Resident Evil might not be the first ‘Survival Horror’ game but it is the best known. With limited ammo and narrow confines it was damn scary game. Later entries in the series moved away from that model as they became more focused on action. Sad times.
But there was a savior for the genre! Once again I found myself in a nightmarish situation, with every panicked shot taking me closer to an empty magazine. Each corner was a trial as Necromorphs proved themselves a far different proposition to zombies. Fast and brutal, the biggest challenge was dealing with them correctly. Torso shots were wastefully ineffective, as it was only shots to the limbs that really slowed them down.
In time I’d become a pro at dispatching waves of the bastards, but that first play-through was tough going even on normal.
The USG Ishimura was a fantastic environment that really felt as though it had been populated until recently. Then there was the lack of a normal graphical display. Health and ammo were displayed on the back-mounted RIG and gun, whilst communications were held on a pop-up display in front of Isacc (you could even see round the other side). The game never broke immersion.
Ultimately the Dead Space series fell into the same trap as Resident Evil as it chased a bigger audience. But the original game will always be a favourite of mine. Just don’t aim for the head!
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