One of the most striking things about the visuals of the game are not the sharp textures, un-cluttered screen free of life bars or ammo counters (all these stats are displayed visually on the weapons or on your suit) or the frankly excellent dynamic lighting effects, much as these are reason enough to slap a big round 'Eye Candy' badge on Dead Space's blazer. The first thing about the visuals that adds to the experience tenfold is the claustrophobic camera angles. Imagine the over-the-shoulder Resi 4 style camera but about 6ft closer. Needless to say, this ensures you're constantly checking over your shoulder as you walk the abandoned corridoors. At first it felt almost too close, but give it time and you won't see it as a hindrance, but more of an excellent scare device that adds to the tight corridoors of the ship and the limited mobility of Isaacs armored RIG suit.  

 

The combat comes across initially very well. The strategic dismemberment aspect really makes you feel like you're doing some damage, as your Plasma Cutter hacks through flesh and bone and leaves limbs scattered across the floor in the wake of a fight. The basics of combat are this: you can shoot the enemies in the chest or even head as many times as you like, but it's very unlikely to stop them. To fell these clawed beasties, you have to take off their limbs. As of yet, we haven't learned why this is the only way to take them down, and it does seem a little strange that you can take off one leg and one arm to kill a creature. That being said, there is still a morbid thrill in blowing off a xenomorphs leg at the knee and getting stampy with his head while he crawls towards you.  

 

One thing we at ZoneMaster where especially looking forward to was the fact that the enemies will react to how you dismember them and change their combat strategies to match the type and number of appendages available to them. In practice, however, this isn't quite as cool as it sounds. It basically boils down to a few predictable reactions and we're yet to be surprised as to how they fight with what we haven't removed. If you blow off a creatures leg or legs, they will crawl after you on the floor. Removing a creatures arm won't really affect it, as it will just claw you with it's remaining one. For the most part, the forumla seems to be take off the legs to slow 'em down then shoot off a clawed arm for the kill. This runs the risk of getting repetetive later in the game, but we still smile at it for now.  

 

Another great feature of the game is the Zero-G sections. Some area's of the ship are so damaged that their gravity drive's have ceased to function, and this causes anything in the room to hover around aimlessly. Thankfully, Isaac's suit comes equipped to deal with this, and he remains stuck to the floor. You can, however, zoom to any wall or ceiling with ease, and this creates some interesting puzzles as you whizz round the room dodging crates and floating limbs. Also, a notable feature is the reaction of blood in these sections of the game. Rather than spray out of wounds as it does in other area's of the ship, the blood floats out in little wobbling globules and hovers around the room. A small cosmetic touch, but very nice nonetheless.  

 

The other abnormal area on the ship are the area's with no atmoshpere, either outside on the hull or in rooms with holes leading straight out into space. The main feature of these sections that shines through is in the audio. Seeing as there's no atmosphere through which sound can travel, all you hear in space is the heavy thud of your footsteps and Isaac's frantic breathing. Everything else is dulled and muted, giving it a very authentic 'I'm In Space' experience (as authentic as this reviewer can imagine, anyway...).  

 

So far, we're impressed with Dead Space. The storyline is gripping and well written and really keeps us wanting more. The combat, although running the risk of becoming stale in later sections, remains fresh and exciting as we pass the halfway point. The visuals are crisp and highly polished, with small touches adding to the ambience at every turn. The audio is a real strongpoint, with the sections outside the ship masterfully designed, but also background noises and the musical score are both equally delightful and add greatly to the gameplay.  

 

Keep posted later in the week for the full review of Dead Space.