Has anyone played Horde mode in Gears Of War 2?
It's not a score-attack game but it has the same kind of against the odds survival feel. And it works brilliantly in co-op.
Aye HORDE is great. Furthest I got to is Wave 20.
Although getting the best points would involve a tremendous amount of co-opery and surviving 50 waves in one go instead of using continues.
I almost gave up on that game entirley though. It is easily one of the first games I was ready to shelve after the first 2 levels. Was so fucking boring. Good thing I decided to give it another shot, game got a lot better almost instantly.
Ah...suppose any more of impressions for that game should go in it's own thread.
I went through this aswell, I did enjoy it for what it was - I love the whole "Aliens" inspired vibe and the music was superb. The scares are completely wasted on me though, I blaze so much it's impossible to startle me. It's great the way they've integrated the whole HUD into the character's suit and the guiding beam he has is a very neat way of keeping you on track.
I couldn't play it again but while it lasted tearing up monsters with the Ripper was great fun. Make sure you power up the Ripper, it's just GRIME!
I opened the door and stood looking through it at every angle possible...because well, there were babies floating about in jars, that's not right!
Walked in to look at the dead body, turned around and this fucking baby just tore me a new one. ;\/
One thing that is killing it for me at the moment is Save Stations. Hopefully as the game progresses they become less frequent, but if it's there I'll use it. I need the fear of dieing and then having to do that section all over again, proper Resi 1,2 and 4 styles.
I've died once so far and it's dumped me straight into the same room again moments before the part I died on. I've had my energy on critical for over half of chapter 2...that was untill I realised that I had to top my health up from the inventory screen myself. Isaac wheezing and spluttering away for all that time sounded well tragic. lol
Finished Chapter 2 and fuck knows what I just saw, but it was quite fucked up.
A Thing, rapes dead body...and then the dead body transforms into an albino BAT MOTH?! WAT?!
This game is going OFF for tonight.
Oh yeah, I did one of those Zero Gravity sections and walked through an area which was a Vacuum. When I walked back through the vacuum and this fucker silently just appeared out of nowhere amongst muted sound effects, all I thought was "That.is.BAD!"
There were some cracking parts on this. I'd go into more detail but don't want to spoil it for Jassi if he hasn't already clocked it. I'm currently going through impossible mode with the Plasma Cutter and for some reason it feels a lot easier than Hard mode My ammo is in total abundance as well.
Since ditching WoW I've had ZERO stuff to play apart from finishing off Prime 3 that I've let go moldy since previous Christmas, I get a quick three-day burst of the good old days with Dead Space and now I'm all depressed and shit again, waiting for the next Capcom delivery or whatever...
I can't believe EA made this internally though, what a gobsmack. I need Dead Space 2 pronto, I need Isaac to make me whole again.
One thing that is killing it for me at the moment is Save Stations. Hopefully as the game progresses they become less frequent, but if it's there I'll use it. I need the fear of dieing and then having to do that section all over again, proper Resi 1,2 and 4 styles.
That never happened man, it invis-checkpoints every room which was a shame. However everyone would have moaned like a bitch if it was any other way.
The good thing about that though is the room checkpointing sometimes makes it impossible for you to go back and find some more ammo to get you past the section at hand. There were two or three segments towards the end where I thought I'd fisted myself by using just the one save file, and had contemplated over said sections even being possible given my exhausted inventory. 1-2 hours of rinsage including some sexy stasis+melee moments saw me through though, and gave me excuses to jump out my seat and flex my muscles at the screen. There's one bit I'm dying to gush over right here but I don't know if you've clocked it yet man and don't want to spoil it! lol.
I always back-log my Resi saves like a pussy for some reason, eventhough I never have to revert to them. With this I'm glad I used just the one or I would have missed out on a few token experiences. I can see many people that had just the one save file having to start again from scratch which misses the point.
Dead Rising springs to mind. Haha, that was a funny discussion at the time.
I finally got round to buying my 360 yesterday and this was one of the games I picked up to go with it.
It's a solid game... Resi4-lite pretty much sums it up.
Can anyone tell me if there is any point using any other weapon besides the default cutter? It seems to be the most useful one so far.
I'm also a little annoyed by what I'm guessing is going to be a problem with most 360 games - the microscopic text. I find myself squinting at the screen trying to read the clues and text boxes, which is annoying as hell.
The scares also aren't working on me, but that's probably because I've played so many of these survival horror type games now that I'm immune to most of it (and once you've played the first two Silent Hills in a darkened room with the sound up full blast, you can handle ANY horror game!).
Finally nabbed this off a buddy recently (he said it wasn't worth buying), and I am quite psyched for it, having played through a bit on Paper's setup.
I'm thinking its a surround sound up, lights off kinda deal... it had enough going for it in the time I played it, the demo though appears completely misrepresentative of the game, feels more like an environment for those who have played it and fancy some revenge on a slew of critters.
If its anything up to the quality of Mirror's Edge then it should be completable, as I managed to stay with that game long enough to tick that one off.
Yup really really enjoying this, the sci-fi angle is completely selling it to me, and the game itself is totally solid, the whole appendage removal idea makes the violence interesting enough to execute repeated.
I am playing it on Hard and it is actually quite hard, with ammo and health at a premium, genuine premium its totally sucked me into complete paranoia.
The story is something out of Doctor Who without the Doctor, unless he rocks up?
Finished this tonight, and I suppose it was a bit too much to ask for a happy ending!
Calling this a Resident Evil clone is really doing the game a disservice! It out does it in a few aspects and makes you think that perhaps RE team could actually learn a thing or two from the Dead Space boys.
Game is a total head fuck and I really hope the members of the team that created this are on some kind of register for the good of the public. Some absolute horrible, sick and twisted moments throughout the whole game.
Took my time in finishing, clocked around 12-13 hours on my finished play through timer and it always kept me on my toes action and cheap scare wise. Best thing was how they switched things up a bit from traditional games like this with the dismemberment aspect. Just replaying it through a 2nd time and I'm a killer marksman at this game, shooting of legs and arms from the other side of the room, nothing can touch me.
Lots of great ideas throughout the whole game making it fun to play and not annoying. If you got stuck you had a handy 3D map as well as a way point marker which painted a line to the next distination on the floor. Came in handy when you didn't exactly no where to go. The save system is pretty generous as it always starts you in the room you died rather then the last save point. Initially I thought this would take away the edge from the game, but it didn't tbh.
