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Games => General Gaming => Topic started by: idolminds on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 12:54:37 PM

Title: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: idolminds on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 12:54:37 PM

Linky (http://news.bigdownload.com/2008/10/14/contest-dead-space-pc-game-giveaway/)

All you have to do is leave a comment on the story and they'll randomly pick someone to win a copy of Dead Space for PC.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 06:48:45 PM

That would be awesome if it was a DRM-free copy.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 07:10:44 PM

Quote from: Quemaqua on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 06:48:45 PM

That would be awesome if it was a DRM-free copy.

So agreed.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: idolminds on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 07:41:12 PM

Oh, its got the DRM in it as well? Shit.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 07:48:23 PM

EA has stated all their games will use SecuROM.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: idolminds on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 08:18:45 PM

Shit. Again.

*looks over at Mirrors Edge and Rage*

Double shit.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 08:30:53 PM

I still don't fucking understand why id went over to them.  That infuriates me like crazy.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 10:30:33 PM

I'm guessing it had something to do with money.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Xessive on Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 03:29:52 AM

I think id would have considered Atari if they were'nt on a downward slope. I'm not praising Atari, they're just the lesser of two evils at this point.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Pugnate on Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 06:07:39 AM

Quote from: gpw11 on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 10:30:33 PM

I'm guessing it had something to do with money.

:D

Quote

I think id would have considered Atari if they were'nt on a downward slope. I'm not praising Atari, they're just the lesser of two evils at this point.

They are also not in the same league. Everything Atari touches, seems to be a stinker at the sales department. Alone in the Dark was their big trump card, and look what happened to that.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: iPPi on Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 12:20:56 PM

Just get the console version if you don't want to deal with the DRM issues it presents on the PC. 

Also, this game looks very interesting.  I followed the animated comic series released online and I really want to play this game.  I don't know if I will though with so many big games coming in the next couple weeks.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 02:26:16 PM

Quote from: Pugnate on Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 06:07:39 AM

:D

They are also not in the same league. Everything Atari touches, seems to be a stinker at the sales department. Alone in the Dark was their big trump card, and look what happened to that.

AITD 2008 came out too early.

AITD 2008 will be fine, if and when we PC gamers get that patch the other two versions are getting to fix ALL of the issues with the game next month on the X360 AND the patched version with extra content coming for the PS3....
(See my AITD 2008 thread for more info on this)

I wrote to Eden Games about this. I am hoping for a response....this century...

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: sirean_syan on Thursday, October 16, 2008, 01:05:47 AM

I'd like to add that this really is a damn fine game. Think, more or less, Resident Evil 4 with a sci-fi theme. While that statement will give you the general gist of the experience, it doesn't really convey just how well the game does stuff with its atmosphere an combat.

Visually, the game manages to merge gritty sci-fi like the ship from the original Alien and clean visual technology almost like the computers from Minority Report, although that stuff has a harder edge to it with visual elements like scan lines and such. Overall it, it creates a pretty believable take on the future where form follows function, but it still looks futuristic. When you start adding all the lighting effects and levels of shadow that would make Doom III look almost bright, the environments take on a life of their own. You constantly see things moving in the shadows. To the game's credit, those things will come out and attack you just enough to make you believe what you see. Actually, it sort of makes me think that if System Shock was made today there's a good chance it would look and feel like this.

Then there's the combat. The best word I can think of to describe it would be hefty. Every attack, yours or the enemy's, has a sense of weight to it so all the weapons feel effective and getting hit by an enemy is something to be feared. There isn't a great number of enemy types so far, but things are dynamic enough that it keeps things fresh. You can blow of limbs and such, but that often won't kill an enemy and instead alters how they come at you. Blow off a leg, they try to crawl at you. Shoot of their head, they claw wildly in all directions. It's pretty satisfying, but it also serves a purpose. More often than not, you won't be able to take enemies down fast enough unless you use the precious big gun ammo, so you have to slow the guys down, reposition, and finish them off. Also keeping you on your toes, sometimes it seems like guys will play dead for a little so they can surprise you later. All the weapons are pretty interesting too and serve some sort unique purpose, so you'll approach fights differently depending on your loadout.

Like RE4, I don't imagine this will work well with a mouse and keyboard. I think you've all had that debate, so I suppose it depends on where you sit on the issue. I don't believe having ultra precise control is good for the game, but I don't fault these games for actually taking advantage of what should be a limitation of controllers to make shooting more interesting.

So yeah, I think if you're interested in the game I'd suggest a console version if you have the means, especially if the idea of the DRM bugs you. EA did right here on the game development front, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to show them that this is a good thing and worth supporting.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: iPPi on Thursday, October 16, 2008, 05:25:48 AM

Cool stuff.  I'm not extremely interested in trying this out.  I really want to get this, but with a lot of big budget titles coming in the next few weeks, I'm not sure if I will or not.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Thursday, October 16, 2008, 07:52:33 AM

I definitely plan to, and with Sy's recommendation's coming as much as they have been, now doubly so.  Plus it's been a while since we've had a good sci-fi horror game.  As much as I want SH5, it hasn't been that long since I played a good SH game.  Considerably longer since a good abandoned-spaceship-spooky-shooter.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Cobra951 on Thursday, October 16, 2008, 11:11:45 AM

That does sound good.  This game sneaked up on me, but only because I didn't pay attention.  Now I am.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, October 16, 2008, 01:52:21 PM

When the PC version gets much cheaper and/or the DRM is lessened, yeah -- this one looks like must-play stuff.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Thursday, October 16, 2008, 09:27:36 PM

I have to echo most of Sy's statements.  Picked this up today and have given it a good few hours, and it's pretty amazingly cool.  I think that's actually the biggest thing in its favor: it's cool.  I mean, it's a standard sci-fi story thus far (though I've seen hints of where it may be going), and even a fairly standard setup, but everything is just so cool.  Your ship is cool, the ship you go to is cool, your suit is cool, the way your guy's HUD (which isn't a HUD to you, but sort of pops up in front of him as an actual 3D hologram -- has to be seen to be appreciated, trust me) is fucking cool, the enemies are cool (at least if you're a big fan of The Thing), the weapons are cool, the upgrade system is cool... that's really the best word I can use to define the game.  That isn't to say it's pure novelty, because the core mechanics are very solid and the story is being told convincingly with high production values, originality of setup aside.

Gameplay isn't revolutionary, but it's very satisfying.  As Sy said, you get a real nice sense of impact when you or an enemy lands a hit, and it helps that the animation is absolutely top notch.  Whoever animated this thing would have the right to be obscenely proud.  It just flows really well, and so not only do you have the great audio punch of impact, but also the visual punch, plus the mechanical punch.

