The original Dead Space was one of those games that I started, but never finished a couple years ago. I love the survival horror genre, but it never pulled me into the game as easily as the Resident Evil series many years ago on the original Playstation. I may pick it up again at some point, but in the meantime, I thought I’d try my hand at Dead Space for the iPhone / iPod Touch and iPad. Rather than cramming all the story of Dead Space 2 into the timed release of the Apple version, Dead Space is an original story set in between the events of the original Dead Space on the PS3 / 360 / PC and the narrative of Dead Space 2. The plotline follows an engineer named Vandal that’s being directed by the Church of Unitology. Vandal sets of a series of events that result in him facing off against more of those nasty Necromorphs in order to escape the facility. It plays well as an attempt to redemption and the plot ties in nicely with the events of Dead Space 2.



Electronic Arts does an excellent job of walking you through the control scheme on both devices. Movement is controlled by the left virtual stick for motion and the right virtual stick for camera placement. Tapping, dragging and swiping the screen controls the weaponry. On the iPhone, you also have the option of using tilt to cycle through fire modes. On the iPad, you can tap on screen items to play with the environment like opening doors. Frankly, I preferred the iPad controls because I was able to more accurately move the character and attack with more precision. It was also easier to navigate the area as well as prepare for upcoming combat. Similar to most shooters on the Apple platforms, the game won’t overwhelm you with enemies due to character restrictions (related to what the iPhone / iPad can handle). This works well with the controls as it’s much faster to react with an actual controller.

The game is intentionally linear in order to move the story along at a perfect pace across the twelve chapters, but there are plenty of paths to explore related to the side tasks. The game does fall into the rut of repetitive battles at times, but that’s inherent to the series. One fault of the game was that there are limited puzzles along the way, none of which are terribly difficult to figure out. However, there are some excellent graphical twists included in the game that play off Vandal’s descent into madness, courtesy of the ingenious ideas in Eternal Darkness. I won’t spoil them here though for the sake or preserving the gameplay experience for you. There are no multiplayer options included in the game, so after you complete the game for the first time, you are only offered a harder difficulty to increase the replay value. There area a collection of achievements to earn along the way, but nothing notable. Most of them relate to killing Necromorphs specific ways or beating the game on higher levels of difficulty.

Graphics

While Rage HD still holds the title for one of the best looking games on the iPad, Dead Space isn’t far behind. However, on the iPhone 4’s Retina display, it’s right on par with the intricately designed Infinity Blade. The game runs very smoothly on both devices and the level of detail that went into the level environments is stellar. Character animations are generally good, but you will certainly run into some blocky Necromorph character models from time to time. It’s also more apparent on the iPad version of the game that some of the textures used are a bit low resolution. But that’s impossible to spot on the iPhone 4 version. The game also runs darn well on the 3GS, but you are sacrificing a ton of detail compared to the Retina display version.

Audio

I can’t stress this enough, play the game with a decent set of ear buds or over-the-ear headphones. The developers even tell you to use headphones each time the game loads up. It’s crucial to the survival horror experience that you aren’t listening to the game through the internal speakers. While I’m sure the developer borrowed heavily from the resources of Dead Space 2, the music and voiceovers are definitely console level quality. Both create a frightening experience that unfolds the story methodically and the screech of an undead Necromorph that just woke up next to you will make your heart skip a few beats. If you also want to try playing at night as well, you are a braver person than I.

Conclusion

I’m guessing that the imbeciles that were in charge of Dead Space Ignition didn’t have a hand in Dead Space for iPhone / iPad, because it’s actually quite entertaining as well as terrifying. You are looking at about 4 to 5 hours of game time on normal difficulty and you can replay the game on tougher difficulties that become unlocked after finishing it once. In typical Dead Space fashion, you can also take all those weapons along with you for the next time though. As a bonus, you can register the game to unlock two bonus items in Dead Space 2 for the PS3, Xbox 360 or PC. All in all, Dead Space for the Apple platforms holds true to the original game and offers a delightful amount of spine-tingling chills for your gaming buck. If you have both an iPhone and an iPad, I recommend spending the extra 3 bucks on the HD version of the game. The extra screen space is preferred for navigation as well as combat. It’s also worth keeping the Apple charger handy as this game is a battery hog. Highly Recommended!



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