Dead Space: Survival Horror? ***Split from 'What Are You Playing?' thread***

[Guest MojoPogo]

Now revisiting Dead Space. And I have to say, Its my favourite survival horror/shooter of all time. It still rocks, even after almost 3 years.

[Guest Dante Spears]

Now revisiting Dead Space. And I have to say, Its my favourite survival horror/shooter of all time. It still rocks, even after almost 3 years.

Yes all that really lacked about it was the fact that it wasn't a survival horror game not in the slightest.

[Paul 584]

Other than in the way that it totally was.

[etz 78]

Wasn't Dead Space more in the vein of Doom than Resident Evil? By which I mean, it was a survival/horror shooter.

[Paul 584]

Yeah, it certainly wasnt a pure survival horror. It was heading towards shooter, but it was still closer to the SH genre than owt else.

 

edit: owt?! I'm starting to type in Tyke!

Edited October 2, 2010 by Paul

[DC 536]

Yes all that really lacked about it was the fact that it wasn't a survival horror game not in the slightest.

It really was a survival-horror game; all the elements were there.

[Guest MojoPogo]

Yeah. You have to survive, its pretty horrific, its survival horror. That genre wasnt invented purely for Resident Evil you know! Yes, there's a lot more action, but theres still quite a few multi part puzzles......I dont get how it cant at least part be classified as survival horror....

[Guest Dante Spears]

You do realize that's not an argument right? Alone in the Dark had all the elements of a good game yet it was still utter shite.

 

Survival Horror is suppose to down play combat, you're suppose to question whether or not fighting the enemy is worth your bullets. it's also suppose to have pacing and you know scare you. In Dead Space all you have is some flickering lights, and occasionally an enemy jumps out at you which is startling not scary.

[Paul 584]

Cant agree. By that line of thinking Resident Evil isnt survival horror as in places it forces you to fight, removing the choice you claim its 'supposed to have'.

 

Dead Space has limited ammo, intended to be creepy/scary/tense (thats a bit down to opinion though) and the only place it splits off from the 'pure' SH genre is it has a slightly more emphasis on combat.

 

Even the guy who claimed SH was dead said that Dead Space was a combination of SH and action.

 

http://palgn.com.au/14061/my-favourite-waste-of-time-2/

Edited October 2, 2010 by Paul

[Guest MojoPogo]

You do realize that's not an argument right? Alone in the Dark had all the elements of a good game yet it was still utter shite.

 

Survival Horror is suppose to down play combat, you're suppose to question whether or not fighting the enemy is worth your bullets. it's also suppose to have pacing and you know scare you. In Dead Space all you have is some flickering lights, and occasionally an enemy jumps out at you which is startling not scary.

 

But the ammunition IS limited, and also, there are creatures which WILL make you question whether its worth fighting them (the regenerating ones in particular), you're quite often given the chance of fighting and running. You can play it as a shooter, or survival horror, but to say it doesnt have survival horror elements is just wrong.

[Guest Ruderz]

Have to disagree with Dante on this one, it did have all the elements of a Survival Horror. The limited inventory slots, limited ammo, having to pick your targets, place your shots to dismember the limbs, the puzzles.. Sure the sequences when you controlled turrets might be more shooter, but that's only two sequences of the game.

 

I'll admit, it wasn't particularly scary... but if you were low on ammo and three or four of them popped out of no-where you would think "SHIT!!!" All the same.

[Guest Dante Spears]

Yeah. You have to survive, its pretty horrific, its survival horror. That genre wasnt invented purely for Resident Evil you know! Yes, there's a lot more action, but theres still quite a few multi part puzzles......I dont get how it cant at least part be classified as survival horror....

Following that train of logic I should be an anthropologist because I'm a human. Or Spiderman was a survival horror game because Monster Ock was freaking scary and you had to survive him.

 

And no, Dead Space is not a Survival Horror game. Silent Hill 1-4 are survival horror games. Resident Evil up until 3 are Survival Horror games. The original Alone in the Dark's were Survival Horror. RE4, Silent Hill Homecoming and Origins, RE4 and 5 and Dead Space are all just shooters that have a horror motif.

