Dead Space

...and getting attacked by a severed head with legs was a great 'nod' to John Carpenter's The Thing. Just another one of the small things that makes this game so enjoyable.

Then why bother progressing any further? Just trade it in so someone who isn't so obsessed with going against the grain can get their hands on a cheap copy.

As i progress further into the game i have to disagree with Meghan's rating
It should get a 3.5

I had played this game before on a 46" hdtv system with stereo sound and thought it was mediocre.
I bought me a 7.1 dolby digital amplifier the other day installed it and this was the first game to try it on.
It is a totally different experience i must admit that.
The sound effects are awesome.
Thing is how many of us average players play the games as they should be played?

This game is just so easy to pick up and play. The controls only take a few minutes to get used to and I was soon blasting through Necros without even referring back to the instruction manual. The upgrade system is simple but forces you to really think about what you want to focus on (offense or defense). The map is awkward at first, but becomes pretty handy once you adapt to it.
_
The "endless loot scavenging" is a nice break from the tension of combat, but isn't as diverse as BioShock was, in terms of what you are going to find.
_
Don't let this review keep you from giving this game a shot. Everyone gets the right to an opinion, but if Fable II is a 9.5, there is no way this game is a 6.5.

its always been really known that the media has been easily persuaded as long as their is money involved. It must of seemed that many people who would be reading this would not be effected by this game and would clearly consider it a crappy game and ignore it. Now many people such as OXM will argue that they are not easily bribed to improving rating on games, but it is all true, and has been with the media for many years, as it can be the biggest form of propaganda.

Sadly after EA has gone big they had made a lot of enemies. It seemed you couldn't go anywhere with out people saying how they hate EA this, EA that! now i ask you why? EA has gotten big because they have published and created, who are still producing high quality games. NHL Series (all of them have been great causing a lot of other companies to realize the potential in hockey and have attempted to compete AKA. NHL2K.) The Sims (arguably one of the most popular games of all time, we've all played it.), Skate, Mass Effect, Battlefield, Madden, More Sports Games, Dead Space now and a lot more games.

Now OXM could be feeling that EA hasn't been paying its respect and this is one way they show it, one of many possible reasons but i could go on for ever so i wont.

In my final statement here i hope you listen to it strongly. Do NOT MAKE YOUR DECISION ON REVIEWS, as proven through many games over the past Decade Reviews have the ability to Make or Break a game. The ONLY PEOPLE YOU SHOULD TRUST ARE your friends. Most of your friends will have generally the same taste as you, honest to their opinion and are not bribed. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't read reviews because they can really help give you the idea of the game is trying to focus on, whether it accomplishes its task and is a fun and great game is up to you and your friends.

Most people now seem afraid to trust their own feelings and that of their friends and so they seek professionals as i used to. But i ask you to take a moment, and realize what is the magazines greatest profit earned from? Do you say the readers?... WRONG! This magazines and many others earns the majority of its profit from advertisements, the publishers and the creators of the game. As you can see if the majority of its money is coming from these game companies, the more who help them out end up being more likely successful. i m not saying they don't completely care about the reader because the more they get the more money they get paid for each Ad.

Now is some of this starting to make sense to you? now please recall with me when was the last time you saw EA Place an Ad in OXM? Not for a long time, if ever, i personally haven't seen one.

Now one last thing i would like you to notice is that every high rating game or over rated game has placed ads within the magazine. Gears 1 and 2 (not saying they were bad in any way just making a point. I love the games as well and gears 2 in my opinion is WAaaaaY better than the orginal.), Halo 1,2,3, GTA IV, Fallout 3, Saints Row 2, Fable II, Far Cry 2, Mirrors Edge (i believe there are some but i might be wrong.)

In the end never trust the media, even the government has tried to tell us that. For example in Canada the government released an ad which contained a small hippo the size of a mouse and made it seem as it could almost be real as a full sized cat comes up to it as the hippo yawns defending its territory. A powerful ad, and as we all know mini hippo's do no exist.

Sorry for spending so much time talking here, and hopefully you read it all as it is important but i just felt like getting that all of my chest. Also Sorry OXM for having this all come out on you, it is the same with every other source of reviewer in the gaming industry no mater how hard they try to deny it, i just let it out on you because i loved Dead Space and how people are getting turned off at this review!

