as many others have said, there's not enough info for me to tell if i should be really excited about this or if it will end up as a big "meh" but i am cautiously optimistic. the style looks good and the enemy design seems like a combination of that bad jamie lee curtis movie "virus" and "the thing," which is fine by me. i suppose my biggest hope is that the game will create and keep an oppressive and tense atmosphere. as someone else said, over exposure to enemies/combat kills any tension that a game may have. but if they could successfully create and atmosphere of dread an unease and keep it up? woo.
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Clint EastwoodMy baby's in there someplaceShe crawled right inRegistered Userregular
edited May 2008
The antigrav/outer space portions are going to be so awesome.
apparently all you can hear is Issac's heartbeat and, if you're walking around on something that's floating in space, you can feel his footsteps or whatever else might be moving around.
The antigrav/outer space portions are going to be so awesome.
apparently all you can hear is Issac's heartbeat and, if you're walking around on something that's floating in space, you can feel his footsteps or whatever else might be moving around.
That's awesome if they make any zero-atmosphere area completely mute.
The antigrav/outer space portions are going to be so awesome.
apparently all you can hear is Issac's heartbeat and, if you're walking around on something that's floating in space, you can feel his footsteps or whatever else might be moving around.
That's awesome if they make any zero-atmosphere area completely mute.
That would be awesome, being only able to hear heartbeats (I'd figure breathing also? Panicked breathing, probably.) and possibly feel your (or their?) footsteps would be a wonderful way to increase tension and really create some terrifying atmosphere. Especially if you feel footsteps but don't see anything, then turn around and it's right behind you.
The antigrav/outer space portions are going to be so awesome.
apparently all you can hear is Issac's heartbeat and, if you're walking around on something that's floating in space, you can feel his footsteps or whatever else might be moving around.
That's awesome if they make any zero-atmosphere area completely mute.
That would be awesome, being only able to hear heartbeats (I'd figure breathing also? Panicked breathing, probably.) and possibly feel your (or their?) footsteps would be a wonderful way to increase tension and really create some terrifying atmosphere. Especially if you feel footsteps but don't see anything, then turn around and it's right behind you.
They are saying that sections with no atmosphere are realistic in their ambient sound.
Due to Isaac having a metal suit you will hear sounds, kinda like if you put your head under the water in a bath and hit the side.
There will also be zero gravity sections with atmosphere, as they arent mutually exclusive.
The_Scarab on
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Saint JusticeMercenaryMah-vel Baybee!!!Registered Userregular
edited May 2008
Survival Horror Sci-Fi? Yes, please! I saw the Game Informer piece on this a while back and it looks extremely promising.
Saint Justice on
Some people play tennis, I erode the human soul. ~ Tycho
EA will see the hype that the game is getting on the Internet and tell the developers to cut back on a few features and the ending. It will suddenly (but the developer will claim it was always meant to be) a trilogy and we'll have to wait 4 years minimum before we get the full-featured third act.
Regicide, why do you always have to make me hate you so much?
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Grudgeblessed is the mind too small for doubtRegistered Userregular
edited May 2008
Looks awesome, I'm definitely going to keep an eye on this.
Btw, that monster in the first trailer looked suspiciously much like a Tyranid Lictor. Oh, and that fat one running towards the camera was definitely Nurgle-ish. Nothing wrong with that though.
This looks like it handles kinda like RE4, which is dope. I always thought that it'd be more than possible to make a scary game using an engine/perspective like that.
Just watching the Gametrailers TV thing, and they talk about the 'stasis' stuff. That looks pretty neat. The melee looks pretty good too, punching and stomping monsters looks quite powerful.
Unless it's Madden under that welding mask, EA must be serious about adding variety to its portfolio of familiar licences. Dead Space isn't based on a sport, a children's novel, or a sport in a children's novel. It's not family friendly - it's not particularly friendly at all - and it's certainly not casual. In fact, it's a chance to remember how broad EA's output can be: this isn't from the company that made endless Sims 2 expansions, it's from the company that sits back patiently waiting for Spore to come to the boil, and recently allowed Criterion to drive Burnout so far out of its comfort zone.
That doesn't mean it isn't effective, however, and perhaps that's because, deep down, Dead Space doesn't have the loftiest of goals. "Today's demo is all about scaring the pants off you," says Derek Chan, the game's global product manager, before adding, possibly under threat of immediate termination, "It's also about polish and innovation."
It's soon clear that what it's really all about is atmosphere. The first sign is the dimming of the demo room lights - a masterstroke from the developers that ensures that half my notes end up written on my leg. What follows is a walkthrough, and subsequent hands-on, with the second chapter of the game - a chillsome plod around the Ishimura's medical wing.
