Dec 3, 2008

Dead Space: Downfall

All that good stuff that made Dead Space - a completely new horror franchise - find a spot in the hearts of the many horror game fanatics out there, has been carried forward to the game's animated movie prequel - Dead Space: Downfall.

Dead Space took place aboard a mining ship - the Ishimura - which was torn asunder by a mysterious alien presence that revealed itself during the course of the game. Downfall takes place on the same ship, and covers the events that lead up to the devastation of the Ishimura.

The movie's protagonist is the ship's chief security officer - Alissa Vincent - who's completely dedicated to her job and would give her life for the ship's crew in the blink of an eye. The movie starts off with a video log of a distressed Vincent, talking of the outbreak and how the 'artifact' shouldn't reach earth. Then the movie moves back to where it all started - with the Ishimura going on an illegal mining mission, where they discover an alien artifact that's supposed to prove the existence of God. The relic awakens a slumbering race of malevolent alien beings, that gets aboard the Ishimura and lays waste to its crew.

The movie boasts of some of the most stylish brutal action out there, that's sure to satisfy those gore pangs. There's ample dismemberment, decapitation, evisceration, gibbage and enough blood to fill up an ocean. The movie's dark visual style goes really well with the grim and gruesome setting aboard the isolated vessel. With petrified crew-members running helter-skelter for their lives through corridors bathed in human organs and limbs, the film captures both the hopelessness and the chaos of the alien intrusion in all its menacing glory.

While it doesn't offer closure to many questions of the game's storyline, Dead Space: Downfall is one of the best pieces of game-inspired animated entertainment I've seen in a long time. The production values are really high, with 74 minutes of some really crisp 2D animation and an intense background score that's sure to keep you at the edge of your seat. If you've got a good TV and a great sound system, this movie's surely one of the best mature animated flicks out there. Unfortunately, the game isn't available in retail in India so if you're a fan of the franchise I recommend that you buy the game online. Just ensure that you watch it after you've played the entire game, else it may spoil the experience of the game a bit (with a few spoilers). The DVD packs a few extra goodies too, like some of the game's artwork, and the incredibly eerie, atmospheric 'Isolation' soundtrack that's sure to give you goose-bumps!

Source : tech2.in.com

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