Dead Space Preview

By Rob Fahey Published 8 February, 2008

You can't leave. She won't let you.

Full disclosure: I love Event Horizon. I own the odd-looking limited edition box set DVD, and cherish it despite it being precisely the wrong size to fit on any DVD shelves. I've seen it sufficiently often that I can probably lip-sync to most of the really good scenes.

It's important you understand this, because without the same appreciation for "Paul Anderson's Good Film" (as very much distinct from all of Paul Anderson's other films), you won't be instantly grabbed by the premise of Dead Space - EA's latest foray into developing original games, and potentially the start of a new horror series.

Set 500 years in the future, Dead Space casts you as Isaac Clarke, an engineer who is dispatched into deep space with a small shuttle crew to find out why the enormous Ishimura mining ship has lost contact with Earth. Several kilometres long and capable of strip-mining an entire planet, the Ishimura is a formidable vessel, and home to over a thousand crew. When you arrive, however, it's quiet, cold and dead - but as you attempt to restart the ship's systems, you discover that whatever disposed of the original crew is still lurking in the shadows...

A dimension of pure chaos

'Dead Space' Screenshot 1

In the future, holograms will be used for many things - but mainly for really, really cool-looking sights on your guns. Sorry, mining equipment.

You can see where the Event Horizon comparisons come in, then - and indeed, we rather suspect that Anderson's film has been a major inspiration for Dead Space (are we conspiracy theorists for noting the protagonist's surname, Clarke, matches up with Event Horizon's rescue ship, the Lewis and Clarke?). The atmosphere on board the Ishimura is disquieting and sinister, with vast, epic spaces defined in sweeping Gothic architecture that owes as much to medieval cathedrals as to spaceship design. Playing with flickering lights, rumbling sound effects and suspicious shadows, the game does its utmost to make the player uncomfortable and on edge.

However, we're not convinced by EA's description of Dead Space as "survival horror" - a genre largely defined by games like Silent Hill and Project Zero, where combat does play a secondary role to basic survival. This is very much an action-horror game - with the chilling atmosphere bursting into extremely raw, tense combat on a regular basis.

According to producer Glen Schofield, who was our tour guide around the Ishimura, the sections which we saw were particularly action-heavy. However, even if other areas of the game are more sedate and more psychological in their scares, this is still a game whose shooter credentials are right up there with its horror credentials.

Walking Clarke around in third-person perspective (in a really nice touch, all HUD elements appear either as indicators on his space suit, or as holograms which are projected into the air around by the suit), he is assailed by a steady stream of nightmarish fiends. The Thing is the real inspiration here; from vastly mutated humans with razor-sharp, insect-like limbs, to hideous dead babies with bloodied tentacles waving from gory wounds in their backs, Dead Space doesn't hold back.

'Dead Space' Screenshot 2

We reckon it's all down to the introduction of 24-hour licensing on the Ishimura. It's leading to the breakdown of society.

Just as well that Clarke is well fit to defend himself. Although he's an engineer, rather than a marine, the Ishimura is helpfully equipped with a wide variety of mining tools which do a rather fine job of dismembering enemies. Your most basic weapon is a Plasma Cutter, which is essentially a powerful pistol - other guns we saw included a Line Gun, which fires out a long arc that's excellent at shearing enemies in half, and an as-yet-unnamed ("the first name we thought up for it was really dumb," laughs Schofield) weapon which is essentially a circular saw that floats in the air in front of you.

Speaking of dismemberment, that's actually the first feature that Schofield mentions in the game - "strategic dismemberment", which is the ability to blow off an enemys limb's, tentacles, head(s) or other body parts. This makes a shocking mess, as you might imagine, but doesn't always kill them - enemies who have lost their legs will still crawl and flop towards you, for instance. Even decapitation may not always be fatal to these hellish nasties.

Clarke's arsenal doesn't just extend to straightforward weapons. He's also got something called a TK Gun, which is essentially Half-Life 2's gravity gun - and can be used to turn environmental objects (or dismembered limbs, of course) into lethal weapons when ammo runs low. He also has the ability to put creatures and objects in stasis, slowing down time for them, but unlike the TK Gun this ability needs to be recharged before use. Both abilities are dual-purpose - handy in combat, but also used in solving puzzles.

When she crossed over, she was just a ship...

So far, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this sounds much like a rather improved Doom 3 - and there's certainly some validity in that comparison. Dead Space is a better-looking game than Doom 3, and certainly seems to be more aggressively paced, but the atmosphere is similar in some regards.

