Dead Space

A couple of days ago I finished playing what has to be one of the best survival horror games and a game that would rank in my top 25 games (a list I keep meaning to finalize and post ... one of these days). The game is Dead Space and it is a game that should be played by any survival horror fan (Resident Evil, Silent Hill, etc.) and probably by any fps fan (the game is done in a 3rd person over the shoulder view, similar to Gears of War). The gameplay makes you feel like you are in a sci-fi / horror movie (Event Horizon, the Thing, etc) and made me jump more times than I'd care to admit. The game brings a sense of realism which adds to the suspense. You can't, for example, pause the game, go into your inventory screen and heal yourself or reload your gun like you can in Resident Evil, instead, your inventory is accessed in real time. Also, a nice touch is in areas of the ship that are in a vacuum, your flamethrower doesn't work (as there is no oxygen to sustain the flame) and the lower your health gets, the slower your character runs and the more labored his breathing sounds. There is no HUD or status screen, your health meter is displayed on the back of your suit. You can upgrade both your suit (rig) and your various weapons at benches scattered throughout the game. As far as upgrading your suit, there is no such thing as too much health and too much air. As for your weapons, your character, Isaac, is no soldier and as such, the majority of the weapons are tools (a plasma cutter, industrial chainsaw, etc); there is only one weapon, the plasma rifle, that feels like a traditional gun. I could go on and on, but I'll leave it at this, if you like to play survival horror or fps, you should give this game a shot, go rent it or if you know someone who has it, borrow it from them.

For those of you in Grand Rapids, I'm going to try to bring the game with me when I come home for the holidays.