"Dead Space: Downfall is one of those rather rare situations in which a piece of media made in order to capitalize on a different type of media does what it’s supposed to do pretty well. Meaning that it is meant to be a story prequel to the first Dead Space and as far as that is concerned, it works perfectly.
As a stand-alone movie on the other hand, not so much.
It’s decent enough sure but it’s not really meant to be viewed as a stand-alone experience, instead it’s supposed to fill in a few of the gaps in the Dead Space storyline.
Animation-wise it’s nothing we haven’t seen before, neither the direction nor really the plot bring any sort of innovation on the other hand, when it comes to the blood and gore...ho-ly shit! This is one piece of Western animation that can hold its own next to most animes that tend to exagerate a bit on the blood gushing quota.
So here’s your crash course into Dead Space lore. Humanity is capable of interstellar travel and it mines other world by destroying them with huge-ass ships called Planet Crackers...original title. It appears that life on Earth is nothing but a fluke and every planet they’ve ever found was dead. So instead of mining them like they would on Earth, they break the entire planets apart since there’s nothing worth saving or studying...until they get to Planet Aegis 7 in the Cygnus System.
This is where they find an artifact of supposed alien origins and decide to move it to Earth since - and here is where the story goes a bit for a real-world feel, which I like. It appears that the overwhelming number of people in this future adhere to a belief system represented by the Unitology Church. They tend to have some interesting beliefs in terms of space artifacts, which they call Markers.
This organization resembles a real-world quasi-religious movement...they don’t mention Lord Xenu anywhere but the resemblance is there. Anyway, you won’t get more info about the Unitologist Church unless you finish the game or read up on it on the interwebs. Likewise, other glaring plot holes in Downfall are explained throughout the game.
So anyway, this is the story prequel to a survival horror game so you can pretty much guess what happens. Once the artifact is moved, the people start going crazy and start killing pretty much everyone and/or themselves. The dead then get reanimated and become alien killing machines. I know for those of you familiar with the Dead Space franchise I’m stating the obvious but this is just so the uninitiated understand.
(what could be considered mild spoilers ahead)
The mining colony on Aegis 7 is dead in no-time and the Planet Cracker Ishimura is next on the list. I mean we already know it’s doomed because that’s how the movie starts. With the sole survivor sending a last message.
So the movie follows the exploits of the doomed ship’s doomed chief of security and her doomed team as they try to save as many people as possible...yeah so the movie is an exercise in futility - like many prequels tend to be - but it isn’t without its merits.
As far as the animated medium goes, I need to stress that this is in no way shape or form a movie for children. I don’t think most adults could stomach it either. The blood and gore level is up there with the best of them, a valid comparison would be Ichi The Killer, even though that one is live action.
Besides the graphic deaths there’s also rather graphic language but to be honest, I don’t know if a couple of four letter words will be more damaging to a young mind than seeing a man’s jaw being cleanly ripped from his head by the bone scythe limbs of a reanimated corpse. All I’m saying is that it simply might not be everyone’s particular brand of vodka.
In conclusion, if you’ve already played through the games then you might want to check it out. Even though you can pretty much surmise what happened on the planet in the first game it’s still nice to see. If on the other hand, you go first for the movie and like it despite the sometimes crappy voice acting and really suspended ending, get yourself the first game and play through it. It is an above average gaming experience but where it excels is in terms of atmosphere. I suggest you play it with a light on...even in daylight."
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Article originally uploaded to Rugged Gamers: http://ruggedgamers.com/dead-space-downfall-review/
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