Fortunately, the audiovisual stuff is pretty prevalent all over.  There are tons of nice touches on both counts, and while this isn't necessarily the most amazing-looking game you've ever seen, it's an extremely cohesive package that feels and looks really natural, and makes great use of the effects it employs.  It's very, very good looking.  The design is fairly reminiscent of Doom 3 on both fronts, perhaps not so surprisingly.  This game feels like it took a lot of inspiration from id, though I really don't mean that in a bad way.  I thought Chris Vrenna's environmental cues were brilliant there, and this has a very similar feel, with the various sounds of the ship sort of coming across as almost vaguely musical at times, often adding a sense of relief or foreboding to a given scene.  Atmosphere is palpable, due not only to great audio but also very rich visual acoustics.  You get a real sense of depth and substance from the mist and smoke effects, and the cinematic flair of the game is very evident right from the start.  It sets up some great scenes even with the camera stuck behind the main character.  And when you lose a little control and watch something, they do a pretty great job so far of making it just great to watch, and the seamless nature of that loss and regaining of control is well done and very natural feeling.  In fact, one cutscene did a masterful job of integrating a little bit of control with what was essentially "supposed to happen".

Anyway, whoever is truly behind this game did a remarkable job just with the design elements alone, and that well-laid framework seems to have brought what might have been a standard action game into something much, much more intriguing.  I'd say the game more or less plays like a faster, more fluid RE4.  It's similar, but the movement of it is much quicker, you can think on your feet and rely on your instincts more, and quick thinking can become quick action which can become a great shot or two in the heat of battle or on the tail of an abmush.  As far as mouse control... I don't know that I feel as bad about it as Sy does.  I've already found that with less precise control I'm still doing a lot of precision shooting, and my one weapon so far has at times had so much ammo I can barely hold anything else!

But yeah, this is great.  If you're even remotely interested in the basic premise, I can't imagine you being disappointed.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: sirean_syan on Thursday, October 16, 2008, 10:48:06 PM

I had the same "problem" with ammo going early on, but as things are continuing on I'm noticing my reserve is getting noticeably smaller. While I haven't gone dry at a horrible time yet, I no longer have stacks of stuff to fall back on should I get into a prolonged fight. There was a cool moment tonight where I pulled out the flamethrower to fry a swarm of guys only to pull the trigger with no effect. I was worried for a second that I forgot to load it up before trekking out, but then I remembered that I was in a vacuum at the time and a flamethrower wouldn't be able to operate without air. It was a great little panic moment while I had to consider my options because I loaded up the flamethrower for exactly that sort of situation and didn't really have a great fallback weapon and most everything else would eat up more ammo that I wanted it to.

I've also had plenty of precision with the controller controls. My point is having more would sort of feel unnatural. Since placing shots well is a large part of the game, being able to line up shots nearly instantly would kill much of the tension. That's probably the thing with mouse control. You can get precise with the controller, but you can be precise and quick with a mouse. Being able to cut off a leg and then pop off a head within the space of a second wouldn't allow for that second of worrying as the creature starts to crawl towards you.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Thursday, October 16, 2008, 11:13:50 PM

I guess that's true, though I don't think it would hurt as much as you do.  I guess mostly because the game lacks fear for me.  It doesn't even feel as scary as Doom 3.  I was just talking about this in IRC with idol.  The guy is just so... awesome looking.  But it's also the way he animates.  He just looks so unbelievably confident and ready when he's got his gun aimed and he's walking.  It's almost inspiring, and I find myself doubting that anybody could fuck with him successfully, crazy monster dude or otherwise.

But my heavens this game is gory.  I don't think I've ever seen a game gorier than this one.

Quote

<@Sirean|gone> I don't think the story is going to really pull anything unexpected. As it is, it's more or less going to do the whole Event Horizon/the Thing/Alien rundown, which is fine since it's doing it all so well and doesn't really seem to just be an homage to all those things.
<@Quemaqua> Yeah, that's the thing... it just does it all so well, who cares?
<@Quemaqua> That doesn't really help it be scary, but I don't really need scary when I've got dumptrucks-full-of-meat gore levels and tight action with cool monsters and powerful weapons.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Friday, October 17, 2008, 07:13:52 PM

X360 Reviews
9.0 from GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/deadspace/video/6199373/dead-space-video-review-1?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;watch-review)
8.7 from IGN (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/918/918892p1.html)

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: iPPi on Friday, October 17, 2008, 11:11:22 PM

Picked this up tonight.  Really tense atmosphere... gameplay isn't revolutionary, but the game remains fun nonetheless.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Saturday, October 18, 2008, 07:40:37 AM

I think I was actually a little wrong to dismiss the scare factor so quick.  It still doesn't really strike me as all that scary, but after playing a really long session with it and going to bed immediately after, it took me a while to get the images out of my head so I could sleep.  That doesn't necessarily equal scary, but there's just so much of that kind of grotesquery that I think it seeped into my head a little more than I'd have liked.  Because it didn't feel superfluous, it felt like they were fairly sure of the direction they wanted to head in and what they wanted to use the gore for, if you know what I mean.  I think it was pretty successful there.  The stuff doesn't feel cheap, it feels like (this sounds funny, but you know what I mean) enriches the space the game lives in.

Anyway, I haven't gotten to play at all for a while, so hopefully I'll get some in today.  Going to check out the comics and the noknownsurvivors.com site as well.

EDIT - I'd just like it noted that I found a pretty seriously fun easter egg in the game, and I think I'm the first person to actually do it (or at least proclaim it).  I don't see anything about it online via search engines, or anything even on the steps that I took to get there, either in picture, video, or written format.  I see something on a site relating to some cheat codes you can enter, which may have something to do with it, but nothing on the steps taken to get there or what I found.  The official forums have nothing, either.

Haha, how fun.  I didn't expect what I did would really lead to anything, and it was fairly difficult to do since it actually involved guessing at some stuff without proof, and even harder to then put it together and realize what I was actually looking at.  I'm very pleased with myself right now.

UPDATE - Apparently it was already found.  Aw.  But it looks like the information was leaked before the game even came out, and the people talking about it were already plainly aware of its existence.  So fuck 'em, they didn't do shit.

EDIT x2 - This game is cooler than I gave it credit for.  While on one hand some facets of the alien menace are a little more predictable than I'd like, the backstory is stepping up and being what really differentiates this from other games.  It isn't necessarily the most different thing ever, but it's different enough to be a twist on the usual.  I ran across a room in my Hard game today that I'd missed on Medium, and it had a video plus some text that explained a whole hell of a lot, and it hit me just how different the humanity of the game's world is from our own.  Well, not necessarily so different, but it's had I think 500 years to grow more defective in some ways, to get over certain moral quandaries, and to just sort of... shift a little.  I'm actually more eager than ever to dig into some of the background stuff that the game doesn't even get into, and I'm hoping that as they continue the franchise, they'll make use of more of those tantalizing bits.  Gears of War seemed to have a great universe too, but it was COMPLETELY WORTHLESS because Epic, in their glorious stupidity, decided it would be more fun to just ignore that entirely and focus on shooting shit in the face.  Dead Space is proof that you can have a great action game that's tense, scary, and also has a story that can be frequently alluded to to enhance the experience, and even just doing that in small ways still makes a big difference.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: iPPi on Sunday, October 19, 2008, 12:01:19 PM

Yea there's quite a bit of backstory behind this game.  The animated comics were quite good and I'm interested in the movie that's being released in 2 weeks.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Sunday, October 19, 2008, 01:00:23 PM

I hate and loathe the animation style being used for the movie, but I'm totally going to pick it up anyway because I want more story.  I loved the comics (well, I'm only up to 3, but so far they're really good -- I anticipate getting the hardback edition of the trade paperback they're releasing).

