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A faceless and voiceless hero going through dark corridors shooting enemies over and over might not sound like one of the best games of 2008, but that is the case with Dead Space.

Though Dead Space isn’t exactly bursting with originality, it combines different slices from great games such as Bioshock, Resident Evil 4, Doom, and Half-Life to make a very tasty pie. The game starts off as the hero Isaac and his crewmates go to repair a spaceship. Once aboard the ship they discover it has been overrun by creatures that aren’t exactly cuddly. From that point on you’ll get orders from your crewmates on what to do. Which is one of the game’s few problems. It seems like they’re always saying “Solve problem A and we’ll be home free”. Once you solve “problem A” they say “Oh no, now you have to solve problem B and then we’re home free.” You’ll pretty much go through the entire alphabet and some numbers solving problems. Due to the repetitive mission objective narrative, the game dragged on a little towards the middle. Though the game’s story might not keep you at the edge of your seat, its gameplay and believe it or not, sound will.

After playing shooters for so many years it only feels natural to go for headshots, but in Dead Space you’ll need to dismember enemy limbs to kill them efficiently. You’ll also need to do a lot rationing, unlike many shooters today your health doesn’t automatically regenerate. Between finding health packs and ammo you’ll need to strategize on how you intend on disposing enemies. Some of the most intense moments in the game are the ones when you’re locked in an area with the creatures and they are all charging you. It must be said; whoever designs a security that automatically locks you in a room with murderous monsters really needs to be fired. You’ll occasionally go outside the ship into space. Here of course there is no air, so your suit puts you on a timer while it’s supplying you with oxygen. Not only will you have to deal with rushing through space trying not to suffocate, you’ll still have to fight the creatures.

Dead Space also features a store and weapon upgrade system. By finding credits in the ship and spending them in the store you can buy weapons, ammo, or a new suit which increases your health. By finding or buying nodes you can upgrade your weapons’ damage, rate of fire, reload speed, and more specific features depending on weapon.

One of the few innovations of Dead Space is its HUD system. There is no traditional health bar, but instead on Isaac’s back there are lights that tells you his health. Icons like ammo, open door, or videos that you find are displayed through holograms, almost what the newer Ghost Recon games have done, but to the next level.

Thanks to excellent sound design there’s never really a calm moment. You’ll almost always hear something screeching, footsteps, or some other weird sound that makes you turn around in the game and probably in real-life too. Of course this adds to Dead Space’s horror theme, though the game isn’t very scary, it does always maintain an eerie and creepy vibe. 

Like any other game Dead Space has problems; like its unoriginal story and repetitive mission objective structure. Luckily the game makes up for those faults with fun gameplay, brilliant sound design, and gorgeous graphics. Any fan of either shooters or horror games should give it a try.

8.8/10        

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