Combat, however, is rather different; even with the arsenal of weapons at Clarke's disposal, battles still end up being close-range, visceral and genuinely nail-biting. It's not just your enemies that can suffer grisly deaths; watching Clarke having his legs ripped off or his belly torn open a couple of times will hammer home that getting up close and personal with these foes isn't something with which to be trifled.

'Dead Space' Screenshot 3

When Clarke found out who had pinned that Free Hugs sticker to his back, there was going to be hell to pay.

Dead Space also improves on most other games with a space setting by really taking advantage of the environment - not just by providing loads of metallic corridors, but also by playing around with concepts like gravity and vacuum. Zero-G environments form a major part of the challenge of the game. Your spacesuit has magnetic boots which allow you to walk on any surface, at any angle, but jumping off into space gives you genuine freefall controls - and a fairly scary amount of inertia. There are also Zero-G sections on the outer hull of the ship - we can't imagine that jumping here is a good idea in the slightest.

Vacuum, too, is used in a spectacular way. Dead Space actually treats sound in a vacuum perfectly - when the air is sucked out of a chamber, you can only hear noises from inside your suit, and sounds transmitted through the soles of your feet. Gunshots and enemy noises are totally inaudible - but your own breathing, grunting and heartbeat are incredibly loud, and the rumbles of the ship on your boots are the only noises transmitted from outside. It's haunting and intimidating.

At the moment, Schofield tells us, only a small amount of the game is up and running in a polished state - but with nearly two years of development under its belt, Dead Space is on target to launch on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC by the end of this year.

'Dead Space' Screenshot 4

Space - big, empty, black, and full of lens flare. Oh, and unspeakable evil, of course.

He's also adamant that while the sections we've seen are non-stop action, the team isn't ignoring the storyline and atmosphere by any means. Much of the story will be told through video, audio and text logs that you encounter as you move through the enormous ship, but there will also be survivors and other characters in the game. Interestingly, Dead Space takes another leaf from Half-Life 2's book - all storytelling will come through scripted events that go on in the background, with absolutely no non-interactive cut-scenes to lift you out of the experience.

Despite being mis-sold slightly as a survival horror, Dead Space is looking fantastic - a tight, tense and exciting shooter for the adrenalin junkies, mixed with some superbly atmospheric and sinister overtones (and some really, really nasty gore) for the horror fans. As you'd expect, it's also fully next-gen gorgeous; we may not need eyes where we're going, but they'll probably come in handy all the same. Look out for more on Dead Space as the year progresses.

Picture of Rob.

About Rob Fahey

Read more articles from Rob by visiting the Rob Fahey archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (71) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Eighthours #1 4 years ago

    I used to really like Event Horizon too... There's blatantly some important stuff missing, though. Dr Weir goes from seeing and hearing things to being a no-eyed homicidal maniac in the space of a single scene!

  • bitesize #2 4 years ago


    hmmmm, this actually sounds really good - but being an EA production, i'm prepared to be very disappointed...

    good to see (well hear) of someone doing something interesting on the audio side as well.

  • Grim... #3 4 years ago

    Event Horizon was great.
    Wier did poke his own eyes out, although he dreamt that his dead (and naked) ex-wife was doing.

    "Do you see? DO YOU SEE?"
    Awesome.
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/08 @ 14:40

  • Nylkran #4 4 years ago

    I thought the name of the character might be a reference to Arthur C. Clark and Issac Asimov, (did I spelt those correctly), if so I expect a lot of Sci-Fi references.

  • jack_klugman #5 4 years ago

    Nylkran - Without a doubt.

  • Grim... #6 4 years ago

    "Dead Space actually treats sound in a vacuum perfectly - when the air is sucked out of a chamber, you can only hear noises from inside your suit, and sounds transmitted through the soles of your feet. Gunshots and enemy noises are totally inaudible"

    If you were holding onto the weapons, you'd be able to hear them. Any enemies standing nearby would hear them too, as the noise would travel through the floor.

  • weeno #7 4 years ago

    I remember Event Horizon being completely shit. Maybe I should watch it again.
    Regardless, I am looking forward to this game.

  • asphaltcowboy #8 4 years ago

    Sounds pretty cool!

  • AcidSnake #9 4 years ago

    DJ...Trauma...

  • Miths #10 4 years ago

    I loved Event Horizon as well. Not the scariest or goriest horror movie I've ever seen (though I've stayed away from the likes of Saw and Hostel, a bit too gruesome for my taste from what I've heard and briefly seen), but more... I think disturbing is the right word here, than any other (sci-fi) horror movie I've seen.

    I'm not all that big on shooters though (though I did end up picking up The Club today :)), so it's probably too soon to say if I'll have any interest in this game.

