Dead Space
Game play
The player takes the role of Isaac Clarke (named after
science fiction writers
Isaac Asimov and
Arthur C. Clarke), an engineer who must fight his way through a stricken mining ship infested with Necromorphs, a hostile virus with the ability to reanimate the bodies of the dead, turning them into grotesque monstrosities. The game features an 'over the shoulder' third-person perspective, similar to games
Resident Evil 4 and
Gears of War. The interface does not feature a traditional
head-up display. Instead, information is relayed to the player via
holographic projections, which hover over Isaac's weapons and armor. An ingame store can be accessed where items can be bought and sold.
Plot
Set in the distant future,
Dead Space revolves around Isaac Clarke, a space engineer who works for the Concordance Extraction Corporation (C.E.C.), a company that operates giant mining ships throughout the galaxy. When the C.E.C. receives a distress call from the USG
Ishimura (a “Planet Cracker”-class ship that destroys planets in order to extract valuable ore), Isaac and four other C.E.C. employees set out on the USG
Kellion to rendezvous with the
Ishimura in orbit above Aegis 7. Their assumption is that a mechanical failure is the only problem. At the beginning of the game, Isaac is seen repeatedly watching a video sent to him by his ex-girlfriend, Nicole Brennan, who is currently onboard the
Ishimura.
Shortly after crash landing on the
Ishimura flight deck, the crew of USG
Kellion is attacked by hostile creatures called Necromorphs. These creatures reproduce by infecting deceased human bodies, violently mutating them into one of their own. Isaac escapes, but is separated from the rest of the team. At this point, Isaac, Kendra Daniels, and Zach Hammond are the only surviving members