Dead Space is certainly effective. While the design may be pedestrian - a sparking mess of heating ducts and smashed containment chambers, so generic as to be perversely comforting - the pacing and staging is often brilliant. Playing out in what are essentially a series of closed-off arenas, the game has a natural understanding of the correct balance of action and anticipation, and is constantly messing with its audiences' expectations. No monsters burst from these closets: most rooms, when first glimpsed through blinking overheads and flickering computer screens, initially appear empty, threats only sneaking into your peripheral vision after you've started to let yourself feel comfortable.
Making the most of a genuinely creepy soundtrack of clicks and gasps and full-bodied roars, the Necromorphs lurk and circle and wait, only rushing out - always nearer than anticipated - at the last minute. The stop-start blasts of intense, close-up violence that follow - tentacles lash around and talons plunge through skin - are then followed by further uneasy pauses before the second-wave attacks.
The whole process is aided by the intentionally sluggish pacing: whether it's crossing a room, reloading a weapon, or waiting for a door to slide open, everything takes a very long time to happen in Dead Space - a brilliant bit of Kubrickian design that elevates even the most mundane encounters.
Pacing isn't the only trick on display here. Other nice touches include the combat, which requires you to approach every type of Necromorph differently. Able to sprout limbs at will, it's essential to learn which body part of each flavour of beast to target first, taking it down before it evolves into something nastier. The development team are calling this "strategic dismemberment", and it works to turn each encounter into something of a puzzle. Tthe result, if you get it wrong, is often an animation of your head being ripped off.
The HUD is another elegant piece of implementation, placing all critical information within the world rather than plastered on top of the screen. Health is displayed by a strand of lights on the main character's spine, taking a cue from RoboBlitz (hopefully the only thing the developers have chosen to borrow). Equally, all guns have ammo meter holograms projected above them, and if you get lost, as you often will in this identikit dereliction of hallways and morgues, a click of the right-stick will project guidance markers onto the floor below you. Even the QTE button prompts sprout from the player's back - a somewhat annoying piece of cleverness, as it's all too easy to lose sight of them when you turn around during battles.
Guns are more of a mixed bag, shallow clips prescribing a measured style of play as survival-horrors tend to do. There's also a dizzying array of upgrades - including an unnecessary time-slowing function and an oddly clunky implementation of Half-Life 2's gravity gun - which suggests that Dead Space may be trying to take on too much. It's yet to be seen whether the rest of the game can comfortably provide the kind of variety to justify such an all-inclusive arsenal.
Over-complication may not be the only worry. As ever, the steady stream of choreographed shocks means that Dead Space is shaping up to be an extremely scripted game. Puzzle sections, such as the physics-bending zero-gravity rooms which allow you to walk the walls, turning geography into a challenge in a hunt for the exit, may mix things up somewhat, but even in the space of a short demo, you'll have ample time to tire slightly at the thought of replaying the same corridor, with the same surprises occurring at exactly the same moment each time.
To be fair, it's a problem none of Dead Space's peers have been able to shake, either, and perhaps the scripting simply goes with the territory. At least EA's game is confident in what it is: when the lights go out and the monsters flood in, you're left under no illusions that you're experiencing anything other than a fancy ghost train. It may suffer on repeated playthroughs, but for those willing to stump up the cost of the ticket, this slick and well-poised game could still be a lot of fun first time around the track. Dead Space isn't perfect, then, but it's already looking like a product with the unmistakable heft of hard work behind it. Success or failure, EA will struggle to churn out one of these every year.
As a large fan on Survival Horror (as I'm sure many others here are), I am more excited about this then I am for Resident Evil 5, or Silent Hill: Homecoming, and I am excited for both of those quite a lot.
I'm totally digging this game. I mean, when's the last time we had a sci-fi themed horror game? Run Like Hell? Echo Night Beyond? Yeah, neither of those were what I would call good. So, I can only hope that this delivers cuz I'm such a massive sci-fi/horror nerd that I want to play one game that's good.
And I'm with Igort, I enjoyed the arse of RE4, but if this takes the gameplay of that (which it sounds like it has), throws out the Spaniards and mud-encrusted villages (yup, gone) and brings in a sci-fi Event Horizon feel (so totally), then that is right up my street.
Can't wait.
edit: hell, someone mentioned Bioforge on here the other day. That was an EA game from way back when. If this does well, we should petition then for a sequel/remake.
I'm totally digging this game. I mean, when's the last time we had a sci-fi themed horror game? Run Like Hell? Echo Night Beyond? Yeah, neither of those were what I would call good. So, I can only hope that this delivers cuz I'm such a massive sci-fi/horror nerd that I want to play one game that's good.
And I'm with Igort, I enjoyed the arse of RE4, but if this takes the gameplay of that (which it sounds like it has), throws out the Spaniards and mud-encrusted villages (yup, gone) and brings in a sci-fi Event Horizon feel (so totally), then that is right up my street.
Can't wait.
edit: hell, someone mentioned Bioforge on here the other day. That was an EA game from way back when. If this does well, we should petition then for a sequel/remake.
Yeah, as much as I loved RE4, it just wasn't "scary" enough. This game looks like it might remedy that quite nicely.
The talk about the pacing has me very interested. One of the things I loved about F.E.A.R. was how it messed with your expectations. The number of times it would have you walk into a big arena that you subconsciously expect to be a setting for a colossal fight to break out, only to have you cautiously pick your way through, darting around cover, and walk out the other side without a single shot fired. It would do that repeatedly, each time you're expecting a fight to kick off, to be shot from out of nowhere, building up your own tension. Then just as you're starting to relax BLAMMO a huge fight kicks off.
If this has the same kind of attitude, rather than a Doom 3 "BOO, MONSTER CLOSET" at every turn, it'll be a good thing.
I dont mind identikit spaceship hallways. Or heavily scripted games.
Heck, Half Life 2, arguably one of the best games in a long time, is a corridor shooter. Valve just widened the corridors in some areas. Doom 3 was less scripted than HL2.
When someone criticises a game for being 'too scripted' you can kinda tell they are clutching at anything to complain about. Scripting, even 100% complete scripting of everything, is not bad. Call of Duty has been doing that for years, so have many other games.
I like scripted games.
Every time when a developer says 'We are trying to make this non scripted, with radiant AI and open environments' that almost always ends up in failure.
Here, the developer is essentially saying 'you know what ISN'T scary, non scripted environments. And you know what IS scary. Walking down a hallway and something grabbing you from behind.
The Event Horizon atmosphere seals the deal too. I also think he is slightly confused at what the gravity gun is supposed to be. Unlike HL I dont think it is a universal tool throughout, it solves puzzles in specific areas. Again, nothing wrong with that. Resi 4 had it. Most great games have 'the puzzle room'.
My only concern, if I have any, is that in every preview they have been playing up the story as being really good and really integral. I mean it could turn out great but they must understand there is nothing wrong with having a less meaningful story, or more cliched one. I mean look at Resi 4. It is essentially every horror and action movie of the last 10 years rolled into one amorphous mess. But it worked.
When they start talking about the depth of the narrative and the complex interactions I keep thinking 'you know what, Im sure you guys worked hard on the story, but make sure shooting aliens is fun first, then get round to spinning a yarn'
EA will see the hype that the game is getting on the Internet and tell the developers to cut back on a few features and the ending. It will suddenly (but the developer will claim it was always meant to be) a trilogy and we'll have to wait 4 years minimum before we get the full-featured third act.
Such a cliche.
You forgot that we, the market, don't eat that shit with a spoon (at least I sure won't), and the game will fall on it's face if it doesn't deliver at least a reasonable target.
Gears was unique in that it was the first 3rd person "squad" based "tactical" shooter.
It had a lot of hype and a good commercial vehicle going.
A lot of people felt a bit burned (especially by the PC port) and will be far more careful in the future I would think (and hope).
Whatever happened to that game that was supposed to be a trilogy where you had the powers. Advent Rising. Developer go out of business?
EA will see the hype that the game is getting on the Internet and tell the developers to cut back on a few features and the ending. It will suddenly (but the developer will claim it was always meant to be) a trilogy and we'll have to wait 4 years minimum before we get the full-featured third act.
Such a cliche.
You forgot that we, the market, don't eat that shit with a spoon (at least I sure won't), and the game will fall on it's face if it doesn't deliver at least a reasonable target.
Gears was unique in that it was the first 3rd person "squad" based "tactical" shooter.
It had a lot of hype and a good commercial vehicle going.
A lot of people felt a bit burned (especially by the PC port) and will be far more careful in the future I would think (and hope).
Whatever happened to that game that was supposed to be a trilogy where you had the powers. Advent Rising. Developer go out of business?
Yes they did.
Also, dont try to refute his points. The default position of the world is to assume EA is evil and trying to screw over the consumer. Despite the fact that some of the best games of last year were EA games. I mean I have a reputation on these forums as some kind of stealth EA apologist, I have even been accused of working for EA.