  • DNM #11 4 years ago

    Event Horizon was great for about 3 quarters of the film, then it just went down the toilet with maggots in another dimension! Woooh! How inventive. Lame and a real shame as the atmosphere leading up to the shit ending was tops.

  • PCRist #12 4 years ago

    Okay Eurogamer, you can own up now, how much did they pay for this preview? Be honest now, you can't fool us all, we know your game. I tell you what, we'll kepp it all "hush hush" for you, honestly... or at least we will for a small fee, say £100 each, I think that will do nicely.

  • Super_Zee #13 4 years ago

    This game looks pretty cool, but Paul W S Anderson is worse than Hitler.

  • Dante_Cubit #14 4 years ago

    Everyone knows Event Horizon is shite and Shopping was Paul Anderson's only acceptable film. There should be special trials at the Hague for directors like him....

  • NthSimulachum #15 4 years ago

    Not only did he kill jews, he did it whilst doing an appalling dance.

  • Zanuah #16 4 years ago

    Sounds kinda promising...

    Still I wonder if its smart to start shooting guns/tools on a space ship. :p

  • Ignatius_Cheese #17 4 years ago

    Rob, have I mentioned recently how much I love you...?

    Event Horizon is one of my guilty pleasures!! In fact, anything with Sam Neil in. Love that guy!

    "Where we're going, we won't need eyes to see..." :oD :oD :oD

  • JDub #18 4 years ago

    Great film. It had holes, but was disturbing on a level rarely (if ever) seen in British sci-fi...

    Sounds interesting. Like the idea of the on-suit HUD. I take it the neon strip down the spine of the character in the screenies indicates life/energy?

    Let's hope they don't cock it up before release... :)

  • Shanucore #19 4 years ago

    I'm very much looking forward to this now.

  • Lexx87 #20 4 years ago

    Grim...when did you last shoot a gun in a vacuum? :p

  • motslaps #21 4 years ago

    Event Horizon was a great horror sci-fi! Sounds wikkid!

  • Dante_Cubit #22 4 years ago


    "Where we're going, we won't need eyes..."

    In fact they are probably a liability if you are going to the cinema to see one of his films. I would advise taking a knitting needle, a bottle of vodka and some gauze pads...

  • Rirekon #23 4 years ago

    Looks awesome!

  • systems #24 4 years ago

    I hope the game's good as it has some good features. Didn't care for the film though. Bored the life out of me and I never thought about it again when I left the cinema.

  • Lexx87 #25 4 years ago

    I just bought that limited set off amazon...damn you Eurogamer! I do like that film...fuckin creepy.

  • barnard666 #26 4 years ago

    Isaac (Asimov - Arthur C.) Clarke

    just that little nod to classic sci fi actually enough to turn my interest around.

  • Madder-Max #27 4 years ago

    Meh. Bioshock in space

  • onyxbox #28 4 years ago

    loved EH... "it shows you things, dark things"

  • Zanuah #29 4 years ago

    @ Madder Max : System Shock 2 then? :)

  • Daymare #30 4 years ago

    "Who knows where this ship has been, what it's seen and what it's brought back with it..."

    /loves Event Horizon:)

  • Ignatius_Cheese #31 4 years ago

    "You know nothing. Hell is only a word. The reality is much, much worse...!"

    Mwwwaahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

  • mattigan #32 4 years ago

    I could not stand Event Horizon, it's pretty much the only film I have ever seriously considered walking out of half way through, horses for courses eh?

  • asphaltcowboy #33 4 years ago

    It wasn't really a "good" film... it started off ok, but just devolved into cheap scare after cheap scare, rather than building up tension and then deciding whether or not to act on it or not (see Jaws as an example of great tension build-up that sometimes has the scare and sometimes decides to wait!)

  • T4RG4 #34 4 years ago

    Blimey, you cant have watched many films then! I've often wanted to walk out of films!

    I perhaps get dragged to some right shitters though...

  • cnlfailure #35 4 years ago

    Anyone dissing Event Horizon is wrong. Easily up there with Carpenter's The Thing IMHO.

  • asphaltcowboy #36 4 years ago

    @cnlfailure

    Whoa whoa WHOA! Hold on there cowboy! Event Horizon is alright, but please don't try to hold it up to the splendiferous piece of awesome that is The Thing!

  • Daymare #37 4 years ago

    "Anyone dissing Event Horizon is wrong. Easily up there with Carpenter's The Thing"

    Now, now; don't get carried away there;)

    EDIT: beaten to it:)
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/08 @ 16:39

  • Eighthours #38 4 years ago

    Hey, doesn't Weir poke his own eyes out? I'm sure we see that.

