Like their scary movie-buff counterparts, we survival horror– loving gamers love to scream like 9-year-olds at every bump, moan, or screech — so it’s good news that our appetite for fear is getting a new menu selection with EA’s Dead Space.

Those who’ve already gotten hot and heavy with space-bound horror movies like Alien and Event Horizon will know the story quite well. You’re Isaac Clarke, an engineer aboard a ship in deep space responsible for cruising the galaxy and helping out craft with mechanical problems — sort of like a Mr. Fix-It for the Milky Way. But along comes a distress call from the Ishimura, a “planet-cracking” vessel that breaks down uninhabited planets for resources like ore. Of course, that distress call indicates that the entire populace of the Ishimura has been decimated by an alien breed unlike anything you’ve ever met on your travels. And boy, are they happy to see you. Or should we say, they’re very happy to reduce you to a pile of human beef.

So, here’s where it gets interesting. You’re an engineer, right? Therefore, you’re no superhero. For those of you who thrill to the tune of the Everyman facing incredible odds, à la Gordon Freeman (Half-Life) or James Sunderland (Silent Hill), you’ve just hit the survival-horror jackpot. Your firearms aren’t issued from the standard Master Chief armory. Instead, you’ll be more proficient at using makeshift weapons like a gravity-based gun and other rebuilt mining tools. Most of your cache can also work at two different angles — you can aim them either horizontally or vertically, with multiple reticules for multiple projectiles. This’ll help against the weird variety of creepy-crawlies that aggressively pursue you through Ishimura’s massive, many-layered hull.

But the real deal is the ability to go into absolute zero-gravity in some portions of the game. You aren’t always inside the ship, after all — in fact, floating outside the ship and propelling from different pieces of floating debris plays a big role in both exploration and puzzle-solving. And when you’re traveling in zero-G, so can your enemy. After all, what’s a horror game if you aren’t always looking over your shoulder, bracing for an assault by whatever comes along? Answer: A romantic comedy. We’ll take the suspense and the paranoia, please.