The Zero G sections, dismembering for extra damage, alternate fire weapons, amazing controls and how the game never cuts away from the in game action. Everything is shown on screen via holo-screens so you can still move about while reading or getting debriefed.
If there was one aspect of the game I would improve, it would be the melee attacks. Not enough variety in the strikes, and the weapon you have selected doesn't even change things. Same two pimp slaps and the same two foot stomps. It had some good enemy QTE when they grabbed you, but I think more could have been done for actual strikes.
Great game, fucked up, but still great. Was attempting my 2nd play through to polish off some of the achievements, but I just need to play somthing like Mario for a few days, or anything with happiness, bunnies and blue skies. Keep getting seeing these visions of rotting corpses, entrails, dead babies and MASSIVE ENEMY VAGINAS in my head.
Oh yeah, last boss's entrance was a bit epic. Shame it was a piece of piss once I figured out how to kill it.
I just need to block some time to get this finished off.
Was showing a buddy the game, which happened to be a room I was stuck in, one of those lock down rooms, and just ran around showing some the features, and managed to clear it
It was getting close to one of those infinite load, reload loops of despair, but that managed to shake me out of it.
Got to what I can only assume is the FINAL BOSS... unfortunately I am a bit light on Ammo and health due to the rather exacerbated journey to get there. I.e the freaking ambush before the thing activate the thing and things happen then a thing turns up and take the thing away.
Anyways, I was wondering, (and this is to avoid looking at gamefaqs) if the final boss is a few tactical hits or a long drawn out affair where I need to persevere, because I can only throw my shoes at him at this stage and I am getting rather frustrated by the only truly irritating gameplay mechanic, the camera pull and inverse crazy controls dangling from a tenticle dealio.
I've probably mentioned this, but the Zero G rooms are great, and incredibly underused, there is even a Zero G Basketball court in the game, that I was too freaked out to clear and take a look at.
Basically the Zero G element is something that could quite easily sit in a Metroid Prime game (if it hasn't already).
How many pairs of trousers will I need to get to a zero G section? I'd quite like to set up my surround amp, but I'm not sure I will be able to cope if the sound design is a scary as the visuals. That first corpse that springs up at you was enough to have me spinning wildly in panic.
There's something quite clever they've done with the camera in this game and I've not really had a chance to work out just how clever they've been yet. The way the camera sort of pivots around you somehow closes the environment in. It sounds pretty trivial, but I think it might be a key design element. This is completely different to Resi4, which played on the fixed over the shoulder viewpoint to blind-side you with enemies. In Dead Space you should be able to look around and spot things with impunity, but playing it the reality feels more restrictive and claustaphobic than you'd expect.
Finished this WAY back. I retract my earlier statement about Resi 4 as well. This is an excellent title in its own right. One of the best games of this gen. I still can't quite believe it's EA.
What I liked about this game the most was how you NEVER felt safe. In most survival type horror games there's at least somewhere that's relatively benign, even if it's just a room, but in Dead Space, you ALWAYS felt as though you were in danger of being attacked at any moment, which really added to the tension (yes, Capcom THIS is how you create tension... by using the environment NOT by deliberately making the game difficult to control). I'm even interested to see what the Wii game is like.
This gen, it really feels like the east/west poles have shifted!
Cool, just completed it on Hard, unlocked Impossible mode, that I doubt I will be trying.
Yeah, the progression and difficulty curve are spot on, with perfect increments in abilities and a shop that doesn't really break the flow. I get glazed over when there are too many factors to worry about, I basically stayed with the first gun, upgraded it to max and upgraded the suit asap, and it all worked out.
Several things really stand out, a sort of unambitious control mech, like totally solid, never really over reaching, only the way it handles jumping to non jumpable areas in Zero G is a little crufty, why would what is intrinsically an ammo meter tell you that? Obviously the near perfect and totally integrated art direction and UI stuff, that is second to none... and the whole experience is entirely understated in a very professional slick way... it rarely treads its own path twice interms of ideas.
There is something about plodding around a totally consistent environment... part of me wants to see the ship as a working ship, I can see why a Dead Space Extraction type game should rock if they get it right, just being in that universe is pretty smart... its the same universe as all those Alien'esque sci fi universes are, but it is still smart to be absorbed by it all.
Nothing like RE4, like Mads says there is a clever focal length blinkering of the camera, it pulls back when it wants to show off, and tightens in when it doesn't.
Dead Space Extraction, looking at the vids, appears to be traversing the same locations as the original, which is a quite a smart and economically sound idea... I am quite interested in this, I appear to have bought into the universe they've created.
The Ishimura has more than enough as well as the scenario around the planet to make for plenty a spin off... not quite watched the prequel Manga yet, that's meant to tread the same ground as Extraction, preDead Space Ishimura.
Ok so what's the shit dizzle on the follow-ups to Dead Space. I'm a bit confused...
There's going to be a Wii release, but is that a port of the prequel that's planned (or released) for the original game? Was the prequel DLC or boxed retail?
Wii version sounds interesting, but I wonder how well it will work if you strip away the graphical gloss? The controls should be more immediate and immersive on the Wii (I'm thinking Resi4 levels of imediacy) if done right and that could be a big enough draw for me alone.
As I understand it... its quite simple... Dead Space Extraction is an onrails light gun game for Wii which represents a story before the events in Dead Space. This happens in the same environments as the Dead Space game, i.e. on the Ishimura.
Thats about it.
I understand that there is a sequel maybe for the Dead Space.
Also there was a Cartoon of the events leading up to the start of Dead Space called Dead Space Downfall which is ok-ish but not really considered canon, if that kinda thing irritates you (it does me, a little). This is also on the Ishimura and on the planet they are mining.
Extrapolation suggests an overlap between the narrative of Downfall and Extraction... they heavily point towards a MAJOR plot point in the Cartoon which is the "twist" in the Dead Space game.
That way they can pump up the visual jam to keep its all rocking.
what have I told you about reading things written on paper, who are you Sherlock Holmes? Get with the kids dawg and starting playing your music on you phone with no bass and appear to look like you are listening to the music from a high tech birthday card.
I'm all androided up now like a true pimp. My phone is PROPER TOUGH, like TUFF. I blast out chipchoon goodness for all to hear. Respect to the Googles, peace out.
Looks pretty good, just as a cinematic episode, and OMG the girl has a energy bar spine jacket like they do in Dead Space Downfall OMG OMG OMG OMG Geek OUT.