    Yes. But the very next time you see him, he's a scenery-hissing nutter.

  • bodypopper #39 4 years ago

    Event Horizon was little more than Hellraiser lite in space yet Danny Boyle saw to fit toremake it last year as Sunshine. Neither flick was all that.
    Dead Space could be good though.

  • Daymare #40 4 years ago

    Sunshine a remake of Event Horizon? Err, no. They were both full of nods to other films, though.

  • TSYNDMonkfish #41 4 years ago

    This game could be fun, doesnt sound very original though

    Did you know Event Horizon is a remake of the Shining?

  • Dop #42 4 years ago

    enemies who have lost their legs will still crawl and flop towards you, for instance.

    44 comments and nobody's said "COME BACK! It's only a flesh wound!"
    I'm disappointed.

  • Grim... #43 4 years ago

    Lexx - like I said, it's science, not experience.

    And guns can fire in a vacuum - Firefly was (gasp) wrong! (But still awesome).
    Edited by 1 at 08/02/08 @ 17:19

  • polymorph #44 4 years ago

    Let's not bring the awsome Firefly into this eh.

  • Triggerhappytel #45 4 years ago

    (are we conspiracy theorists for noting the protagonist's surname, Clarke, matches up with Event Horizon's rescue ship, the Lewis and Clarke?).

    I think I read somewhere it may be a nod to Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov.

  • Nylkran #46 4 years ago

    "(are we conspiracy theorists for noting the protagonist's surname, Clarke, matches up with Event Horizon's rescue ship, the Lewis and Clarke?).

    I think I read somewhere it may be a nod to Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov."

    Yeah I said that in like the 7th message of this thread. ;p

  • Daymare #47 4 years ago

    And let's not forget "Lewis and Clarke" name is probably some sort of a "nod" to explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who led a first American overland expedition to the Pacific coast and back, so the chances of Isaac Clarke being a nod to EH rescue ship's name are even slimmer. C-c-c, Rob:)

  • Triggerhappytel #48 4 years ago

    Nylkran - there y'are; I told you I read it somewhere ;)

  • Dante_Cubit #49 4 years ago

    Event Horizon up there with The Thing! Jesus Christ... If ever there was a statement that immediately called into question the validity of an individual's thinking, that was it.. The Thing is up there with American Werewolf, Dawn of the Dead, The Wicker Man... Event Horizon is up there with such work as Blade II, Underworld and Pitch Black. It is middle-of-the-road at best. At very best...

  • MightyMouse #50 4 years ago

    Lewis and Clarke? Surely a reference to superman!

    /hides

  • Lexx87 #51 4 years ago

    Dante...he was talking about the game...not the movie.

  • Ryuken #52 4 years ago

    Scripted events usually are non-interactive as well, especially if you look at HL².

    Anyway, doesn't sound too shabby after all.

  • Dynamize #53 4 years ago

    I'm intrigued. Brings to mind System Shock 2 and Martian Gothic.
    It's been a while since anyone touted dismemberment as a feature. Not since Alien vs Predator and AvP2 have we had a "The enemies can still crawl towards you without legs!" thingy.
    What was that old space-horror game? Run Like Hell or somesuch. Was that any good? I recall Lance Henriksen did voice work in it or something.

  • absolutezero #54 4 years ago

    It looks just a little too much like Cold Fear.

    which was pretty dire, although playable.

  • SomaticSense #55 4 years ago

    Event Horizon was a great horror film. Not quite a classic, but probably in the catergory just below that status. Glad to hear the game takes it's cue from that film as well as JC's The Thing, as the trailer definitely showing huge potenial with regards to the atmosphere.

    If they manage to pull off the basic game mechanics right and don't make any stupid design decisions, as well as live up to what's been promised as regards to atmosphere and tension, then it should be a quality game. Although I said that about Turning Point as well.....

  • penhalion #56 4 years ago

    @Grim

    A bullet will only fire in space if the cartridge contains an oxidiser as part of the fuel. So yes gunpowder would be sucessful but, presumably in the future, they aren't using that and instead use something else, which may simply not contain it's own oxidiser component.

    Things like bolt guns, which use compressed air would need their own gas supply and so would be very limited in a vacuum. There is also the very real danger of the old recoil meaning you're just as likely to injure yourself as the person you are shooting at unless you are anchored to the floor in some way.

    As for hearing the sound...er how? I'm curious about this one because I can understand how someone in a space suit would hear the sound (surrounded by oxygen) but, someone without a suit surely has no air present around them to carry the sound vibrate and a vibration through a floor wouldn't reach your ears due to muscle tissue. I suppose un suited you could feel the vibration but, surely not hear it!

