There has been a serious shortage of "horror" games on the gaming market and just as I was starting to think that all hope was lost, "Dead Space" decided to prove me wrong. Be prepared to travel through the halls of the derelict space ship "Ishimura" in search of answers and to face the unfathomable horrors that lurk behind every corner. Are you up to it?

Your voice-less hero, Isaac Clarke is one bad ass mercenary, trained in the arts of combat, armed to the teeth, and with special powers such as telekinesis and stasis field. Ah, I`m just kidding, you`re just a miner... armed to the teeth and with the aforementioned special powers. :)

Responding to a distress call, Isaac Clarke is part of the investigation team that is supposed to fix the Ishimura. Unfortunately, following a crash landing and an attack by unknown creatures, your shuttle is destroyed and any intention of leaving the Ishimura is left at that stage. Isaac and the other two survivors must now do what they can to survive on the Ishimura and get to the bottom of the weird events that are taking place. And kill the entire mutated crew of the ship in the process, as well.

Of course, like any good survival horror game, you will find yourself all alone in your struggle to survive, as your friends from the shuttle seem to move from one safe place to the other, instead of coming to meet you. They do however provide you with objectives and helpful suggestions during the course of the game. They also have a nice habit of opening doors for you as well.

With enough twists and turns to make you curious, and with new characters popping into the picture, the story in Dead Space is probably not its strongest point, but it`s certainly good enough to provide the proper atmosphere, but don`t compare it to Silent Hill for example.

Let me get straight to the point and mention one thing: strategic dismemberment. This is probably the most important thing in Dead Space, one that you must pay constant attention to, and one of its most enjoyable parts. Strategic dismemberment refers to how you should dispatch your enemies, while conserving ammo in the process. Allow me to elaborate.

Enemies in Dead Space are tough; in fact they are so tough, that shooting them just doesn`t cut it. You can eventually kill one of the necromorphs that haunt the corridors, by shooting it in the body, but it`s much easier to shoot some limbs off, and this is where Dead Space excels. Shooting different body parts has been an important part in most first person shooters or action games to date, but few have implemented a system as good as the one in Dead Space. Head shots were usually considered enough and everything else was considered a body shot, with nothing special. Not anymore.

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All body parts are now detachable, but the head isn`t the most important as you might think. Leg shots are probably the most difficult to achieve with some of the more advanced necromorphs, but they are certainly the most useful. Once a necromorphs is down, don`t think that it`s dead. It`s better to remove 3 limbs from each corpse, before moving past, or you`ll have a nice surprise on your hands.

Isaac`s mining equipment is certainly varied (and efficient) enough to put to shame any modern military weapons. Starting from the initial plasma cutter that is excellent for sniping limbs off enemies, to the much more advanced force gun, everyone will find a favorite weapon. Each weapon also has a secondary fire mode that varies from launching a mine instead of limb-cutting projectiles, to a nice 360 degree attack from the pulse rifle that is sure to clear a room in seconds, and also your ammo pack.

Melee attacks are also present, and they`re clumsy enough to remind you that you`re not playing a super-duper soldier, but a lowly miner. You can also stomp on fallen enemies, but this is quite difficult to aim.

I mentioned before that you also have 2 special abilities, telekinesis and stasis field. They are both invaluable in combat, and proper use of both will help you conserve ammo. Telekinesis allows you to move objects and is used in both puzzle solving and fights. There`s nothing like cutting off the razor sharp claws of an enemy and then use telekinesis to make them eat it. Stasis field is much easier to use, and simply slows everything down to a crawl. I`m sure you can see the combat benefits... You can then proceed, as a real surgeon, to remove limb after limb from nearly paralyzed enemies.

Throughout the game, you will encounter three very special items that you will learn to love. First and foremost, is of course the save console. You can only save at these special places, but they`re frequent enough not to become a nuisance. The shop is another common encounter, and you can (who would have thought?) buy different weapons, suits, and ammo. You can also sell things that you don`t need, or buy power nodes. The shop also has a special place where you can store items that don`t fit into your inventory, until you have the space.

The upgrade bench provides you with the option of improving all of your weapons or armor and the stasis and air counters. The upgrade tree is organized in nodes, and you can advance by using power nodes that can be found or bought, as I mentioned. Your suit is probably the most important thing to upgrade, since the increase in health is not negligible, and then you`ll probably want to focus on one or more weapons. Upgraded weapons are much more efficient in dismembering your enemies, so be sure to take advantage of it.