I adore lightgun style games, so I'm watching this one with interest. I'm still waiting for a proper Wii gun. None of the shells I've tried really work as the trigger mechanisms (which mechanically actuate the B button are just too loose. The trigger should be on a pivot, not a slider as is the case in most shells.
I've toyed with the idea of hacking a remote into a Sega Saturn Lightgun shell, getting the IR window correct will be tricky, as will figuring out how to provide power.
Really I would like a proper 3rd party effort with a microswitched trigger, problem is that will most likely have to be tied to C or Z button using the Nunchuck port, which may break the control system on some games.
Really I would like a proper 3rd party effort with a microswitched trigger, problem is that will most likely have to be tied to C or Z button using the Nunchuck port, which may break the control system on some games.
Just cleared the centrifuge section . Zero-G sections took a bit of getting used to, but rock once you get with what they've done. I did notice one small bug though. Dropped an object from my inventory in a Zero-G room and then it wouldn't let me pick it up, no pop-up panel; nothing. Slicing enemies up in Zero-G is just superb isn't it!
I really like the inventory management and upgrades system. Normally that stuff is a huge turn-off for me, but the power node system makes everything simple to understand and you don't need to get bogged down in the stats unless you want to. I do dislike having to make compromises in a game and I can see that Dead Space isn't going to let me have everything maxed out.
Can't wait for Dead Space Extraction now. Having a lightgun shooter in this universe is going to be a real treat. Come on Sega where the hell are you? Where's Virtua Cop 3 and House of the Dead 4? I'd settle for Let's Go Jungle... ANYTHING...
I'll get it within the week, from what I've been reading, and this'll be the preconception I'm going in with, it sounds like a "Light Gun Experience" vs a "Light Gun Game"... i.e. they've used the genre as a mechanism to tell a story vs a way to score chase.
Tales of it taking 4 to 5 hours to complete... for a Light Gun Game??!? That's about 500% longer than you'd expect eh. I'm sure there is a score chaser in there somewhere, maybe an actual arcade option distilling it into something more Virtua Copy (pun intended), that of course is total and utter delusional rambling.
Hopefully I should have this in a couple of weeks. A friend should be picking me up a US version. I will be slightly dissapointed if there isn't some sort of scoring system. Although HoTD Overkill's system I'd happily strip out and shove up the backside of the moron who thought that comboing headshots in a game with multiple weapons that make accurate shooting almost impossible was a good idea.
Personally my favourite systems are the Virtua Cop Justice shot and tripple tap multiplier; and the Streak system in Area 51. Both of those work brilliantly and really force you to play the game in a certain way to maximise score.
You would have thought that extraction would lend itself to some sort of limb severing accumulator system?
I'm still playing the PS3 game. Current objective is to fire up the asteroid defence canon. I've got the power grid back online, just need to go up to the top level and manually kick it into action. Weapons wise I've played around with a few of them. The Ripper is quite good for close range multi-slicing and the flame thrower is a reasonable third choice weapon to deal with those swarming buggers. The Line racks are good for mutliple baddies as the sweep on that thing is massive. Not purchased the contact beam yet, but sold the pulse rifle as it's total shit. Plasma cutter is still where it's at in the main though
After each level, your progress is tallied up, and you're awarded bonuses such as health upgrades and challenge levels, which are story-less runs through the various environments of the game focused on battling wave after wave of necromorphs for a high leaderboard score.
You know when first person games went from doom to half life... so say when exposition and plot development happened possibly to the detriment of core in your face gameplay... so turning on a game, you didn't actually play the game, more watched it, interspersed with dialogue and so on... thats what this feels like.
Now, I've only played the "Story" mode, and it is an incredibly impressive experience, had you played Dead Space before hand, you immediate are in an environment you've been to in the original game... revealed with a classy cinematic slight of hand.
This game IS an 18, and it makes Madworld look like Sesame Street as the violence is positively properly shocking as in I had to do something else after playing the first chapter to kinda relinquish control back to my psyche.
In terms of gun gameplay I've not tried the score chaser mode yet, as I was too disturbed to kick into that after the chapter in story, but hey... as far as the story mode goes, its very deliberate, and very very impressive as an experience game... without my glasses on you'd be hard pressed to argue that the vibe, architecture and ambiance isn't perfectly recreated, as for the graphical minutiae, who cares, but the mood is translated perfectly... a little too perfectly.
The core mechanic is pointer shooting, and that is impossible to screw up, its not an arcade gun game, at least not in story mode, but there are some nice features that could be dominant in a challenge mode... they've got the quick reload idea that I've only seen in Gears of War, which makes you think they've thought about stuff... they also have a choice of weapons and a classic gun game panning camera to get the cool stuff when you are paying close attention.
So story mode is so far quite laboured, but very engaging if you are committed to the universe, I can't say if you have to had played the original for it to have an impact... if might work both ways as the stories are based around an EVENT, so who knows.
Still EA, eh, very daring an idea and so far very well executed. Executed.
I'll have to have a punt on what I think is called the Challenge mode, leaving the lights on.
Kinda a bit bland, but interesting... The interesting bit is the limb removal element, and there appears to be a scoring system based around that, that I can't quite work out.
The only element that is one of my bug bears, is the enemies are "intellegent" so its quite impossible to get and feeling of patterns, admittedly the game actually, on screen, calls them "Waves" so the premise is of waves and your knack of sweeping them up in the most pointacular way.
So I guess the Challenge game is dealing with the waves, as for the story mode, thats scrolling along nicely, on my 3rd character perspective now, telling the story from different people is making it more interesting, some of the weapons are rad.
Excellent. This sounds like a worthy addition to the library. Contrary to what most of you may think I can dig a linear story driven game provided I'm invested in the Universe and I can see that happening with Dead Space, because the Universe just feels so damned complete. Doesn't happen very often (Shenmue and Panzer Dragoon being the only other examples I can think of).
Jib have you played Umbrella Chronicles? I wonder how Dead Space Extraction stacks up against it? Not played it myself, but I get the feeling that Umbrella Chronicles did try to do the whole light gun game as a story medium. Either way it's interesting to see one of my most loved genres move into new territory. I'll always have a soft spot for the arcade shooters (and have retained one CRT 4:3 television just for this purpose alone).
