Test review please do not leave any feedback. I'm still editing it and revising it, thank you for ignoring this, move on
In the year 2414 mankind has resorted to mining whole planets for resources by using planet cracker space vessels. These gargantuan ships serve as a floating mini-city essentially designed for harvesting planets. The USG Ishimura, the crown jewel of the Concordance Extraction Corporation (CEC) fleet, has gone down and sent out a distress signal. As Isaac Clarke, you and a few others go to the Ishimura with the intent that it'll be just another routine check-up. However the ship has come under an infestation by the Necromorphs, basically space zombies. Like all reanimated sacks of flesh, they're not here for tea and crumpets, they are mindless creatures bent on doing you bodily harm.
The story does go a ways to develop more and while it may not be the most epic tale you've ever witnessed keep in mind it's a horror game. The plot isn't the main draw here. Also the characters are somewhat flat but they get the job done and they carry the plot well. Isaac is mute and rather bland, but hey, I'm ok with silent stoic protagonists.
As a third-person survival-action-horror game, Dead Space may initially seem like just another game in the genre. But it does a lot of unique things and nails the most important thing a horror game needs; genuine scares and a great atmosphere. You'll hear metal clangs and pings in the distance, the resonating pit-pat of Necromorphs as they move about in the ventilation system, the unsettling hiss of gas vents; Dead Space has some of the best sound design and the ambient noise is a remarkable achievement. If you have surround system I can only imagine how much better the audio will be. Even without a fancy-pants surround system setup the audio package delivers. The ambiance of the ship is just immaculate and constantly excels; you'll never feel quite safe and any of the sounds you hear can be possible Necromorphs… or just the ship itself, you never know.
The Ishimura itself is one the best examples of level design, functionality and aesthetic architecture I have ever witnessed. Prominent, but subtle, Gothic style architecture permeates throughout with buttresses and ribbed structures; but outshining the fine details is the vastness and exceptionally well made levels. Some rooms are really cavernous and, for example, when you're in the engine room it feels like an engine room. The claustrophobic catwalks, huge tanks scattered about and the layout of the whole room feels like how an engine room on a space ship should feel, you can imagine engineers swarming everywhere measuring temperature readings and inspecting the various mechanisms, that is without the Necromorphs around of course. Levels are designed for playing through as a Necromorph battleground, of course, but they are easily envisioned as fully practical areas on a fully functional planet cracker vessel.
All this amazing sound design and wonderful level structure are not the only highlights in Dead Spaces audio-visual spectrum. The music is adequate with requisite orchestral shrills and whatnot in all horror themed media and the voice acting is solid. Sound effects are robust and grisly as well. The sound of slicing off Necromorph limbs is satisfying; it sounds squishy and gruesome. Graphically Dead Space is just as great as the audio. Impressive lighting and some top-notch animation really hammer home the immersion. While it's overall quite dark and dank, visibility is never an issue. Also the game runs at a steady framerate with no dips at all.
Feedback is an important part of horror games and it is so in Dead Space. Hitting a pack of Necromorphs with the powerful line gun is one of the most satisfying things in gaming. The wide rounds shred through their limbs like a hot knife through butter and they crumple to the ground (you know, being legless and all) with blood and gore splattering every which way and they let out a bone rattling shriek on top of the macabre wet sound of limbs being dismembered… it's awesome. Dead Space's combat is full of such moments and it remains intense and the tight controls only help to amplify the brutal encounters. If you were worrying about the third-person control scheme and the overall gameplay don't fret. Dead Space is ingeniously paced, from each hefty chapter to every pop-out scare moment and you'll never get bored.
Generally what you'll be doing is carrying out sub objectives in order to do a more significant task. In the medical bay for example there is a barricade blocking the way further onward. So you have to go get some thermite and a shock-pad in order to create an explosive that will obliterate the barricade. Fetch quests? Yup; this is survival horror after all. Don't worry though, the objectives are quite varied and getting lost is rendered impossible with a handy map that has a suggested pathway labeled in it. Also you have the ability to press the right analog stick at anytime to activate your RIGs (Isaac's suit) navigation system, this will create a bright blue line that will show you where to go. There is also some backtracking, but it's not very extensive and rarely becomes a nuisance.
There are also a few zero gravity and outside-in-space sections. Zero-g areas are a bit gimmicky but there aren't enough of them to make them feel irritable, in fact they are a good change of pace. You can jump on almost any surface and watching debris and bleeding bodies float around weightlessly is something you have got to see. Out in the cold vacuum of space the whole game switches perspectives. The color palette takes on a heavily saturated hue and the sound gets muffled and muted, absolutely astounding. Necromorphs are scary inside the ship, but outside, they are a gazillion times more frightening, even better is that vacuum sections are sparse in occurrences, so each feels like a pleasing nightmare.
Dead Space is so immersive through its top-notch atmosphere and quality sound design; but further enriching the captivation of the world is the complete lack of a HUD. Every menu is shown throw a hologram that is projected from a slot in Isaac's. Your health is a blue meter on his spine, in the vacuum of space your air timer is projected on your back and every audio, video and text log you find is a hologram. When your going through your inventory you can move around and the hologram menu is in real time, so you're subject to attack at any time.
Everything just feels right when playing Dead Space. As a sci-fi game it feels futuristic, as a horror game it feels scary and as a third-person shooter it feels intense and terribly fascinating. The level of polish EA has put into this game is easily seen as well. In zero-g areas things float and bounce around as you would expect, the controls by default are extremely tight and the game's pacing and level design is pristinely thought out. It's one of the few original games to come out this year and from EA nonetheless, the only reason to pass it up is if you're afraid of a rocking good time and if you're squeamish.