Part 1

Viddler (Polsy) / Blip.tv

We land on the Ishimura, only to find that things are ever-so-slightly out of place.


Text Logs



Trivia

* Isaac Clarke, the protagonist, is named after Isaac Asimov (I, Robot, Foundation, etc.) and Arthur C. Clarke (best known for 2001: A Space Odyssey).
* In the series' backstory, the USG Ishimura is the flagship of the Concordance Extraction Corporation (CEC) mining company, which owns four similar ships.


Interestingly, most of the characters have both voices and likenesses provided by their actors.

* Zach Hammond is played by and modelled on Peter Mensah, who has appeared in a small roles in The Incredible Hulk, 300, Star Trek: Enterprise, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. He'll soon be appearing in James Cameron's Avatar.
* Kendra Daniels is played by and modelled on Tonantzín Carmelo, a Native American actress who hasn't appeared in any major films, but has done a lot of work in theatre, advertising, and music.
* Nicole Brennan is played by and modelled on Iyari Pérez Limón, a TV actress who's probably best known as Kennedy on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


Continuity Issues

* In the game's introduction, the printout says that the Kellion is rendezvousing with the Ishimura in the "Aegis System". Oddly, Dead Space: Downfall claims that it is in the "Cygnus System".
* Similarly, in the game, "Ishimura" is printed on the fore area of the ship. However, in Downfall, it's shown on one of the engine nacelles.

Bonus point - can anybody spot the continuity error in the video itself? The first one to find it will win a fabulous prize!*


New Enemies

Slashers
These are the enemy's shock troops. They're basically humanoid, though they've got a couple of extra appendages, a mutilated jawline, and a set of bone spurs jutting out from what would be a normal human's arms. Slashers are vulnerable in the legs and arms. Take out the arms, and it dies. That said, the arms tend to swing around pretty damn quickly, so it helps to cut off a leg, then go for the upper arms. Never aim for the head - they'll go berserk and attack everything in range.

Leapers
Almost as common as the Slashers. They don't have legs; instead, they've got a scorpion-style tail. They walk with what would be the human equivalent of arms, and attack with the tail and segmented jaws. As the name would suggest, they jump around quite a bit, climbing walls and springing onto Isaac. If you take out the head, they'll keep coming, albeit with poor accuracy. Take out the tail, and it'll run at you. Take out an arm, and it'll drag itself towards you slowly. Take out both arms, and it's history.


New Equipment


Protective Suits
Engineers are equipped with a variety of different suits, for a variety of tasks. When he arrives on the Ishimura, Isaac only has a Mark I suit, but over the course of the game, he has the ability to upgrade.

Each suit has a RIG (Resource Integration Gear), a built-in air supply, and gravity boots for use in volatile situations. Isaac's RIG monitors his vital signs, showing a health bar along his spine, and allows him to interface with ship systems.

Each suit has varying degrees of protection from the elements, in the form of armoured ribs and woven titanium mesh. All suits can resist up to 300 Newtons of force, but not a couple stabs from a crazed monster.

Upgrade diagram.


Stasis Module
Used to slow down machinery and volatile materials for easy manipulation, the stasis module creates a local temporal distortion with a customizable time limit. Yes, engineers in Dead Space can control time. No, you cannot change history as you see fit.

Upgrade diagram.


211-V Plasma Cutter
Manufactured by Schofield Tools, this is one of the most popular tools among engineers. Generally used to cut rock for smelting, it has a quarter-meter blade composed of ionized gas and molded plasma.

Primary fire: single shot perpendicular to the floor.
Secondary fire: single shot parallel to the floor.

Upgrade diagram.
Manufacturer's pamphlet.


Bonus Stuff

Concept art of Kendra's outfit.
The security station where we load the damage report.
The Ishimura's docking bay.
The bowels of the transit system. Which can somehow be disrupted by a single car. Good God.
The standard design for the tram stations, used for level entries and exits.


_{*Note: there is no fabulous prize.}