In terms of narrative; giving the camera back to the developer makes perfect sense. If you let the player have control then it's quite possible for atmosphere and story to be broken by simply looking in the wrong direction whilst some scripted nonsense is firing off behind you. What I'm most interested in with Dead Space Extraction is how they've kept it tight in terms of scripting and cinematics whilst also allowing the necromorphs to behave in an 'intelegent' manner. Keeping the tension up is probably considerably easier if every game element is following a script.
I failed to articulate the Challenge mode is simply a section of one of the chapters with a non story wave after wave of necromorphs... so its not like the story mode with a score... its a tighter gun game of the more architecturally interesting elements of the "full" game.
I've not played Umbrella Chronicles, probably for the reason I have played Extraction... I'm not at all interested in the Umbrella universe, not one bit.
And you're right, the coherency of the Dead Space universe is so impressive that you can't help but be sucked in... it does play on all the established filmic science fiction concepts, but its done well enough for you to just get on with it.
I can't be nice enough about the cleverness of the environmental cross overs from the first game... its like a scifi geekgasm, like that Tribbles episode on Deep Space Nine or Back to the Future II, y'know, or Half Life Blue Shift, Opposing Force etc, no Isaac Clarke yet... but who knows...
Ah that's cool I love it when they do that. Back to the Future 2 is my favourite of the trilogy for precisely that reason.
I'm still motoring my way through the PS3 version. I'm about 5 hours in and just about to start Chapter 5.
You're right that Dead Space does borrow heavily from a number of good/great Sci Fi space based films. I agree wholeheartedly that it doesn't actually matter, beause it's never overtly referential or reverent to the source material nor is it apologetic for its inspiration. I think in part this helps with the immediacy of it too. Yes the setting is alien, but it's also familiar: it already exists in our psyche as what a 'big scary spaceship' should look like.
Had a proper poo inducing moment on the PS3 game last night. I was in a long passage which was also in a vacuum. Then a whole bunch of those little critter dudes came out and started to swarm me. My normal course of action at this point is to give them a light play with the flameflower until they turn a nice crispy brown. So I racked old faithful out, took aim and.... Nothing. DOH >_< Obviously a flamethrower won't work in a vacuum!
Frickin GENIUS.
My new preferred disposal method is to use the Ripper. Think I will now store the flamethrower in the safe and replace it with something a little more meaty. I'm finding myself running a little low on supplies actually, which is making progress more difficult.
My regret is not playing with the weapons, playing it on Hard, it was so tight on everything that I just stuck with the Plasma Cutter and upgraded that bad boy... now having completed it, as I understand it, I can go through on Hard again retaining my upgrades... but then you see, Impossible mode is unlocked, but thats a reboot.
And I am getting a good taste for all the weapons in Extraction, the ripper and the line gun.
Extraction is only wanting me to play it again and try and spot the nuances... and I did miss out on ZeroG Basketball due to freaking out.
Everyone is right. But also a little bit wrong.
Play it and you'll see what I mean.
It can't be anything like Resident Evil 4 - if Leon S Kennedy is not suplexing people through tables then you can't compare the two.
I wanted to try this aswell, but I don't know anyone who plays these games. I've got that Metal Gear Solid 4 heap of shit plus some other stuff to trade in but no idea what to get.
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It sounds kinda ok. However I have a stack of stuff unplayed and I'm skint as the bill for my car is in. Christmas is effectively cancelled
Everyone is right. But also a little bit wrong.
Play it and you'll see what I mean.
Come on man you have to give us more than that!
I imagine this is like Gears of War crossed with Bioshock and Resident Evil 4 (IN SPACE!!!). Or I could be way off base.
Being a SciFi-sher-nerd-o a Resident Evil 4 style "romp" in a well prepared space scenario would be quite a pleasant distraction.
I wanted to try this aswell, but I don't know anyone who plays these games. I've got that Metal Gear Solid 4 heap of shit plus some other stuff to trade in but no idea what to get.
I got it with my new 360 and it's decent, it's like a scarier Metroid really as it has that whole linear exploration thing going on too. You also have to be frugal with all your "weapons" as they're meant for mining rather than eviscerating alien zombies.
The lack of HUD stuff is fucking brilliant though, it's all handled in game by holographic projectors (so you can flip the camera round and see your stats and shit from behind). All your health stuff is showed on the suit (or "rig" as it's called) too.
The rig is upgradeable as well, so that's another nod to Metroid in a way I suppose.
The nice extra bits are the use of stasis and kinesis. The former allows you to slow down objects you fire it at, mostly at the aforementioned zombies, and the latter allows you to pick up and move objects at a distance.
The narrative is "okay" but nothing very involving or clever.
It's not overly like Resident Evil 4 though, it's slow paced admittedly and has the over the shoulder cam but that's it really.
Yeah, the whole lack of HUD sounded awesome.
Everyone is right. But also a little bit wrong.
Play it and you'll see what I mean.
Come on man you have to give us more than that!
I imagine this is like Gears of War crossed with Bioshock and Resident Evil 4 (IN SPACE!!!). Or I could be way off base.
Well I haven't played it, only watched others, so take this for what it's worth.
From what I've seen it borrows heavily from RE4 in terms of the way it controls, the over-the-shoulder perspective, laser aiming... that sort of thing. But the level design is quite different. Since you're indoors most of the time it's a bit more claustrophobic and there are fewer enemies at once so you never get that overwhelming stampede of aggressors like you do in RE4.
So yeah, there are hints of Resi but there's also a bit of Silent Hill in there as well as a smidge of Bioshock and, dare I say it, Doom 3.
Like I say though... I haven't played it: just operating on gamer's instinct here.
Thank you Oll0r and Kaladron - wouldn't mind giving it a try.
________________________________
I played it a bit on the PS3, the sound is bloody incredible - as for Resi4, it does have that over the shoulder vibe, but I doubt when you finish it you unlock a Mercs mode...it scared the bejesus out of me more than a few times, but lacks Resi4's wide range of characters - beyond the environment itself which is admittedly awesome and steals the show.
______________________________________________________________________________
When's 'Wii Carlton' coming out?
Speaking of Mercs mode... Has anyone played Horde mode in Gears Of War 2?
It's not a score-attack game but it has the same kind of against the odds survival feel. And it works brilliantly in co-op.
Bought the full game from GAME today for £30 notes.
Just finished Chapter 1 and just like with the demo, I am really impressed and immensly creeped out at the same time. The atmosphere created with the lighting, eery strings music and loud bangs and roars when shit goes down certainly raised my pulse a bit.