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, October 19, 2008, 03:15:44 PM

WhatIfGaming.com is complaining about the PC Version's controls for Dead Space PC (http://whatifgaming.com/dead-space-pc-version-perplexed-with-control-problems-and-issues-not-fluid-enough)

Quote

For all our hardcore PC audience, that means everyone of you, we recently got hands on with an early copy of EA’s Dead Space for the PC. Good news? It’s still Dead Space!

Bad news? The controls are 2nd to the worst controls we’ve seen ever since Path of Neo came to the PC platforms. The smoothness compared to consoles is just not there, and from what we can tell it doesn’t seem like a patch can fix most of the issues. Inventory stack access becomes frustrating when fighting with monsters and aiming for on-the-fly changes. The controls just aren’t smooth. When contacting EA Redwood Shores regarding these issues:

   

Quote from: EA Redwood

Dead Space for PC is an equivalent experience to that on consoles. The controls are different and customizable, but we feel it’s in the best ability for the players to match what the console experience is like.

It’s ironic that it needs to be argued that it matches the console experience from the controls in EA’s eyes.  The fact isn’t a matter of customization as much as it’s just not feasible to do most of the mapped controls on the keyboard and still maintain a fluid transition between interface and gameplay. If you have a console, go with the console version of Dead Space. The PC one is just not the same thing. If you’re tight on $20 extra for the console version, rent it and then settle for the PC one after. It’s such a shame.

Posted By: Usman Ihtsham
ON Saturday, October 18th, 2008
2:30 PM

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: iPPi on Monday, October 20, 2008, 07:42:17 AM

This game is awesome.  I'm progressing fairly slow through it at the moment, and I can't figure out why some doors are locked and I can't find a key or something to open it, but the overall experience is really good.

The sound is absolutely phenomenal. 

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Monday, October 20, 2008, 08:32:41 AM

To me the sound design is very, very, very similar to Doom 3.  I'd say this is the only sci-fi/horror game to date to ever match the atmosphere of Doom 3, so it's funny that it borrows so many facets from that title.  In fact, this game feels to me like it borrowed almost every single idea it ever had from some game or movie, and while that would normally be a bad thing, for some reason it just feels right.  It's like a hodgepodge of every cool thing you could ever want, and since they did it with so much care and affection, you end up with this practically religious experience for any sci-fi/horror nut.  It is scary (or at worst, consistently unsettling, which is just fine), it does have that "cool" factor regarding all the weapons, your suit, the ship designs, etc., it's got the lighting down, it's got the ambient noise and atmosphere down, it's got the dynamic music stuff going for it (which is more effective than I'd have thought initially), and it's got a real survival horror feel to it while still allowing you to plow through hordes of bad guys at times almost as though you were a thick-necked space marine (but never so well that you feel like you're an ultra badass -- at least on Hard).  The material it borrows is obvious and the list goes on for a mile and a half: Aliens, Event Horizon, The Thing, Silent Hill, Resident Evil 4, Doom 3; and yet it somehow still feels fresh and original, even if certain plot elements are a little recycled.  All this, and it does actually reward skill consistently like a good action game should, despite some leanings toward survival horror.

I'm definitely consistently impressed by it.  I do wish they'd taken a little more care to leave out certain done-to-death elements that others have worn out before they ever got to them, but all in all, I accept those for what they are for the simple fact that the game is engaging me with stuff that I like more often than it does anything else.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Monday, October 20, 2008, 05:29:45 PM

PC Version reviews
8.0 from GamesRadar (http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/dead-space/review/dead-space/a-20081020112112859019/g-20080303156783069)

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Monday, October 20, 2008, 10:25:04 PM

The one thing I really agree with in that review is the mission objectives.  Now, generally what happens on the way to each objective is completely awesome, and there are a few that break the monotony a little, but you do generally get the feeling that you have to run around and fix shit too much.  So while that does unfortunately hurt the impetus to actually get off your ass to go complete the mission, it ultimately isn't a huge deal since the meat of the game is all about what happens as you attempt to complete these objectives, not really the objectives themselves.  But still, a little variety would have gone a long way, if only to just alleviate the groans when the NPC urgently calls you with the latest crisis you need to help solve.  It makes it a little harder to take seriously.

Can't say I feel like the story is bland, though.  There are a few too many borrowed elements, to be sure, which is a problem the game faces in a lot of different ways as I discussed before, but ultimately I think the story is different on the whole, even if a few of the specifics fall a little flat.  There's some cool stuff happening, and the strange link between an organized group and a strange lifeform is really intriguing to me.

Just got to chapter 8 tonight, probably halfway through it.  Unfortunately we had to stop at like the worst possible moment.  I want to know what's going to happen so bad.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: PyroMenace on Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 03:57:43 AM

Brad Shoemaker really liked it over at Giantbomb, gave it 5/5 stars. Im like... wanting it more now.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 07:55:29 PM

Brad is cool.

Also, from the Fallout 3 thread, where we somehow started talking about this game, I posted the following on the rumored PC control problems:

Quote

All I can say is that every single link I found on google regarding "dead space pc controls" just came with a link to that WhatIfGaming place, so I'm almost ready to cry bullshit.  Seriously, every single link is just someone reporting what they said, and who the fuck ever even heard of these people?  I sure haven't.  And nobody else seems to be complaining, so... I have no idea.  It'd be nice to get a 2nd opinion.



 ... and after a little more searching, it appears the problem may be related to some systems and not others.  Some people don't have any idea what the naysayers are talking about and report the controls work perfectly fine, or exactly like the console versions.  And some people seem to have issues with mouse/keyboard and controller both, indicating something is up with their rig and the game, not just the game itself universally.  And it very much sounds like something that could be patched up, and hopefully will be soon.  One guy I'm reading here says that when he's in a detail-light corridor and trying to aim, the response is super sluggish, but when he's in an area with tons of detail, his aim flies all over the place super fast.  So there definitely is something funny, and it's definitely not affecting everyone.

Take that for what it's worth.

Also, one of the guys I work with is playing this now.  He asked me if I'd played Silent Hill Homecoming yet.  It was like a happy ray of sunshine in my day to know somebody employed at the same place I am is just as screwed up in the head.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 08:07:30 PM

Quote from: Quemaqua on Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 07:55:29 PM

Also, one of the guys I work with is playing this now.  He asked me if I'd played Silent Hill Homecoming yet.  It was like a happy ray of sunshine in my day to know somebody employed at the same place I am is just as screwed up in the head.

*taps foot and (im)patiently waits for this Dead Space thread to suddenly turn into the SH: Homecoming thread.*

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 08:11:19 PM

Awwww.  Que made a new friend at work.  NOW KILL HIM.


