Boy, sure has been dead around here, eh?

Yeah, that’s my segway into the actual review. Just shut up and hit the jump.

Did you like Resident Evil 4? Good, because Dead Space is basically that game, but in space. Over-the-shoulder camera? Check. Controls just slow and clunky enough to add to the suspense but not detract from the experience? Check. Moody atmosphere and soundtrack coupled with fantastic visuals and great art direction? Checkity-check-check.
Dead Space thrusts the player onto a mining ship that has been mysteriously covered in blood and all sorts of dead bodies. That’s because some sort of crazy alien thing has infected the crew with some sort of parasite (I’m being vague so as to not give away any of the story) or something and now there are horrible, spikey monsters everywhere. The gimmick to them, though, is that instead of shooting at the head like any normal, self-respecting shooter, the game insists that the beasts be dispatched by shooting off their limbs. It takes a while to get used to, especially after years of being trained to always, always aim for the head, but overall it works pretty well. The enemies, known as Necromorphs, are relentless. If you cut off their legs, they’ll crawl at you with their remaining limbs. Cut off their arms and they’ll charge at you anyway. Luckily, this particular space station happens to be armed to the teeth with handy mining tools that double as very effective weapons.
In fact, the weapons themselves are part of what makes this game so fun. Items range from basic gun-like contraptions to flamethrowers to a big, wide beam that cuts right through bad guys. Each weapon is also fully upgradable, though the upgrade system is built in such a way that you’re going to want to pick two or three weapons and stick with them, because it would be better to have a small arsenal of very powerful weapons than a slew of guns that are only so-so.
While Dead Space is generally billed as a survival/horror game, at its heart it’s more of an action title. The first hour or so will probably make you jump, but after the initial shock of having horrible monster thrust at you from around every corner wears off it becomes more of a matter of just getting through it all alive. Sure, I’ve had plenty of “oh SH#@” moments, but I think that Dead Space falls short of being genuinely terrifying and, since most of the scares are in surprising the player, playing through it a second time doesn’t offer up the same thrill as the first time around, which is a shame since the average gamer could probably play through the whole game in an average of only 11 or so hours.
Overall, though, I would recommend picking this game up, especially if you enjoyed RE4. It displays a high level of polish and offers up an interesting enough storyline to keep the player motivated. Moreover, the presentation is so movie-like that it’s a fun game to sit down and just watch someone else play. If you like the genre and are worried that Dead Space doesn’t stand up against the flurry of other triple-A titles being released this month, let me just assuage your fears: Dead Space is a great game.