Really like how they've incorperated communication transmissions, maps and item selection all in real time and not in menus or lengthy cutscenes. Walking about while the screen infront of Isaac displays any of the former is a really cool touch. I'm sure it's been done before in a game, but I commend it's application here. Keeps you control and in the game constantly.
I've not my shat myself at any of the regular RE type surprise attacks, but was caught a little bit of gaurd or realised just in time that I should probably see whats creeping up behind me or be wary of anything just playing dead on the floor. As I am quite cautious when playing these type of games...anything that looks dead, I usually plug it a few times just to make sure. The one time I didn't...yup, the fucker got up! I think it took me 1 hour to get through Chapter 1...1/4 of that time must have been spent creeping slowly around corners and stomping on dead soldiers limbs...and heads. Just to be sure.
Few clever moments with the enemies so far...I have not get caught out it by any of it though...yet.
There was this one bit where this lanky fucker runs passed the corridor as you enter the door. You follow it round and it dissapears around the other corner. You turn to face it and tries to leap or keep you occupied...while another cunt starts creeping up behind your ass. I was on to him though!!!
I'll tell you what is really grim though. Running over a dead body and having the corpse tangle itself around your legs as you leg it down the corridor. Squishy and dead weight sounds echoing as you do so. Erk.
They should have released Chapter 1 as the demo.
Progression in learning the controls and how the game plays was done well. In the demo I was swamped with options and weapons and it took a fair few goes to try and figure out what you was supposed to do and how to do it effectivly.
Great controls I must say as well, it's got me thinking that may be Resident Evil 5 could have done with bit more of a revamp in the controls department. I'm not against the "Tank" controls of Resident Evil games...I love that game...but hmmm, I wonder if it would even make a blind bit of difference to that game?
Just upgraded my suit, don't know why Isaac's suit reminds me of Bioshock. Think it's the glowy marine blue light. Turned the game off as it's getting a bit late...and I just know there is gonna be nasty scare coming up to start the chapter off with a bang. Quite tired...I want to be semi-ready for it!
The woman needs a proper SUPLEX though. HAVE FAITH IN THE BLACK MAN YOU BITCH!
Speaking of Mercs mode... Has anyone played Horde mode in Gears Of War 2?
It's not a score-attack game but it has the same kind of against the odds survival feel. And it works brilliantly in co-op.
Aye HORDE is great. Furthest I got to is Wave 20.
Although getting the best points would involve a tremendous amount of co-opery and surviving 50 waves in one go instead of using continues.
I almost gave up on that game entirley though. It is easily one of the first games I was ready to shelve after the first 2 levels. Was so fucking boring. Good thing I decided to give it another shot, game got a lot better almost instantly.
Ah...suppose any more of impressions for that game should go in it's own thread.
I went through this aswell, I did enjoy it for what it was - I love the whole "Aliens" inspired vibe and the music was superb. The scares are completely wasted on me though, I blaze so much it's impossible to startle me. It's great the way they've integrated the whole HUD into the character's suit and the guiding beam he has is a very neat way of keeping you on track.
I couldn't play it again but while it lasted tearing up monsters with the Ripper was great fun. Make sure you power up the Ripper, it's just GRIME!
________________________________
Babies...
I opened the door and stood looking through it at every angle possible...because well, there were babies floating about in jars, that's not right!
Walked in to look at the dead body, turned around and this fucking baby just tore me a new one. ;\/
One thing that is killing it for me at the moment is Save Stations. Hopefully as the game progresses they become less frequent, but if it's there I'll use it. I need the fear of dieing and then having to do that section all over again, proper Resi 1,2 and 4 styles.
I've died once so far and it's dumped me straight into the same room again moments before the part I died on. I've had my energy on critical for over half of chapter 2...that was untill I realised that I had to top my health up from the inventory screen myself. Isaac wheezing and spluttering away for all that time sounded well tragic. lol
Finished Chapter 2 and fuck knows what I just saw, but it was quite fucked up.
A Thing, rapes dead body...and then the dead body transforms into an albino BAT MOTH?! WAT?!
This game is going OFF for tonight.
Oh yeah, I did one of those Zero Gravity sections and walked through an area which was a Vacuum. When I walked back through the vacuum and this fucker silently just appeared out of nowhere amongst muted sound effects, all I thought was "That.is.BAD!"
Bad...as in GOOD ofcourse. Word.
There were some cracking parts on this. I'd go into more detail but don't want to spoil it for Jassi if he hasn't already clocked it. I'm currently going through impossible mode with the Plasma Cutter and for some reason it feels a lot easier than Hard mode
My ammo is in total abundance as well.
Since ditching WoW I've had ZERO stuff to play apart from finishing off Prime 3 that I've let go moldy since previous Christmas, I get a quick three-day burst of the good old days with Dead Space and now I'm all depressed and shit again, waiting for the next Capcom delivery or whatever...
I can't believe EA made this internally though, what a gobsmack. I need Dead Space 2 pronto, I need Isaac to make me whole again.
One thing that is killing it for me at the moment is Save Stations. Hopefully as the game progresses they become less frequent, but if it's there I'll use it. I need the fear of dieing and then having to do that section all over again, proper Resi 1,2 and 4 styles.
That never happened man, it invis-checkpoints every room which was a shame. However everyone would have moaned like a bitch if it was any other way.
The good thing about that though is the room checkpointing sometimes makes it impossible for you to go back and find some more ammo to get you past the section at hand. There were two or three segments towards the end where I thought I'd fisted myself by using just the one save file, and had contemplated over said sections even being possible given my exhausted inventory. 1-2 hours of rinsage including some sexy stasis+melee moments saw me through though, and gave me excuses to jump out my seat and flex my muscles at the screen. There's one bit I'm dying to gush over right here but I don't know if you've clocked it yet man and don't want to spoil it! lol.
I always back-log my Resi saves like a pussy for some reason, eventhough I never have to revert to them. With this I'm glad I used just the one or I would have missed out on a few token experiences. I can see many people that had just the one save file having to start again from scratch which misses the point.
Dead Rising springs to mind. Haha, that was a funny discussion at the time.
I finally got round to playing this and have to say that it reminds me much more of Bioshock and Metroid Prime than it does Resi.
Having fun with it nonetheless. It's a fairly unpretentious action game. Exactly what you need at this time of year.
I finally got round to buying my 360 yesterday and this was one of the games I picked up to go with it.
It's a solid game... Resi4-lite pretty much sums it up.