Uh, anyways, I checked out gamefaqs.com on the Dead Space PC thing.  I don't have a whole lot of faith in those clowns, but that's where the Vsync thing came up, and people there claimed it either worked or enabling Vsync brought the problem on when they weren't experiencing it before.  Take that as you will.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 08:30:28 PM

Hey, I'm just hoping that issue gets resolved for all PC game reviewers out there...

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Ghandi on Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 10:36:13 PM

Quote from: gpw11 on Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 08:11:19 PM

Awwww.  Que made a new friend at work.  NOW KILL HIM.

hahaha...

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Pugnate on Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 04:43:39 AM

Quote

All I can say is that every single link I found on google regarding "dead space pc controls" just came with a link to that WhatIfGaming place, so I'm almost ready to cry bullshit.  Seriously, every single link is just someone reporting what they said, and who the fuck ever even heard of these people?  I sure haven't.  And nobody else seems to be complaining, so... I have no idea.  It'd be nice to get a 2nd opinion.p

hahaha that's what my reaction was when I did a search on gooogle. I saw about 20 links posting the news as if it were some fact, with lots of angry people in the comments section when I noticed they were all citing the same source.

But then again, I did notice Dan Stapleton and someone at IGN claim they experienced the same problem. IGN even said the problem couldn't be fixed, but that's obviously a ridiculous notion.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Cobra951 on Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 09:34:26 AM

If this is true, then I have to assume the culprit is mouse-tracking code that goes dead on the long wait for vertical retrace, but shouldn't.  No matter how you implement vsync, a lot of dead time is necessary, but only for rendering and displaying.  So yes, saying it can't be fixed is bullshit.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 01:56:24 PM

It's up to EA to decide if they want to try to fix the problem or not, not IGN.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, October 26, 2008, 06:52:50 AM

EA plans to do more original IP's.
They're basically going to use Dead Space as their business model on how to do this.

They pumped out a comic and direct-to-DVD flick FIRST, basically as sets up for their upcoming game. (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170918)

Quote

1UP News

EA Sees Dead Space as a Model for Their Future
Electronic Arts shifting away from licenses and toward original IPs.
By Kris Pigna, 10/25/2008
Dead Space screenshot

Electronic Arts' recently released survival horror game Dead Space is, after Boom Blox, Spore, and Army of Two, the fourth game the publisher released this year that was built on an entirely new IP -- and there's still Mirror's Edge on the way in November. For a company that has become inexorably linked to licensed games, sports games, and sequels, that's pretty damn astounding. And as Variety's The Cut Scene blog reports, it's a new trend that EA sees as the model for their future operations.

"We found a few years ago that we had a set of problems where EA's reputation became one of just doing sports games, sequels, and licenses and the market was reacting to newer properties like Grand Theft Auto and Halo," said the suddenly omnipresent Frank Gibeau, president of the EA Games label. "At the same time, movie and sports licensors started jacking up their rates and it was becoming less profitable to chase licenses."

Hence EA's shift in focusing more on original games, with Dead Space being the first title in a program they call "IP cubed" -- games with original intellectual properties that are planned from the outset to transition into other media, rather than have them become successful games first, and try to transfer them to other media later. With Dead Space, for instance, there has already been a comic book and a direct-to-DVD animated film based on the game.

"People used to think of things like that as a distraction, but I think our game is stronger because of the influence of the comics and the animated movie," said Glenn Schofield, general manager of EA's Redwood Shores studio and executive producer of Dead Space. "Everyone internally is looking at Dead Space as the model now because there's just so much content that we've generated."

In the fuller transcript of Variety's interview with Gibeau and Schofield, a few more interesting tidbits were revealed about the future of EA, and Dead Space in particular. For one, Schofield said that a Dead Space sequel was already in the works, although obviously there weren't any specific details given about it. Schofield also confirmed that they're "talking to movie studios right now" about creating a (presumably live-action) Dead Space film; this comes after the recent revelation that EA is developing an Army of Two movie with Universal. And speaking of Army of Two, Gibeau also stated that they have a "sequel idea planned" for Army of Two, as well as for Battlefield: Bad Company.

Clearly, EA hasn't given up on sequels entirely. What, did you think they lost their minds?

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Monday, October 27, 2008, 11:55:17 PM

Ok, I bought this.  I can't comment on mouse controls at the moment (although it did seem like it was more sluggish in menus before I turned Vsync off), but it definitly has a problem with my XBCD drivers Xbox Controller S combo.  Specifically, the D-pad makes the thing crash like a motherfucker.  I have a 360 wireless PC controller on the way, so I'll probably wait and play it with that.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 12:44:34 AM

Ok, Imma gonna double post here.  I decided to go back in to try it with the mouse and keyboard.  3 things:

- I didn't play long, but from what I could tell the controls weren't "glitched", they just aren't as responsive as most PC games. This specifically refers to mouse look and it seems to me that it's this way by design.  What I think adds to it to for some people is the overall "chunkiness" of the controls.  It kind of seemed like a cross between an FPS and Resident Evil.  Again, I think it's supposed to be this way and I think people just aren't taking that into account.  The slightly lumbering/clumsy feel adds to the atmosphere.

-XBCD does not work with this game at all.  I will try it out with the 360 pad when I get it because I respect Que and take his advice to heart.

-The game seems like it seriously rocks.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 07:02:11 AM

As long as you aren't expecting anything truly original, the game is amazing.  It's fun, it's gory as hell, it's got great atmosphere, nice design, and tight control (in the sense that it works very well for what they intended it to do).  The alien guys are sort of averagey alien guys, and the ship is the average sci-fi derelict, etc. etc., but that's kind of what makes the game so classic and fun.  There are a few unique twists to be sure, but I liked it because of what a hodge-podge of homages it is.  You can tell that it came from a group of huge sci-fi/horror nuts who just wanted to build a game that had all kinds of awesome stuff in it, and on that level it works very well.  Expect more, though, and you may find it a little disappointing.  But I loved every minute of it.  Fun gameplay segments that break things up, some minor puzzley things, and some unique circumstances which have you doing things that feel mechanically different from other parts of the game.  I think it came together beautifully.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 08:04:07 AM

Que, so even though it had a lot of elements from many other games and flicks (it pays homage to), it's really the sums of all these parts that makes this truly unique b/c of the way it all comes together?

If that's the case, that sounds kind of like why the original Fable: TLC felt so great to me. It's sum of its parts were better than its individual (not-so-deep) pieces.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Cobra951 on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 10:04:35 AM

Quote from: gpw11 on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 12:44:34 AM

- I didn't play long, but from what I could tell the controls weren't "glitched", they just aren't as responsive as most PC games. This specifically refers to mouse look and it seems to me that it's this way by design.  What I think adds to it to for some people is the overall "chunkiness" of the controls.  It kind of seemed like a cross between an FPS and Resident Evil.  Again, I think it's supposed to be this way and I think people just aren't taking that into account.  The slightly lumbering/clumsy feel adds to the atmosphere.

