Dead Space Remake vs Original

The Dead Space franchise, created by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey and developed by Visceral Games, is a science fiction series published by Electronic Arts. The story of the franchise is best experienced by following the chronological order of the games, movies, comic books, and novels.

The story of the franchise takes you through the experience of a crew stranded in space. “Ishimura” the ship is infested with Necromorphs and Issac is the only survivor thanks to his suit. The players play as Issac and go on the voyage against the monsters in the thrilling and horror-filled game. 

Dead Space has launched many games. Keeping the success all around the world in mind, they also released a remake of the original game. In today’s article, we will go over both games and compare them. We will go over all the interesting aspects of the games. So without further delay, let’s get into it.

Gameplay

Before getting into the comparison, let’s see what the game is all about. The Dead Space series features a unique gameplay experience where the player’s character is always visible on screen, and all menus and interfaces are integrated into the character’s spacesuit, known as the “Resource Integration Gear” (RIG). 

This allows for seamless communication with other characters. You will see the character’s hit point meter and oxygen supply are displayed on the suit for others to see. Additionally, when the character enters a depressurized area, all sound is removed from the game except for those sounds that would be transmitted through the suit’s vibrations, such as gunfire. It’s worth noting that opening menus do not pause gameplay.

Combat

The RIG has two special abilities that can be used in combat and puzzle-solving: the “Kinesis” module. It allows the character to levitate and move objects, including heavy and distant ones, and even use them as projectiles. And, The “Stasis” module. This ability allows the character to slow down a target for a short period, allowing the player to move through rapidly moving obstacles or to hinder enemies. The RIG also has a slot-based inventory for carrying weapons, ammunition, healing items, and other objects.

The game’s combat is influenced by the franchise’s antagonists, the Necromorphs, which are reanimated corpses and do not have nervous, respiratory, or circulatory systems, so the conventions of stopping power are largely irrelevant. Therefore, instead of targeting the head or center of mass, players are encouraged to engage in “strategic dismemberment” by shooting off their arms and legs. 

Some Necromorphs can be easily defeated this way, but others may change attack patterns or even spawn new enemies when killed. In addition, the game’s weapons are repurposed tools or mining equipment, such as plasma cutters, rotary saws, and gravitic repulsion tools, and ammunition is scarce, requiring careful use of available resources.

Players are allowed upgrade their RIGs and weapons at workstations, and visit vending machines to buy or sell items for in-game currency. In the third installment, the store is removed and players can upgrade their RIGs at “Suit Kiosks” and craft their own weapons by scavenging parts and resources throughout the game. Each type of Necromorph has its unique way of killing the player character, depending on the claws, blades, fangs, or proboscis they possess.

Story

New features will be introduced in the remake. However, the main story will be the same to that of Dead Space Original.

Isaac Clarke, a systems engineer, joins a rescue team to investigate the USG Ishimura, which has gone silent. After the team’s ship crashes while docking with the Ishimura, Isaac searches the ship for his missing girlfriend Nicole while the rest of the team looks for a way off. The ship is overrun with Necromorphs, and Isaac must defend himself using mining tools and his suit’s abilities. 

Isaac experiences visions of Nicole, who guides him to return a mysterious object called the Red Marker to the planet. As the game progresses, it is revealed that one of the rescue team members, Kendra Daniels, was working against Isaac. She is killed by a Necromorph before she can escape, and Isaac escapes the planet by commandeering her ship and destroying the Marker. The game ends with Isaac as the sole survivor, but he sees a terrifying hallucination of Nicole.

Development 

Visceral Games, formerly known as EA Redwood Shores, developed the Dead Space series starting in 2008. The studio originally proposed a sequel to System Shock, but the idea was not well received until the success of Resident Evil 4 in 2005. The goal was to create a horror-driven game set in space, and the first game in the series was successful. However, the sequel, Dead Space 2, did not perform as well financially despite positive critical reception. 

In an effort to increase its appeal, EA asked Visceral to make changes to the third game. This include adding co-op and faster gameplay. Visceral had plans for a fourth game in the series, but the studio was closed in 2017, and the series was put on hold. In 2021, EA announced that a remake of the first game is under development by Motive Studio. The game is set to be released on 27th January 2023 and we cannot wait to experience the intense moments once again.

Inside Dead Space 

Let’s dive into the Dead Space and find out what new technologies are being used to give the best experience to the players. 

Aboard Ishimura

The USG Ishimura, as shown in Dead Space is the biggest achievement of mankind. It also holds great significance in the story of the game. Infested with the killing Necromorphs is an iconic element of Dead Space. 

The team at Motive had a big task on their hands when they set out to remake the iconic horror game Dead Space. The original game, which was released in 2008, was praised for its detailed, claustrophobic, and terrifying environment on the Ishimura spaceship. The Ishimura was widely considered to be one of the best elements of the game and a defining feature of the genre. So, in order to do justice to the original game, the team at Motive knew that they needed to pay just as much attention to Ishimura as they would to any other character in the game. This meant ensuring that every aspect of the ship was just as detailed, atmospheric, and terrifying as it was in the original.

According to Associate Art Director Roy Tuazon, the ship is designed after many heads came together. The ship is the centerpiece of the whole Dead Space. This is the reason developers didn’t leave any stone unturned to produce the best for the players.

