Dead Space Preview, Trailer

The Ypsilanti office of Cathode Tan sent along a quick note about the first few hours of EA's recently released, very well reviewed, horror piece Dead Space, which we've been covering off and on:

It is hard to avoid the comparisons to Doom, although visually it is a significant improvement, and overall the enviornments are the best I have seen in a space FPS. The pacing is a bit different from most FPS, in that you move rather slowly, as do many of the opponents. They are pretty tough however, and where you hit them (blowing off limbs is encouraged) makes a big difference as to how quickly they die. They also like to drop out of vents behind you. Also there are pretty big gaps between encounters, which are pretty much always telegraphed by sound effects. There are a few minor puzzles but nothing that slows things down much. An guide feature keeps you from getting lost. There are a lot of options for buying equiptment (only your first weapon is given to you, the rest are bought or unlocked with schematics at the store). Weapons and suit can be upgraded by power nodes which are found or bought. This is reminiscent of inventory in Deux Ex. All ammo is stored in inventory. You have a few tricks up your sleeve, a stasis effect that can be used with any weapon, and a gravity gun like effect. So far these serve mainly to get past the puzzles. Use of different weapons is encouraged by the variety of ammo that is found. All are very accurate but moderately powered (the 4 of 7 I have used). Some areas have no gravity and you move by launching yourself and walking with magnetic boots, these are intersting. The main character silent, plot is conveyed through video comm and logs of the deceased. The plot seems well constructed but not particularly novel. Overall, I am enjoying the game, but don't find it too hard to walk away from.

The game should be showing up Chicago-side tomorrow, so I'll be able to dig into myself by the weekend. Quite looking forward to it. It feels so much like Christmas in October at this point - Dead Space imminent, LittleBigPlanet on pre-order and Fallout 3 waiting in the wings.

Anyway, here's the latest trailer for eye candy value: