The digital delights of Sony’s scrumptious PlayStation Network service know no bounds. Aside from letting punters compete in online gaming, stream films, browse the Internet and more, its premier attraction rests in the copious supply of downloadable games ripe for the picking. From PSN exclusives to PSOne Classics, minis and plain old add-on content, Sony’s online space is chock full of goodies battling it out for your hard-earned digital dollars.
Welcome back to another installment of Inside PlayStation Network, where every Monday – Friday we’ll pluck a PSN release—be it new or old—and put it in the spotlight for a thorough dissection. Fancy getting a new PSN game but don’t know what one to plump for? Perhaps this feature will help. Didn’t realize that a game was available in your region until now? We’ve got you covered. Or, perhaps you were musing over what those lucky Japanese folk were tucking into over in the Land of the Rising Sun? You can be sure our coverage will extend to those rare regional exclusives as much as those firmly embedded on the public consciousness.
Today, we suit up for a space-centric sci-fi spectacle in the interactive comic book Dead Space Ignition.
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Developer: Sumo Digital
Region(s) available: North America, Europe
Players: 1-2
Visceral’s Dead Space left an invigorating bloody bootprint on Survival Horror’s doormat upon its release back in late 2008. Full to the rafters of sofa-soiling segments, intense combat and gorgeous graphics, Isaac Clarke’s battle against the gruesome Necromorph’s cemented the sci-fi spectacle as one of the greatest fright-fests of recent years. Unsurprisingly, EA’s keen to churn out a sequel, which finally arrives on shelves just a few weeks from now. Still, it isn’t just the main series that’s baying for blood. Dead Space’s success has spawned a scuttle of side-projects, from prequels, mangas to midquels, the latter of which comes in the form of the Sumo Digital-developed Dead Space Ignition.
Here, players are plonked in the shoes of an engineering chap named Franco Dilile as he is called out to tinker with an elevator on-board the sprawl — the setting for Dead Space 2. Alongside trigger-happy lass Sarah, Dilile soon discovers evidence of foul play, before witnessing the sprawl’s inhabitants being brutally slain by invading Necromorph hordes. As the bloodshed intensifies, the duo is forced to dash about the sprawling space station fixing up various panels and unlocking doors, all while avoiding the murderous monstrosities that are rapidly overwhelming the sprawl. Those of you looking for an all-out horror blaster had better look elsewhere, though; Ignition is essentially an interactive comic-book affair, where the ‘action’ takes place via a series of hacking games.
Specifically, players must tackle three frantic mini-games — Trace Route (essentially a racing game where you guide a spark across the screen), System Override (a tower defense romp) and Hardware Crack (a laser reflection-based affair). Needless to say, fiddly fingers will have a tough time in crackin’ and hackin’ this trio — dexterous handiwork is required to see you through in one piece, and perhaps a dollop of old-fashioned luck to boot. Meanwhile, the game is punctuated by an ample supply cut-scenes (complete with voice acting so abysmal it makes Resident Evil sound like Shakespeare in comparison) used to advance the story, which ultimately leads up to the moment Dead Space hero Isaac Clarke wakes up from his long nap, only to find the place in utter turmoil.
What’s more, the game also offers online leaderboards and local multiplayer, elongating the overall replay value as you attempt to polish off your performance and face-off against your mates. As a matter of fact, you’re likely to get more of a kick out of the games when squaring up against human opponents than playing on your lonesome. Sadly, it seems there’s been a serious case of miscommunication surrounding the boasting of four unique endings — there’s no discernible difference between any of the conclusions you unlock. Rather, you get four different branching paths to plump for, each one leading to the same outcome. Of course, the real incentive lies in the ability to unlock a special suit for which to augment Clarke with in the full version of Dead Space 2. Not too shabby.
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Be sure to tune in again same time tomorrow where we’ll be having yet another tinker Inside PlayStation Network.