So obviously as you can see from the previous post we here at Finish Them aren't the biggest fans of EA. I could go into further reasons why but I thought I'd talking about one thing EA did right, and why they need to keep doing this like this to help improve their image.
The thing they did right? Making Deadspace. I don't mean the fact that they made the game, I mean the decisions they made in the design of Deadspace that resulted in perhaps the best survival horror game I've played in a long long time.
Constant Tension
A good survival horror game doesn't necessarily need to scare you, just keep you in a constant state of tension not knowing when something is going to jump out at you. Resident Evil 4 didn't really do a good job with this, though it had its moments, and had lots of well scripted encounters. Dead Space though, through its lighting effects, scripted scenes etc. does a fantastic job of making you wonder when the heck the next encounter with a monster will take place. I don't want to ruin anything, but its fair to say the game does not want you to ever feel comfortable. Often I've seen in survival horror games there's a few random scripted events to scare you and not much else other than creepy environments and monsters etc. Though its monsters or setting may not be all that original, it more than makes up for it in its execution.
Design Design Design
If you want to immerse a player in your game world, the worst possible thing you can do is clutter it with UI that reminds you that you are in fact playing a game. Dead Space ignores usual conventions and makes absolutely makes ever meter/ menu (save the pause menu which is fine) / video communication part of the in game world. Your health meter is on the back of your character, same for the air meter. Opening your inventory happens on a pop-up menu in front of the character, video communications the same way. Most importantly of all, you are always (pretty much) in control of your character during "cut scenes". These all sound like little things, but when you play the game you will appreciate them immensely. What separates Dead Space from a lot of other good survival horror games is it absolutely gets the little things right.
Combat
I wont spend a lot of time on the combat, because there's no secret to why it works. It plays out almost exactly like Resident Evil 4/5 type combat, except you can move while shooting, which many players who aren't used to RE type games will appreciate. Not that I don't dislike RE's combat, but given Dead Space's constant state of tension you NEED to have this ability. Everything here just works, having to aim for limbs forces you to fight in a way you're not used to, and weapons having secondary fire modes adds some variety. Like I said, there's no secret to why it works, and it does nothing new other than the way you have to fight the base enemies, but it is executed very well and that's what matters.
If you can't innovate, execute execute EXECUTE!
Dead Space doesn't do anything. Its setting isn't original. What it does do however, is execute its experience very well, and provides a fantastic tension filled survival horror experience. Here's hoping the sequel doesn't require you to pay extra money for core features if you buy it used... :)
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