Dead Space packs many thrills and scares to create a haunting yet satisfying experience. Real Score: 8.9 out of 10.

User Rating: 9 | Dead Space PS3
By tennis12master | Review Date:
Dead Space starts off with the player controlling engineer Isaac Clark, who has been sent to an old Mining Vessel, the USG ISHUMURA to investigate a distress signal coming from within the ship. Throughout Isaac's stay on the ship, some creepy events take place. Some of these events are truly frightening and caused me to jump in my seat; while others simply caused me to nod my head and think, "Okay... Is that supposed to be scary?" However, most of the time I found myself in fear to open the next door. Dead Space is a very dark title, with almost no contact with other humans throughout the experience besides the few people who talk to you via your radio and by listening to audio logs. Also, the game makes it a fact that the people who you do trust while playing the game may just turn out to be you're worst enemy. The only thing I didn't like about the story was that there were a few loose ends not explained, and this caused the ending to feel very rushed. I felt like more of the main plot points should have been explained, but for what it is, Dead Space's story is very ambitious.

The controls in this game are top-notch. The ability to walk and shoot is a natural fit for the game; maybe other developers should take notice of this great feature. *cough* Capcom, Resident Evil 5 *cough*. I especially like how there is no HUD (Heads-Up-Display) in the game; instead, all of that information is built into Isaac's suit. The health meter is displayed clearly on Isaac's back, an item screen can be pulled up as a hologram right in front of the player, and the ammo count is displayed when aiming his weapon. It's all a very natural and seeming fit to the atmosphere of Dead Space. I honestly cannot find many faults in the controls with this game; The only small fault worth mentioning is that Isaac cannot switch perspectives from his weapon aiming from the left to the right, or vice-versa. This is an included feature within many third-person shooters, and I was slightly disappointed to see this feature was not included within Dead Space. However, like I said it is such a small fault that the greatness of the rest of the game overshadows it.

The sound in Dead Space is also top-class, with gun sounds causing you to feel in control (but not too in control) and the alien squelches and burps are sickening but oh so satisfying to hear when you are smashing your boot to their chest. However, there is not much variety with the music in this game. It is all mostly just haunted sound pieces strung together to create a moody and dark atmosphere, besides one section towards the end of the game when there is a grand orchestral piece. This is by no means bad, but I was hoping for more variety in the music.

Story: 4.2 out of 5
Gameplay 4.8 of 5
Sound/Music: 3.9 of 5

Overall, I give this game a 8.9 out of 10.

Other Helpful Reviews for Dead Space

Load Comments (0)