I loved the first Dead Space. For me it was a landmark title on the current generation of consoles, and not since the first Silent Hill did a game leave me so petrified.
The idea of creating a Dead Space game on Apple’s smaller handheld devices is a curious one.
The original game is both atmospheric and downright scary, especially when played on a big television screen, on your own and in the dark – so I was curious to see how well the experience would translate into a handheld device.
Taking control of a character who refers to himself as Vandal, the game takes place just before the events of Dead Space 2. Being a member of the religious cult responsible for it all, Vandal takes it upon himself to sort out this unholy mess and offers his services to cleanse the Sprawl (A space station built on a shard of one of Jupiter’s moons) from the Necromorph infestation (Terrifying zombie-like monsters).
I had reservations about an app store version of a Dead Space game, partly because of the touchscreen controls. In my opinion, all too often games that are ported across to the iPad lose a certain element of connection that cannot be replicated with a swipe or a prod on a screen, and usually leave me longing for Apple to release a Bluetooth joypad.
Dead Space, however, has clearly been built from the ground up – specifically designed for the format, with the controls being surprisingly responsive. Unlike other iPad games, the virtual controls are barely noticeable, in fact they are some of the least intrusive I've ever seen on the format.
Controlling Vandal is simple enough – you use your left hand to make him move around and your right hand to see where he is looking. When he approaches an item, tapping it will usually pick it up, and the same action is applied to opening doors.
Coming equipped with some of the best tools from the first game, Vandal usually relies on his trusty plasma cutter. Quickly tilting the iPad to the left or right will change the axis of the weapon - something that encourages you to act fast if you want to dismember the quick-moving Necromorphs that all too often jump out of the floor/ceiling/corpse (delete where appropriate).
Fans of Dead Space will be glad to see all the visual trademarks from the series are still there.
The minimalistic HUD is still present, with Vandal's health displayed on his back and, naturally, the game is displayed as an over-the-shoulder 3rd-person shooter, making for a rather claustrophobic experience.
Like the first game, the sound plays a big part in the game.
In fact, whenever you boot the game up it reminds you that for the best experience you should really play it with earphones on. Clearly, it’s a element of the game that the developers feel pretty proud of.
When the game is loud the proceedings are often quite frantic, however when nothing much is happening the silence is pretty deafening, and creates an almost unbearable level of tension. When wondering down an empty corridor, there’ll be a loud orchestral stab just as a Necromorph comes into sight and quickly disappears.
On more than several occasions this trick had me bricking it.
I'll be honest here, I’m impressed by this game. This isn’t some quick cash-in effort on EA Mobiles part. It is a solid experience that is part and parcel of the Dead Space series, and clearly is a labour of love by the developers.
Simply put, buy this game.
Verdict: 9 out of 10
The good
- Atmospheric
- Good story
- Visually strong
The bad
- Bit pricy, compared to other apps
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