Survival horror back to basics, more survival, more horror.
The plot is basically 'Event Horizon' in video game form, which is no bad thing, as Event Horizon is one of the best sci-fi horror films ever made. A lonely ship floating on the far reaches of space needs to be explored by our hapless, voiceless hero with the cheesy name, gory death ensues. There are some great visual horror elements, and the word 'nightmare fuel' came to mind more than once in my experience playing through it.
Although far from perfect, Dead Space is a solid addition to the genre, with great graphics, a startling soundtrack and brilliant ambient noise. I couldn't help but feel a little disconnected from the action with Isaac Clarke being entirely characterless. This works in a game like 'Doom' for example, where your character has no personal plot lines, but Isaac does have his own agenda and interactions, and they all feel a little blank when characters talk to you and he stands there like a turnip with no dialogue.
The enemies are nicely grim, and tough enough to kill that you'll find yourself panicking reloading your next weapon and shooting wildly, exactly what you should be doing in a game like this.
There are a few sequences I could have done entirely without, like the ridiculously above difficulty curve outer space shooting sequence. And some of the zero gravity sequences feel a little empty.
I recommend bumping the difficulty up a little for the full experience, as these kind of games are meant to be played at their fullest, their most frightening, in a dark room late at night. Sleep tight.