I Wish I Liked Space
From as far back as I can remember I’ve had a gross dislike towards anything space related. My ex was fixated on the genre, and often I’d have to sit through episodes of Battlestar Gallactica, completely depressed and cursing myself for not investing in a second TV for the bedroom. Then there’s movies. The only sc-fi movie I’ve ever been able to stomach - and actually rather enjoyed - was 2001: A Space Odyssey, but only because I had to write an essay on it for college, otherwise I would never have given it a look-in. Unfortunately, my dislike towards anything space related even extends to video games. When people talk about KOTOR and what an accomplishment it was, all I can think about is the hugely uninspiring environment I would find myself playing in. I couldn’t even bring myself to finish Lego Star Wars!
It’s only now, and the reason why that is I’ll get to in a minute, that I’m genuinely wishing I enjoyed science fiction. Here’s why, and it’s pretty simple. Four words, in fact: Mass Effect, Dead Space. The former has been out for quite a while, sure, and it must be good, otherwise my friends wouldn’t have badgered the life out of me to buy it/borrow it. I don’t just mean one friend either, but pretty much anyone I know who games on the 360 had nothing but praise for Mass Effect. And there were the reviews, of course, that commended the game and shot down my initial skepticism (”It’s too ambitious! They’ll never pull it off!”).
Technically speaking, Mass Effect is everything I love about video games. For starters, it’s a Role Playing Game, which I’ve made no qualms about loving (though I am way more partial to turn-based than action). It’s part of a trilogy, therefore it has that ‘epic’ feel that I love to see in video games. The main quest itself takes 20-30 hours to complete (according to 1up), and I would never leave the side quests uncompleted, so there’s plenty of game time to be had. Great! Then there’s the issue of morality, which I only wrote about very recently, and the option to choose how you respond to NPC’s. Ooh, and a sex scene! I’m getting excited just by talking about it - the game that is, not the sex scene. So why won’t I bite the bullet and buy Mass Effect? Because it has planets and stuff, duh…
Dead Space, which is due to be released in October, looks to be pretty stellar judging by the trailers. The first time I saw screenshots I felt that subtle wave of excitement you get when there’s a game on the horizon you think could be something great, but you’re holding onto your reservations because you don’t want to build up too much expectations so early on in a game’s development. You know that feeling, right? Anyway, the concept is really interesting, and the gore factor is pretty high (I may be a woman, but I do like my fair share of blood and guts). Plus, even just from watching the trailers you can feel that this game is going to be hugely atmospheric - possibly on par with Bioshock in that department. Regardless, I quickly shot it down. After all, as the title suggests, it’s set in space.
Going back to Mass Effect briefly, I know I can now pick it up for not far off a tenner. Even if it did turn out to miss the spot, what exactly have I got to lose? The more I think about it, the more I feel I may be able to side step the fact there won’t be a pretty blue sky and shining sun on the horizon. And you never know, both Mass Effect and Dead Space could turn over a new leaf for me. I could end up becoming a sci-fi junkie. I highly doubt it, but you never know…
I don’t have anything derogatory to say about Alan Wake. My advice to you? Spend a night in Bright Falls and soak up the eerie atmosphere. Alan Wake excels at thrilling you psychologically. Which is why it’s called a psychological thriller, I guess…
Loud78