An Actual Review, 11 Nov 2008
*DRM will not factor in my assessment of this game. For the record - I don't approve of the system, but I feel that the game is worth buying anyway.*

This is an action adventure game in the style of System Shock 2 and, more recently, Bioshock. In other words: it's an atmospheric adventure with a linear plot, a lot of shooting and some very light RPG character progression elements, which I will expand on later.

Premise:

The game's premise is hackneyed. You are a simple mechanic travelling on a support ship to investigate a huge mining ship that has ceased communications mysteriously. Sounds familiar? It is. In many ways this game is a tribute to the entire "In space, no one can hear you scream" subgenre - it borrows heavily storywise and thematically from films such as the Alien series, and Event Horizon. A sense of isolation and hopelessness is present throughout.

Plotting and structure:

As I mentioned, the plot is linear and tight. The pacing is carefully measured and the level design is well considered, with each area presenting a decent variety of different challenges and puzzles. The objectives you have to achieve are feasible in the contexts they are presented in, though occasionally it is obvious that the developers have added find and fetch goals that do little for the game but fill in time. There are numerous scripted events in the tradition of the games and films it was influenced by - creatures casting shadows round corners, crew members of the ship dying in various horrible ways, and environmental events such as explosions and fires.

Information about the situation on the ship is gradually revealed via video, text, and audio logs that crew members have conveniently left behind for you to pick up. This is a very "gamey" concept in that it is unrealistic, but still manages to increase immersion and feeling within the game. If you have played Bioshock or System Shock 2, you will probably recall the chilling audiologs you could activate, Dead Space uses them in much the same way, though it also includes videologs.

Gameplay and controls:

The game is controlled from an over the shoulder 3rd person perspective where your character's body takes up much of the screen, restricting your field of view. I have a feeling that this was a conscious design decision, as it makes for some very claustrophobic scenes.

I played the game with mouse and keyboard, though I understand that it is possible to play the game with a gamepad as well.

The mouse response is most sluggish than one might expect, particularly if you're used to playing control sensitive shooters. You aim and raise your weapon by holding down the right mouse button. This also enables contextual commands, such as using your static field or telekinetic abilities for puzzles, or to incapacitate/kill enemies. The movement and combat controls are ok, they don't limit you overly, and they aren't spectacular.

The weapons are powerful and satisfying to use. The enemies, while well animated, are not very intelligent and fairly easy to dispatch.

Much has been made about the fact that the game doesn't have a HUD (heads up display). The lack of HUD makes the game feel more realistic in a couple of ways:

You pick up a video log left by your girlfriend, and you project it with your suit, producing a rectangular picture in front of your character's face - the bloody corridor is still visible, and the mysterious clanks and rattles are still audible.

There is not compass map showing where you have to go all the time, instead, you can press B to produce a holographic line leading to your objective. It looks cool, and it feels like it fits in with the technology and style of the setting.

Critical information like ammo and health are shown on your character's gun and spine, respectively, which also fits.

I mentioned there was a slight character development element to the game. This comes in the form of upgrading your weapons, tools, and armour by using collectable power nodes. You are forced to either specialise or spread points thinly by the scarcity of these nodes.

Visual design, graphics and sound:

The design of the ship, weapons, your character's suit, and the enemies is top notch. Technology has sort of grimy, clunky feel that is almost steampunkesque, yet is lightened by sexy futuristic touches like the holograms. The broken interface looks slick, at least.

Shaders and bloom are used to give an eery, almost ethereal cast to the ship and its objects. The sound is similarly impressive. My 5.1 system is crap, but the sounds are still conveyed directionally and accurately. The noises, for example, of a man committing suicide by banging his head against a wall are disturbingly realistic - particularly how the dull thwacks travel down the metallic corridor as you approach him.

While the lighting is excellent, the textures are disappointingly low resolution, betraying their cross platform origins. Hopefully there will be an eventual mod to rectify this.

Conclusion:

The game creates a tangible atmosphere of daunting adversity, yet the tools and weapons it gives you are so fun to use and effective that the atmosphere is not too oppressive to be enjoyable. Perhaps the weapons are too good, and the ammunition too plentiful, as I've only died once, and that was when I was ambushed in a scripted event.

I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes survival horror, particularly those who also like science fiction horror, and especially to those who enjoyed System Shock 2.

A real review, not just DRM bashing, 10 Nov 2008
Dead Space is very visually pleasing; it loads of great effects and tense action. you can go through the game with that "what's going to happen next?" feeling, but then it gets very predictable. the enemies have very little variation to them and all you're doing through the whole game is just blowing of limbs and stamping on bodies.

It doesn't take long to learn that they will come when you pick up a certain object or when you enter a large room; you can predict them coming far too easily for my liking. When i first played this game it felt a little like Bioshock, trapped in a large area (city/space station), it's very dark, tense, jumpy and action packed with a lot of weapons and abilities. Sadly, this game is nothing to Bioshock.

