Curadoria da Internet

Dead Space Mobile (2011) (en)

Originally published on February 21, 2012, on the Projeto Jogatina blog. Reviewed version: iOS; version currently available: Android (Archive.org).

Revisiting this post from 14 years ago for TerSoftware (one of the Fediverse tags) on March 24, 2026, whose theme is “Mobile Games.”

alt text

Personally, I’ve always hesitated to write full game reviews, as the idea of condensing the experience of several hours of gameplay into a text that will be read in a few minutes is daunting. But I have to start somewhere, and the game I chose was Dead Space Mobile.

alt text

Plot

It takes place three years after the first Dead Space, and unlike that game, the true identity of the character we control is unknown, as they are on a secret mission for the Church of Unitology and are given only the codename Vandal.

Another feature used to maintain anonymity is the helmet with a sound filter, giving the character one of the most cavernous voices ever heard!

Unitologists firmly believe that the human race was created by the Intelligent Design of a divine alien force and will be reunited after death in Heaven through the power of a sacred artifact known as The Marker. The Church of Unitology’s promise is simple: “transformation and rebirth.”

Vandal is a recent convert; not even he knows the true purpose of his mission. The person giving him instructions via radio is Tyler Radikov. The plot takes place in the mines of Titan Station (on Saturn’s largest moon).

Initially, Tyler orders Vandal to sabotage the power boxes in a sector and says that his engineering skills make him the perfect person for the task. Though suspicious, Vandal goes ahead; when he finishes, he comes face-to-face with the first Necromorphs and begins to flee from them. At that moment, a female voice says over the radio:

Vandal, I represent the Church, listen to me. What you just saw is your reward, (…) do not be afraid. Your death will be glorious, a sacred path to life beyond death.

Needless to say, Vandal curses them out! He says the Church will pay for this when he tells the Government everything he knows. Director Tiedemann tracks him down via his armor number (R.I.G.) and begins giving him instructions over the radio.

Vandal explains that he was tricked; Tiedemann says there’s a way to redeem himself: contain the Necromorph infestation so they don’t reach the station’s public sector. After this introduction, I think you can already get a good idea of the plot.

alt text

Gameplay:

It’s worth noting that I haven’t played the full versions of the other games in the franchise on consoles. My only previous experience with Dead Space was the Xbox 360 demo, which I didn’t like. I believe it doesn’t reflect the full game experience. Therefore, I intend to play it in the future (the future has arrived: 14 years have passed and I still haven’t done it — what a shame!).

On the iPhone, right off the bat, I found the game to be very well-executed in terms of gameplay. Instead of emulating the console and PC experience, they designed it entirely for touchscreen phones and tablets, also taking advantage of the accelerometer’s capabilities.

One thing I admire in some modern games is the “clean” factor. Dead Space brought this to us with the health bar on the back of the armor and the ammo counters displayed on the weapons themselves.

In the mobile version, this has been maximized: the game doesn’t display any virtual controls on the screen; both character movement and camera movement are controlled by swiping your fingers in the direction you want the character to go or look. The downside here is that, at certain times, your thumb can slightly obstruct your view of the left side of the screen (on tablets, this is mitigated).

Another interesting use of the touch screen is for weapons and special abilities. To select the primary weapon, you must tap an icon in the top right corner; once selected, to enter aim mode, simply tap the screen once; tapping again fires the weapon.

To reload, simply tap the weapon’s display, which will show a symbol of two arrows. Weapons generally have two functions; to switch between them, just tilt slightly to the left or right.

Vandal also has two other abilities that can assist you during combat or when facing certain obstacles. Stasis: in aim mode, by tapping a circle on the right side of his back, he releases an energy blast that can paralyze enemies for a few seconds.

Kinesis, on the other hand, is the famous telekinetic power used to levitate and throw objects. Although this ability is quite interesting, it has a major drawback that discourages its use: when you levitate very large objects, they obstruct your vision, making movement and aiming difficult.

Another gameplay feature that appears rarely is the Zero-G Jump. In certain sections, you can aim at a point, and when the crosshair turns green, simply shake your device vertically.

The first time this happened, I was on a crowded bus on my way to work and felt embarrassed to make such an ostentatious movement. It was different from when I played Need For Speed Undercover on my way home, sitting in the back seat of an empty bus, where the real G-force provided even greater immersion! :-)

Back to Dead Space, the cool thing about these moments is that you lose track of what’s the floor or ceiling, thanks to the jumps and the magnetic boots on your armor. Some parts require attention to detail, so be careful not to end up “walking in circles” and getting frustrated because you don’t know where to go!

In addition to melee combat—usually swiping up to use the Plasma Saw (or down to stomp) — there are some QTEs (Quick Time Events) when an enemy latches onto you. Speaking of enemies, there’s a decent variety of them, each with their own attacks and different tricks to kill them, requiring the player to think on their feet.

alt text

Graphics

They’re great for a portable platform of its time. Even though most of the action takes place indoors, in tunnels and corridors, there are some variations with very well-crafted settings. Vandal’s movement deserves special mention; it conveys that sense of weight from his armor. There are also some subtle touches, like during the moments when he hallucinates.

Sound and Soundtrack

When you start the game, the first on-screen warning recommends using headphones for a better experience. I wholeheartedly agree, since smartphones don’t usually have good speakers, not to mention that the immersion will be total, especially if you’re playing in a quiet, dark place…

Scary? I’ll admit that the first few times I played, I got a few jumps, but then I got used to the enemies and the game’s pace. However, the combination of sound effects and the soundtrack creates a tense atmosphere.

alt text

Arsenal, Upgrades, and New Game+

The main motivations for continuing to play Dead Space Mobile are the constant acquisitions of new weapons and upgrades, both for your weapons and your armor. Not to mention New Game+: You’ll hardly be able to equip everything the first time you play, so you’ll have to choose where to spend your resources.

After completing the campaign, you can restart it while keeping all previously acquired weapons, upgrades, and money. There’s also a weapon that can only be obtained by purchasing it (with in-game currency). It’s the Heavy Pulse Rifle, which costs 200,000 Credits!

Replay value is enhanced by achievements (which unlock some wallpapers) and two additionalhorde/survival-style game modes. In "5 Minutes to Kill", you have 5 minutes to kill as many enemies as possible. In "Endless", you must kill as many as possible until you yourself follow the “sacred path to life beyond death.”

Conclusion

If you enjoy playing on touchscreen devices, Dead Space Mobile is a must-play. I consider it the best smartphone game I’ve ever played. Unlike most licensed mobile games, it isn’t just a generic port with on-screen virtual controls. On the contrary, the game has its own storyline, is extremely polished, and its gameplay was designed with smartphone and tablet hardware in mind, making full use of the touchscreen. Using headphones makes the experience even more immersive.

On the original publication date of this post (02/21/2012), the game was officially available for iOS. Later, it was also released for Android. Today, it is unavailable on both platforms, demonstrating the industry’s disregard for intellectual property and the preservation of games. Thanks to fans, there is an installer that runs on current versions of Android available on Archive.org.

Playtime:

It took me about 7 hours the first time. But with New Game+, I’m already playing the campaign for the third time and have clocked 14 hours of gameplay!

Pros

Cons

Technical Details


Reply via email | Mastodon | RSS | About

#en #games #retrogaming