Review – Dead Space

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Visceral Games
Platform(s): Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Genre: Survival Horror, Third-Person Shooter

ESRB Content Descriptors: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

The Scoop: I’ve had a major attraction towards survival horror games ever since the arrival of Resident Evil and Silent Hill back on the Sony Playstation. Over the years, the genre has changed and in my opinion, not for the better. While most games released under the genre are still great games in their own respect, they seem to be more action oriented and lack in the survival horror feel. I found myself being quite dissatisfied with the genre up until I played Dead Space.

The Setup: Developed by Visceral Games, Dead Space puts us in the shoes of Isaac Clarke, an engineer who gets sent out to repair a deep-space mining ship that powers down shortly after uncovering a strange artifact on a distant planet. Once arriving at this uncharted vessel, Isaac and followers uncover a dark mystery that sends them into a bloodbath against a horrific species known as Necromorphs.

What’s Hot:

• Story: Dead Space has an incredibly deep story for a survival horror game. Loads of cliffhangers make Dead Space even more interesting.
• Visuals: Visuals play as a big part to why I ended up appreciating this game so much. From the Necromorphs to the design of the mining ship, the splatter of dismemberment to the design of each character, Dead Spacegives the gamer some delicious eye candy to look at during the ten hours of gameplay.
• Setting: The location being in the middle of space adds to the suspense of the fact that their is no real escape from the horror within.
• Sound: The sound of Dead Spaceis phenomenal. Everything from the superb voice acting to the sounds of the environment make for an unforgettable experience.

What’s Not: While I can’t make a list of bad things for this game, I can easily say that the level of violence may come off as unsettling at times as depictions of mutilation and the macabre clutter Dead Space.

Final Verdict: Dead Space is a powerhouse of a video game and one of the best survival horror games that I’ve played in recent history if not the very best on the next-gen consoles. Though this game is quite incredible, I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to anybody under the age of seventeen as Dead Spacemakes for one of the goriest splatter games I’ve ever played. Other than that, it’s a must buy for any Sci-Fi/survival horror fan.