Editor’s note: This review was written by Justin Harris, a student at Full Sail University. Justin is an avid gamer who enjoys playing games in all genres. Not only is he a fellow gamer, but he also is an inspiring game designer. His passion for the industry is what drives him to accomplish his goal of one day creating his own design studio. You can find this aspiring designer/producer on Xbox Live playing games like: Medal of Honor, Gears of War 2, Halo: Reach and Modern Warfare 2 under the gamertag str8MOJO.

It’s not every day this writer gets to review a game that gives back to its audiences by providing a fresh new gaming experience. Dead Space is a survival horror game that gives players something more to fear than just mindless zombies, pushing its genre into a new era.

Dead Space takes place in space on a ship that is badly in need of repair. You play a member of a crew on its way to the ship answering a distress call. You get the first feel of the dark eerie environment when you land on the ship. Players are given a nice pop-up tutorial box with the basic control scheme of controlling Isaac. The in-game ambiance is superb, the creaking and banging noises from the ship really make the environment come alive. It is not long before you get a taste of what is in store for you when you meet the gruesome and relentless creatures of the game called “Necromorphs.”

After a quick and intense chase involving you running for you life from one of these creatures, you are put in the heart of the game, requiring you to follow the task of a commanding officer of getting the ship back online. As you progress through the story, you discover what happened to the crew and why you are really sent to the ship.

The ship’s corridors are dark, creepy and downright scary. The weapons at your disposal all have a flashlight attached, so you are not completely submerged in darkness. And finding ammo to the weapons is rare, so it is important to make each shot count. Necromorphs are tough to kill, and you could use up all you precious ammo to kill one of these creatures. The only way to really do major damage is to dismember the limbs from the Necromorphs with a finely aimed shot. To add to the tension, Necromorphs can come out of every nook and cranny from the ship, and they are normally not alone.

You will also pick up items that give you abilities to aid you during your mission. One of these abilities is called “Stasis,” which gives you the ability to shoot a particle of energy that slows down the object it hits for a brief period of time. This works exceptionally well against Necromorphs, allowing you to slow down these fast-moving creatures to give you time to shoot off the limbs. As I mentioned before, the game gives you a nice informative info box, showing you the controls to control this ability and gives you some time to try it out.

With all the blood, gore and scares Dead Space has to offer, it has even more up its sleeves to really put you at wits end. Players will find themselves in various parts of the ship called “Zero Gravity” areas. Zero gravity is terrifying because there is no sound and because you have to maneuver from ceilings, walls and floors. It is easy to lose your bearings, and it is almost impossible to hear if a Necromorph is behind you. This was a very intriguing feature to put in a game, especially a survival horror game in which players rely on their sense of hearing. I was glued to the edge of my seat during these sequences and was always afraid to look behind me. Zero Gravity areas helped boost the fear factor in the game and add even more tension to already tense game.

Visually, Dead Space is beautiful! The lightning effects are spot on, and the environment gives off that creepy vibe to help keep things scary. To get the full effects of Dead Space, play at night with all the lights off and your surround sound system cranked up. It was a fresh breath of air to see that Dead Space in-game screen free of ammo counts, health bars or any other distracting indicators. The designers instead incorporated the health bar on the back of the character’s armor, and the ammo count for your weapons is located on each weapon. This game mechanic allowed me to stay focused on my surroundings instead of searching all over the screen for this info.

As I said at the beginning of this review, the sound is what made this game feel real and not over-the-top. I really liked not having some loud rock or techno-style music come in with an intense scene. This kept the whole game a surprise and made me wonder what was waiting for me around the next corner, or what was already behind me.

Dead Space not only has a great gameplay experience, it also has a very intelligent story. The story is rich, compelling and keeps you guessing all the way to the end. Overall, Dead Space was a very pleasing and enjoyable experience. I felt as though I was discovering the horror genre for the first time. It’s nice to know there are still developers in the industry trying to create new experiences and not recreate already played-out scenarios.

Dead Space is a game that has everything going for it to make it “Game of the Year.” This game is a must-buy, and I recommend everyone to go out to their local game retailer and purchase Dead Space. With the sequel only a few months away, I can’t wait to step back into true horror game.