Or, they are intentionally nerfing the vast superiority of a mouse over a gamepad in FPS games to somehow level the playing field.  This has been done before in a console-centric game.

Or, they suck.

Your interpretation is the most troublesome one.  Intentionally fucking up control as an atmospheric gameplay element never works for me.  Didn't you hate every stinking ice level in old platformers?  I did.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Pugnate on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 10:34:36 AM

Well if the choice is deliberate, why do they feel so much more sluggish on the PC?

But I've gotta agree with Que. The controls are probably not as bad as initially reported and reported and reported......and reported from that one site.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 08:04:50 PM

Quote from: Cobra951 on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 10:04:35 AM

Or, they are intentionally nerfing the vast superiority of a mouse over a gamepad in FPS games to somehow level the playing field.  This has been done before in a console-centric game.

Or, they suck.

Your interpretation is the most troublesome one.  Intentionally fucking up control as an atmospheric gameplay element never works for me.  Didn't you hate every stinking ice level in old platformers?  I did.

I'd say negative to the nerfing - it's a strictly single player game and it does it on game pads as well.  I probably didn't describe it correctly, but it's not like it's anything unusual - it's the same style of control and camera control that almost every other (good) survival horror game that I've played has.  Lumbersome isn't the right word, but don't expect Max Payne/Quake style acrobatics and/or accuracy.  You have to turn around to turn around, and moving the mouse or stick an eight of an inch isn't going to make the camera do a full 360.   From what I remember, Silent Hill was exactly the same way.

It's not a glitch and it's not nerfing.  Whether or not it's a design flaw is up in the air.  To a point I agree with you, ice levels suck.  So do most Wii games that just throw tiresome gestures in because they can.  The thing here is completely different.  It's not unusual at all, it's been done before without complaint for the most part.  This isn't a case of picking up the controller/keyboard and going "WHAT THE FUCK
?!?". You'll only be disappointed if you hate Survival Horror and expected an action game.  I think it's even better than a lot of the survival horror games in that it incorporates  WASD controls a bit better.

As for the Ice level thing, they're a bitch because they're thrown at you and it's basically killing the controlls in the name of challenge.  This is different.  Think about a game like NiGHTS.  The control mechanics have a lot in common with ice levels in old platformers - can't stop on a dime, turning takes time, blah blah blah.  Yet, it's not a bitch at all because the game is built entirely around it.  Half Life would suck with the control scheme in Dead Space...but Dead Space doesn't.

Quote

well if the choice is deliberate, why do they feel so much more sluggish on the PC?

But I've gotta agree with Que. The controls are probably not as bad as initially reported and reported and reported......and reported from that one site.

 

I don't think they are more sluggish.  Like I said, I don't believe I've come across the problem they've been talking about. There's nothing going on in my copy that would lead me to believe that there's a bug, and the only think really sluggish is the camera sensitivity - which apparently exists on the console versions.  I don't have Vsync on, so I don't know if that's the issue, but what I'm getting here is a standard controller friendly survival horror control scheme.  Nothing out of the ordinary.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Wednesday, October 29, 2008, 12:13:17 AM

Aaaand posting again.

I've reinvestigation.  Controls are 100% fine with Vsync off. Camera movement is a bit slow compared to some more action paced third person games, but nothing game hindering and is about level with other games of the genre. Aiming slightly slower, but more precise.

Vsync on....just don't turn it on.  It's fucked and this is where the problem is.

In conclusion, it seems like a fun game and the PC port doesn't seem to be bad, but there is an issue with Vsync. I don't know, if you're into this kind of thing I'd recommend it.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, October 29, 2008, 07:41:44 PM

If they put in revokes for it for PC version, maybe I'll go buy it when it's say $20.
If they don't put in revokes, it's a game rental price to me -- say $10 or less.

About VSync, in general with any game...
Performance is good with VSync Off, I'll probably put it on and leave it on if it still runs well.
If there's nasty graphical tearing when it's off, I'll probably put it on -- it was definitely necessary to have on for The Suffering PC in a few areas of the game.

But, yeah -- if Vsync ON is causing the issue w/ Dead Space PC, EA should fix that.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Pugnate on Wednesday, October 29, 2008, 09:14:47 PM

Quote from: gpw11 on Wednesday, October 29, 2008, 12:13:17 AM

Aaaand posting again.

hahaha you are suffering from a MysterD complex. Its OK dude... you can make double posts, and you can quote and respond to a longer post line by line. :P

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Thursday, October 30, 2008, 01:23:51 AM

No.  No he can't.  One is enough.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, October 30, 2008, 04:58:15 AM

Quote from: Pugnate on Wednesday, October 29, 2008, 09:14:47 PM

hahaha you are suffering from a MysterD complex. Its OK dude... you can make double posts, and you can quote and respond to a longer post line by line. :P

Hey, I've gotten better at it.
I often do a "Edit" of a short post, just to make my buddy Que happy b/c I know he don't like my double-triple posting mania (if the posts are too short or if the posts are like to close in time to each other). :)

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Thursday, October 30, 2008, 11:15:44 AM

Quote from: Pugnate on Wednesday, October 29, 2008, 09:14:47 PM

hahaha you are suffering from a MysterD complex. Its OK dude...

Ok.

Quote

you can make double posts, and you can quote and respond to a longer post line by line. :P

I will keep that in mind for my future posting endeavours.

Quote from: Quemaqua on Thursday, October 30, 2008, 01:23:51 AM

No. 

Fuck you.

Quote from: Quemaqua on Thursday, October 30, 2008, 01:23:51 AM

No he can't.  One is enough.

What did I just say?

Quote from: MysterD on Thursday, October 30, 2008, 04:58:15 AM

Hey, I've gotten better at it.
I often do a "Edit" of a short post, just to make my buddy Que happy b/c I know he don't like my double-triple posting mania (if the posts are too short or if the posts are like to close in time to each other). :)

He's not your buddy - he's a post nazi who's gone mad with power.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Thursday, October 30, 2008, 11:24:57 AM

That's right.  I'm like an EA mod.  So watch your mouth, or I'll ban you from all your games.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Pugnate on Thursday, October 30, 2008, 11:36:10 AM

I was gonna make that joke, but I didn't go for it.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, October 30, 2008, 04:01:01 PM

LOL @ all of the few above posts.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Thursday, October 30, 2008, 04:46:22 PM

Ok, so the game works a lot better with the Xbox 360 pad on PC...which is weird because apparently with the camera control is better than with the console version.  I don't know.  I'm willing to say that the game isn't actually broken and it's a lot of fun.  CASE CLOSED.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, October 30, 2008, 05:36:24 PM

At least they didn't botch the 360 controls for the PC version...  :P

Good thing I own one for those "just in case" instances.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Sunday, November 02, 2008, 05:03:32 AM

By the way, I really like the weapons in this game.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, November 02, 2008, 05:10:12 AM

Quote from: gpw11 on Sunday, November 02, 2008, 05:03:32 AM

By the way, I really like the weapons in this game.