I used to hate EA as much as the next man. But come the fuck on guys. There is rational hate and irrational hate. And I for one am willing to give EA and its developers the benefit of the doubt in lieu of what has been shown so far. It looks great. Skate was amazing. Rock Band even better. Sure, they still have misses, but if Dead Space is the next skate quality of game then I will be very happy indeed and I dont think 'haha EA will cut stuff to make it a trilogy' is a very thought out or reasoned line of thought.
My only concern, if I have any, is that in every preview they have been playing up the story as being really good and really integral. I mean it could turn out great but they must understand there is nothing wrong with having a less meaningful story, or more cliched one. I mean look at Resi 4. It is essentially every horror and action movie of the last 10 years rolled into one amorphous mess. But it worked.
If the animated comics they're releasing are any indication, the effort they're spending on the story is not going to impact the gameplay.
Even the QTE button prompts sprout from the player's back - a somewhat annoying piece of cleverness, as it's all too easy to lose sight of them when you turn around during battles.
Random QTEs are a kick in the dick enough on their own, but QTEs with hidden prompts? o_O
Edit - Fuck you, bottom of page.
PeregrineFalcon on
Looking for a DX:HR OnLive code for my kid brother.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
As long as the story delivery is in ay way better than RE4, it can only be an improvement. The glut of 'conveniently placed notes' was just shambolic.
Don't hate on them just because they have an extensive yet unorganized memo delivery system. Even dirt farmers need to be kept in the loop, ya know. :P
On the topic of Dead Space now, I just really hope there isn't a lot of the monsters popping out from corners and holes inconveniently placed in the middle of a corridor. That gets really annoying.
I'm really interested in the zero gravity environments.
As long as the story delivery is in ay way better than RE4, it can only be an improvement. The glut of 'conveniently placed notes' was just shambolic.
Well, it looks like it's RE4-level in all of its terrible absurdity, generic cults, idiotic decisions out of nowhere, etc.. Seriously, download the comic, it's on Live right now.
I saw the first episode. Far-fetched story I can take, it's just the way that RE4 was populated with notes saying things like "Soon our plans for world domination will come to fruition, as we inject the you-know-what into you-know-who's daughter, and send her back home where she can overthrow the world. And don't let the American see this"
As long as Dead Space can better that, we're good.
Posts
i am very ok with that, if it's the case
as many others have said, there's not enough info for me to tell if i should be really excited about this or if it will end up as a big "meh" but i am cautiously optimistic. the style looks good and the enemy design seems like a combination of that bad jamie lee curtis movie "virus" and "the thing," which is fine by me. i suppose my biggest hope is that the game will create and keep an oppressive and tense atmosphere. as someone else said, over exposure to enemies/combat kills any tension that a game may have. but if they could successfully create and atmosphere of dread an unease and keep it up? woo.
apparently all you can hear is Issac's heartbeat and, if you're walking around on something that's floating in space, you can feel his footsteps or whatever else might be moving around.
That's awesome if they make any zero-atmosphere area completely mute.
That would be awesome, being only able to hear heartbeats (I'd figure breathing also? Panicked breathing, probably.) and possibly feel your (or their?) footsteps would be a wonderful way to increase tension and really create some terrifying atmosphere. Especially if you feel footsteps but don't see anything, then turn around and it's right behind you.
ammo displayed on guns, life displayed on suit's spine
i doubt it will be scary any more than DOGS COME IN THROUGH THE WINDOW but hey that's fine a little disappointing but fine
monsters are a little naff through, like they got some scythes and some fleshy blobs and snapped them together in random places
Also, www.deadspace.ea.com has an ongoing animated comic book prequel going on.
It's pretty good.
Yeah, that's my primary concern as well. The monsters really aren't great designs. Rest of the game looks awesome, though.
They are saying that sections with no atmosphere are realistic in their ambient sound.
Due to Isaac having a metal suit you will hear sounds, kinda like if you put your head under the water in a bath and hit the side.
There will also be zero gravity sections with atmosphere, as they arent mutually exclusive.
EA will see the hype that the game is getting on the Internet and tell the developers to cut back on a few features and the ending. It will suddenly (but the developer will claim it was always meant to be) a trilogy and we'll have to wait 4 years minimum before we get the full-featured third act.
Such a cliche.
That's cool, I guess.
Hey, look at Gears.
Gears was fun. Could it have been more fun? Probably. Doesnt make it less fun than it was, which was highly fun.
