Dead Space

@Crazylightsaber
You misunderstand me entirely. The opinion and score are meaningless to me as I've yet to even play Dead Space. The CONTENT of the review however is pathetic. The review itself is almost entirely useless. It simply doesn't function as a review.
If it takes being a "jerk" to point out the obvious then I'm your guy. If people are expected to pay money for this kind of thing, you'd expect the quality to be much MUCH higher.
It's not as if you'd pay for a rusty knocked-up Ford with no engine, if a shiny brand-new Porsche could be yours in only 2 mouse clicks. A bad analogy, but one I'm sure you can understand.
@KingDavid73
I've never subscribed to any "Official" magazines, regardless of format, for reasons just like you state. There is simply no need anymore to pay good money for these publications, especially since their quality is taking such a nose-dive. And like you say, the demo discs are totally redundant - so why do the cover prices keep rising? You're expected to pay nearly $10 (subscription offers aside) for a magazine full of adverts and a disc full of belated and FREE content. Oh... and almost as an afterthought, they manage to fit some totally lousy reviews in there, most of which would fit on the back of an average postage stamp.
I think OXMs handling of this situation is just making things worse too. Deleting valid comments and opinions is just EMBARASSING.

I could not believe this review. I saw the number first and was shocked, but I was even more shocked by the content of the review. There was no content. How can OXM let an anticipated game like Deadspace get a review from a intern. OXM has been going down hill for a long time, and this confirms it. I am not paying anymore money so I can look ads and read a crappy review sandwiched between more ads and games no one cares about. Consider me an unsubscriber. PS I still have three more issues before i need to resubscribe, now is your chance to fire Fran and make things right. OH, and F**king Fracture got a higher score, are you kidding me. Nice Meghan.

@LEC

I completely agree with you. The reviews in OXM have been getting weaker and weaker and it's getting ridiculous. I've been a subscriber since the beginning, and I used to love it. I mainly got it for the demos, but now the demos are on the disk months after they appear on the marketplace, so I usually just use the disk as a coaster. That leaves the reviews as the important section of the magazine, but with reviews this lacking compared to the piles of free ones online, I don't know why I bother keeping my subscription.

This made me chuckle a bit.There was a comment left by Meghan if you remember an event in the Silent Hill 3 where you and a companion run from Pyramid head.I hope no one remembers it because it never happened .That was actually part 2:p. But anyway , why do people fail to realize that reviews are almost entirely subjective? When you come on to this site or buy a gaming magazine you are basiclly asking for and ,in the case of the magazine, paying for their opinion. It would be a disservice of her or any reviewer to post anything but what their experience with the game was . I'm sure their are people out there that actually liked Fusion Frenzy 2 or Superman 64.It's just thier opionion and they ,as irrational as we think they are,take away something from those games that most other people couldn't even begin to see. I think if your going to spend $60 on a game you should never just go on one review.

Wow....just wow. I've been a loyal reader of OXM since issue #1 and I think you guys have been going a little crazy lately. I used to agree with the majority of your reviews, but now I find myself disagreeing with almost all of them, but this one takes the cake. Dead Space is one of the best games I've played in years. It's amazing. I honestly don't think this game deserves anything less than a 9. Whatever side of the be you got up on when you reviewed this game was the wrong one. I... I don't know what to say, I'm simply in shock seeing that low of a score.

wow. my comment was deleted. to think that they would delete a well thought out comment and leave the seething and burning ones. that just showed me the profesionalism this magazine has.

@ LEC:

Hey, if you disagree then just say so. Don't be a jerk about it.

Just think of it like this:
"I disagree with you score Meghan, but I respect your opinion."

See how easy it is. No "jerk-dom" needed.

newaccounttobashOXM and Medalofhonor for president!!!!!!!!!! ps. OXM deleted my comment that was polite and had no curseing or fowl language in it because i said that a certain other magizine (that starts with the letters g and i) had a more informative and clear cut review and accualy had someone who plays sur/horr games write the review. IT JUST PROVES THAT OXM DOESNT WANT THE WORLD TO HEAR OF THEIR S@$TY REVIEW............