First mistake = A woman reviewed a man's game

Looks to me like the rest of the world is finally noticing the OXM Conspiracy. Allow me to elaborate: The Force Unleashed was given a 7.5, not that bad of a score for a pretty crappy game. This is, of course, because there are so many fans of Star Wars out there and the game was so hyped up. Why would OXM give TFU a 6.0, which it clearly deserved, when this game is a definite sell no matter how bad it sucks. Now Dead Space, on the other hand, gets a 6.5 for no legitimate complaints at all. This game was under the radar before it released and with huge games such as Gears 2 and Fallout 3, why would they want people to spend they're money on this when there are blockbuster sales just around the corner. It all comes down to who controls OXM and why they're reviews can't be trusted. IT'S NO LONGER A SECRET, arm yourself with knowledge.

and yet this page is still a lightning rod for controversy.

Gotta say I really liked this game. One of the best of the year for me. To everybody reading: don't let this review steer you away. At least try it for yourself.

Jack T, your rantings sound more and more like a hateful maniac fanatic. . . Do you really think anyone with any sense would believe you the way you are foaming about this game? . . . Slow down on your sugar intake and stay away from the caffiene for awhile.

jimchris you are right but these guys wont stand for anybody that disagrees with them. They only want Dead Space to be scored really high so they feel good. Anything else they will just try to argue you down, again to make themselves feel like their opinions are right, count more, and are superior to those of OXM and any others who do not agree. It is unfortunate but they are beyond hope, which is why I suppose Meghan has stopped responding because fanboys cannot be persuaded otherwise.
THEY CAN SAY OR THINK WHATEVER THEY WANT, BUT DO NOT BUY THIS BORING AND LACKLUSTER GAME PEOPLE - YOU WILL REGRET IT! THERE ARE BETTER GAMES OUT THERE FOR YOUR MONEY ... SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR BETTER GAMES NOT FROM EA, LIKE FALLOUT 3 !

@ jimcris

As i've probly stated before, in one of my earlier posts Dead Space is not just a normal game where your blowing up Necro's, it has alot to do with the atmosphere, the beauty of the space station, the game will through your right into its imagitive world. You'll even get so into the game, at one part you'll probbly flinch or jump when you hear a spanner being dropped in the background. In Dead Space you have to truely take a few seconds to look around you and realise how much effort and lines of code was put into that game. So Crank up your volume and plug in to your HD TV and you will have a blast!

Another thing, Dead space's 8-16 hour campaign in my opinion is quite good for most campaigns. COD4's, COD World at War all bearly hit just under 8 hours, and these games are mainly multiplayer so scratch that off. Gear of War 2, has the same length campaign aswell, but has alot more replay value because of horde mode, and splitscreen, so get that if you dont already have that. Excluding Gears of War 2, Fallout 3, GTAIV and Halo 3, not many other good games will give such a great, fun, and atmosphere game where games like Army of two, COD4 and CODWaW, Fable II (has about the same length ive heard.), Mass Effect (If you choose just to do the main missions will give you about 6 hours, but depending on the side mission, if you really find that game great) and many others.

The only Top notch games which pass Dead Space in length are some RPG.

JimChris, if you already own Gears of War 2, Gears of War, Fallout 3, GTAIV (if your willing to wait about 20 hours of boring stuff to get to the good 10 hour part of the story) or Halo 3, Dead Space should be your next choice of action, it is a game which has delievered perfectly you'll be able to play it over and over again.

I've played Many games and Dead Space is in My Top 10, and i recomened it for you, its a great game for people who dont have Xbox live.

Shawn of the dead
X-box live is not supported in my country so the only reason i would buy such games is for the solo campaign only and since $69 is magically converted to 69 euros ($86.65) this side of the world ,you can see things the way i see it.
By the way it has sold 110k copies in Europe.
And one last thing
If it is not a shooter what makes it different than any other third person shooter where you kill aliens? gears of war for example.