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Necromorphs come in different size and shapes, and there`s nothing like encountering a new necromorph to get the blood flowing. The first ones that you`ll encounter will be members of the former crew transformed into savage beasts, but they`re easy enough to take out with a few shots to the legs. You`ll be surprised when you`ll encounter the first ones with leg armor. The other most common necromorph to trudge through the Ishimura is the "screaming baby head" necromorph, with three tentacles coming out from it. They`re ranged, but they don`t do as much damage as the first, melee oriented necromorphs. Two tentacle shots and they`re down, so don`t worry too much about them, better mind the sounds they make, since those are pretty irritating.

I`ll leave the others as a surprise, with special mention going to the flying necromorph that resembles a bat, since that one infects fallen crew members and you`ll soon have an army against you. Take them out as soon as possible, to make things easier!

Of course, there are also bosses, and I found the regenerating necromorph to be the most interesting, since it seriously adds to the atmosphere knowing that you`re chased by it and you can`t kill it by normal means.

All the things mentioned before wouldn`t mean a lot if they didn`t have the atmosphere to back them up. Hey, it`s fun shooting limbs off enemies, but not if they`re coming straight at you or if they look like teddy bears. Fortunately, Dead Space has some of the scariest looking monsters I have seen recently, disturbing enough to be remembered, and they pop out of the most unexpected places. The developers really have done an excellent job in imagining and creating the Ishimura, as well as the monsters. This is one of the few games where I was actually looking forward to encountering an enemy, to shake of that feeling of not knowing where he`ll jump at you from, or what scary thing you might encounter around the next corner.

Another thing that I`d like to see more in games is the so called "locator", that will show the way to your next objective at any time, by tracing blue laser beams, so you`re free to focus just on the action. The HUD implemented in Dead Space is something new, because it just isn`t there. Yes, that`s right, there`s no HUD to fill your screen with health bars or ammo counters. Everything is done from Isaac`s suit, so if you want to see how much health you have left, you simply check the blue bar on his back. The same goes for the stasis field energy, and the ammo count is displayed as soon as you draw any weapon. This is one of the most innovative and functional HUDs that I`ve seen, but this also comes with a disadvantage. There`s no pause function, even when you check your inventory, or when you want to save your game. Try it at the wrong time, and you`ll see how nice the dismemberment process is... on yourself. Isaac can die in a whole lot of ways, each one more gruesome than the previous.

The PC version was criticized for its poor control scheme and slow responsiveness, but once you get used to it, you won`t find it too bothering. Maneuverability also comes with higher levels of your suit, so don`t be cheap. Graphically speaking, the game looks fantastic, and I was certainly impressed from the first level of the game. Everything is very detailed, from the characters, to the weapons and the cryptic writing on the walls.

The sound effects are too scary for their own good, and I was often taking off my headphones, since I didn`t want to make a fool of myself by jumping out of my seat when the next necromorph appeared. The music is also excellent and certainly draws you deeper and deeper into the story, making your forget you`re in front of your computer.

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Conclusion:

This is one of the scariest games that I played recently, and certainly a top notch game of the genre. I look forward to playing Silent Hill: Homecoming as well, to really satisfy my "horror" needs. With a truly excellent atmosphere, innovative HUD system and an awesome dismemberment system, Dead Space is a must have. Just be sure to play it with the lights off, and without anyone to bother you... or hear you scream.

Gameplay: 92

Dead Space is combat oriented, and that is certainly fine by me. With nothing to get in the way of combat, not even the HUD or trying to remember where you had to go next, you are free to appreciate every little thing that was designed to scare you out of your mind. The gameplay is fast but with enough tactical diversity to warrant a second walkthrough, and a third, and a fourth...

Graphics: 93

The game looks excellent with everything maxed out and works like a charm. The necromorphs are fast and brutal, so there won`t be time to properly admire them until they`re lying on the ground in a pool of blood, with limbs splattered everywhere.

Sound: 92

You can hear everything on the Ishimura from screaming, screeching, clawing and mumbling, to the nerve shattering sound of necromorphs in the ventilation shafts. If the sounds and music won`t make you jump out of your seat and check your back every 30 seconds, then nothing will.

Multiplayer: n/a

Hardware: 90

The game was fluent, with no slowdowns or even crashes throughout my testing. It`s quite rare to see a game this polished on release, so thumbs up from me.