Dead Space- 360

You play as engineer Isaac Clarke as you're sent to investigate/repair the USG Ishimura- a large mining ship that has lost contact with earth after finding a giant alien marker of some sort. When you arrive all hell breaks loose and so begins Isaac's no good-very bad day as he has to battle through mutated people that want nothing more then to hack you apart and feast on whatever is left.

I just finished the game tonight, trying not to rush through it but take my time and really enjoy it. It does have a tendency to be a bit repetative (mini boss battles, random enemy moments etc) so taking my time was the best option. I think it made me enjoy the game a lot more as most of these encounters felt fresh and new not playing it all at once.

The first thing I liked was the lack of a HUD. All the important info you need to know is on the character himself. All the inventory/map screens don't pause the game but pop up as a hologram in front of Isaac. It's a very creative way of doing it and really does keep you in the game. Part of the creepiest moments were watching people contact you through video or listening to audio logs while walking around a great spooky atmosphere.

This also can be a bit of a pain in the ass when you're low on health and in a room full of enemies having to run to find a hiding spot to heal yourself. The first thing after hitting the select button should've been the inventory and not the map.


The weaponry is upgradable through "nodes" and really works well with the character. Instead of insane firepower you're left with engineering tools Isaac would use on the job. To take out the enemies you have to take off the limbs which is deliciously fun and very gory!




And OH the gore! The gore is really well done! Not as good or as "meaty" as Gears of War but very close. I had most of my fun using the "stomp" button on random dead bodies and dead enemies. Random encounters with "survivors" also make some really cool gore scenes.


The Necromorphs also looked very cool and there was a pretty good variety of different enemies (my favorite being a moaning wall monster that makes a alien shriek at you while fighting)

The overall sound and atmosphere were very creepy and well done, making all the "jump out of your seat" moments all that more terrifying and there are plenty of those!




My only complaint is they could've shaved off a bit of time taking out some of the repetative mini-boss fights. It felt copy/pasted in just to lengthen the game a bit and I'm a big fan of quality over quantity, but it's a minor complaint.


If you're looking for a great game to scare the pants off of you this Halloween then make Dead Space your pick!


9/10