[DC 536]

And no, Dead Space is not a Survival Horror game.

IGN classify it as a Survival Horror game, as does pretty much everywhere and everybody else. In this case, it may be your opinion, but you're wrong to say it isn't. Edited October 2, 2010 by DC

[Paul 584]

Lets see what definition we can find for survival horror games.

 

 

The survival horror game is a prominent video game subgenre of action-adventure games or first-person shooters in which the player has to survive an onslaught of undead or creepy opponents, usually in claustrophobic environments in a third-person perspective. Horror film elements are used liberally. The player is typically armed, but not nearly as well-armed as the player in a shooter game. The player's goal is generally to escape from an isolated house or town that is inhabited mostly by zombies and monsters through shooting and puzzle solving. Isolation is generally one of the most re-current themes within this genre.

 

Survival horror is possibly the only video game subgenre that is defined primarily by theme rather than game play style. Though most commonly associated with the Resident Evil mechanics described above, the genre is also home to beat 'em ups (Nightmare Creatures, Splatterhouse), role playing games (Sweet Home), first-person shooters (, Hungry Ghosts), and text adventure games (Kamaitachi No Yoru). Other games such as the Doom and Castlevania series include horror elements, but such games are not typically considered survival horror because horror is not the defining game play characteristic. However, the subjective nature of such discrepancies can make survival horror a difficult genre to classify.

 

http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Survival_horror

 

Yep, checks all them (creepy opponents, claustrophobic environments, poorly armed, isolated and having to escape).

[Guest Saz]

This thread is silly... stop it!

[Guest Ruderz]

Following that train of logic I should be an anthropologist because I'm a human. Or Spiderman was a survival horror game because Monster Ock was freaking scary and you had to survive him.

 

And no, Dead Space is not a Survival Horror game. Silent Hill 1-4 are survival horror games. Resident Evil up until 3 are Survival Horror games. The original Alone in the Dark's were Survival Horror. RE4, Silent Hill Homecoming and Origins, RE4 and 5 and Dead Space are all just shooters that have a horror motif.

 

I can't see how you're getting these games to be shooters. Usually, for me, a shooter includes games like Modern Warfare, Halo, Blacksite, Bioshock etc... Generally, games that use guns in a First Person Perspective.

 

Games that use guns in a third person perspective aren't really shooters to me personally. Dead Space, RE4/5 were third person games with LIMITED ammo clips that ran out rather fast. In shooters, you find ammo litters the streets cause you need to fight ALL the time, it's not a choice, it's a requirement to proceede in the mission.

 

However, for Dead Space, you either have the choice to fight or run to proceede. It's pretty illogical to class Dead Space as a shooter, Dante.

[Guest Dave7g]

It's survival horror alright, how would anyone think it's not?

[Guest Dante Spears]

It's survival horror alright, how would anyone think it's not?

Anyone whose played a game like Silent Hill 2 which is a real survival horror game and cringes when these action games like Dead Space masquerade as Survival Horror just because it has a horror motif.

[etz 78]

Games that use guns in a third person perspective are called third person shooters. Technically, this includes almost all games that fall into the survival horror category. But, when the emphasis is on gunning your way through (some would argue that when it's even possible to gun your way through) then it's not really a survival game, any more than Halo or Modern Warfare.

[Guest Ruderz]

Just because you're in a third person perspective using guns in a survival horror doesn't make it a shooter over a survival horror just because there is guns involved however. What are you supposed to fight the monsters with? Blow up hammers?

 

To me a REAL shooter is a FPS. Okay, you have some exceptions with the likes of Gears of War, although Dead Space doesn't compare slightly to a shooter just because Issac fights the Xenophobes with (surprise surprise) guns. And even then, you have to choose which guns to use! You can't carry every gun you own at the same time, yet you can still find ammo for the guns you're not even carrying.