I'm on my 4th play-through of Dead Space, and I'm still loving it to death (no pun intended). Meghan obviously does not like this genre and probably played it on the easiest difficulty, eliminating any challenge. It took me 13.5 hours the first time on normal, because I didn't know what the hell was going on. The next time, I beat it in 8.5 hours on hard; would have been quicker but I only used the cutter. Now I'm on impossible mode, and it's almost just that. This game is freaking amazing.

I find it funny that pretty much every other magazine gave this a good review, but the "experts" at OXM gave this such a horrible review. Sometimes they say it was just the reviewer's oppinion, but then they'll say it's everyone's oppinion. Maybe it explains why you're just an intern. Maybe I was correct in thinking that I should cancel my OXM membership, as it just sounds like the staff is a bunch of fanboys. I've considered doing this for the last 6 months and am almost at that point. There are parts that I enjoy, but they are starting to become out numbered by these completely bias and unrelenting crap of reviews.

I hate to sound so negative, but it's becoming more and more obvious.

Dead Space is not a total basic shooter, though at first it looks that way with no zoom, just one way to shoot. It acttualy quite a good shooter in the way you have to use the basics. Yes the shooting Mechanics are very simple, but if used in the right way basic things can make great games. Another factor about Dead Space is the atmosphere, yes it may have a short 8-16 hour campaign, but it has a ton of enjoyment packed in it, and it is fun to just replay it.

Now im not say this "OMG this gam is dah bomb! it rocked my socky's!" Dead Space is a game which dilivered a unique way for killing our enimies and delivered beautiful graphics and a great atmosphere. A great game espically if you have HD and Sound Surround. The game did falter a bit and only gave a few, around 1-3 good scares, but does diliver a good level for difficulty espically if you try to beat it a second time on the unlocked harder difficulty. Dead Space is about an 8.5 game in my opinion, its a game which has alot of potential espically for the upcoming sequels.

Also you stated that Dead Space is selling at an average pace? During the first month alone in the US it sold 470,000 copies. NPD group is going to release the exact total amount on Novemember 13th.

To all of you giving 9s and 10s to every game that you happen to enjoy, please keep your scores to yourselves we don't care.
We trust the professionals to do the job and you should do too.
Dead space is an average shooter with average sales so far.
By the way you can buy new weapons for a dollar or a new suit for 5 dollars or new skins for your weapons for a dollar fifty.
Maybe these will give more life to the short one player campaign that you enjoyed so much.

this is why interns should only stick to getting chinese food and coffee and NOT reviewing games. whoever was in charge of this decision should be fired.

AKENTASI and JackT are both completely wrong. Dead Space is a great game visually and gameplay wise, even if Dead Space did not scare you once the challenge is sure worth the money.

repetitive boredom? what do you mean repetitive? In Dead Space you will never backtrack (i never had to back track except for once but that was when i was playing on the hardest difficulty and that is unlocked by beating the game.) and you almost never return to where you were before, with the exception of one mission which re-uses some of the rooms but has plent of new other rooms, and is mainly done that way for effects. Also in most shooters such as halo, COD4 and many other games, all you do is shoot and kill, simple and basic just like that. Dead space is just like any massive hit game where you do have to kill alot of Necro Morphs but you'll encounter many diffrent types. Yes, you do have to repair the ship or destroy something but its allways done in a fun way, wether its in the unique Zero G, or on a turret dead space does a good job at having alot of varity and it rarely gets boring.

The stratigic dismemberment adds a whole new amount of challenge, espically when you face Necromorphs in huge masses. Some people have said that there was to limited ammo in Dead Space, but that is just plain old wrong. Dead Space gives just enough ammo to survive, if you dont waste pointless shots. It also gives waaay to much money in my opinion though for shops and if you ever ran out of ammo a quick little trip to the shop and you would be stocked up, with tons of bullets. Dead Space is a Survival game more than a horror, its just horror tends to useually go hand in hand with survival. There hasent been a good survival horror game forever, maybe way back in the day of system shock. Finally a survial game emerges and it was a blast. (Bioshock gave way to much ammo for me to consider it a survival, you never ran out.) Survival has the thrill of running out of ammo in the middle of battle if you were unprepaired and did stock up before, and when your fighting you may have to run around and find some bashing your enimies back holding them off for a few seconds untill you can get some more.