Hmmmm....are there some different ones than the usual weapons in most action games?

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Sunday, November 02, 2008, 12:58:12 PM

Well, they're not drastically different but they're different enough to have a fresh feel about them.  You probably know about the main mechanic of the game - shooting the enemies won't really kill them, you have to dismember the motherfuckers.  As such, the weapons set up are perfect for this. You're on a derilict mining ship and most weapons are actually tools of some sort.  You start out with a Plasma Cutter, which is basically a handgun, but hitting the alternate fire switches the axis of the projectile to make it easier to cut off body parts in different situations.  A couple other weapons (I'll spoiler this in case some people really want to find out about the weapons on their own):

(click to show/hide)

The Line Gun is basically the shotgun of the game..sort of.  It shoots out like a 3 foot line of energy or blades or something.  Perfect for just going nuts and taking motherfuckers out at the waist up close.  It's secondary fire is a land mine that just wrecks house.

The Ripper is a cross between a circular saw and that spinner gun from the old Unreal games.  Primary fire shots a blade out about ten feet in front of you and holds it there for about 15 seconds so you can move it around like an extended chainsaw and cut things to shreds.  Secondary fire shoots the blade more conventionally.

I haven't seen most of the, but what I have seen feels good.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: iPPi on Sunday, November 02, 2008, 09:38:38 PM

The weapons are awesome -- ammunition definitely appears to be a problem though.  I believe ammo drops for the guns that you have currently in your inventory.  ie. If you have a flamethrower in storage you won't see any flame fuel drop.

Problem I find myself having is with 4 weapons, I'm not getting enough ammo for each of my weapons.  I've dropped down to holding three weapons at a time, only carrying a fourth if I'm expecting a major encounter.  You can of course buy ammunition as well, but I'd prefer using the credits for those power nodes if at all possible.

Oh and another thing if you're just about to start playing.  When the game was released, two DLC suits were available on PSN and XBL.  Personally, I would recommend saving those suits for a second play through, because once you purchase the suit it equips it automatically and you're given full inventory slots and 10% armor bonus.  While it's a nice upgrade, it makes the game a little easier, especially at the start.  It's only if you really want a full experience though, and is only makes inventory management trivial at the start.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Sunday, November 02, 2008, 10:18:43 PM

Yeah, that shit is cheap.  I downloaded the PS3 suit, but I didn't allow myself to use it until I'd already been using the game's default level five suit for some time (otherwise you'd save ungodly amounts of money and would be able to overpower yourself probably to double what you'd normally be by the end of the game via power nodes).

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Sunday, November 02, 2008, 11:01:18 PM

Yeah, to be honest, I was kind of just sticking to the weapons I have now, possibly even dropping one.  I wasn't thinking about ammo so much (although that was a part of it), but also Power Nodes. 

I'm not finding the game difficult at all really, there seems to be a checkpoint right before pretty much every encounter, and as long as you think about shit, you usually come out of 'fire fights' fine.  Oh, and telekinesis has been a huge help for me.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: iPPi on Monday, November 03, 2008, 12:23:51 AM

I need to use telekinesis more.  I've definitely been using stasis when I encounter several enemies, but I forget telekinesis all the time.

I'm at Chapter 5 now, and have died 3 times -- once when a monster latched onto me and was mashing my controller but I was only supposed to mash one button, and twice trying to get across the ship to the gun to shoot

(click to show/hide)

asteroids.  Managed to get through it with 1% hull integrity left :P

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Monday, November 03, 2008, 12:31:37 AM

Yeah, I heard about that section and don't look forward to it.

I found telekinesis is kind of hard to use in the heat of battle.  Generally, when I think there's motherfucking space zombies around I'll pick up something and have it ready...preferably something highly explosive.  I'll generally just make sure I get a good first shot off with it and that works out.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Monday, November 10, 2008, 03:29:38 PM

Dead Space DLC planned for X360 and PS3 (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/55819)

Quote

EA Goes For the Easy Buck With Dead Space Packs
by Maarten Goldstein Nov 10, 2008 7:50am CST tags: Dead Space, DLC, Xbox Live Marketplace,

Both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the horror action game Dead Space will receive "premium upgrade packs", publisher Electronic Arts announced today.

Available November 13 on the Xbox Live Marketplace and November 20 in the PlayStation Store, the packs will offer a variety of player suits, weapons and weapons skins. In addition to the ten packs available for both platforms, there will be two platform-exclusive downloads too.

A complete list follows

    * Astronaut Pack: Download the Astronaut Suit and Weapon Skin Pack, featuring an amazing Astronaut Suit and new skins for the Plasma Cutter, Pulse Rifle, and Ripper! - $3.00 / 240 MS points
    * Big Gun Pack: Download the Steam Punk Force Gun, the ultimate in Necromorph-killing destruction. - $1.00 / 80 MS points
    * Heavy Damage Pack: Download the Heavy Damage Weapon pack featuring a cool new look and massive firepower for the Plasma Cutter, Contact Beam, Pulse Rifle, and Ripper. - $3.00 / 240 MS points
    * Hot Rod Pack: Download the Hot Rod Weapon Skin Pack, featuring awesome flame graphics for the Flamethrower and Pulse Rifle. - $1.00 / 80 MS points
    * Military Pack: Download the Military Weapon Pack for a new look and enhanced power for all 7 Dead Space weapons. - $4.00 / 320 MS points
    * Pedestrian Pack: Download the Pedestrian Weapon Skin Pack, featuring a fresh new look for the Contact Beam, Plasma Cutter, and Ripper. - $1.50 / 120 MS points
    * Scorpion Pack: Download the Scorpion Pack featuring an upgraded Level 5 Suit and powered up Plasma Cutter, Line Gun, and Force Gun, all decorated in an awesome red Scorpion Skin. - $4.00 / 320 MS points
    * Scorpion Weapon Pack: Download the Scorpion Weapon Pack featuring a faster death-dealing Plasma Cutter, Line Gun, and Force Gun in awesome red skins. - $2.25 / 180 MS points
    * Speed Kills Pack: Download the Speed Kills Weapon Pack! Includes faster-firing Force Gun, Line Gun, and Plasma Cutter. - $2.25 / 180 MS points
    * Tank Pack: Download the Tank Pack featuring an upgraded Level 5 Suit and powered up Flamethrower, Force Gun, and Line Gun, all covered in Unitology script. - $4.00 / 320 MS points

Exclusive to PlayStation 3:

    * Obsidian Weapon Skin Pack: Includes weapon skins in jet-black PLAYSTATION 3 colors for the Line Gun, Plasma Cutter, and Pulse Rifle. - $1.50
    * Obsidian Pack: Includes an upgraded Level 5 suit, and weapon skins for the Line Gun, Plasma Cutter, and Pulse Rifle, all in jet-black PLAYSTATION3 colors. - $3.00

Exclusive to Xbox 360:

    * Elite Weapon Skin Pack: Includes weapon skins in Xbox 360 colors for the Line Gun, Plasma Cutter, and Pulse Rifle. - 120 MS points
    * Elite Pack: Includes an upgraded Level 5 suit, and weapon skins for the Line Gun, Plasma Cutter, and Pulse Rifle in Xbox 360 colors. - 240 MS points

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: iPPi on Monday, November 10, 2008, 03:43:50 PM

That shit needs to be free, or put into one and charge like $5 or something.