My original comment was (oddly) deleted as it seems my opinion doesn't count, so I'll reiterate the basics here, simply for the fun of it:

Nobody with any amount of intelligence would pay money for a magazine that features reviews as fundamentally lacking as this one. You can hardly call it a review at all. I’ve written more relevant things on dirty napkins.

And I can happily say this before I’ve even played Dead Space. This review is dreadful. The people responsible should be ashamed, be they the writter, the editor or the sponsor.

Get a grip OXM. The general game-playing public have access to a mountain of free reviews via a medium commonly known as The Internet (you may of heard of it, it's rather popular).

Go to Metacritic.com. They have links to reviews that make this one look like a failed school essay, and they don’t need to worry about selling 100+ pages of similar dross either. Theirs are honest, descriptive, balanced, and most importantly USEFUL reviews. And yet they manage to survive without your privileged “Official” sponsorship or your $25 yearly subscription.

This bare excuse of a review is an affront to decent well-adjusted folk who are intelligent enough to see right through your scant ill-written rubbish, as you have seen via the comments made previously.

If I was stupid enough to only subscribe to reviews like this I’d be knee-deep in crap games, simply because I’d have no clear understanding of what I should and shouldn’t buy.

Please do ban me. I won't be returning, and I certainly won’t be subscribing. I only wrote these comments in the hope that somebody with a brain at OXM would pay attention, much like most of the other folk here did too.

I didn't realise there was a POLICY against attacks on OXM reviews.

Up Front - I haven't played the game or the demo
How long have I been reading OXM - Longtime
How much longer - Until i move away from the xbox

over the years I come to realize that if OXM gives a game a lower than 7.5 score I'm probably not going to enjoy the game (at least in its entirety)

The way people are acting it's as if OXM gave the game an 11 when it should have got a 6.5 If you were going to buy the game anyway who cares that they gave it a low review. If i go out and buy this game am not completely satisfied with it i would look back and say i should have known. (it sounds like a 10 hour game) If i do like it, then lucky for me. A 6.5 tells me that if i really want this game rent it first.
Thanks meghan

For one of the most popular games out right now, and a heavy contender for GotY, I would think that OXM would have the presence of mind to give Dead Space the benefit of more than a blurb review. Especially when it's so low as compared to other magazines and reviewers. Not to mention, obviously, I disagree with the review.

This game delivered what it promised and more - an interesting space horror with nearly flawless controls, unique combat concepts, insane graphics which always run at a nice framerate even during the huge boss battles, and an immersive story. How is it "loot-scavenging" to break open the occasional box or locker? If that's all it takes then by God, almost every game out there is just monotonous loot scavenging. What, exactly, is "cliche" about the game? The fact that it has an original story? The fact that it uses more than "boom headshot" combat? Oh boy, how cliche of them, to do something original.

Everyone's entitled to their own opinions, of course, but it seems wrong to be a professional reviewer who obviously hasn't given the proper amount of perspective to their review. Personal bias ruins it.

As with most everyone else in here, I must disagree with the harsh review/rating which OXM has yet again provided to a game worth more. I personally thoroughly enjoyed this game. The movement, combat style, and lighting along with tension builders of ambient sounds does an amazing job of creating a near perfect survival-horror environment. The "endless" loot searching is not endless at all, and quite honestly, that's what survival games are about. I would have given this an 8.5.

Now I may be completely bias here, as I've watched the animated comics over and over before the game was released, but I can't help but think that the staff of OXM are begining to become rather stagnent. Complaining about a protagonist who doesn't speak, yet not mentioning it as a flaw in other games (*cough* Fable 2), doesn't make sense to me. I was excited to see that 2 new faces had joined the staff; maybe there would be some different views which could help OXM expand their views a little better. But now it appears that they all think exactly alike. This review seems to have been written as a chore with an observer bias attached to it before the controller was even picked up. Sorry if this is taken as a direct assault on you guys, but I felt it needed to be said.

I give Dead Space a 5.5 for its crap ending and fix quests which sucked bad. Wasn't scary either pretty generic.

