I nearly didn't pick up Dead Space because I'm bored of the genre and thought it would be same old same old, for the most part it is. However Dead Space doesn't have the same annoying gameplay mechanics of the games it takes from like no wonky RE5 controls and it doesn't become boring like Doom 3 and the UI isn't all clunky like SS2. Sure the game lacks depth and it can get repetitive at times but it's a nice compact survival horror game with great action and great scares, it also lasted ALOT longer than I thought it would, but doesn't out stay its welcome too.
There are some things I thought were off about the game but the weird thing is the rest of the game was so good I just didn't care as they wern't game breaking but rather improvements to be made in DS2. The in game map felt rather pointless becuase it was just tooo complicated to make out where you were meant to go via it and you could just press B instead which would bring up a line on the floor showing you instead. Also I just don't get why the game had a UI because really the only items you were carrying are ones hotkeyed to your keyboard anyways like weapons or ammo or items that would appear when you visit the shop or workbench. All the UI became was annoying because I couldn't carry as much as I wanted around which makes sense to give a sense of realisim but when I can pull a flamethrower outta my arse.... kinda loses the realisim right there.
I also didn't get why there was a store and a workbench because they arn't the sorta things that you'd find on a ship like that.. you wouldn't have gun stores or upgrade stations when you'd think they'd supply their crew with the gear. Finally I didn't like the whole telekinesis thing and it woulda just been better to have a gravity gun.. would make it seem more realistic and I don't get why I had to use it to pull a lever down when I coulda done it with my hands. I know it seems like a long list of problems with the game but... these are only really tiny issues which really are only there because it's the first in the series and they arn't game breaking but just things that seemed a little weird.
What Dead Space does right though is amazing combat with a good blend of melee and gun combat. Also the atmosphere is just amazing and reminds me of doom 3's opening levels where it was so cinematic and intense all the time. Also the level design is just great and looks amazing! I mean there are some flat textures that came right outta the MGS2 tanker level but they are normally in the dark anyways so you can't see them. Again the addition of audio logs provide useful for a back story and they even added some video logs to the game which seemed like Dead Spaces version of System Shock 2 and Bioshock's ghost scenes.
The best feature however and it's something so simple and yet turned out to be my fave thing out of the whole game was pressing B on the keyboard to bring up like a sorta arrow on the floor which tells you where to go. I don't know how many times I've been playing these types of games and gotten lost and pissed off, then ended up quiting because back tracking through the level constantly to work out where to go isn't fun.... System Shock 2 was probably the worst for this. Great feature to add in and it keeps the pace of the game up and it justworks amazingly well. I remember system Shock 2 was only a long game because of all the searching you had to do and I spent more time in that game being pissed off than having fun. However Dead Space is so well designed that it's length doesn't come from bad design but just how much content is in there.
Theres no Multiplayer to Dead Space but that's kool because like bioshock it doesn't need any and it wouldn't have worked anyways. I'm so glad developers have stopped trying to tack on a multiplayer game like they used to just because they think it adds value when noone played it anyways.
Like I said the graphics are just great and giving a great atmosphere and the sound is horror movie quality I just thought it was fantastic and gave me lots of frights. The only downer for me however was the design of the main character, I wish'd he'd talk and I wish'd he had better looking armour. I know why he doesn't talk, to make you feel more immersed but I dunno it just makes him uninteresting for me... no biggy though because the story isn't really about you.
I was getting over 80FPS constantly with my 3870 which is a very cheap card at under £90 these days so Dead Space runs well and my friend has played the game with his 8800GT and runs perfect for him too so I think it'll scale well like Source. Also if you have mouse lag issues (I'm sure it'll be patched soon) then turn off V Sync because it causes these issues which is weird but not game breaking because all sync does is holds the game to a max of your refresh rate to stop tearing.
So yeah Dead Space is my GOTY so far.. I have yet to play Left 4 Dead and Fallout 3 but this game will be hard to beat because it's just amazing from start to finish. I only hope that EA doesn't try to milk it by releasing a new Dead Space game ever year... I hope it takes a few years for each one.
Edit: Going to add a few things I forgot to say...
1. I love how theres no sound in space which is very realistic, most games like Star Wars or Star Trek ignore that.
2. I wish'd the zero G stages were more like Crysis zero g stage where you were floating because being stuck to the walls sucks. Though I understand why they did that because of your suit and how theres no z axis in the game.
3. I love the use of quick time events in this game because they are much more interactive like instead of just bashing on a letter (which some still do that) theres also parts where it gets you to aim with your weapon and shoot the creature in certain parts which really is like a evolution of the quick time events and it works so well.