The gaming industry has gone soft and easy over the few years in attempt to atract more causal gamers, true survivals and challenges were lost. Dead Space is a game you will die in, not once but a couple of times. If you cant handle the fact that its a bit of a challenge (they could of made it harder for the hardest difficulties.), then your obviously to young to be playing this game. Life is full of challenges and so is Dead Space, it is a beautiful game which all upcoming survival horror games should look up too for an example.
If you want games that will hold your hand and pretty much beat itself for you with out any challenge then you can go back to your WII, or wait until you mature and realise what you've been missing.

It's so obvious to intelligent readers of this forum who is really not worth listening to when you read the, jaded-attitude crap like Jack T, AKENTASI, and even more so, OXM's intentionally crap review of Dead Space. . .

Never listen to old "darkchief10" down below because he doesn't know the difference between a tech demo and a good game. Graphics is one thing and crap gameplay is another. darkchief10 has no idea what he is talking about, which is about as typical as it gets for a fanboy.

don't listen to jack t here. he clearly doesn't know what s good game is if it smacked him in the face. dead space is a beautiful game that while, yes is not the most original game ever several people have explained why this game is gorgeous so i wont do a repeat. it saddens me that oxm would do such a disservice to this awesome game.

Well the game got what it really deserved ...... a big 6.5 score. Don't buy this game folks ! A few cheap scares and lots and lots of the stupid ENGINEER FIX THIS FIX THAT quests with endless boring metal corridors + shitty ending = crap game. DO NOT GET THIS UNLESS YOU ENJOY REPETITIVE BOREDOM, or if you piss your pants really easily like little babies - maybe then it is the game for you.

Ahhhh, the (in?)famous OXM Dead Space review. I have to say, that banner @ the bottom advertising only $2.08 an issue is no longer tempting after reading this (ridiculously short) review. Call the wambulance, someone doesn't like to search for ammo (in a survivor horror, nevertheless) and do linear tasks on a SHIP! People, yes that includes you Ms or Mrs. Watt, please keep in mind, this is a SHIP. It is not an endless sandbox where you have a lot of flexibility in where you can go. AGAIN, it is a SHIP! It has a bow and a stern, a beginning and an end, not a sandbox! The tasks are what they are, if you're looking to get a Fallout 3 game status out of Dead Space your way off. It's absurd to bash the developers on creating linear tasks when you're on a linear map, it just is. The scare factor of this game? Well, honestly, what movies or games nowadays implement ORIGINAL scare tactics that actually surprise you? Very few, if any. Yes, there were plenty of times where the game had the "predictable moment" feeling, but, everyone has to admit they were caught off guard at times and, though not necessarily were scared but had the "whoa, I didn't expect that" feeling. My prime example I always use is: I was at a bench getting my Node on, and, subsequent to my leaving, a Necromorph jumps right on top of me! That, to say the least, was a pretty intense moment. VERY unexpected. Did the writers utilize this scare tactic again as the game progressed? No, but you bet your sweet arse I was ready every time I left a Bench station or the store after that happened. So, were there moments such as when a dead necromorph is in the next room and very predictably jumps up alive and tries to eat you, yes. But, give the Dead Space developers credit. In today's generation, it's extremely hard to be original in using different ways to frighten or scare people whether it be in a game or movie, plenty has already been done and we have seen most of it. Hence, the reason why there were plenty of times you pretty much knew when something was gonna go down, but, you have to admit it was insanely satisfying dismembering those foos, yes foos, and you know you jumped once or twice. Now to digress, "But the ammo you use to battle these foes comes in small quantities, so you’ll find yourself ravaging lockers and crates every few seconds due to Dead Space’s fascination with containers."
That was a very facetious comment.

We only delete comments and ban users who post filth or personal attacks. As you can see from the seven loooong pages of comments that largely disagree with our review, we have no problems with even the most passionate, vocal dissent. Our stewardship of this thread has been fair and unbiased.

This is a pathetic review.

...

Not because of the low score, but because a good review informs me and gives me an indication whether I'll like a game. This review tells me nothing except that Ms Watt doesn't like the game. Worst review ever.

...

Oh, and when I posted this before, my comment was deleted and my account terminated. I guess if words fail you repeatedly, you must fall back on censorship. You are p-a-t-h-e-t-i-c.

