Dead Space look good...play bad

Let me clarify that statement.

I was able to procure the new EA developed/produced title Dead Space for my PC through a friend whose S.O. works there. I was warned that the controls were funky on the PC, and that I should use an Xbox360 controller to avoid the standard keyboard/mouse configuration.

I was initially thinking, 'how bad could it be', then I installed and played it.

Yikes. Mouse controls are soft and loose, not crisp and defined like most 1st or 3rd person shooters. Mouse sensitivity options are useless.

At first I was thinking, well maybe they designed this because it makes the gameplay more visceral in that you're more vulnerable to attacks. Then, after a few rounds with some gnarly looking necromorphs, it was clear that the control schema was simply ported over from console design to the PC without any kind of discrete mapping or optimization. LAME!

Why does a development house like EA spend all this time making a great game, then hobble it for one platform? Oh wait...we're talking about EA developing PC games. Ahhh....ok...making sense now.

Stuff on the internets indicates that the issue was raised to EA, and the response was:

"Dead Space for PC is an equivalent experience to that on consoles. The controls are different and customizable, but we feel it's in the best ability for the players to match what the console experience is like."

The PC review from IGN, a site I usually rely on for reviews and details on new and upcoming media, was positive, and a closer read indicates that a device other than keyboard/mouse was used for the evaluation. It would have been interesting to see what the score would've been had they used the standard PC controls. It is noteworthy that the review doesn't draw attention to why they employed an Xbox360 controller (or similar device). I wonder if they had any prompting from EA. If so, that's downright dastardly of IGN

Here's hoping they get a patch out that fixes this, otherwise, I'm going to have to invest in a nice, used, wired controller. How ironic. Folks like to play these kinds of games because of the better sense of accuracy, and now the PC is being relegated to mimic console controls. I weep for the future.

Crysis release date for U.S.

Finally. 11/16/2007.

Don't knock the enthusiasm for games. Word on the street is that Al-Qaida is using Worlds of Warcraft and the Second Life online virtual community to run simulated terrorist activities because they can't do dry runs in real life.

Best. Game. Ever.

This year Take Two Interactive and Irrational Games are producing what looks to be the most awesomest FPS game ever: Bioshock.

It looks like they modeled in aspects of our current cultures obsession with aesthetics and the looming figure of genetic modifications and ran with an idea couched in a glorious first-person shooter.

The character arrives in an underwater city originally designed to be a Utopian home for wealthy and brainy elites. It turns out that genetic modifications eventually turned everyone both chock full o' nuts where their insanity also manifests in bizarre physiological abilities.

Current gameplay was recently released by the development team at Irrational Games, and from what's seen here, it looks absolutely brilliant. It's coming out sometime late this year, according to the publisher.

I'm not discounting Crysis to also blow up the scene for DirectX 10 FPS gaming. Additionally, the Half-Life Episode 2 Orange Box (includes Portal, Epsiode 1/2, and more) is coming out this year as well.

Jeez, Portal looks sweet. And what a cool trailer.

Lord, give the time to play these games, and the patience and wisdom to know when to play hooky from work. Amen.