Can anyone tell me if there is any point using any other weapon besides the default cutter? It seems to be the most useful one so far.
I'm also a little annoyed by what I'm guessing is going to be a problem with most 360 games - the microscopic text. I find myself squinting at the screen trying to read the clues and text boxes, which is annoying as hell.
The scares also aren't working on me, but that's probably because I've played so many of these survival horror type games now that I'm immune to most of it (and once you've played the first two Silent Hills in a darkened room with the sound up full blast, you can handle ANY horror game!).
Finally nabbed this off a buddy recently (he said it wasn't worth buying), and I am quite psyched for it, having played through a bit on Paper's setup.
I'm thinking its a surround sound up, lights off kinda deal... it had enough going for it in the time I played it, the demo though appears completely misrepresentative of the game, feels more like an environment for those who have played it and fancy some revenge on a slew of critters.
If its anything up to the quality of Mirror's Edge then it should be completable, as I managed to stay with that game long enough to tick that one off.
Yup really really enjoying this, the sci-fi angle is completely selling it to me, and the game itself is totally solid, the whole appendage removal idea makes the violence interesting enough to execute repeated.
I am playing it on Hard and it is actually quite hard, with ammo and health at a premium, genuine premium its totally sucked me into complete paranoia.
The story is something out of Doctor Who without the Doctor, unless he rocks up?
Finished this tonight, and I suppose it was a bit too much to ask for a happy ending!
Calling this a Resident Evil clone is really doing the game a disservice! It out does it in a few aspects and makes you think that perhaps RE team could actually learn a thing or two from the Dead Space boys.
Game is a total head fuck and I really hope the members of the team that created this are on some kind of register for the good of the public. Some absolute horrible, sick and twisted moments throughout the whole game.
Took my time in finishing, clocked around 12-13 hours on my finished play through timer and it always kept me on my toes action and cheap scare wise. Best thing was how they switched things up a bit from traditional games like this with the dismemberment aspect. Just replaying it through a 2nd time and I'm a killer marksman at this game, shooting of legs and arms from the other side of the room, nothing can touch me.
Lots of great ideas throughout the whole game making it fun to play and not annoying. If you got stuck you had a handy 3D map as well as a way point marker which painted a line to the next distination on the floor. Came in handy when you didn't exactly no where to go. The save system is pretty generous as it always starts you in the room you died rather then the last save point. Initially I thought this would take away the edge from the game, but it didn't tbh.
The Zero G sections, dismembering for extra damage, alternate fire weapons, amazing controls and how the game never cuts away from the in game action. Everything is shown on screen via holo-screens so you can still move about while reading or getting debriefed.
If there was one aspect of the game I would improve, it would be the melee attacks. Not enough variety in the strikes, and the weapon you have selected doesn't even change things. Same two pimp slaps and the same two foot stomps. It had some good enemy QTE when they grabbed you, but I think more could have been done for actual strikes.
Great game, fucked up, but still great. Was attempting my 2nd play through to polish off some of the achievements, but I just need to play somthing like Mario for a few days, or anything with happiness, bunnies and blue skies. Keep getting seeing these visions of rotting corpses, entrails, dead babies and MASSIVE ENEMY VAGINAS in my head.
Oh yeah, last boss's entrance was a bit epic. Shame it was a piece of piss once I figured out how to kill it.
Good stuff.
I just need to block some time to get this finished off.
Was showing a buddy the game, which happened to be a room I was stuck in, one of those lock down rooms, and just ran around showing some the features, and managed to clear it
It was getting close to one of those infinite load, reload loops of despair, but that managed to shake me out of it.
Got to what I can only assume is the FINAL BOSS... unfortunately I am a bit light on Ammo and health due to the rather exacerbated journey to get there. I.e the freaking ambush before the thing activate the thing and things happen then a thing turns up and take the thing away.
Anyways, I was wondering, (and this is to avoid looking at gamefaqs) if the final boss is a few tactical hits or a long drawn out affair where I need to persevere, because I can only throw my shoes at him at this stage and I am getting rather frustrated by the only truly irritating gameplay mechanic, the camera pull and inverse crazy controls dangling from a tenticle dealio.
LOL.
I've got this now, but couldn't bring myself to get beyond the first couple of rooms. It's proper scary. I need to man-up and grow a pair it seems.
Final boss sounds proper epic
I've probably mentioned this, but the Zero G rooms are great, and incredibly underused, there is even a Zero G Basketball court in the game, that I was too freaked out to clear and take a look at.
Basically the Zero G element is something that could quite easily sit in a Metroid Prime game (if it hasn't already).
How many pairs of trousers will I need to get to a zero G section? I'd quite like to set up my surround amp, but I'm not sure I will be able to cope if the sound design is a scary as the visuals. That first corpse that springs up at you was enough to have me spinning wildly in panic.
There's something quite clever they've done with the camera in this game and I've not really had a chance to work out just how clever they've been yet. The way the camera sort of pivots around you somehow closes the environment in. It sounds pretty trivial, but I think it might be a key design element. This is completely different to Resi4, which played on the fixed over the shoulder viewpoint to blind-side you with enemies. In Dead Space you should be able to look around and spot things with impunity, but playing it the reality feels more restrictive and claustaphobic than you'd expect.
Finished this WAY back. I retract my earlier statement about Resi 4 as well. This is an excellent title in its own right. One of the best games of this gen. I still can't quite believe it's EA.
What I liked about this game the most was how you NEVER felt safe. In most survival type horror games there's at least somewhere that's relatively benign, even if it's just a room, but in Dead Space, you ALWAYS felt as though you were in danger of being attacked at any moment, which really added to the tension (yes, Capcom THIS is how you create tension... by using the environment NOT by deliberately making the game difficult to control). I'm even interested to see what the Wii game is like.
This gen, it really feels like the east/west poles have shifted!
Cool, just completed it on Hard, unlocked Impossible mode, that I doubt I will be trying.
Yeah, the progression and difficulty curve are spot on, with perfect increments in abilities and a shop that doesn't really break the flow. I get glazed over when there are too many factors to worry about, I basically stayed with the first gun, upgraded it to max and upgraded the suit asap, and it all worked out.
Several things really stand out, a sort of unambitious control mech, like totally solid, never really over reaching, only the way it handles jumping to non jumpable areas in Zero G is a little crufty, why would what is intrinsically an ammo meter tell you that? Obviously the near perfect and totally integrated art direction and UI stuff, that is second to none... and the whole experience is entirely understated in a very professional slick way... it rarely treads its own path twice interms of ideas.
