Dead Space the game is one of the best games to come out this year, at least in my opinion it is, though I’m sure some people will disagree with me. I might be a bit biased though as I like horror and sc-fi genre games most of all. EA released a movie as well in accompaniment to the game called Dead Space Downfall, it basically tells the story of what happens before the events in the game, so it’s kind of something that you need to see to truly understand the game.

Dead Space Downfall is an anime movie that tells the story of all of the events that lead up to the game, it’s 74 minutes long and it’s got a few other features included on the disc. Is it a must have movie? Sort of, it does help to understand the game better, but the actual movie isn’t that great honestly. The animation reminds me of more of a child’s Saturday morning cartoon than the anime I’m accustomed too, I love anime and this isn’t quite it, it’s bastardized or Americanized anime at it’s worst really. They tried to copy the stylish Japanese animes of the past and present but failed rather miserably, they also mixed computer generated images in with it and it sort of looks a bit out of place. EA should have hired some real talent for this, the game deserved it really and they could have had a great movie on their hands that would have been something that the fans of the game would have grabbed up, but as it stands it looks to be something that was tossed together on a small budget, some of the stuff I see on Saturday morning cartoons is much better.

The animation Dead Space Downfall reminds me of stuff that I saw on TV when I was a kid made by the American companies, and I’m 36 now, so this animation isn’t that good honestly, the only way you can tell this isn’t an animation show from twenty years ago is the CGI that’s thrown in here and there . Sure there’s blood and gore, but it’s not really detailed as one would expect it to be, especially after playing the game and seeing the details in it, I truly expected the movie to be good, but I was sadly disappointed.

Here’s some box shots for you, the plastic DVD case comes in a cardboard slip cover, at least the version I got did.

There are extra features included on the disc but not much really, there’s artwork, deleted scene, soundtrack, movie trailer and game trailer, there was supposed to be cheat codes for the game but I couldn’t find them.

   

The movie starts off with finding the artifact or relic that is the source of the aliens in the game, but we really only get a small glimpse of that story, most of the movie takes place onboard the ship. We really start the movie off with meeting the chief security officer, a female actually, and we get a glimpse of reports of gruesome deaths onboard the ship with no real explanation as to what’s going on.

Then it sort of all goes downhill from there….

Specifications:

Dead Space Downfall DVD

Dead Space is a feature length horror sci-fi animated movie based on the much anticipated Electronic Arts video game title streeting Halloween 2008. When a deep space mining operation discovers a mysterious alien Marker they believe they have finally found evidence of our creators. However, the removal of the Marker unleashes a horrific alien species, which had been entombed within a remote planet, and a desperate fight for survival ensues. The story follows a select group of miners and crewmembers, as they are confronted with an evil like none ever encountered by man. The Dead Space animated feature serves as a prequel to the game and takes adult animated horror to a whole new level.

On a deep space mining mission to a remote planet, an ancient religious relic – thought to be proof of the existence of God – is unearthed and brought aboard. When the unholy artifact unleashes a long-dormant alien race, its glimpse of Heaven transforms the ship into a living Hell. Prepare yourself for the disturbing opening chapters of the EA game that takes adult animation to graphic new levels of bloodshed and terror.

Special Features:
Deleted Scenes, Movie trailer, Game trailer, Photo Gallery, Isolated Soundtrack, Cheat Codes.

Runtime: 74 min

Not Rated

Yes it’s bloody and gory, but not really, it’s more of a comical gore, with no real details involved. The movie is not rated, and most likely could get by with a PG-13 rating with lots of blood and one girl in her underwear we see who kills herself with a energy pick or ax type tool.

Along the way we meet the rest of the security forces who are all oddly drawn, their bodies just seem out of proportion, Japanese animes can get away with it because it’s done right, this movie can’t because it just looks so wrong.

The creatures in the movie really don’t resemble what you see in the game at all, on a very basic level they do, but other than that they don’t look scary or gruesome as they do in the game, they are really no details involved in the creatures, just bland overall.

The movie tries to hard to fit too much into the 74 minutes it’s on, and it’s not even that long because they count credits and that into the running time. They tried to show you relationships and how this plague affected the people, but it just doesn’t work, they tried to show emotions and what led to the downfall of the crew and it falls flat, it seems they just threw stuff in there for the fun of it thinking it adds to the story, or maybe trying to get the viewer to connect with the people or understand them better, but again it just doesn’t work at all.

The end of the movie sort of leads into the game, but then sort of doesn’t, it’s hard to explain really, but we’re left thinking that these creatures are just wondering all around the ship haphazardly but in the game there really not, they more pop out at you in the game and try to scare and kill you.

The acting is ok, it’s nothing special, there are no real stars in the movie unless you count Bruce Boxleitner who’s time as a popular actor is gone now, the other voice actors do a decent job, and if you check out IMDB for Dead Space Downfall you’ll see that a lot of them have down quite a bit of work in animation, while some are fairly new to it as well.

In the end yes it does tell the story of what happens before the events in the game, but I wouldn’t run out and buy it full price, get it out of the bargain bin or borrow it from a friend, it’s really not worth owning or watching more than once.

Conclusion:

Is Dead Space Downfall a good movie? In a word, No.  Is it something you should see if you like the game, Yes it is, it does help to understand the game a bit more and it adds to the overall story of the Dead Space universe, but not as much as you would expect.

Should you go an buy it now? No, I wouldn’t if I were you, if you have to see it, then buy it used, in the bargain bin or borrow it from a friend, it’s not something that you really want to watch more than one time.

Pros:
Tells the story of the events before the game

Cons:
Bad animation
Tries to do too much in short time span
Doesn’t do justice to the game really

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance