Dead Space (video game): Difference between revisions

* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: You live, but {{spoiler|all of your companions are dead, as well as the people you knew on the ''Ishimura''. You find out that your girlfriend killed herself long before you arrived, and that you've been talking to a hallucination of her produced by the Marker - which, by the way, almost certainly drove you at least a little insane... And there's a sequel}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Black Dude Dies First]]: Of all the named characters who appear in the game, Hammond is the first one to die. That said, he manages to survive until about 4/5ths of the way through the game, and after he finally buys it most everyone else follows suit pretty quickly.}}

** However, after the head is removed, if you throw it or shoot it, it pops like a melon filled with firecrackers.

* [[Boring but Practical]]: The Plasma Cutter and the Line Gun are all the player needs to utterly dominate the game on any difficulty setting. The Plasma Cutter is the first weapon as well as the only free one, but both appear early on and can perform the job of any of the more [[Awesome but Impractical]] weapons faster, more cheaply, and without encumbering Isaac. There's even an achievement for completing the game using only the Plasma Cutter.

* [[Elite Mooks]]: Dark versions of the Necromorph types are tougher, faster, and deal more damage. They mostly show up in the later levels.

** The Valor soldiers with their Stasis unit merged in their Necromorph form; they're ''fast.''

* [[Energy Weapons]]: Or in this case, energy power tools and one weapon.

* [[Everybody's Dead, Dave]]: ''"Everyone!"'' as Kendra claims.

* [[Eye Scream]]: It's no big spoiler that the captain of the ship is already dead, but it's a semi-spoiler when you learn he was {{spoiler|stabbed in the eye with a needle by Dr. Kyne in an attempt to calm him down. Made even worse when you read a text log stating the needle went all the way past his eye and into his brain.}}

** The cover art for the second animated film ''[[Dead Space Aftermath (Film)|Dead Space Aftermath]]''.

* [[Fetch Quest]]: Pretty much any level will be about finding arbitrary object A and taking it to place B, which is often right near where you start.

* [[Finishing Stomp]]: A good idea when you're not quite sure whether that Necromorph in front of you is dead yet. Also a good idea when you're not quite sure whether there's an infector nearby who might make a new Necromorph out of that human corpse in front of you. And finally, a good idea if there's a crate you want opened in front of you. ''Not'' a good idea when it comes to certain enemies who happen to be explosive, but in 95% of all cases, stomping the crap out of something will make your situation better - even if it's just by relieving stress.

* [[Late to The Party]]: By the time the ''Kellion'' makes it to the ''Ishimura'' to repair the subspace array, most of the crew is dead. At most, there are 20 survivors, and of these, all but 4 are too far gone to be saved. The entire ship is overrun by the infection, and Necromorphs have free reign over it.

** And the ''Valor'' after that. Not a good day in the Aegis system.

* [[Ludicrous Gibs]]: HOLY--

* [[MacGuffin]]: The Marker - {{spoiler|Practically anything weird that happens can be credited to the Marker messing with you... The power of the Marker to repel Necromorphs is somewhat debatable though, as the Necromorphs seem as willing to attack you when you are standing next to it. Maybe it needs to be on its pedestal to work properly.}}

* [[Mundane Utility]]: [[Inverted Trope|Inverted]]. The weapons that Isaac uses are actually mining or repair tools. The plasma cutter, line gun and ripper are used for cutting through rock and other barriers, the force gun is essentially a jackhammer, etc. etc. All of them have in-game justifications for the Ishimura's task of planet-cracking. The only true weapon that you get is the pulse rifle, and it's a lot less effective than your other weapons unless you upgrade it considerably.

** Don't forget Isaac's suit. At its strongest, it's slightly less effective than full-on combat armor, because it was made for engineers (like Isaac) trained to go in and solve problems under extreme conditions. As an engineer trained to handle emergencies on a spaceship, Isaac had to be prepared for anything that could go wrong on a spaceship, and a lot can go wrong in a spaceship.