The Visceral Games put their team to the test as they were set to produce a unique yet terrifying experience for the players. They had the task of producing something that can get the most out of system hardware yet giving a continuous horror experience to the players. A lot of changes have been made to the original Ishimura yet keeping the old ship as a reference point. Many new corridors and hallways will be seen in the remake but the integrity of the environment is maintained. 

Intensifying the atmosphere

The one thing that was praised when Dead Space came out in 2008 was the intense environment it had. The gameplay just gave goosebumps to the players and enhanced the overall gaming experience. Well, we wouldn’t expect anything less in Dead Space Remake. 

The surprise attacks in the original Dead Space and the intense music that kept the players on their toes are returning to the screens. The developers at the Motive realize this and they are all set to take everything to another level. According to the Senior Game Director Eric Baptizat, everything that comprises an environment is enhanced and more detailed. The lighting and the music play a key role for them to take control of players’ emotions. 

Motive Behind Uniqueness

The motive has brought their A game for the development of Dead Space Remake. They introduced a new feature to keep track of the stress level a scene of a game provides. They used these analyses to bring the best experience for the players in the remake. To keep the player busy and always engaging they brought this feature up. According to the numbers given by Intensity Director the game is designed to give a combination of several effects from the 1200 pool.

They measured the stress level a player experiences from moving from room to room. To enhance the gaming experience they modeled the game around it. There might be some spaces when it’s all quiet and in an instance the intensity level skyrockets.

According to the people involved in the development process of the game, even they were shocked by the results of the Intensity Director. It took a lot of iterations to get the product that the players will be able to see in the final product. The hit-and-trial approach to increase the overall standard of the game is just beyond imagination. But according to the staff, it is all worth the effort.

Story Matters

Above we have discussed how the atmosphere makes a good part of a horror game. EA went above and beyond to produce the best product for the players. As much as the atmosphere matters, the story of a game matters equally. There needs to be a balance between mystery and suspense to give the best experience to the users.

In the case of Dead Space, Motive had an already successful story at their hands to work with. The story of Dead Space is another interpretation of “you are descending into Hell to save your beloved.” The team at Motive understands the commonality in the culture in terms of fear and they put it to display in the game. Dehumanization, isolation, and paranoia make up a good part of Dead Space.

However, no matter how much fiction is added to spice things up, still, the story is kept personal to the player. To keep players relatable and engaged in the story this needed to be done and the Motive came through.

What’s new in the Remake Story?

When the time of building up a story came, the teams at Motive came together to come up with the best solution. They approached the game with a unique approach and decided to enhance the parts that need fixing and leave the rest alone. According to the Creative Director Roman Campos-Oriola, the game’s story is designed in a way to have a “better continuity with the broader universe.”

Players will also be able to see more screen time for characters other than Issac. In the older version characters like Jacob Temple and Elizabeth Cross didn’t have a face. Their voice was part of the game. However, players will be able to see these characters in flesh. To provide depth to these characters’ backgrounds the side quests serve the task efficiently. 

According to the developers, the side quests will give an in-depth account of the descent of the ship. It will be like going into the past and investigating everything. The base of the story is kept like the old version of the game but the threads are designed along it to give a new aspect of it.

A New Voice

The dialogues of a game describe how much the players will be kept in the game. In the first Dead Space game Issac didn’t have a voice which kind of made players disconnected. In the remake, they overcame this problem. 

Issac’s character is made as an expert engineer and one of the best at what he does. But his lack of involvement in the conversations undermined this. Now that a voice is given to him, the players will be able to go over the engineering solutions along with the character. 

However, the voice and dialogues assigned to Issac are kept in sync otherwise they could have been too much. The beauty of building the game is shown in things as minor as these. 

Always a Twist

When asked about the characters of the game, every member of the development team had a different answer. However, many liked the character of Dr. Mercer. He is said to be the most difficult character to write and the writers took him in a slightly different direction. According to the writers of the game, the actor playing Dr. Mercer really gave life to the character. There are some very interesting plot twists to the game’s story overall, which are left for the players to unfold.

Characters like Nicole and Kendra are also made with strong characteristics. The story is designed in a way that let the players understand the importance of these characters. The developers gave an interesting insight into the characters of the game. The deaths given to one of the characters is what will make the players understand its importance.

Hype

Discussing the hype of Dead Space game is not such a good idea. We all know about the success of first Dead Space game, and remakes are always better given previous records. 

Gamers are desperately waiting for January 27th, 2023. The gaming communities are lit with discussions on the topic. Every aspect of the new game is described so we can understand how successful the game will be.

Conclusion

Dead Space is a masterpiece of a game franchise. Made around horror and suspense the game takes the players to the infested Ishimura’s adventure. The success of Dead Space Original motivated EA to produce the remake of the game. And it is set to be released on January 27th, 2023. 

In this article, we have discussed every aspect of the game. You will learn about how both games will be different. There are a lot of new things the player will be able to experience. We have quoted insights given by the developing team members. 

We have also discussed what makes the game successful among the players and community. If you are not a Dead Space fan, you should check out the remake when it comes out. Hopefully, our article will serve an informative purpose for you. Live through the thrill-filled gaming experience on 27th January 2023. Looking for in-demand games at the cheapest price? Visit electronic first.

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