--I give it a 9.5, even though I've been rabidly following this game since Game Informers introductory preview last year, and could be over the top and give it a 10....I won't. There isn't really any flaws other then the under used stasis mechanic (there could have been many more ingenious puzzles crafted up using it). Everything else is diamonds. Gothic art direction, amazing audio....especially with surround sound, vicious enemy's, lack of HUD, those "FedEx missions", the audio/video logs, the setting itself added bonus points because almost all horror games take place on Earth(-like) environments. I could go on and on.
--In the end, I agree with most when OXM didn't give the print review a proper write-up, length and depth. I also don't think there's much more that could be said to justify that all of OXM agrees, because thats just far fetched to think that if I asked everyone who works there what they would give it, I'm sure I wouldn't hear 6.5 across the board. Journalistic comradery aside that is, because that makes asking said question useless when your answer is based on protecting a fellow employees viewpoint by agreeing.
--I'm no hard-core "canceling the magazine subscription" kinda guy, I've been getting issues sent to my house since mag #1, and I've disagreed plenty over the years. It's just that out of the hundreds of Xbox titles I've played through both generations of consoles, this is the only review that put a sour taste in my mouth. Thankfully, reviews are just opinions i find enjoyable to dissect, my own personal view is the only one that matters and sways my decision making. I wonder if Dead Space 2 will get the review it deserves down the line? I hope the brevity isn't an issue. Better luck next next game.

9.1 - Top of the line visuals, astounding sound design. Fun weapons, intimidating enemies. Innovative combat. If you listen to the audio logs and read the texts then you are also privy to a very solid story. One of the better "new titles" in a long time.

damn its way to loud in here...OK OK lets try this just give us your personal scores geez

A 6.5 still isn't an awful rating for a game to get. It usually means if you are a fan of the genre that you will enjoy the game. I personally am a fan of the genre and have been loving dead space.

The only thing that bugs me about this review are the people making comments insulting the reviewer. Instead of insulting people we should be giving helpful criticism so that in the future the reviewer will have a different way of looking at the game.

6.5? . . . 6.5!? . . . It's like your calling Chuck Norris gay!

I agree with jayfish33 and ShawnoftheDeadz: We've said our piece, Meghan has added a couple more of her thoughts to this comment section, essentially adding a few more paragraphs to her review (Thank you Meghan). We may not still be satisfied, Meghan may have lost some respect from some of us in regards to any future reviews (no offence meant Meghan), and that's it. There's nothing more left to say. We've said it. OXM has said what they're going to say.
_
If you enjoy the game, great! Play it, love it, tell your friends about it. That's what's going to get the game sold, more positive word-of-mouth. I know it's selling well, because I personally sold several copies last night at EB.
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Game on!

Alright, we have all concluded that the game should have had alot longer review, and with Meghan, its not exactly her fault. She was told to create a shorter review (As stated way ealier in the comments) this leaving some gaps and making alot of her wording, unclear or not explained well enough to back her up. Later she explained her self more and about how she was also extremely disapointed, because of the lack of use of "dead space" (no gravity) where it could be so much more.

5 = average, so then i could see how dead space is the average zombie survival horror we've all seen it gets an extra 1.5 for good graphics, shooting off limbs, and dead space idea though it lacked enough. Maybe it was a bit harsh of a review where OXM has gone soft on other games, it is still an opinion.

For example the majority of us found that the twist was great, the story fun, dead space was just enough to makes us enjoy it and want more but not to make us sick of it. alot of us is alowed to our own opinions, and so is meghans.

@bashOXM (or whatever your name is)
it seems all your here is to create an arugement, Meghan has finally explained her self and with the help of others to why she had such a short review, and why she was disappointed with the game. -- Everyone has their own opinion to what they think the game should get, all the staff do but once its chosen, they view and respect the opinions of it and find ways to realises why it got that score. OXM staff may not like the score it was giving but believe it was the right one. So please stop being so immature and insulting Meghan, shes a normal person just like you and you wouldent like it if you were trashed and insulted by people if say your till on Cash at SafeWays Crashed and you kept on telling the people one sec. (for 10 mins) And if your to young to have job, then, well... you shouldent be playing this game..

Wow.. i really have nothing better to do sometimes, or i just get on rants all the time!

