Dead Space (Sony Playstation 3, 2008)

Graphics: Breathtaking 9/10
The graphics are make you look twice – you feel as if you are on the ship with Isaac, and even in deep space. Though the levels look similar, you will see the immediate beauty of this game. It is a difficult thing to be consistent, yet differentiate enough to create an entire ship.

Sound: Amazing – 9.5/10
The sounds, music, effects, and voices take you immediately into the game. Surround sound is a must so you can hear the uttering, chanting, and footsteps of the habitants of this game. A lot of time, and thought, went into putting in effective music, parts with no music, and the fell of being utterly alone. The best, yet simplistic feeling is when you go into space for the first time, and all you hear is your own breath and heartbeat.

Gameplay: Spectacular – 9/10
Smooth animations, large – but intuitive levels, smart enemies and A.I., different possibilities for battles and puzzles – without giving anything away, this game is different, and in a good way. Fans of Bioshock and Resident Evil 4 will feel at home with this. The way you kill enemies is really unique, and fun.

Replay Value – Good 7/10
Even without multiplayer, this game has replay value with the Impossible Difficulty, and they mean that. The only issues I have with the replay is that you will know where the “jump out points” are and will be expecting what will happen.

Overall – Perfect 9/10
I am a fan of Survival Horror and the entire genre. When I play this game, I have to say that this isn’t so much survival horror on the Easy to Hard difficulty settings, being that there is plenty of ammo, stores, and save points, but survival Action. Think of this as a sci-fi movie, and that it is more like Aliens as opposed to Alien. The details and ideas that went in this game prove that risks are still being taken in game development, and they pay off.

Though I say this is a “Survival Action” game, it is so much more. It feels as if it is a “best of” game – meaning that they take the best parts of many games such as Bioshock, Resident Evil 4, Prey, and other games that may fall into such a category. The use of in game story telling, and use of a item menu that is in game and in action, gives a whole new approach to playing the game.

The game is not perfect, but close to. The map is annoying to use, and the use of where to go makes the game a bit easier, but for how the story is set up, it works.

It is difficult for a company to release a new IP these days, and have it be successful, and I feel that Dead Space does just that. Enjoy playing this with the lights off.

It creates its own genre. It has elements taken from genres such as RPG, puzzlers, action-adventures, but is not pigeonholed into this experience. Spending time with this game, it is apparent that EA games wanted to create a cinematic and different experience in a game – and make the horror genre prevalent again.

The story takes place hundreds of years in the future when mankind has pretty much used up all of the natural resources on Earth. Fortunately, humanity has invented something called "planet cracking". This basically means they go around splitting other planets into pieces to be strip mined and recycled for use back on Earth. Awesome right? I thought so too.

So with a trusty bottle of Dr. Pepper by my side I feed my latest Gamefly acquisition into my PS3. Today I am Engineer Isaac Clarke, part of a small EMT (Emergency Maintenance Team) unit dispatched to respond to a distress call from the USG Ishimura; the big boss of the planet crackers. The thing is, this is more than just a job… its personal! Not only are a bunch of Isaac’s friends on board the Ishimura but so is Nicole Brennan, the love of his life… his girlfriend.

While trying to auto dock the system fails and we have to crash land aboard the Ishimura. Okay, no problem. Turns out our ride is busted so we are going to be here a while… doesn’t matter, I saw that one coming. Even as we walked through the Hanger Bay with its craziness I wasn’t bothered. It wasn’t until I entered the Flight Lounge that something felt off. You know what I mean… that icy feeling deep down in the pit of your stomach, the nails scraping across the chalkboard of your nerves.

Don’t get me wrong, I know any minute it’s about to be go time with plenty of things that stalk the darkness. But… this felt different somehow. And I was right! One minute we are all chilling and the next I’m running for my life. Two of my five crew members are dead and I have no idea where the other two are. What the hell where those things? How come it took six rounds to the face point blank and didn’t go down? Being a fanatic when it comes to Survival Horror and Science Fiction genres I am immune to being frightened. But let me tell you, I was on the edge of my seat. If you do a little googling, you’ll find that Dead Space was so scary that EA was forced to tone down Dead Space 2 after numerous complaints.

Buy this game! You owe it to yourself to at least rent or borrow it. It is labeled as a “Survival Horror” but it is so much more than that. It’s like a giant Long Island Iced Tea… part Survival Horror, part Shooter, part Science Fiction masterpiece, mixed in with a generous helping of awesome. Beautiful graphics and a strong story (which deepens depending on how much investigating you do). The voice acting and sound system is very impressive. The way the game draws you in and holds you there. And the HUD is very clever, I love it!!! I could go on and on about all the awesome things in this game.

The story is pretty much as follows, you are Isaac, engineer repairman. you and the crew stumble upon a planet mining ship called the USS Isshimura in need of aid. when you arrive, the crew immediately notices something is off. as you dock, your ship is soon rendered immobile and you and the crew have no choice but to repair this dead-in-the-water ship.

graphics: very good. some areas are not perfect but it's not going to hurt the games rating at all.

sound: perfect. one of the many things that makes the game mess with you, even on the easiest difficulty.

game play: you use the entire controller. some actions like R1 is a melee attack. and L1 and R1 is to shoot. a few other actions require this doubled up control scheme, but it works and it'll feel nature shortly after starting.

atmosphere: perfect. this is what makes this game. the visuals, the sounds, the location, the characters, all work together to give you that "i'm alone in space and no one can help me" feeling. it will definately mess with you to start down a hall and the lights go out only to find something right behind you as you turn around.

over all, for $20 it's a steal IF you are looking for a survival horror experience in space. if survival horror is not really your thing, rent it.
the game will mess with you even on easy.

This must be on of my favorite games!
The story - very intriguing. A sci-fi horror story with nice plot twists and a story that unfolds slowly throughout the game. Nothing goes as planned and your are always kept on your toes.
The graphics - A brilliant use of light, shadow and darkness. You always have the feeling that something is waiting for you behind the corner, you see shadows walking around you and detailed smoke, debris, bodies and blood splatters really sucks you in. The quality is excellent and there are many moments that you just open your mouth and say: "wohhhhhhhhhhh..."
The sound - One of the most immersive games i have played. You can hear your heart beating faster when you are in danger, thing creek and squeaks around you, your hear the footsteps of the monsters and strange ramblings voices.
The sound is different and fits each environment you play so it keeps you in the story and the experience.

In conclusion, i took me around 20+ hours to finish the game and i enjoyed (and feared) every minute!

Dead Space, Electronic Arts' phenomenal survival horror video game, is the type of adventure we happily get lost within. As engineer Isaac Clarke, you explore a mining vessel overrun by horrible aliens that mutate their hosts into twisted and disgusting beasts.

In the process of sawing off limbs, exploring the ship in zero G and solving simple puzzles, you unravel the mystery of what consumed the crew of the USG Ishimura. Gorgeous and horrifying visuals, combined with spine-tingling audio, immerse you in an interstellar nightmare of blood and bone.

While it leaves a lot of unanswered questions, an obvious ploy to get you to read the enjoyable comics and watch the animated film, Dead Space is still a terrifying game, whether you're bathed in darkness or playing in sunlight.