I hope she review Gears of War 2. I'm guessing she'll give the game a 2.0

Addendum: I said, "The story line may be taking ideas from a list of other movies and games, but sorry, that does not make it unoriginal." What I mean is that its not "totally" unoriginal, nor is it totally original, and you are right about that. I guess I'm not that sensitive to that particular issue. With a game this "in the pocket" for sci-fi gamers. I feel that I, and others too, can and will overlook a "borrowing from" issue like that, isolating the current (the game) story and belief in the current story, therefore greatly enhancing the overall experience of living and interacting within the story, and all that ultimately causes a heightening of story originality every time you play it. . . well I think I said that right. . .

To Xyantayne, Fight Benefits, Senor Chefy, and others who responded to, or about, my post on 10/29, I'm sorry for not responding sooner . . .
OK I might still buy the mag, Senor Chefy, but more-so for other information within . . you're questioning and perspective was appreciated. . .

The story line may be taking ideas from a list of other movies and games, but sorry, that does not make it unoriginal. It is still it's own story and it's a pretty neat one. But you have to like sci-fi horror to enjoy it. It is sci-fi horror, not a new branch of new-world literature for God's sake. The fact that it may be a hybrid synthesis of other sci-fi ideas would never be enough of a reason for true sci-fi lovers to rate this game any lower than an 8. It's what they want. It's a new Doom3, a new Quake4 to play with, and it's a pro job at that!

Additionally, there are many merits beyond story to Dead Space that alone put it in a "passing" class (6.5 is not passing)and I'm referring to the game mechanics and coding (using xbox360 as my reference). No crashes, no tearing, a fast consistent frame rate, excellent sound, beautifully renedered sci-fi scapes and architectures. Great high paced limb slicing, boot-stompin, bone crushing, blood spurting sights, and nasty gooshing sounds when you're killing hideous alien things! Thats Sci-Fi heart pounding horror fun with absolutely no technical hangups and isn't that at least a "passing" grade?

Innovative "Fingertip" navigation system; Innovative weapons like the plasma cutter and the line gun that are really fun to shoot and sever limbs with; Innovative "Save Stations" are all over the place (hey hey - no checkpoints!!! that's better than innovative!). The interactive contol scheme compliments every action you need to perform quickly and without fail. Everything works and works great. This is important stuff to take into consideration. What I'm getting to is that what I've mentioned in this and the previous paragraph alone should give a game the uninalienable right to a score above failing.

I could go on, but do you see why I'm disturbed by the fact that the whole OXM Mag stands behind this? Because in my opinion it is only a shallow review of the game by a reviewer who had a bad attitude from the start. To overlook so much and key-in on so little - on which to base and present their score to so many potential buyers shows carelessness. . . and it tasks me. And they should re-review it using someone who gives a $%*@!

According to Vgchartz.com Star wars the force unleashed has sold 1.3 million copies in 6 weeks when Dead space has sold 352.000 in 2 weeks.
Also you will notice that pro evolution soccer 2008 is the best selling version of the series with 1.1 million sales and we all know the bad reviews it got from gamers and professional reviewers.
my point is that if we want to get the game there is no stopping us.

Actually, jimchris, a 352,000 sales figure for a game is quite good for having only been out for 15 days. In comparison, a much anticipated title like Star Wars Force Unleashed sold only double that figure in double the time (essentially the same figure as Dead Space).

no one would like inflated scores, but when a great game gets a poor score, a crap review, and no time spent on it, that is a disgrace, if this was atleast one page long, maybe two i wouldent even care if the score was crap, but dead space has been a great game and even though a vast minority rates it bad it still has a major impact, mainly more on Casual games who just pick up the mag and check the score and think this is a pathetic game, when we all know it was one of the best released this year (top 5 in my opinion). Casual gamers are like us hardcore who check all these review sites like metacritic, they will maybe just pick up a mag and check it out, or just go into the store and buy the game if they think it looks cool. This is why im dissapointed. OXM is a big name reviewer and when it disgraces a great game like this, and rates horrible games better it upsets me and i think for big name games you should get more than one reviewer to check it out!

heck, even OXM uk dosent agree with you, half of the company thinks your wrong, that is not good.