"the issue being not so much the final score but the lenght, depth and wording of the review"

Actually, for me it's certainly the final score that's giving me heartache. Less than Fracture? Seriously?

I find that the use of zero gravity and vacuums was really well done. In particular the vacuum effect is extremely cool. Towards the end of chapter 7 in particular they make really cool use of it in conjunction with some stunning visuals.

I have a nice tidy way to wrap all of this up. OXM missed the boat on this one. Plain and simple. I have played through several times and have now beaten the game on impossible mode. I wouldnt bother with a game for 30 hours that was average at best, which is what the review suggests. The majority of comments support the fact that this game is well above average. Despite the nearsighted review, the game will sell very well and I am optimistic that EA redwood will be back to give us some more scares and white knuckle combat. With the excpetion of this publication and two others, Dead Space received sparkling reviews and that should please those of us who are fans of the game. I'm glad OXM had to deal with the outcry. Perhaps it will provide some constructive criticism for them in the future.

and to everyone who is trying to get some real answers out of them we mid as well just give up...
OXM is playing dumb...nothing more to it as the pages of comments have been asking the SAME QUESTIONS that have still not been addressed...
/sigh x3
...whatever

Meghan OXM wrote:
"When I initially heard about it, I thought you'd be able to float through space a la Ender's Game, shooting necromorphs as you soar across the room. "
--
ever since zero gravity was announced they clearly set out their intentions both in video and print...
don't blame EA because you have some random idea of what YOU wanted...which strayed from what the DEVELOPERS wanted...
--
also here's another question Meghan...if they're suppossed to be reconstructing a space station...why the hell would they be flying randomly through space shooting crap when all the necro's are ON THE SPACE STATION??? This mag makes little to no sense..
--
also Meg...why did Fracture recieve a 7.0? Fracture > Dead Space...
/sigh x2

Mitch OXM wrote:
"Meghan isn't necessarily correct -- though many people, myself included, completely agree with every word in here review -- but try to have a little decency before coming in here and verbally assaulting people. "
--
...you just say Meghan isn't correct...but you agree with it? Bravo Mitch...bravo!
/sigh

Yep, looks like the actual issue me and others are trying to convey is getting lost (once again for the brain impaired: the issue being not so much the final score but the lenght, depth and wording of the review. taxi missions? seriously?)in favor of a "We have journalistic integrity, blah, blah blah" kind of approach.
IMHO, right now, and I hope it's not because of outside, er.. "financial incentives" like some people seem to think, the review looks like it was kept short due to lack of time, space, or simply because the reviewer does not care for or doesn't fully grasp the concept of survival horror (and if this is the case, then she's definitely the wrong person to review it) and simply doesn't have a lot to say, and to me that makes it a poor review.

Finally! Ugh, I thought I was the only one who was pissed about this review. It doesnt make any sense, how does OXM UK give Dead Space a 9 and you gave it 6.5. I'm starting to believe that OXM "conspired" to purposely give this game an awful score. Think about it: What HUGE profit titles are just around the corner? Hmmm... let's see: how about we turn people away from this game so they will have a fresh $60 (plus tax) to spend on, oh I don't know, GEARS OF WAR 2 maybe?? All and all, definitely disregard this review and at least rent least game.

"I want to briefly mention that the print version of this review includes a sidebar on Dead Space's use of zero gravity. My take on this feature is that although it was a novel idea, it's used only as a mode of transportation. When I initially heard about it, I thought you'd be able to float through space a la Ender's Game, shooting necromorphs as you soar across the room. Little disappointing that all you can do is travel from the floor to the wall to another wall, etc." ~ Meghan Watt

Now this is partially what many people who are coming to view this review want to see. I personally felt that this game extremely limited itself to the use of Dead Space which could of been the most unique and fun feature of the game if done correctly.

If we were able to read that aswell as have a few of the comments re-written it would have been a perfectly acceptable review by most standards. (Not saying my example is much better i dont have any expertise in writting just pointing out an example on how it could be re-fraised.)
--
+Severing hundreds of limbs
+No Gravity is fun and unique...
-If you ever get to be in it long enough
-Extreme lows of ammo sometimes makes a fight unbeatable or forces long amounts of Back Tracking.
? Sorry, but was the ending supposed to twist?

