A fantastic experience - start to finish
I did not play Dead Space when it first came out, primarily because my pile of unfinished games was already large enough at the time of its release. While the reason for not playing it is probably as true today as it was then the game is now easy to pick up cheap (without having to go second hand) and as I had heard so may good things about it I decided to see if they were all true, and I am happy to report that they are!
From the start of the game the presentation is stunning and the game plays like a dream. The horror and story telling element are dealt with beautifully, you always feel that what you are doing has a real purpose and you know exactly what that purpose is. You alway seem to find yourself feeling like death cold be around the next corner but the game design is good enough that you manage to survive most of the time (even if sometimes only just!) and health packs are not so abundant that you simply heal up to full after each encounter which nicely adds to the suspense. Perhaps most importantly however is that the shooting mechanics are fun! The fact that you have to shoot the limbs off of the monsters makes things feel more deliberate and the range of weapons you have feels very imaginative and original compared to most FPSs.
I do not want to talk about the story as I do not want to ruin anything for anyone who has not played it. All I will say is that if you have not played this yet you owe it to your self to do so!