WORDS. ON MY JOURNAL.

Anyway, got it back in October when it was released, but I wanted to wait until my classes were over so I could enjoy it fully. My hopes for it were ridiculously high (I remember thinking "this game cannot possibly suck" when watching pre-release videos), and I'm happy to inform that it managed to deliver everything I was hoping for in a very satisfying manner. Before I begin, let me just say I HIGHLY recommend this game. If you have great taste like me, chances are you'll love it.

The first run took me 3 days to complete, but only because I was deeply obsessed with it and played for like 5 hours straight the first couple days, around 13 hours total (I always take my time and explore everything on my first playthrough, heard it takes about 6-7 hours if you rush). Nowadays you kinda already expect games to be really well done most of the time, but with Dead Space I was constantly being reminded of how impressive the overall presentation was. It is such a beautiful game. My favorite thing about it -and this should capture any player for sure, whether they realize it or not- is the concise and engrossing universe the team came up with. The visual identity of the whole thing is just stunning, I can't say it's "UNLIKE ANYTHING YOU'VE EVER SEEN", but it does it's job of making a story come to life through the environment. I'm absolutely in love with the way Isaac's suit ( ) looks like it's a living part of the USG Ishimura (the mining ship the game takes place in), and how it seems to match every little shape and group of forms throughout the place. The ship is almost a character in itself, the consistency and appeal of the world in there are just jaw dropping. So to have a really iconic main character and settings that support that is amazing. Not to mention the genius that is the lack of a traditional HUD; everything from Isaac's health to his ammo is displayed "in game", so it feels even more like playing a movie.

Now, I usually don't care much for intricate storylines, the gameplay is what it's all about. If the story is good, then that's a plus. It's not really necessary for me to like a game. Dead Space can be pretty straightforwad if you want it to be, but you can also really get into the plot. The basic thing every game needs is, the player must know why he's doing what he's doing. Dead Space does that extremely well: it makes you want to get the fuck out of there as quick as possible. Strange? Yes, because the place is so beautiful you don't really want to leave. You love it in there, it's where all the fun is, but in the back of your mind you know that you're making every move with the intention of being able to escape into safety. It's hard to remain out of touch with all the events, and being involved with these things makes the experience a lot more enjoyable.

The game feels just right. Controls are easy to get used to, the only problem I had was with the healing command, where pressing X automatically uses a healing item in your inventory. It's handy in hectic situations, but I had been playing Gears 2 for a while before I started, so every time I went up to a switch or something that needed to be activated I'd press X and use a health pack instead
There's no quick turn command, but Isaac can sidestep, shoot while moving and is overall very nice to control. Now I'm gonna talk about two things I wasn't entirely happy with.. first, Isaac's melee attacks didn't feel very effective. The "arm swing" is slower than I would have liked and the animation is a little awkward. Not the move itself, but if you try to clobber a wall or some indestructible object, he kind of flashes back instead of actually hitting it. The curb stomp is okay, but it's also slow and the range isn't good at all, it leaves you very vulnerable to attacks.
The other thing is the small variety of enemies. I was expecting to see more, the regular necromorphs tend to look kinda repetitive. I mean, if you were fighting an army or something this wouldn't be a problem, but I thought they were supposed to be like mutated abnormalities, so it doesn't feel right for them to have the same deformed limbs sprouting from the same spots and attack patterns.

Everyone's favorite part: comparisons! My first impression even from just watching videos of it was that it played a lot like Resident Evil 4, and that turned out to be true. The mechanics are very similar, and that can't be a bad thing. Aside from the controls, the tune up system for weapons works almost in the same way (in fact, the whole little store thing does), and upgrading the suit is SO much fun
I like to think of it as RE4 mechanics meets Metroid atmosphere. You'll definitely notice the similarities as you play. It's much like a more believable, less fantastic Metroid in essence. I love that Dead Space borrowed from quite possibly the best sources out there for its genre.
Unfortunately, I don't think the circumstances leave much room for a sequel in the same fashion since the story is like an isolated event, but I really hope they make one. Game of the Year along with Gears 2 for me.

I know not a lot of people check these, but I'd love to hear other impressions.