Dead Space

Since Dead Space and Dead Space 2 were both reviewed here by the same guy that enjoyed the latest Silent Hill I felt compelled to provide a review from someone that has not enjoyed a Horror/Survival game since Resident Evil 2.  While Silent Hill was not a favorite and gave me something of a minor uncomfortable fright, I don't believe Brad's enjoyment of Dead Space is any reflection of his open mindedness for horror/survival based games.  Dead Space is just a f''ing good game.   
 Do you like powering up in a game like Borderlands or Bioshock and feeling your newfound power against the denizens of whatever world you seek to dominate?  Do you like the ability to freely save every time you come upon a save point and travel from that point with an open mind and an empty heart for carnage?  Do you want to face up against some tough SoB's and triumph through tactics and superior fire power (and boots?).  Dead Space has all of this.   
It's not a grueling survival horror gauntlet for Vinny-like completionists like me.  I usually hate these games because I conserve every bit of ammo I can and slog through as methodically as possible trying to get EVERYTHING in an effort to ease my way through the end game as much as possible.  Alan Wake infuriated me in this manner in that it gave me all the tools I needed every level but no more and took them all away at the end of the level if I didn't use them.  Dead Space avoids this trap and allows the completionist sociopath in you to thrive and dominate.  It even let's you save and reload to your hearts content without ever making the game too easy or too challenging.   
As you progress through the mutli-tiered story meeting tougher and tougher challenges the game also provides an element of depth not present in most other horror/survival games by not only giving you a sort of ammo hunt mini challenge but also the ability to upgrade weapons throughout the course of the campaign.    There's no reason to go crazy-go-nuts about ammo hunting, there's no reason to lose it over xp grinding, and there's no reason to japanese-style (a.k.a. Dead Rising style) do multiple reboots just to assure you're high enough level to deal with the challenges at hand.  Either handle them through tactics or superior fire power.   Dead Space absolutely manages to reward your hunting while not requiring it and provides a compelling campaign and difficulty throughout the course of play. 
 The reason Dead Space gets a 4.5 and not a 5 is due to story concerns.  I didn't find the story terribly creative though it did drive the game along nicely which is all that's asked of it.  The issue comes from the obvious lines one can draw from Dead Space to Event Horizon.  This doesn't terribly detract from the game but does provide an predictable back drop for an otherwise expertly narrated game.  As the review for Dead Space 2 on this site states... if you're interested in the state of the art and a guide for the future of in-game cinematics, this is a game you really should experience.  
 Do not mistake the Dead Space franchise for just another survival horror franchise.  It brings together elements of RPG's, Survival Horror, and 3rd Person action games with excellent cinematics all into one tight and neat package.  Microwave from 2008 and enjoy thoroughly... this is one great game.