Well let's see it this way.
From almost 22 million x-box 360 owners worldwide only 352.560 bought the game so far (that includes VG rental shops that buy multiple copies).
What does this tell you?
Maybe 21million six hundred people agree with her??

jimchris: Agreed. I wouldn't want to see games given inflated scores just to appease the subscribers. I stated in a previous post that I will continue to read the magazine and listen to the podcast. This one review isn't going to turn me away from it. I will simply be wary of reviews written by Meghan in the future, its obvious we don't have the same taste in gaming, that's all. I mean no disrespect to Meghan in that statement; we can't all like the same games all the time. Besides, the magazine is more than just game reviews. I don't feel that this is a reason to cancel my subscription or stop reading all together.

Xiantayne you pre-ordered this game which means you would get it no matter what.i am sure all of us do not rely on one person's view but we check numerous sites to get an idea about the game.
By verbally attacking the reviewer or by threatening to cancel the subscription we form a future in which all games will get 9s and 10s.Will this make us happy??
i personally like to read reviews which are against the flow.Here is an example.
I was checking Ninja Gaiden 2 the other day.With an average score of 82% i thought i would go and buy the game and then there was this only one review i bumped into that warned me that the game was too hard for the average player like myself.i rented it couldn't get past 2nd boss and took it back the same day.

http://www.oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=6585

jimchris: You're right, we've all bought the game. I pre-ordered it and got it on launch day. I posted here because I was just really taken aback by the score after I had played it and loved it. I think most of us (save those few rude ones) are just saying that we feel this game didn't get the shake it deserves. The review seemed rushed with no care given in light of other big titles which, in my opinion, don't really deserve the extreme high scores OXM is giving them.
_
The reason we voice our thoughts here is simply because we care about what OXM is printing online and in their mags. People will buy this mag expecting to make a decision on what games to purchase and which to leave behind. This score will cause many readers to pass over an amazing gaming experience. That's why we're upset. Other games that should be left behind are getting better scores than this one which would lead readers to believe that this game simply downright sucks. But it doesn't. To me, if a game gets a 6.5, I think the game sucks and I won't buy it. This is not the case with Dead Space. This game does everything except suck. It is one of the most engaging and viceral experiences this year for me. I just put down Fallout 3 for the day and, to be honest, it was boring me, but OXM gave it a 10. Yes, it's a good game and looks good, but it's Oblivion. Nothing more. I think it deserves a high score, but not a 10. Does Dead Space deserve a 10? No, more like an 8.5 - 9.0 in my books.
_
It is simply these extremes that have been giving us loyal readers/subscribers/listeners a bad taste in our mouth towards OXM. We're just feeling a little jaded towards their reviews lately. When something you value seems to have begun to let you down, you can't help but get upset about it.
_
Sorry, didn't mean to ramble on so much.

The reason for the outrage is pure and simply -fun, this is fun! Next week i'll finally be playing Gears of War2 and this will all be a distant memory, but right now this game and this reviewer have my full attention.

http://www.oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=6585

I have a question to all of you guys who disagree with the reviewer.
If you have already bought played and finished the game what difference does it make if one person thinks the game is mediocre.this didn't stop you from buying it.

Retarded minority? First using that as an adjective is disguisting and disavows your entire argument. And secondly YOU are clearly in the minority. Don't be an apologist for a bad review. Look at the metacritic! 89!!! IGN 8.8 1up B+
Gamespot 9 Gamepro 5/5 Game informer 9.25

You see? OXM is the outlier! Cause this casual gamer reviewed and apparently couldn't hear it? Something is wrong with this review and tons of gamers disagree with it. OXM needs to do something about this.

wow.. i was so rushed to type that, i dint notice i partially contradicted myself there yes the game deserves nothing below a 8.5 but her score is her, but where she fails is explaining here self and game like this has so few flaws you could complain about, unlike her higher scoring review of Fracture 7.0, where a could point out 10x more flaws then every one you say from Dead Space.

Dead Space was quite an accomplishment espically from an Indie developer (though it did have a big name producer.) Dead Space is amazing and everyone should buy it!