* [[No OSHA Compliance]]: Even before the [[Zombie Apocalypse]], the ''Ishimura'' isn't exactly the safest place in the universe. For example, it has nozzles designed to spray acid across a hallway at a set of storage rooms at regular intervals.

* [[Not Quite Dead]]: Occasionally, Necromorphs that you have only damaged will play dead and ambush you when you try to walk past. {{spoiler|The Hunter Necromorph refuses to die, growing back its limbs when you cut them off and even coming back after you cryogenically freeze him. Eventually, you have incinerate him with a shuttle's engine fire to finish him off for good.}}

* [[Sealed Evil in A Can]]: Doctor Mercer introduces himself and his insanity by releasing he Hunter from the tank right behind you.

** Oh, and for the Aegis VII miners? Moving the Marker off its pedestal was a bad idea.

* [[Senseless Sacrifice]]: The engineer that shot off his own limbs. He thought that he could prevent the infection (or at least not be able to hurt anyone if he turned), but he's the first Necromorph you see when you step out of the elevator.

* [[Shooting Gallery]]

** At one point, you have to salvage a "Singularity Core" from the ''USM Valor''. Said core looks an awful lot like a [[Back to The Future|flux capacitor]]...

*** The first loading screen, which is a graph describing the ''Kellion's'' Shockpoint jump, also states that the "Flux Capacitor" is a component of the FTL engine system. Other components include The [[The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy|Improbability Drive]] and [[Star Trek (Franchise)|Warp Field Generator]].

** Note that the distress signal Isaac sends out being answered immediately is part of the story ({{spoiler|the military ship was nearby all along}}).

* [[Suicidal Overconfidence]]: {{spoiler|Kendra sees fit to steal the Marker after Isaac returns it, even though it is the only thing holding the Necromorph hoard at bay and she is barely armed (a single pistol, while Isaac is practically an armory). Needless to say, her death comes swiftly.}}

* [[Suspicious Videogame Generosity]]: Played straight, but often inverted in a manner similar to [[After Boss Recovery]].

* [[Take Your Time]]: No matter how urgent the task, nothing will actually happen until you reach the place it's supposed to occur at. Even when the ship is getting pummeled by asteroids or the oxygen levels are rapidly falling, or {{spoiler|that big chunk of planet crust is dropping through the sky down onto where you are fighting the end boss.}} The Necromorphs are good enough to leave you alone while you spend all the time you want practicing at the shooting range or playing Z-Ball.

** Simple, {{spoiler|The Marker is safely leading Kyne around the ship}} and considering {{spoiler|how intelligent the Hive Mind is}}, all of Mercer's help means leaving him alive is more useful than transforming him into a Necromorph.

* [[Tractor Beam]]: It's called "kinesis," thank you very much. Also, the gravity tethers.

* [[Unusable Enemy Equipment]]: The ''Valor's'' armoury is full of weaponry Isaac can't take, and he has to buy all his own gear save the Plasma Cutter; no other weapons appear in the game as pickups, even though they're supposed to be industrial tools used in the standard operations of the ship he's on. You can't even take the rifle off a guy who was just killed two feet in front of you. That said, he finds a metric assload of ammunition free for the taking.

* [[Unwinnable]]: See [[Game Breaking Bug]], above.

* [[Video Game Flamethrowers Suck]]: Poor damage. Short (and even weaker) damage over time. Very fast ammo consumption. Short range. Virtually no stopping power or dismemberment ability. You can't even use it in a vacuum. Is there any reason to get this thing? ...Well, when you fully upgrade its damage, ''blue fire''.

* [[Video Phone]]: Isaac has an ultra hi-tech video phone with a projected holographic screen as part of the RIG suit's [[Comm Links|Comm Link]].

* [[The Virus]]: The Necromorphs, the race of baddies who make up the [[Zombie Apocalypse]]. Unique in that they can't actually infect living people - they have to be dead first. Precisely how the virus itself is transmitted is [[Plot Hole|never particularly clear]], since the only vector seen, the Infector, can only create one specific type.

** Although {{spoiler|the Hunter was created by injecting the infection directly through the forehead of a living victim.}}