Dead Space Review

[Jeigh1405241495 0]

I recently acquired Dead Space for my Playstation 3. I've been waiting for a true survival horror game to come out for this generation for a long time. Many games I've tried recently had simple "enemy jumps out of no where at you" scares but past that lacked atmosphere and depth and none really got into the players head or pulled them into the game. Enter Dead Space.The graphics are amazing. Some other reviewers have commented on grainy looks to come of the graphics and I've even seen screenshots prior to buying the game that just looked lower in quality. That said on my reasonably sized tv (37 inch hd lcd) it looks phenomenal. The textures look detailed, the enemies look twisted, and the atmosphere is thick and tense. As you walk down a hallway an d see dingy walls, blood smears, and shadows cast all over the place your mind just floats into the game world. Seeing a shadow sprint by and not being able to find the source enemy is a thrill in itself and so when there are the traditional jump scares they feel fresher as they don't happen every time you expect, and happen other times you dont.To continue keeping the atmosphere every menu (sans the save menu which kicked me out to the default ps3 save menu) is holo-projected in front of your character and can be rotated using the main camera or rotated in relation to the view of the character. This is a very cool effect and adds a lot to the game as you always feel like you are indeed your character.Yet another factor in pulling the user in is the sound. The range is impressive in regards to the sound as they don't overdo it with music or noises. When you hear a scream or moan in the background you twirl around to make sure it's source isn't within striking range (or if its even in the room you are in). Other times the music ramps up when you get into a heated battle and fades afterwards leaving you feeling alone in the dead silence of the station you are trying to find a way off. Even more impressive are the hollow sounds when you are in zero-g ,no oxygen environments. Guns thud as if underwater and screeching enemies sound strangely distant even though they are mere feet away.The game is pretty linear but has some exploration and scavenging involved with the ability to buy/sell items giving you some incentive to scavenge for stuff you dont even need to allow later purchases. Adding another dynamic to your time on the spaceship.The storyline is interesting without taking too much time away from the actual gameplay and the game is a reasonable length with cool features and replay modes availible after beating it the first time.I'd highly recommend dead space to anyone looking for a new shooter or horror game.

[mcloooovin 0]

i'm anxious to get a hold of this game even though horror survival games get me jumpy. from the looks of it via IGN, it looks to be a good thrill ride.