In the end it was no ones fault of being ethier in experience, stupied, or anything else insulting named at Meghan. It was the fault of the magazine for not giving Dead Space the "space" needed for a game which has already a suprisingly huge fanbase. (or maybe just a few radical and extremist fans). A few more paragraphs, even just one could of saved alot of insults if it explained why a poor review was given. (just for example if Halo 3 just came out and you thought it was only a 6.5 and just wrote 4 paragraphs, you would have something even worse than this and im sure there would be more little kids spaming the forms that so far.)

Though the biggest scare so far is that viva pinata: party animals, scored higher...

I hope this sums up mostly at what everyone was really trying to get at, and that the real disappointment was not with the score it was the amount written.

...and there you go, a little blurb on Zero Gravity. Thanks, Meghan. Sorry to see that you are taking such a thrashing on this page, but I guess it is a testament to the passion of gamers. I'm loving this game, and although I didn't like your review, thanks for coming on here and participating in the conversation.

I want to briefly mention that the print version of this review includes a sidebar on Dead Space's use of zero gravity. My take on this feature is that although it was a novel idea, it's used only as a mode of transportation. When I initially heard about it, I thought you'd be able to float through space a la Ender's Game, shooting necromorphs as you soar across the room. Little disappointing that all you can do is travel from the floor to the wall to another wall, etc.

Again, for the 10th time, it is not the quality of the review, it is that incompleteness of it. It does not cover all aspects of the game fairly. Six pages for Fallout, and 5 paragraphs for Dead Space. Give us a break. If your going to only do 5 paragraphs, then at least try to cover the entirety of the game. A little blurb on Zero Gravity -you know, that thing that the developers spent months hyping - would be appreciated. Or maybe a bit more on strategic dismemberment, as opposed to a few sentences. Of course, though, no OXM staffer is acknowledging these questions.

Stop bashing the review- Meghan was right and Dead Space got what it deserved albeit a little higher than what I would have liked. If she had to conform with all other crap reviews then you might as well just read the other magazines. Stop being childish fanboys and wake up. If you dislike OXM so much then leave and get a real life. If this makes people not buy Dead Space all the better so they can learn and get rid of the bland fix all quests and maybe have an ending that is not s**t.

"What anyone else has thought, or written, or scored should, never, ever have a bearing on a critique - That's never, ever capitalized, italicized and underlined.
"

True - which is why it has to be done right the first time (because it's too late to go back), and I think that's what most of us are taking issue with.

Meghan and OXM staff,

I'd like to say how much I appreciate your professionalism and obvious integrity with your reviews.
No one will agree with anyone else on absolutely everything (the secret behind why restaurants have more than one selection on a menu) and opinions can vary wildly - personally I think Halo 2 and 3 were sequential letdowns after the first. So, when it comes to a critic's opinion I'm glad when it is given with consideration and brutal honesty.
What anyone else has thought, or written, or scored should, never, ever have a bearing on a critique - That's never, ever capitalized, italicized and underlined.
The videogame journalists and reviewers are the food critics of the game world and should rightly hold games to the highest standard. Sure many people may love and even live on McDonalds - but a Big Mac is certainly not a Gordan Ramsey White truffle burger.
And reviewers are doing their job and proving the service they provide by holding the developers to higher and higher standards. We need to demand more and better or we get served the same with only cosmetic embellishments ("No this is completely different! We've put poppy seeds AND sesame seeds on the bun!").
You will be attacked and accused of forwarding dark plots of a pro-Microsoft agenda, or being double agents for Sony, or an unamed corporate hegemony, or whatever. And, fans or hopeful "I've already pre-ordered" fans will continue to lash out blindly with rage as they try to prove that their opinion is superior to yours because they go with the herd or perhaps because the swim against the tide (they might try to prove originality by remarking on how many games are exactly like their current fave).

In the end I hope it is worth it to you to know that there are those of us that turn to you exactly because we trust that the opinion you give is sincere - whether we agree or not.

