Dead Space - 7.5

Score: 7.5 Good

Dead Space is a good game, however it does little to escape the tired survival horror genre.

It is tough to describe how I feel about Dead Space. I want to say this game is garbage, but I know that it is the survival horror genre that I want to bash not the game itself. So, I will put it this way. For a survival horror game, Dead Space is an excellent game. However, if you do not like the survival horror genre, then run... run from this game.

My biggest problem with the game was that its enemy triggers became so tired and obvious that the edginess of the game is lost very early. After the first couple of stages the triggers become pretty telegraphed, with most of them taking place right after entering rooms and picking up key items. Once the pattern is picked up there is little left in the horror department.

The plus side to this game is that it is well made. The game introduces an interesting shooting strategy where you are rewarded for aiming for limbs instead of the head. Dead Space also has well done voice acting and the story is nicely blended in brief cut scenes and "logs" scatter throughout the stages.

So here is the breakdown:

Good:
> Engaging story line with depth
> Innovating enemy combat
> Good stage length and good game length 10-12 hours

Bad:
> Fairly annoying controls
> Couple of obnoxious mini-game boss battles
> Equipment upgrade system stupid

Ugly:
> Predictable enemy triggers
> Some lengthy, boring objectives