Xbox 360
Blood caked walls. Walking corpses. Flickering, unreliable lighting. Did Halo and Silent Hill have an illegitimate child?
Nope, this is Dead Space, a vicious blend of horror, action, suspense and atmosphere. So pull on your incontinence knickers: this one's gonna get messy.
In Dead Space you play Isaac, an average space dude called in to repair a minor communications glitch aboard the USG Ishimura. Nothing could be simpler. Well, except that the crew are all dead and very intent on making you likewise. Your moron commanding officer totalled the ship and now you're alone. As if things couldn't get any worse, there doesn't seem to be a decent flashlight anywhere.
Dead Space is shot over the shoulder, third person style. The idea is to blunder around in the dark, getting your squishy bits nibbled on by nasty looking parasitic aliens, occasionally breaking to cower behind the sofa, or possibly run crying to your mummy. The emphasis is on environment, and Electronic Arts have created a hideous nightmare world that practically grabs you by the throat and drags you, kicking and screaming, into the shadows. The musical score compliments this perfectly, scaring the piss out of you, even at Dead Space's dullest moments.
A good trigger finger is the only way to survive this hell, but ammo is sparse and the controls are funky. You'll spend more time battling with the irritating camera angle than actually slicing and dicing the zombie-alien horde. Bolting like a sissy helps, but expect to die, die and die again, in numerous, incredibly imaginative ways. That's ok though, because what's the use in a horror game without gruesome dismemberment?
The story ain't bad. It's somewhat linear and more than a little obvious, but there are interesting characters, a dash of conspiracy, and a hell of a lot of paranoia. The blend is a wonderful, engaging narrative that draws you in while making you despise every terrifying step. In addition, there's an inventory screen and an upgrade system which adds a little strategy to the whole nasty affair.
Dead Space has but one fault: it's all been done before. Every single element is blatantly ripped off from some other hugely successful movie or game. If you're a big sci-fi or horror fan, chances are you'll find a lot here oddly familiar. It's been a very long time since a game so immersive, playable and beautiful managed to get away with being so unoriginal.
Make no mistake: Dead Space is astounding, wonderfully unifying atmosphere and action. Nevertheless, the fact that every single great idea was transparently cannibalised from other cult-driven series restricts its splendour. Play, enjoy. Just don't expect a life changing experience.