Now, judging from my analogies, I think it's time for lunch.

"scavenger hunts? wild-goose chases? ravaging lockers and crates every few seconds? loot-hunting and taxi missions?"

Are we talking about a survival horror game here? And more importantly, what the hell is a taxi mission?

Seriously OXM, you need to start addressing the actual issues we have with the review and the points she's trying to make (becuase she has some, right? right?) instead of just lashing back at the nonsensical offensive posts and personal attacks the kids are throwing your way, it's time to get off your high horse and admit that while not perfect, Dead Space deserves a better score.

I definitely agree, Xianthayne. The final score it not my issue. It is that fact that so many elements of the game are not even mentioned. It is pretty frustrating for those of us that have been waiting so long for this game, and often rely on OXM for reviews. Usually when Gamespot gives a review score, I can count on OXM being a half or full point higher. In this case, OXM is 2.5 points lower. Weird.
_
As readers, we really have no choice to believe Meghan when she says that she is a big fan of survival horror. I mean, how can we prove she isn't? So, if she really is such a big fan, how come she dumps on so many of the core elements of the survival horror genre? That's what I mean when I say "weird".
_
It would be nice to hear what someone from OXM has to say about all the legitimate gripes regarding the hollowness of this review.

Mitch OXM: Please don't give credence to posts like God's Hangnail's post, they aren't worth worrying about.

Many other decent, honest, and civil posts have been made comparing and contrasting this review to other very similar game reviews that recieved much higher scores. These are the posts that many of us would really like to have addressed by staffers of OXM. I agree with a couple of other people here who have, very politely, mentioned that this review is all it takes to ruin our view of any future reviews by Meghan. I will not stop reading OXM, I will not stop listening to the Podcast or visiting the site to read reviews. But I will honestly not be able to trust anything written by Meghan.

I don't say this to be nasty in any way. Heck, I have friends whose opinions I won't trust simply because we just have different tastes in games. The same should not be said for reviewers of games in a mag such as yours. Someone who is not a fan of a particular genre should not be reviewing it. For those of us who really believe this game deserves better treatment than OXM has given it, we just want a little bit of insight into what exactly brought this score so far below something like Bioshock, which contains all the same elements as Dead Space, with Dead Space bringing with it more innovative style of play.

I really believe this game deserves a much longer and more fleshed out review.

Thanks for listening.

Mitch - I agree, God's Hangnail is about 2 miles over the line...

"Besides, criticism from one outlet won't be the Armageddon for this title's sales."

Armageddon, no - but this can be pretty darn detrimental to sales since OXM is a major print outlet for the platform, and it takes the metacritic down below 90 which can be the cut off for a lot of buyers. Especially in a crowded market right now.

I think most of us complaining just don't like to see a game of this quality and fun factor get slammed compared to inferior games that have been scored a lot higher. It's bad for the industry and can make it harder for new IPs to get green lit vs crappy sequels or licensed titles. For example, Ninja Gaiden 2 got an 8.5 from OXM? I think there's a huge portion of your audience that would agree Dead Space was better.

Anyway, it's one thing to not agree it's a 9, but 6.5 is ridiculous.

Gods Hangnail: Grow up. If you're "older" than you're probably more than well aware at how things work, and, uh, it's not an "elitist" review. Also, insulting reviewers because they think differently than you do is ridiculous. If you've "been around the block" then try acting like the mature adult you are -- instead of, as you say, elitist.

Trying to tell people that OXM is wrong because you think it's great is a valid opinion... But try having respect for others' would you? Nobody is trying to pull strings and dictate sales -- that's not how game "journalists" operate. Besides, criticism from one outlet won't be the Armageddon for this title's sales.

Meghan isn't necessarily correct -- though many people, myself included, completely agree with every word in here review -- but try to have a little decency before coming in here and verbally assaulting people.