    Science 101 this is a genuine question for Grim.

  • dllord #57 4 years ago

    Event Horizon was a good film, by the look of the ending of it there should of been a sequel.

  • convercide #58 4 years ago

    "Where we're going, we dont need eyes to see."

    I love Event Horizon for two reasons:

    1. The first time 'Baby Bear' sees the core and it illuminates. The sound effect he makes can only be described as the noise you make after eating a coffee Revel.

    2. The expression on Sean Pertwee's face when he discovers that bomb.

  • peppergomez #59 4 years ago

    why the f-ing hell couldn't they have also offered a 1st person viewpoint? sounds like my kinda game, except that i dislike 3rd person. that makes both this and mass effect no goes for me. oh well, gotta wait for stalker clear skies and fallout 3 i guess.

  • RedPanda #60 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • Mashum #61 4 years ago

    3rd person hacks me off as well - I would rather feel like the person in the game, than the person controlling the person in the game. It also blocks off a whole chunk of the scenery from view. Oh well, I guess the counter argument is that it allows you to see things interact with your character.

    edit: it does look great though, and thumbs up for the no sound in a vacuum thing, it was awesome in 2010.
    Edited by 1 at 09/02/08 @ 15:39

  • Lemming81 #62 4 years ago

    Was totally drawn in by this until I got to the bit about slowing down time. WTF?! That didn't sound like it fitted with the rest at all.

  • rhinoxious #63 4 years ago

    @mashum I know what you measn about third person games, I had a hatred of them after too many poor 3rd person licensed shooters.

    But somehow first person games never make me feel like I'm actually a person who there's, maybe a flying camera/gun drone/big robot who's there, but not a person.

    RE4 changed my mind about 3rd person games, I love the sense of the character being in the environment. Speaking of which apparently in GTA4 the main character apparently places his foot squarely on every step when climbing stairs,

    HALLEUJJAHHH! I've been waiting for decent character animnation in a game like that for years!

  • ph101 #64 4 years ago

    Yes the thing is clearly superior to EH - EH was ok tho but as said didn't really reach its potential. This game looks pretty cool - the vauum and and zero G stuff sounds most interesting.

  • Razorus #65 4 years ago

    On a remote outpost in space.....where nothing is as it seems......one man must fight to survive...etc

  • AhrimaaN #66 4 years ago

    Event Horizon > Firefly

  • NickNack #67 4 years ago

    Nobody gave a fuck about Event Horizan then and they don't now. Eurogamer really does have shitty taste in games, and now in films. I bet Robs favourite band is Aqua. And if that's Robs favourite band, let me guess it's yours as well.

    Sheep.

    Oh and this game will be shit, EA fuck everything up.
    Edited by 1 at 11/02/08 @ 01:23

  • Barkotron #68 4 years ago

    "As for hearing the sound...er how? I'm curious about this one because I can understand how someone in a space suit would hear the sound (surrounded by oxygen) but, someone without a suit surely has no air present around them to carry the sound vibrate and a vibration through a floor wouldn't reach your ears due to muscle tissue. I suppose un suited you could feel the vibration but, surely not hear it!"

    I'd guess someone in a vacuum without a suit on would have a couple of slightly more pressing issues to worry about than whether they could hear someone firing a gun or not...

  • Dogstar060763 #69 4 years ago

    This is tricky. Everything about this game sounds cool - just the kind of game I like, infact (as well as being, like Doom3, a possible candidate for the best 'Alien' game never made)...and yet. Well, we've been here before - all the gradual build-up, the inevitable previews and advance video featurettes, over-excited devs talking up the game... all of which leads, almost inevitably, to disappointment when we finally get our hands on the finished game.

    I REALLY hope I'm wrong. Then again, this is EA's BIG chance to prove, once and for all, that they are getting serious about 'quality' IP and development. Will they be as good as their word or will Dead Space be another - yet another - tragically wasted opportunity?

  • tuatha #70 4 years ago

    Loved Event Horizon but I don't trust the publisher to put out a decent game tbh. All these modern shooters are rubbish... flash graphics and bugger-all story.

    liberate tutame ex EA

  • peppergomez #71 4 years ago

    all these kudos to event horizon puzzle me. it was a mediocre film, at best. started out well and like so many mediocre scifi/horror films, degenerated into a gimmicky haunted house movie. guess if something's old enough it gets called a classic, despite being sort of lame.
    Edited by 1 at 12/02/08 @ 21:29

  • gmjapan #72 4 years ago

    a gravity gun and updates through a pda? sounds so new I cant wait!
    /sigh