There is something about plodding around a totally consistent environment... part of me wants to see the ship as a working ship, I can see why a Dead Space Extraction type game should rock if they get it right, just being in that universe is pretty smart... its the same universe as all those Alien'esque sci fi universes are, but it is still smart to be absorbed by it all.
Nothing like RE4, like Mads says there is a clever focal length blinkering of the camera, it pulls back when it wants to show off, and tightens in when it doesn't.
Dead Space Extraction, looking at the vids, appears to be traversing the same locations as the original, which is a quite a smart and economically sound idea... I am quite interested in this, I appear to have bought into the universe they've created.
The Ishimura has more than enough as well as the scenario around the planet to make for plenty a spin off... not quite watched the prequel Manga yet, that's meant to tread the same ground as Extraction, preDead Space Ishimura.
Ok so what's the shit dizzle on the follow-ups to Dead Space. I'm a bit confused...
There's going to be a Wii release, but is that a port of the prequel that's planned (or released) for the original game? Was the prequel DLC or boxed retail?
Wii version sounds interesting, but I wonder how well it will work if you strip away the graphical gloss? The controls should be more immediate and immersive on the Wii (I'm thinking Resi4 levels of imediacy) if done right and that could be a big enough draw for me alone.
As I understand it... its quite simple... Dead Space Extraction is an onrails light gun game for Wii which represents a story before the events in Dead Space. This happens in the same environments as the Dead Space game, i.e. on the Ishimura.
Thats about it.
I understand that there is a sequel maybe for the Dead Space.
Also there was a Cartoon of the events leading up to the start of Dead Space called Dead Space Downfall which is ok-ish but not really considered canon, if that kinda thing irritates you (it does me, a little). This is also on the Ishimura and on the planet they are mining.
Extrapolation suggests an overlap between the narrative of Downfall and Extraction... they heavily point towards a MAJOR plot point in the Cartoon which is the "twist" in the Dead Space game.
Extraction is on-rails? Are you sure. I didn't pick that up from the article I read. Interesting.
Still have not really started with Dead Space itself yet...
yeah dude, thats its whole thang baby.
That way they can pump up the visual jam to keep its all rocking.
what have I told you about reading things written on paper, who are you Sherlock Holmes? Get with the kids dawg and starting playing your music on you phone with no bass and appear to look like you are listening to the music from a high tech birthday card.
Fo RIZ
I'm all androided up now like a true pimp. My phone is PROPER TOUGH, like TUFF. I blast out chipchoon goodness for all to hear. Respect to the Googles, peace out.
"It's for real"
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/02/latest-dead-space-extraction-trailer-reveals-really-big-boss-bat/
You can't argue with a statement like that.
Looks pretty good, just as a cinematic episode, and OMG the girl has a energy bar spine jacket like they do in Dead Space Downfall OMG OMG OMG OMG Geek OUT.
That looks oh so slightly fucking brilliant! O_O
I haven't played anything of this genre since Time Crisis, well up for some of that.
I adore lightgun style games, so I'm watching this one with interest. I'm still waiting for a proper Wii gun. None of the shells I've tried really work as the trigger mechanisms (which mechanically actuate the B button are just too loose. The trigger should be on a pivot, not a slider as is the case in most shells.
I've toyed with the idea of hacking a remote into a Sega Saturn Lightgun shell, getting the IR window correct will be tricky, as will figuring out how to provide power.
Really I would like a proper 3rd party effort with a microswitched trigger, problem is that will most likely have to be tied to C or Z button using the Nunchuck port, which may break the control system on some games.
Really I would like a proper 3rd party effort with a microswitched trigger, problem is that will most likely have to be tied to C or Z button using the Nunchuck port, which may break the control system on some games.
OH COOL :wub:
http://www.penguinunited.com/product_info.php?products_id=68&osCsid=sigtuoub341f9qikoq0t52sf34
Speak of the devil. This is exactly what I want...
Gone back to Dead Space and I'm properly getting into it. Only about 45 minutes in, but loving every second.
Trying to get my hands on the Penguin United gun for the Wii, but it's proving to be quite difficult....
I'm hooked
.
Just cleared the centrifuge section
. Zero-G sections took a bit of getting used to, but rock once you get with what they've done. I did notice one small bug though. Dropped an object from my inventory in a Zero-G room and then it wouldn't let me pick it up, no pop-up panel; nothing. Slicing enemies up in Zero-G is just superb isn't it!
I really like the inventory management and upgrades system. Normally that stuff is a huge turn-off for me, but the power node system makes everything simple to understand and you don't need to get bogged down in the stats unless you want to. I do dislike having to make compromises in a game and I can see that Dead Space isn't going to let me have everything maxed out.
Can't wait for Dead Space Extraction now. Having a lightgun shooter in this universe is going to be a real treat. Come on Sega where the hell are you? Where's Virtua Cop 3 and House of the Dead 4? I'd settle for Let's Go Jungle... ANYTHING...
Extraction is out in Paland (excuse the pun).
I'll get it within the week, from what I've been reading, and this'll be the preconception I'm going in with, it sounds like a "Light Gun Experience" vs a "Light Gun Game"... i.e. they've used the genre as a mechanism to tell a story vs a way to score chase.
Tales of it taking 4 to 5 hours to complete... for a Light Gun Game??!? That's about 500% longer than you'd expect eh. I'm sure there is a score chaser in there somewhere, maybe an actual arcade option distilling it into something more Virtua Copy (pun intended), that of course is total and utter delusional rambling.
Hopefully I should have this in a couple of weeks. A friend should be picking me up a US version. I will be slightly dissapointed if there isn't some sort of scoring system. Although HoTD Overkill's system I'd happily strip out and shove up the backside of the moron who thought that comboing headshots in a game with multiple weapons that make accurate shooting almost impossible was a good idea.
Personally my favourite systems are the Virtua Cop Justice shot and tripple tap multiplier; and the Streak system in Area 51. Both of those work brilliantly and really force you to play the game in a certain way to maximise score.
You would have thought that extraction would lend itself to some sort of limb severing accumulator system?
