When thinking of the name Visceral Games back in 2008, no one would even know what that was, until the creation of “Dead Space”. “Dead Space” appeals to all gamers who lust for intense action, blood, gore, and horrific creatures. It is a perfectly balanced survival/horror game that attacks the player with a swarm of Necromorphs, (an alien that kills its enemies with its two enlarged blades that are inserted where hands are supposed to be, than takes over the victim’s body resulting in two Necromorphs) and then allows them to cool down in a seemingly unoccupied corridor. With its fantastic storyline, multiple challenging achievements, and its playability “Dead Space” has many things to offer any gamer.

The player takes the role as Isaac Clark, an engineer from earth who has volunteered to inspect the USG Ishimura and see his girlfriend that he hasn’t spoken to in a year. The USG Ishimura is a planet cracker, devoted to extracting the natural resources from other planets in order to produce the resources that the human population needs to survive. When approaching the massive ship the player can easily see that it has no power and that there is no one trying to use the intercom to ask for help. Suddenly Isaac is forced to crash land on the Ishimura to save the crew and yourself. When the player enters the ship it is dark and it seems as if everyone was trying to leave in a hurry. Then you look at the damage of the ship and it’s extensive and in order to leave the Ishimura, Isaac will have to repair everything. That starts the journey through the bowels of the Ishimura encountering the Necromorphs and trying to survive.

When walking through the ship the player will notice the attention to detail throughout the entire game. The graphics are amazing in “Dead Space” from looking out into space or directly into a Necromorph’s eyes the player will feel like they are in Isaac’s shoes. Visceral Games paid special attention to the ways the player can die, with fifty different ways to be literally torn apart; and made sure that the up close and personal scenes when Isaac is desperately trying to pull a Necromorph off his face were extremely realistic. Another aspect to the game is the over the shoulder view, which creates a sense of venerability that, keeps the player on their toes. Over the shoulder views were first introduced in Resident Evil 4 when trying to fight zombies. There is also no quick turnaround (a button the player presses that quickly spins the character around one hundred and eighty degrees making it easier to fight off enemies from any direction) which makes the game feel more realistic than a game such as Left 4 Dead 2 ( a zombie apocalypse videogame) that does incorporate a quick turn.

While playing “Dead Space” the player will encounter a few minor problems, as there are in any videogame on the market. One problem is the while jumping in zero gravity rooms the camera seems to get lost or confused while Isaac is jumping from wall to wall. The temporary faulty camera forces the player to not be able to spot enemies as fast as they should be able to and in result be attacked without any recollection of there being Necromorphs in the vicinity. The second issue is that when the player presses down on the right stick a navigation icon appears that directs Isaac in the correct direction, but on some occasions the icon will send the player in the wrong direction, backwards, or just the longest most dangerous route possible. Those two miniscule problems in “Dead Space” show that this game was well thought out when being created.

“Dead Space” is a unique video game due to its playability, which takes time getting the hang of before anyone is an expert marksman. When trying to reload, use kinesis, (the ability to pick up and move objects with a module mounted on Isaac’s arm) use stasis, (a hand held machine that when used slows down time around the object fired upon) or shoot, the player must hold down the left trigger and press a, x, y, or the right trigger depending on what wants to be executed (Xbox 360). The interesting controls makes everything move a little slower than most games and gives the enemies an opening to attack Isaac and really do some damage. Just like with any new game the player will adjust to the new controls and be cutting limbs off within the first chapter.

“Dead Space” is a magnificent game that is recommended for gamers new and old that are looking for a game that will keep them at the edge of their seat just waiting for something to jump out. Based upon the graphics, plot, and minor problems “Dead Space” is a close to perfect game that is magnificently balanced and will be enjoyed by anyone and everyone that plays it.