Cosmetic upgrades and minor 'tweaks' to not warrant 7384091723841 packs at the prices they are asking for.  Screw that.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: sirean_syan on Monday, November 10, 2008, 07:49:05 PM

I think we may have a new horse armor.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Monday, November 10, 2008, 08:06:43 PM

Yeah, that's a load of crap.  You're basically paying for cheats and skins.  Utterly worthless.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Monday, November 10, 2008, 08:19:24 PM

This is the type of stuff that belongs in a FREE patch.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 08:09:40 PM

Yeah, it's pretty shitty.  It's not quite as bad as the suits for Little Big Planet, but it still sucks. 

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Xessive on Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 04:01:08 PM

I've played Dead Space on the X360 at my a friend's place and I was intrigued. It's a pretty good game overall (at least from my small experience with it). Naturally I was a little dismayed by having to aim with an analogue stick.

I just tried it out on PC and holy monkey are the control terrible. I get what everybody was compaining about and the gripes are valid! The character movement is fine but looking around feels like it's really loose, there's a slight delay in the mouse movement. I wish the aiming only had that trouble. When you switch to aiming mode suddenly it gets wonky and jerky, the movement stutters as you move the mouse. It's pretty bad.

So glad I'm still boycotting EA games.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 05:11:01 PM

Seriously?  I don't know what the deal is because I didn't get that.  Could it be the vsync thing?  You'd think they'd test that.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Xessive on Thursday, November 20, 2008, 04:45:40 AM

Quote from: gpw11 on Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 05:11:01 PM

Seriously?  I don't know what the deal is because I didn't get that.  Could it be the vsync thing?  You'd think they'd test that.

The vsync definitely has an effect. I tested with and without, and there is a noticeable change. With vsync switched off the menu mouse is a lot better and more accurate, looking around is easier but still pretty slow so I bumped up the mouse sensitivity to max and it's more tolerable now. The aiming however is still limited to an extent.

Aside from the technical control problems the game is decent. I have also noticed that I can't take the stress. I can only play it for 15 minutes at a time. I get so immersed that the pressure of being surrounded by "things" gets to me and I have to quit.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: iPPi on Thursday, November 20, 2008, 08:35:00 AM

This game is so tense -- I usually play about an hour before I have to stop because of the stress.  I'm still only halfway through the game though since I haven't had time to play it.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Pugnate on Thursday, November 20, 2008, 09:35:02 AM

WTF... seriously?

No...

Really?

I've been spooked by games like AvP, F.E.A.R., and Doom III... (also one time in Serious Sam).... but never to the point of quitting.

I am so buying this now.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: iPPi on Thursday, November 20, 2008, 10:40:00 AM

This game is not scary -- except for like the first 15 minutes.  But the atmosphere and sound design is so immersive that you are just naturally drawn into it and it just gets really tense. 

Also, since the game doesn't pause as you access inventory or look at the map and stuff, you're not really safe... ever.  That adds to the tension as well.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Pugnate on Thursday, November 20, 2008, 10:47:02 AM

Quote

since the game doesn't pause as you access inventory or look at the map and stuff

That actually sounds sweet.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Xessive on Thursday, November 20, 2008, 11:27:24 AM

Oddly enough that was one of the major complaints in Alone in the Dark, which was amended for the PS3 version and the big patch for X360.

The environments are very well done, the ambience really sucks you in. The sound is one of the greatest contributors to the immersion and tension! In most games I only ever hear a sound when something is happening, it's a cue for attention, but in Dead Space there's always some sort of sound crackling through the intermittent silence, making the darkness throughout particularly ominous.

This is where I have a problem because I'm on alert at all times in this game, with an itchy trigger finger at every twitch or click in the environment.

I highly recommend having a surround system or headphones with Dolby support because the sound and its direction is a great enhancement to the experience. The first time I tried it on the X360 my friend hadn't setup his speakers properly so I was getting sounds from the front which were supposed to be behind me, left and right were reversed, I was losing my coordination and things were coming at me from all around.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Thursday, November 20, 2008, 06:01:21 PM

Quote from: Xessive on Thursday, November 20, 2008, 04:45:40 AM

The vsync definitely has an effect. I tested with and without, and there is a noticeable change. With vsync switched off the menu mouse is a lot better and more accurate, looking around is easier but still pretty slow so I bumped up the mouse sensitivity to max and it's more tolerable now. The aiming however is still limited to an extent.

Aside from the technical control problems the game is decent. I have also noticed that I can't take the stress. I can only play it for 15 minutes at a time. I get so immersed that the pressure of being surrounded by "things" gets to me and I have to quit.

I don't know if I messed with the settings or something, and I've been playing with a gamepad because it just kind of seems like one of those games, but I don't really notice it being slow at all anymore.  I should put the disclaimer here that I only ever use the mouse to aim when I think I'm about to get my ass kicked and for a certain section in Chapter 5 or so.  Shitty or not, it's still more precise than a stick.

And yeah, the game is really tense rather than scary.  Certainly one of the better survival horror games I've played though.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Sunday, November 23, 2008, 03:17:13 AM

Ok, I lied.  I finished it after getting home from the bar tonight.

(click to show/hide)

The last second of the game scared the shit out of me.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Friday, August 28, 2009, 02:44:08 PM

So far, so cool (the game itself) -- got Dead Space on the PC, of course.

One thing -- who the fuck in the design department came up w/ the idea of binding WSAD to movement controls AND NOT allowing me to configure The Cursors (Up, Down, Left, Right) for alternative movement controls?

I can see it's b/c they got other separate controls for other Additional Controls that have Up, Down, Left, Right binded to it -- but what the fuck? I should be able to modify any controls I see fit to any sort of key-mapping scheme I so choose.

On another note -- this PC game plays perfectly fine w/ a 360 pad. Not only that, w/ the 360 pad plugged in -- all the game menus and tutorials tell you how to do stuff w/ the 360 pad.

EDIT:
Haven't been able to stop playing this thing. Freaking awesome, so far.

