Anyone who's played Doom 3 or enjoy horror-themed games will appreciate this one.
In Dead Space, you play the role of Isaac, an engineer sent along with a crew to find and repair a science ship called the Ishhimura. Things turn deadly and twisted in an instance, though, and you're now forced to fight your way to deal with the problems that caused the demise of the ship's crew. This one is full of suspense and a matrix of twists and turns, so prepared to be surprised as you go along.
The graphics are very solid and goes with the theme of the game. You'll have to watch every vent, every duct, as a monster will try to come out and turn you into freshmeat anywhere, anytime (any Doom 3 veterans knows this very well). Unlike any standard shooters, head shots don't work here. You'll have to dismember them by going for the limbs or tentacles, which is easier said than done, considering the different kinds of foes you'll face. There are also the hazards of the ship to deal with, adding more danger into the mix, but they can also be used to kill certain foes too, as you'll soon find out. Other than that, it suits the sci-fi theme very well.
The audio is very solid, too, as you'll hear Isaac's heartbeats, the sudden sound of a BGM as a monster emerges and tries to impale you, and the background audio of the ship's central computer. As this is a horror game, be prepared to hear lots, and lots, of screaming.
Although this game has no multiplayer, there are plenty of achievements to do in this game, so you'll find yourselves playing this game multiple times for 'em. Most of them you can do on the first run, but the rest you'll have to do in repeat runs. With fairly limited amounts of nodes, though, even though you can buy some at the store, and limited inventory, you'll have to decide how to enhance your rig suit and modules, and which weaponry to fully upgrade.
Other than that, this games has its solid strengths, with the only real weakness being the repetitive shooting and puzzling objectives. There are a few difficult points throughout the game, but fairly consistent with the game's relative difficulty. So if you dig sci-fi horror, or just want a change of pace from your standard shooters, then Dead Space is a very solid game to have.