Competent and thrilling
The action is totally engaging. There is a real sense of suspense and jeopardy in this game. Constant thrills and twists add some real hooks. I kept playing many a time after swearing "only another five minutes!"
The shop I loved. Weapons have to be found and then upgarded like Ratchet and Clank. The choices of where to invest power nodes and credits adds a nice extra dimension to the shooting.
And the shooting.... awesome. Dismemberment rules!!!!! The designers stated that gamers would need to "re-think the headshot". This is certainly the case. Their is enough varitey in enemies and methods for slaugthering them to keep even a competent FPS gamer interested.
The camera I found great. It was a refreshing perspective to be over-the-shoulder. The holograms projected from suit for the map and messages were also a very good touch. It is thinking about detail like this that makes games work for me.
Finaly, Dead Space is BEAUTIFUL. These are to-date the best graphics I have EVER seen in a game. Environments, enemies and charcters are all well rendered and the lighting is something to behold.