I really can see why SC: Conviction is taking -- well, what looks to be like some cues from Dead Space -- you know, give mission objectives, tutorials, in-game videos, and whatnot right in front of the game and blend it seamlessly into the game-world.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, August 30, 2009, 05:27:58 PM

Some MyD Screenies - taken in-game:
(http://screenshot.xfire.com/screenshot/natural/29f09cea9d45aede2bcefd03078ef2d42eb16f06.png)

(http://screenshot.xfire.com/screenshot/natural/d5bd3eb4a75c560fc631ed150dced5142720a834.png)

(http://screenshot.xfire.com/screenshot/natural/d6bdf45b538961b93e0fac67abce1f392e76fc92.png)

(http://screenshot.xfire.com/screenshot/natural/1c46c7efcb9c46d992c19120ec5bee4e31bc4a1d.png)

(http://screenshot.xfire.com/screenshot/natural/29444504b29a7abf3875048fcec81e3eeb4174f6.png)

(http://screenshot.xfire.com/screenshot/natural/b56d649e2d64b87d1657933ac310d2aefe13da9f.png)

(http://screenshot.xfire.com/screenshot/natural/48f3ea883164afb987c0641138b4b04289e75e6e.png)

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Sunday, August 30, 2009, 09:11:07 PM

It really was a cool game for what it tried to do.  Not the best ever, but it was solid and compelling enough to finish.  I went through it about 1 and a half times.  Never did finish my run on hard, though.  I've thought about picking it up again a couple of times... the violence is quite satisfying.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: gpw11 on Monday, August 31, 2009, 12:11:56 AM

Yeah, I really had a lot of fun with it - more so than most survival horror or action games. Those screens brought back a lot of 'good' memories of playing it.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Monday, August 31, 2009, 02:49:45 PM

Quote from: Que

The violence is quite satisfying.

To say the least, Que.
The violence in this game is awesome.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: PyroMenace on Wednesday, October 07, 2009, 02:25:38 AM

I just finished it up and came away with my expectations exceeded. Also for some reason I was expecting a short play through experience, I guess I got it confused with a lot of other single player games these days, but yea, finished it off at about over 12 hours. After reading through the thread I can vouch for all the praise its got. The attention to detail is what really stood out amongst everything else. The sci fi art of the environments on the ship, all the little effects like the lighting and even when at points the air was vacuumed out the color pallete change and the muffled sounds of empty space felt really convincing. I also really enjoyed the little objective based puzzles, as simple and easy as they were, it threw in a variety that made the pacing of the game feel interesting. Also like was said, the game is more tense than scary, though there were a number of spots that made me yell FUCK, plus the huge monster fights about got me to shit my pants by its sheer size and organically alive feel to them.

I think I'm gonna pick up Dead Space Extraction, light gun shooter it maybe, I hear it is a really great one at that, and worth checking out if your interested in the world itself.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, November 22, 2009, 08:37:30 AM

How the hell do I get through this puzzle in the Control Room?

(click to show/hide)

(http://screenshot.xfire.com/screenshot/natural/0e65d45fe46d74632b52d2804ff2a5306e5aa8e5.png)

EDIT:
I know I must screech the two gears to a hault w/ my skill - but ugh, once I get up to the astroroid to drill, I get sliced-n-diced STILL.

Do I have to shoot the two gears w/ my skill again also as I get up on the asteroid or something?

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Sunday, November 22, 2009, 10:30:22 AM

You know, I don't remember how I did that.  Been too long.  But I do remember having some trouble there for a little while.  It's a bit tricky.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: iPPi on Sunday, November 22, 2009, 11:29:56 AM

I have no recollection of that area.  What chapter is it?  I stopped at chapter 7 for almost a year and started playing it again recently, but stopped at chapter 9 since other big games came out.  Once I run out of games to play I'll come back to this one. 

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Xessive on Sunday, November 22, 2009, 12:50:51 PM

I remember that you have to jump onto the globe and navigate your way to the outside of it. Be careful, if I recall correctly the rotating parts will shred you! You can use the stasis ability to slow them down, I think.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, November 22, 2009, 01:03:25 PM

Quote from: iPPi on Sunday, November 22, 2009, 11:29:56 AM

I have no recollection of that area.  What chapter is it?  I stopped at chapter 7 for almost a year and started playing it again recently, but stopped at chapter 9 since other big games came out. 

Chapter 7 - Into The Void.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, December 27, 2009, 10:15:47 AM

Dead Space PC = $10.19 on Steam for today only. (http://store.steampowered.com/app/17470/)

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: iPPi on Monday, January 11, 2010, 12:18:48 AM

After starting this game way back in October of 2008, I finally finished it tonight, over a year later.  It definitely is a good game... it just couldn't hold my attention at the start.  I think this game suffers a bit in the story and narrative (which is kind of funny... the backstory is quite amazing with a full-length movie and a 6 part animated comic, but those offer a prelude to the events of the game, and the game itself doesn't bring anything more to the table from what was already established), so it lacks a driving force for you to explore and play.  The atmosphere and world are quite fully realized, the attention to detail is quite astounding, the gameplay is solid... everything is there, but the story really doesn't pick up until like... Chapter 10?  I mean, I was on Chapter 10 tonight and played through and finished it up in one sitting because the game really picked up the story and wanted to wrap things up.  The first 9 chapters end up dragging on because you're doing all these menial errands that don't seem to have any urgency to them.

For me, I think this game suffered the same problem I had with Bioshock.  It's a fantastic game, but the narrative and story don't have enough push to it to make me want to continue playing it, and other games that come along would easily derail me and then I forget about the game for months and months.

In the end, I got 14 hours of play time from it and enjoyed it, but there's definitely room for improvement in the sequel.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: Quemaqua on Monday, January 11, 2010, 12:26:48 AM

Story is relative.  Both of those games had mysteries you were gradually getting clues to... that was more than sufficient to keep me interested in the potential revelations of the endgame.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: iPPi on Monday, January 11, 2010, 01:28:13 AM

I think time might have been an issue for me as well.  I was playing WoW at the time so it was so easy to just put these games aside because of raiding and other shit from WoW.  Thankfully, now that I have quit WoW altogether, I can actually sit down and play through all of these games. 

In the end, Dead Space is a good game, and I am interested in the sequel, but it probably will not be a release day purchase.

Title: Re: Dead Space PC giveaway
Post by: W7RE on Monday, January 11, 2010, 04:45:46 AM

I've found sticking with this game to be a problem too (yes, I'm raiding a few days a week on WoW). I blame it on a combination of things that are not necessarily the game's fault:

1. Save points. They're far enough apart that you feel a sort of relief when you get to one. You know your progress up to that point is saved, and if you fuck up and die or whatever, you can always go back to that point. It also takes you just long enough to save that you have time to think about if you should keep playing or if you'll need to quit soon enough that you should just stop now.

2. Health packs and ammo pickups. I'm always paranoid that I'm gonna fuck up and take too much damage, need to use my health packs, and run out at some important time. And what if I run out of ammo, maybe right before a boss fight, and I either can't get back to a store or just don't have the money to buy more. If I revert to an old save, I've got to replay part of the level again and not fuck up.

When I add these together, I get an OCD type feeling in my brain that makes me want to save and quit every time I get to a save point and know that I'm in good supply of health and ammo. It's not like a huge burden or anything, but like a small itch I can't scratch. This is why I love when games have regenerating health and at least one weapon to fall back on with infinite ammo. It's not so much about making the game easier, as it is getting rid of the little things that make me feel like there's something wrong with my brain as I play.





By the way, I love everything else about the game. The violence, the backstory, the visual design, the sounds (I love the way Isaac sounds when he melees or stomps). It's just these few little gameplay things that when added together break something in my brain.