Btw, that monster in the first trailer looked suspiciously much like a Tyranid Lictor. Oh, and that fat one running towards the camera was definitely Nurgle-ish. Nothing wrong with that though.
because he's a little tool
Haha, yeah! That's it.
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=146197
There are also screenshots, and it looks good.
Here's to hoping it's as good as it sounds/looks.
Hey!
American McGee's alice was cool.
No he doesn't.
And I'm with Igort, I enjoyed the arse of RE4, but if this takes the gameplay of that (which it sounds like it has), throws out the Spaniards and mud-encrusted villages (yup, gone) and brings in a sci-fi Event Horizon feel (so totally), then that is right up my street.
Can't wait.
edit: hell, someone mentioned Bioforge on here the other day. That was an EA game from way back when. If this does well, we should petition then for a sequel/remake.
Resident evil has the t-virus and the plagas.
They come from science.
Yeah, as much as I loved RE4, it just wasn't "scary" enough. This game looks like it might remedy that quite nicely.
If this has the same kind of attitude, rather than a Doom 3 "BOO, MONSTER CLOSET" at every turn, it'll be a good thing.
Heck, Half Life 2, arguably one of the best games in a long time, is a corridor shooter. Valve just widened the corridors in some areas. Doom 3 was less scripted than HL2.
When someone criticises a game for being 'too scripted' you can kinda tell they are clutching at anything to complain about. Scripting, even 100% complete scripting of everything, is not bad. Call of Duty has been doing that for years, so have many other games.
I like scripted games.
Every time when a developer says 'We are trying to make this non scripted, with radiant AI and open environments' that almost always ends up in failure.
Here, the developer is essentially saying 'you know what ISN'T scary, non scripted environments. And you know what IS scary. Walking down a hallway and something grabbing you from behind.
The Event Horizon atmosphere seals the deal too. I also think he is slightly confused at what the gravity gun is supposed to be. Unlike HL I dont think it is a universal tool throughout, it solves puzzles in specific areas. Again, nothing wrong with that. Resi 4 had it. Most great games have 'the puzzle room'.
My only concern, if I have any, is that in every preview they have been playing up the story as being really good and really integral. I mean it could turn out great but they must understand there is nothing wrong with having a less meaningful story, or more cliched one. I mean look at Resi 4. It is essentially every horror and action movie of the last 10 years rolled into one amorphous mess. But it worked.
When they start talking about the depth of the narrative and the complex interactions I keep thinking 'you know what, Im sure you guys worked hard on the story, but make sure shooting aliens is fun first, then get round to spinning a yarn'
You forgot that we, the market, don't eat that shit with a spoon (at least I sure won't), and the game will fall on it's face if it doesn't deliver at least a reasonable target.
Gears was unique in that it was the first 3rd person "squad" based "tactical" shooter.
It had a lot of hype and a good commercial vehicle going.
A lot of people felt a bit burned (especially by the PC port) and will be far more careful in the future I would think (and hope).
Whatever happened to that game that was supposed to be a trilogy where you had the powers. Advent Rising. Developer go out of business?
Yes they did.
Also, dont try to refute his points. The default position of the world is to assume EA is evil and trying to screw over the consumer. Despite the fact that some of the best games of last year were EA games. I mean I have a reputation on these forums as some kind of stealth EA apologist, I have even been accused of working for EA.
I used to hate EA as much as the next man. But come the fuck on guys. There is rational hate and irrational hate. And I for one am willing to give EA and its developers the benefit of the doubt in lieu of what has been shown so far. It looks great. Skate was amazing. Rock Band even better. Sure, they still have misses, but if Dead Space is the next skate quality of game then I will be very happy indeed and I dont think 'haha EA will cut stuff to make it a trilogy' is a very thought out or reasoned line of thought.
If the animated comics they're releasing are any indication, the effort they're spending on the story is not going to impact the gameplay.
Random QTEs are a kick in the dick enough on their own, but QTEs with hidden prompts? o_O
Edit - Fuck you, bottom of page.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Don't hate on them just because they have an extensive yet unorganized memo delivery system. Even dirt farmers need to be kept in the loop, ya know. :P
On the topic of Dead Space now, I just really hope there isn't a lot of the monsters popping out from corners and holes inconveniently placed in the middle of a corridor. That gets really annoying.
I'm really interested in the zero gravity environments.
My god.
Gamertag: PrimusD | Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Well, it looks like it's RE4-level in all of its terrible absurdity, generic cults, idiotic decisions out of nowhere, etc.. Seriously, download the comic, it's on Live right now.
As long as Dead Space can better that, we're good.