The survival horror genre returns on the XBox 360 in Dead Space which could almost be considered a Resident Evil game set in the distant future with strange alien creatures and enough scares to almost make you need to change your underwear. Move over Half Life because Dead Space just got scarier!

The title also features a strong storyline that revolves around mining planets for resources and a survivalist hero who ventures aboard a mysterious ghost ship. Without spoiling the plot of Dead Space, the storyline is extremely engaging and is probably one of the better survival stories of late which truly immerses you into the game. Match that with some beautiful visuals and cinematics and it’s easy to get lost in this vast gaming universe.

Features: Dismemberment - This game's core mechanic is the strategic dismemberment of alien appendages. In true survival horror fashion, you must conserve ammo in true Hollywood horror fashion, it's all about seeing bone fragments and arterial spray fly across the room. Note: Enemies in the game are resilient. The conventional wisdom that a headshot will stop an alien is thrown out in Dead Space Setting and atmosphere - Dead Space is an immersive, interactive horror movie experience. An emergent, panic-inducing audio system, an innovative Minority Report-style HUD, and a nuanced, scary pace that will sink you into the game experience Unique weaponry - Stasis gun is used to slow charging aliens and to help solve puzzles. The gravity gun and unique projectile-based weaponry are mining tools your ability to upgrade weapons increases as you progress through the game Zero gravity - Survive and destroy the aliens in zero G environments. Manipulate gravity with Havok physics to solve puzzles and fight enemies.

At its core, Dead Space is a third person action game that combines first person shooters and the horror/survival genre which gives gamers access to a variety of weapons and equipment to assist you in your goals. Most of time, it seems like you are scavenging for ammunition which adds to the excitement of the title.

Your futuristic suit also contains a variety of nifty features from holographic transmissions and maps which goes a long way making this game seem real. Although the majority of time will be spent with your plasma blaster as you shoot a plethora of almost unending monsters, where the title does shine is through shot placements.

The key to the game is ensure that you make the most of your ammunition and you can blast limbs and also heads from your enemies which makes for some nerve racking gameplay.  

Our hero also has the unique ability of telekinesis which can also be used against your foes and nothing is more satisfying than using this power to launch body parts at your enemies.

Telekinesis can also be used to solve a variety of puzzles in the game and does break up the “shooter” aspect of the game. You can even use this ability to remove appendages from your “victims” which is graphically quite impressive. Very cool indeed!

The game does contain a variety of different weapons and equipment which can be found lying around the ship or through interactive kiosks, however you are limited to what you can carry. Your suit and weapons also have the ability to be upgraded via computer terminals. 

Graphically, the title is sheer brilliant on the XBox 360 with sharp images, a great colour palette and some truly engaging scenes that suits the genre perfectly. The monsters are the stars of the game though and are quite frightening at times. Match that with a Hollywood sounding soundtrack and Dead Space is definitely one of the better third person games available at present.

In conclusion, Dead Space is a thoroughly enjoyable game that we could recommend to anyone who loves first person shooters (or third) or the survival horror genre. Things have gotten truly scarier on the XBox 360!