Escapist, we all know why we read diffrent reviewers to see diffrent opinion, and to some of us here whos in the comment we dont care about the score, because we all know how good it was, we care about the opinion! And in this 5 paragraph review, it dosent even clearly state why its wrong. Another reason were all big supporters, including myself, is ethier because want this game to be successful, and when someone dosent even state whats wrong with the game, makes us believe that this review was poorly edited, aswell as having some mistakes. Dead Space was a great game, and it did borrow some ideas on how to scare us from other games, but for every idea it took it gave back even more to the gerne. It Gave Vacuum, Dead Space/Zero G, Shooting off limbs, No offscreen menus (all live in real time so you better watch out), Health bar on your body, Power Nodes (you could argue the orginallity but it is very unique, even if most games have the ability to upgrade weapons the way its done is very diffrent) and the decontamination setting. It took mearly 3 or 4 diffrent scare ideas from diffrent games which took up little of the 8-15 hour scare, and it still got the job done scare you well and pumping adrenaline. Dead Space is s great game, and Meghan, the reason why you have to repair the ship is because that is your Job, Issac is an engineer.

Dead Space is a great game in the end, and dosent deserve anything under a 8.0-8.5, no matter your opinion, if the gameplay sucked and it couldent scare you at all, the atmosphere, sound and graphics would of still blowen you away. This is why this review is absolutly garbage and at grade 2 i was producing better pieces of work.

People (including myself) have been crying foul because this score doesn't measure up to the metacritic average. But consider this: if all review websites gave the same score on a game, what would be the point in so many sites? I guess what I'm saying is, we actually NEED a good variety of scores in the average. It benefits us as consumers to be able to read a low-scoring review as well as a high-scoring one.

ppl are so angry about this? only a game and once gears 2 come out nobody will cares about dead space

By the way, on the subject of the OXM UK review, I notice he talks about powerful melees and shooting for the head.

He was most definitely not playing on hard. As with all games, it is scarier the more vulnerable you are.

AKENSTASI, I admire that you're defending Meghan Watt (she doesn't deserve this vitriol), but you're doing it in a really immature and juvenile fashion. Dog food? Schizophrenia? Come now.

Further, the idea that Dead Space is a 9.0 game is not some minority vote. A quick peak at gamerankings reveals that Meghan Watt's is the lowest score available on the web.

No, there is something to arguing that this score is pretty bogus. I respect her right to an opinion, and wouldn't dare suggest anything stupid like retracting it, but the fact is that the review is incredibly brief, more or less devoid of information, and extremely uncharacteristic of professional reviews.

Do I think this is Meghan's fault? Unconditionally not. When an Editor hands something to an intern (especially a brand new intern), there is a certain implicit sense that it wasn't worth the editors time. Right there, the game is off to a bad start with the reviewer.

Anyways, you would be better achieving your intent with mature rebukes. As it is, you are just the other side of the same coin.

@xgamerfoolx : Yes I have played the game and yes you are as big a fool as you state in your name. People have and will always disagree with you, and if you read the other comments there are other voices supporting the review but drowned out by low life posters just like you. If I have the reasoning of a 1st grader level, hmmmm ...... that means you have the reasoning capabilities of .... a mutt ? Oh poor thing ........... but look at the bright side - hey at least you aren't able to get schizophrenia right ? Go back to dog school, and get some food for yourself okay ?

Anyway - congratulations to Meghan for voicing her opinions in a sea full of high score clone reviews. Keep doing what you think is best and I hope to read more of your reviews in the days to come. You go girl !

Game is great, review is not.

Also interesting that the game that Garnered a barley 5 paragraph hatchet job review has 6 pages of comments and Fallout 3 gets a 4 page review and barely has five posts.

Now Meghan i'm being medicated and released from my Grandmothers basement just long enough to post a reply. The presumption that you are Deaf has been propagated by many in the gaming community not only because of the HUGE coincidence that you share a first and last name with an esteemed graduate of the Wyoming School for the Deaf who also happens to be a "journalist" but also that your review did not mention word one regarding the sound of this game which the developers over at EA spent as much if not more time crafting as they did with the graphics and gameplay mechanics. While your review skills may still be amateurish and lacking eloquence, fed ex missions? Really? Really? I do respect you for responding to this board, if only fleetingly.