BRAVO EA!! BRAVO!! AWESOME GAME!! BRAVO EA!! WARNING***WARNING*** This review is elitist garbage! We wouldn't want to score a fantastic sci-fi horror game well when Gears of War 2 is around the corner now would we? I am an older gamer who has been around the block a few times and never, NEVER, have I played a game that lives up to the hype until now. This review shows you how the media plays those heart strings to ramp sales for the super budget titles. DEAD SPACE will have you on the edge of your seat and then throw you across the room! Fantastic game, absolutely FANTASTIC! MUST PLAY! Thank You for the read.........PS. Your review is trash, take that to the bank and cash it!

Triple Post:

Ironically to me by reading other comments I guess I just found out that Bioshock is a survival horror. Really?????

And yes, I am just another annoying person who just created an account not to long ago just so I could put in my two cents.

Hope your organization will learn from your mistakes....

From what I get from reading the comments from OXM staff I can understand that this title was not something they were looking forward to. This game did not spark them interest and to them it was not worth while. Especially with all the other hot titles coming out this season with Fallout, FarCry, and Gears of War.

Its too bad really, but in defense of the game and what OXM is comparing it to is that they are wrong and I wish they took the time to have interest in the game. The "taxi missions" are normal for horror games. Then to comment on OXMs comparison to Resident Evil you contridicted yourself. You complained about why people would leave thousands of dollars lieing around, but in RE you can make the same arguement that why would people leave so much ammo around in a Mansian that is vancant. The arguments do not match up.

Secondly Bioshock only scared me once. That was in my first Big Daddy fight. I remember jumping when they lunged at me for the first time because I was afraid to die. Then an epiphany occured....you could not die. You would respawn and be perfectly fine, not loosing any ammo or money. From then on out all I did was shoot, die, respawn, shoot, die, respawn, and repeat until the enemy was died. This ended all credibilty for Bioshock for being horror for we as players should be afraid to die.

Another point to make is that you, OXM, complained about Dead Space being unoriginal. You stated your self in your Bioshock review that it was NOT innovating. Then also in bioshock you are constantly running around trying to find items and loot. The same way you are doing it in Dead Space, yet you give Bioshock a 10, and no, when a splicer jumped out of a plaster it was not scary, not at all.

Finally to end it Dead Space was frieghtning. Each room I walked in I constantly had my gun out and I constantly walked past fan vents slowely expecting a necromorph would pop out when they didnt. This is tension, this is nervewracking, this is scary.

I'm sorry your review is not justified and your excuses are not justifiable as well. Put more effort into all you reviews and never bash a game again that is probably one of the most polished, beautiful, well made games of all time. The graphics are stunning, the audio is brilliant, and the mechanic for fighting is genious. This game has no framerate issue and is constantly strutting its stuff.

End

"I wish I had more time to put effort into this comment so I could sound credible and professional. Something a lot of people feel that your staff missed."

"wild goose chases," are us serious. There is no difference in the missions in this game as other celebrated titles like Grand Theft Auto. I have never posted a comment on a website before in my life, but after reading this "review" i had to put my two cents worth. This is a really good game! She fails to mention the variety in missions and the fun that can be had while completing them. Read the other reviews that give this game a 9 out of 10 or 5 out of 5. The disparity in this review as to the others should clue you in to the truth. I only clicked on this review because it was so far off the others i had to see what was said. This is not the greatest game ever created, but if you have 12 hours to spare, and you are interested in amazing visuals and a haunting soundtrack, check it out. With reviews like this she will soon be working for The Official Wii Magazine.

...And what the heck does she mean by "taxi missions"?


...what a poorly written review...

Im all for opinion and our ability to agree to disagree but I dont know what it is this reviewer and I disagree on? She poorly explains herself.

Yes it has CONTEXTUAL backtracking, what horror game doesnt? (Someone obviously didnt pay attention to the mission vid logs as to why she was backtracking.)

If you were stuck on a death trap of a ship, would you not also SCAVENGE for survival items?

There is one small paragraph that is supposed to explain EVERYTHING wrong, and then one small paragraph on the combat system. How much more unbalanced can that be? And biased?

Hopefully OXM will notice that most of the comments defending their reviewer are from the same 4 or 5 poorly spoken and obviously very disgruntled readers that argue for argument's sake. All the rest are primarily upset readers who want an explanation. There were so many innovative things about this game. Let's talk about them, good or bad.