I'm still playing the PS3 game. Current objective is to fire up the asteroid defence canon. I've got the power grid back online, just need to go up to the top level and manually kick it into action. Weapons wise I've played around with a few of them. The Ripper is quite good for close range multi-slicing and the flame thrower is a reasonable third choice weapon to deal with those swarming buggers. The Line racks are good for mutliple baddies as the sweep on that thing is massive. Not purchased the contact beam yet, but sold the pulse rifle as it's total shit. Plasma cutter is still where it's at in the main though
Ah seems everything is ok
From the Gamespot review
After each level, your progress is tallied up, and you're awarded bonuses such as health upgrades and challenge levels, which are story-less runs through the various environments of the game focused on battling wave after wave of necromorphs for a high leaderboard score.
http://uk.gamespot.com/wii/action/deadspaceextraction/review.html
Well well well...
You know when first person games went from doom to half life... so say when exposition and plot development happened possibly to the detriment of core in your face gameplay... so turning on a game, you didn't actually play the game, more watched it, interspersed with dialogue and so on... thats what this feels like.
Now, I've only played the "Story" mode, and it is an incredibly impressive experience, had you played Dead Space before hand, you immediate are in an environment you've been to in the original game... revealed with a classy cinematic slight of hand.
This game IS an 18, and it makes Madworld look like Sesame Street as the violence is positively properly shocking as in I had to do something else after playing the first chapter to kinda relinquish control back to my psyche.
In terms of gun gameplay I've not tried the score chaser mode yet, as I was too disturbed to kick into that after the chapter in story, but hey... as far as the story mode goes, its very deliberate, and very very impressive as an experience game... without my glasses on you'd be hard pressed to argue that the vibe, architecture and ambiance isn't perfectly recreated, as for the graphical minutiae, who cares, but the mood is translated perfectly... a little too perfectly.
The core mechanic is pointer shooting, and that is impossible to screw up, its not an arcade gun game, at least not in story mode, but there are some nice features that could be dominant in a challenge mode... they've got the quick reload idea that I've only seen in Gears of War, which makes you think they've thought about stuff... they also have a choice of weapons and a classic gun game panning camera to get the cool stuff when you are paying close attention.
So story mode is so far quite laboured, but very engaging if you are committed to the universe, I can't say if you have to had played the original for it to have an impact... if might work both ways as the stories are based around an EVENT, so who knows.
Still EA, eh, very daring an idea and so far very well executed. Executed.
I'll have to have a punt on what I think is called the Challenge mode, leaving the lights on.
Challenge mode then...
Kinda a bit bland, but interesting... The interesting bit is the limb removal element, and there appears to be a scoring system based around that, that I can't quite work out.
The only element that is one of my bug bears, is the enemies are "intellegent" so its quite impossible to get and feeling of patterns, admittedly the game actually, on screen, calls them "Waves" so the premise is of waves and your knack of sweeping them up in the most pointacular way.
So I guess the Challenge game is dealing with the waves, as for the story mode, thats scrolling along nicely, on my 3rd character perspective now, telling the story from different people is making it more interesting, some of the weapons are rad.
Excellent. This sounds like a worthy addition to the library. Contrary to what most of you may think I can dig a linear story driven game provided I'm invested in the Universe and I can see that happening with Dead Space, because the Universe just feels so damned complete. Doesn't happen very often (Shenmue and Panzer Dragoon being the only other examples I can think of).
Jib have you played Umbrella Chronicles? I wonder how Dead Space Extraction stacks up against it? Not played it myself, but I get the feeling that Umbrella Chronicles did try to do the whole light gun game as a story medium. Either way it's interesting to see one of my most loved genres move into new territory. I'll always have a soft spot for the arcade shooters (and have retained one CRT 4:3 television just for this purpose alone).
In terms of narrative; giving the camera back to the developer makes perfect sense. If you let the player have control then it's quite possible for atmosphere and story to be broken by simply looking in the wrong direction whilst some scripted nonsense is firing off behind you. What I'm most interested in with Dead Space Extraction is how they've kept it tight in terms of scripting and cinematics whilst also allowing the necromorphs to behave in an 'intelegent' manner. Keeping the tension up is probably considerably easier if every game element is following a script.
I failed to articulate the Challenge mode is simply a section of one of the chapters with a non story wave after wave of necromorphs... so its not like the story mode with a score... its a tighter gun game of the more architecturally interesting elements of the "full" game.
I've not played Umbrella Chronicles, probably for the reason I have played Extraction... I'm not at all interested in the Umbrella universe, not one bit.
And you're right, the coherency of the Dead Space universe is so impressive that you can't help but be sucked in... it does play on all the established filmic science fiction concepts, but its done well enough for you to just get on with it.
I can't be nice enough about the cleverness of the environmental cross overs from the first game... its like a scifi geekgasm, like that Tribbles episode on Deep Space Nine or Back to the Future II, y'know, or Half Life Blue Shift, Opposing Force etc, no Isaac Clarke yet... but who knows...
Ah that's cool I love it when they do that. Back to the Future 2 is my favourite of the trilogy for precisely that reason.
I'm still motoring my way through the PS3 version. I'm about 5 hours in and just about to start Chapter 5.
You're right that Dead Space does borrow heavily from a number of good/great Sci Fi space based films. I agree wholeheartedly that it doesn't actually matter, beause it's never overtly referential or reverent to the source material nor is it apologetic for its inspiration. I think in part this helps with the immediacy of it too. Yes the setting is alien, but it's also familiar: it already exists in our psyche as what a 'big scary spaceship' should look like.
Had a proper poo inducing moment on the PS3 game last night. I was in a long passage which was also in a vacuum. Then a whole bunch of those little critter dudes came out and started to swarm me. My normal course of action at this point is to give them a light play with the flameflower until they turn a nice crispy brown. So I racked old faithful out, took aim and.... Nothing. DOH >_< Obviously a flamethrower won't work in a vacuum!
Frickin GENIUS.
My new preferred disposal method is to use the Ripper. Think I will now store the flamethrower in the safe and replace it with something a little more meaty. I'm finding myself running a little low on supplies actually, which is making progress more difficult.
My regret is not playing with the weapons, playing it on Hard, it was so tight on everything that I just stuck with the Plasma Cutter and upgraded that bad boy... now having completed it, as I understand it, I can go through on Hard again retaining my upgrades... but then you see, Impossible mode is unlocked, but thats a reboot.
And I am getting a good taste for all the weapons in Extraction, the ripper and the line gun.
Extraction is only wanting me to play it again and try and spot the nuances... and I did miss out on ZeroG Basketball due to freaking out.