EA’s next-generation horror title Dead Space is being pushed extremely hard this year. There are comic books, movies, and Hollywood-directed trailers meant to give players a feel of their upcoming shooter, but the true Dead Space experience is one that must be played to believe. Not unlike BioShock’s Rapture, the “Planet Cracker” class ship Ishimura has an indistinguishable feel from other game’s environments, and the use of this generation’s powerful technology brings the dying ship to life in an amazing way.

The level I played had me exploring a large room that had lost its gravity, trying to clear out loose debris in order to safely reestablish it. The area had a hexagonal shape, and each of the walls could be grappled using Isaac’s magnetic boots. The sensation from leaping between walls is truly (and appropriately) disorienting; it’s evident that EA didn’t want to try and give anything to the player to make the transition easier, and the game is actually more immersive because of the rough transition between perspectives. As I went from wall to wall throwing large rocks into a powerful gravitational beam I was assaulted by the game’s enemies, the Necromorphs, whose relentless attacks are as frightening as anything else in gaming today. The enemies don’t simply drop after a few shots to the head, it takes precise attacks to tear them limb from limb, and experimentation to decide exactly what kills each type of enemy.

After they died they floated in the Zero-G environment, their blood and guts slowly moving away from their bodies until I was able to reestablish gravity, which brought all of their bodies smashing to the floor. Once again, enemies poured in through the doors, and I was thrown around by their powerful attacks. I took out a flamethrower, which the developer assured me was a modified version of one of Isaac’s tools (area welding is my guess) and lit a few on fire while hacking away the others. As I turned I saw a large enemy and took a shot right as someone warned me that he was a bomb, and the shot blew him (and me) apart.

Other aspects of the game which have been discussed in the past such as the holographic HUD and the game’s dedication to immersion were also prevalent in the demo, and my short time played with the game has me even more excited than all of the comics, trailers, and movies could possibly make me. The game was recently pushed forward a week and is scheduled for an October release, so be prepared to be scared in the coming months.

Related Articles:

PAX 08: Penny Arcade Q&A LIVE!

PAX 08: Ken Levine Keynote LIVE!

PAX 08: Hands-On Wordjong Party