This game was supposed to revolutionize the genre. Whether it did or not, none of the "innovations" were addressed.

I dont think a retraction will be printed or that this will hurt EA in any way. (I think it went gold already, not shabby.) I just want the reviewer to know that she has lost credibility with all of us.

Of course i will still read OXM but i will be very wary if not distrusting of any more Meghan Watt reviews.

Please, next time you review a game with many drawpoints, talk about them. Dont give us any more reviews that sum up with you sticking your tongue out with a frowny face.

Am I playing the same game? I thought the game should at least rate an 8.5. Most reviews feel the same in other mags. Just dont see why 6.5 The story does lack immersion. But over all I thought it was pretty damn good. And Im a pretty hard critic when it come to nex-gen games. You pay 60 buck you want a good game. Thank God Fallout 3 will put us all back on the same page

Agree with JackT there . Dead Space sucks and I would give this game a 5.0 if I wrote the review .

I meant to round out the last comment and finish it, not post two comments, so my apologies for double-posting.

It saddens me to see that OXM won't simply explain in a better, more detailed way as to why they think the same things that did NOT matter for Bioshock, Resident Evil games, Silent Hill games, and many other survival-horror games, suddenly completely lowers this score.
The staff seems to completely and, no offense meant but it seems to me, ignorant and stubbornly stick behind a review with reasons given that are absurd for such a low score.

I find it VERY VERY interesting to note that one of the main games Meghan compared Dead Space to in her comments explaining some (but nowhere near enough to make sense) of her reasoning for giving such a low score was "Bioshock".
The same game that she, in the article titled "This Week in Xbox - 10/17", said she was excited for the sequel of.
Meghan did you not mention one of your main reasons for disliking Dead Space as being going through the same areas more than once?

And yet a direct quote from you is "VERDICT: Rapture rises from the depths to haunt the surface? Can’t wait!"
You are excited to go through the same city again? Now i'm not so sure as to what you do and don't like in games. Looks like a lot of backtracking that you are looking forward to.

Color me confused

I think everyone who is "yelling" at those of us who are critiquing Meghan's review, fail to realize why we are up in arms about it.

From what I have read, almost everyone who is criticizing this review is saying the same thing for their reason why; it was a very short review, didn't even mention any positives or even take them into ACCOUNT for the final score, and Meghan did not back up any of her reasons for saying this was such a mediocre (or worse) game.

Going back to the comparison of Bioshock that is being used so often, I've seen several reviews that say the ending of that game was not the best ending it could have been (although I enjoyed it), and still gave the game a great review. So, Dead Space's ending was not the best in a lot of people's opinions, but that doesn't mean the game should be rated as low as a 6.5.

Most of us who are saying this review, along with the score given to Dead Space, basically sucked are saying it because the reasons given for why the game is so poor, do NOT hold up. It's been mentioned time and time again but i'll repeat some points.

"Backtracking", "key-finding missions", "lack of originality", "too much picking up of items", these are all COMPLETELY ridiculous reasons for why a SURVIVAL-HORROR game set upon a HUGE, SABOTAGED mining ship (that obviously has to be fixed) sucks.
All of the given reasons for the game "sucking" can be easily explained in the above sentence (that i'll repeat).

Dead Space is a SURVIVAL-HORROR game set upon a HUGE, SABOTAGED, MINING ship.

Survival-horror = needing to pick up items. Didnt seem to stop Bioshock or any Resident Evil/Silent Hill games from getting good reviews.
Huge = Possibly the need to go on these LONG missions that MAY JUST take you past where you have been before (let me remind you that there were NEW obstacles and puzzles to face so it was a different experience for each area.
SABOTAGED = Hmmm, Isaac is an engineer, he wants to NOT die. The ship is broken in many places due to the Necromorphs and insane crew members. Cue Isaac FIXING THINGS IN ORDER TO LIVE.
Mining ship = Lots of ammo and items in random places for these everyday things that Isaac is using to survive.

The OXM staff seems to have decided to leave most of the legitimate questions that have been asked in comments, such as simple reasoning behind why this game sucks besides a little rehashing of the EXACT SAME THING that Meghan said in the review...in more words.