PAX 2008 hands-on: Dead Space, we die a lonely death in zero-gee

After we left the bright lights and big city of Mirror's Edge, we treaded into the depths of Dead Space. Not only did they have a special dark room set up for the game, but they had an actor out front in full gear, complete with a light-up helmet and a "really heavy weapon," he quipped. Find out all about the new level they showed after the break.
Gallery: Dead Space
This highly anticipated sci-fi shooter is definitely high on our radar, and we weren't disappointed with this one. Especially since they were showing it off in a very dark little two-screen booth. If you're claustrophobic, this isn't where you want to get stuck. However, it's a great place to show off this creepy game. A girl actually screamed when we turned around and there was an amorphous mutant freakazoid behind us.
"You're in zero gravity which means up is down and down is up, and it can change at any moment." |
Once you overload the tractor beam (or whatever the hell it was), you move yourself over to a switch that does something we couldn't overhear in the din. When you flip it, mutant freaks pour in at you down the two sides of the catwalk you're trapped in the middle of. Good times. Thankfully we had a lot of weaponry at our disposal, but it didn't stop us from being overrun very quickly. It's times like that when you don't know what you're doing that the light-up health meter on your spine just sort of mocks you.
You could pick your enemies apart piece by piece with the different guns to send their limbs floating off into space, and it was more than a bit satisfying to yank a head out of the air with your jedi-like powers and fling it off in the distance. Additionally, certain enemies have prolapsed gelatinous bags of goo that are extremely explosive. You can either target those, or use your kinetics to fling them like grenades. Despite being one very overpowered engineer, we died cold and alone in space. Come out already so we can redeem ourselves.





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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mezzanine @ Sep 1st 2008 3:06AM
I expect good things from you, Dead Space. You better not end up sucking.
Rhandos @ Sep 1st 2008 5:19AM
"Your telekinesis power"? Oh god, EA, please don't go that way.
Mark @ Sep 1st 2008 5:36AM
TeleKinesis?!
Oh my! I'm scared too now...
I'm feeling that scary feeling called 'The Trigen Sensation' in videogame lingo. Named after people realised the Trigens were an element that should have been placed in Far Cry, because they were that single F****** element that ruined an otherwise great immersive experience.
Similarly TK seems out of place in Dead Space, even though there's the mind control aspect in the storyline.
Then maybe it's a technological gravitational device in which case that may be perfectly ok! It would be like turning trigens from mutants into autonomous robotic armours :D
LordChimp @ Sep 1st 2008 9:53AM
@Mark
Once those Trigens came out in Far Cry, I absolutely hated the game. Love the game till that point but it just made the game feel cheap. I just hated how strong those Trigens were as well. One hit and you were almost dead!
Orc @ Sep 1st 2008 6:47AM
The telekinesis is actually a gun, which kind of has the same functions like Half-Life 2's gravity gun.
JoeTheBlow @ Sep 1st 2008 7:01AM
Jedi-like powers?!?!
Urge to play.....waning.
I hope to god this is explained by being some kind of zero-g navigational tool or something, cos if he actually has "powers" i'm giving this one the *rolls eyes*.
BumbleBeesDontSting @ Sep 1st 2008 8:46AM
I think the jedi like powers come from the tool he uses on his wrist or whatever, I remember hearing about it.
Metal_Gear @ Sep 1st 2008 9:12AM
He looks fake O_O
Dont know what it is, he just looks like he is made of wax...
FishTank @ Sep 1st 2008 11:42AM
I played a demo for this at Comic-Con and the game definitely doesn't suck. The level I played was a different one than the Joystiq guys played, but the atmosphere and combat are both very brutal.
Dignan17 @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:05AM
Wait...is that the guy from MADTV? The guy who played Stewart? I hated that character. I can see why he's resorted to being a hired hand for conventions.
Altairio @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:06AM
LOOK AT WHAT I CAN DO!
Dignan17 @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:07AM
Wait...is that the guy from MADTV? The guy who played Stewart? I hated that character. I can see why he's resorted to being a hired hand for conventions.
Dignan17 @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:08AM
Oops, sorry, double post. Please forgive me!!