Dead Space 2 Is No Resident Evil 4

[Drentics]

The sole purpose of the collapsible helmet was to serve as eye candy for the trailers.

Seriously, I watched all of the Dead Space 2 trailers and all but one of them (the cheesy lullaby trailer) had a full three-to-four seconds of Issac's helmet assembling itself transformers-style over his face.

With a dramatic pause in the music, might I add, so we can appreciate the gravity of...Issac having to wear protective head-wear? Whatever.

 

[Inuprince]

Well I think it's important that Isaac is an engineer, his suit is also for that purpose not for fighting in the military.
As other people have already said, it works on its own, so in sudden dangerous situations, it can really come in handy, that you can rely on it, rather than you having to bother with it. Especially when necromorphs are running around everywhere - if you were talking with someone, holding your helmet, out of nowhere necromorph attack incoming, it could hit the helmet out of your hand, crush it, then crus your skull if your not fast enough.
So I think it's both practical and cool, I loved when I got a new suit and for the first time the new helmet equipped itself, you looked like you can now take on the next big thing coming.

Oh, and the argument that even if it's in the future, one part of the helmet would stop working eventually - I can only say that nothing is going to work forever, everything requires maintenance from time to time. In the game, they have giant planetcracking spaceships, and if humanity was able to create giant machines floating in space and ripping apart planets that are well QUITE F***ING BIG things - I think it's no surprise that such a helmet was put together.
Also considering you can get atleast four new suits progressing through the game, it means Isaac always has a new helmet every few hours, and if these things could just go wrong after using them brand new, folding it in 4-5 times between a couple of hours, I don't think it would be manufactured big time for engineers all around the universe.

---
Sincerely
Inuprince
Spokesperson for Space-engineers Safety Gear Association (SESGA) - writing to you from Titan Station

Damn Necromorphs! We have no one to produce for anymore .... they took our job!!! ... and our bodies ... help ...

 

[SomEngangVar]

I never thought of the whole ear-cutting off thing with the collapsible helmets. Although, that would probably be a gigantic piss-off for me since my hair would constantly get stuck in it every time I tried to put it on. That, and I have a large head.

 

[Smokescreen]

I think the helmet thing is more a starting point for a larger argument (at least for me) when it comes to Dead Space.

Caveat: I haven't played the second game yet.

But what I remember about the first one is that the designers wanted to give you the kinds of tools that a space engineer would use. He isn't a combat vet (yet, sorta) and if he's not a warrior per se that strongly suggests at the use of non-gun weapons, or tools used as weapons. It has always bothered me that the engineer aspect of Isaac wasn't played up more and the tools he used did things like 'slow time' when a physical purpose (say, magnetism) could be used instead and would make more sense, to me.

But this also extends to the outfit; Isaac having a gauge on the back that registered his health was, to me a 'exactly' moment because a gauge that a co-worker could see that told other people what your oxygen was is just the kind of trick people would think up and use. Having a fold-down helmet doesn't make sense, if you're a space engineer. That sucker needs to be a kick ass piece of equipment because you die if it's ruptured or broken. Making it 'cool' instead of 'functional' defies the aesthetic that the game wants to set out, and THIS is where the tone of the game can start to be seen as breaking.

Think of the films that this game wants to emulate: Alien + Aliens, the Crazies, Event Horizon--these things, especially the good ones, don't do stuff that breaks their aesthetic because if they did, people would spot it and feel taken out of the story.

If Dead Space wants to play it straight, then every bit counts because horror is a very difficult genre to get it to work in. That doesn't mean it can't have jokes-black humor is a part of horror too-I'm just suggesting that there are some root problems with Dead Space that don't keep the game from being good, but might well prevent it from being great.

 

[gl1koz3]

Spot on. Again.

The way everything (that doesn't make sense) is just swallowed these days is disturbing in itself.

 

[thereverend7]

Its hard for me to get "scared" in horror games. i might get startled or disturbed, but rarely scared. RE4 comes to mind as one of the first times I can recall being scared: the first time fighting an el Gigante. He is so big and imposing, all you feel like doing is running away. even if you shoot him, he absorbs your gunshots like your throwing skittles at him.

To me, thats horror done well. Making you (feel) helpless terrified of what you can possibly do to get out of your unfortunate situation.

I haven't played Dead Space 2 yet, but I loved the first one. It wasn't very "scary" but it did have its disturbing and "HOLY SHIT TENTACLE" moments, and it kept a creepy atmosphere of tension throughout. at least for me, it did.

 

[Bwown]

I know it's a weird thing to suggest, but the haunted mansion level in Super Mario 64 was probably the most fun I'd ever had being frightened, just because the environment and atmosphere were well-placed and things were good at startling me.

I remember the scariest moment for me in a video game was playing the Twinkle Park level with Amy when you go inside the Hall of Mirrors. The music is so creepy.

 

[thebreadbinman]

boy you must've hated the bit in Iron Man 2 with the suit-in-a-suitcase...

 

[duchaked]

really good points...except that this is the third time he's made them (Dead Space 1 review, Dead Space 2 review, and here now) lol

regardless, games like Dead Space and other "not-quite-horror" games are still a bit much for me. guess I'm still having trouble stomaching my losing my stomach and other organs in grotesque ways on screen

 

[MercurySteam]

My only issue with the helmet is why it decicdes to fold away during some executions or when you have to wrestle with Stross or Nicole. If those are Isacc's standard social encounters then it makes sense why he's so screwed in the head.

 

[TitsMcGee1804]

hahaha, great ending paragraph, i lol'd

I think there is definately a balance between realism and gameplay, sure, carrying only a pistol and a machinegun in HL would be more realistic, but it would make the combat too unvaried, so the devs thought, unrealistic, whatever, deal with it, we want to make a fun game

on the other side, opting to go for the more realistic choice of a good old solid helmet would make more logical sense, but would not affect gameplay. And in games like dead space, where the subtle details really contribute to immersion, stuff like this sticks out like a sore thumb

 

[Xanadu84]

I really liked Dead Space when I realized that it wasn't a Survival Horror. It was an action game in a spooky atmosphere with some horrifying visuals. In that regards, it's a pretty damn decent game. Not particularly scary, but very fun and entertaining. They even manage a few scary spots now and again. It doesn't make it a real survival horror, but those few spots still worked.

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

I've always hated the Dead Space helmet. It's a really lame design, and EA seems to think it's "iconic" or something. It's not. It's a fucking tin can with slits in it. This is but a nit to pick.

 

[octafish]

I kind of always wished the necromorphs were more like The Many in System Shock 2, wailing "kill me" and "I'm sorry" as you beat their brains in with a wrench. Now that was creepy.

 

[Faegis]

I have been wondering about those helmets too. What if your hair or beard gets stuck or indeed your ears or neck wobbles get sliced and diced? Makes me cringe every time. Plus a hit to a sensitive spot might fry the circuits and jam the mechanism and then you'd have to weld the thing off your head. Ouch.

 

[lumpenprole]

I keep thinking about the Dead Space developers freaking out. "First Yahtzee hated that Issac was an anonymous space marine, and now we show his face and he bitches about how we show it? WE CANNOT WIN!!!!!"

Which is how it should be.