Dead Space (PC Games, 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.