The enemies at the start are you're standard close combat running and screaming enemies and you just blow off some limbs. They have tried to make them scary but failed completely, they seem really cool the first time you see them; but I'm afraid the novelty wears off fast. it's not an intelligent AI either, it just runs at you, doesn't use cover, doesn't use any real strategy, just runs and screams and crawls along the floor when you blow off its legs.

When you first start playing this game, you won't stop for a little bit, but then you won't pick it up for a while, it's the kind of game that you will play every now and then when the mood takes you; it won't really hook you and make you want to keep on going. it really does lack an addictive edge that makes a game enjoyable.

as a piece of programming it's brilliant, lots of effects, a fairly interactive environment but it won't astound you. You're not going to think "that's just awesome!" when you're playing this; I was disappointed with the result, i had really hoped for better.

I was very disappointed with the result; I think I'll go back on Gears of War 2 instead of playing this.


Don't think I will buy it, 08 Nov 2008
Reading all the reviews sounds like a great game!! However, I do hate being told what I can and cannot do so think I won't buy it!

This is a Dead Space review, not a DRM review., 06 Nov 2008
I installed the Dead Space game, no problems.
My setup includes 2 x 8800GTX graphic boards in SLI mode and the games graphics are really good at 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution, I played it on the Vista operating system.
During over 3 hours of continuous playing the only problem I had with my system was the frights when mutated human things leaped out at me or upon me, definitely a case of wearing your brown trousers when playing this game as it is really atmospheric and the sound effects had me twitching and looking over my shoulder.
My computer system however had no problems at all with the game and it played as smooth as silk, which was nice.
If you like Science Fiction and shooting some really scary things then this game is for you! (I think the games designer must have seen the film "The Thing" by John Carpenter).
This game is unique in its approach and yes the keyboard layout controls take a bit of time getting used to but I managed to terminate quite a few things with extreme prejudice after they had almost frightened the life out of me and the good old foot stomp was not always needed but it channeled the adrenaline, released some stress and slowed the heart down to a more manageable rate after a near change of underwear.
I am really enjoying playing this game but its now 00:40 hours and I must go and get some sleep after all the shooting and stomping.
I need to be alert for my next mission, my mates are relying on me and I just can't let them down.
I just hope I don't have any nightmares.

Pay the money, Play the game and say Thank You to all the people who have worked so long and hard to bring you such good game entertainment.

Great game, too bad you can't buy it..., 05 Nov 2008
Tried this game, loved it, it has great atmosphere, looks polished and is great fun.
I was very disapointed to discover I can't buy Dead Space.
At best Eletronic Arts will let me rent it. For the full price of a game, I get to install it a limited number of times.

No sale for me.
Here's to hoping they release a patch to get rid of this limitations, looking forward to buying the game.

An Actual Review, 11 Nov 2008
*DRM will not factor in my assessment of this game. For the record - I don't approve of the system, but I feel that the game is worth buying anyway.*

This is an action adventure game in the style of System Shock 2 and, more recently, Bioshock. In other words: it's an atmospheric adventure with a linear plot, a lot of shooting and some very light RPG character progression elements, which I will expand on later.

Premise:

The game's premise is hackneyed. You are a simple mechanic travelling on a support ship to investigate a huge mining ship that has ceased communications mysteriously. Sounds familiar? It is. In many ways this game is a tribute to the entire "In space, no one can hear you scream" subgenre - it borrows heavily storywise and thematically from films such as the Alien series, and Event Horizon. A sense of isolation and hopelessness is present throughout.

Plotting and structure:

As I mentioned, the plot is linear and tight. The pacing is carefully measured and the level design is well considered, with each area presenting a decent variety of different challenges and puzzles. The objectives you have to achieve are feasible in the contexts they are presented in, though occasionally it is obvious that the developers have added find and fetch goals that do little for the game but fill in time. There are numerous scripted events in the tradition of the games and films it was influenced by - creatures casting shadows round corners, crew members of the ship dying in various horrible ways, and environmental events such as explosions and fires.

Information about the situation on the ship is gradually revealed via video, text, and audio logs that crew members have conveniently left behind for you to pick up. This is a very "gamey" concept in that it is unrealistic, but still manages to increase immersion and feeling within the game. If you have played Bioshock or System Shock 2, you will probably recall the chilling audiologs you could activate, Dead Space uses them in much the same way, though it also includes videologs.

Gameplay and controls:

The game is controlled from an over the shoulder 3rd person perspective where your character's body takes up much of the screen, restricting your field of view. I have a feeling that this was a conscious design decision, as it makes for some very claustrophobic scenes.

I played the game with mouse and keyboard, though I understand that it is possible to play the game with a gamepad as well.

The mouse response is most sluggish than one might expect, particularly if you're used to playing control sensitive shooters. You aim and raise your weapon by holding down the right mouse button. This also enables contextual commands, such as using your static field or telekinetic abilities for puzzles, or to incapacitate/kill enemies. The movement and combat controls are ok, they don't limit you overly, and they aren't spectacular.

The weapons are powerful and satisfying to use. The enemies, while well animated, are not very intelligent and fairly easy to dispatch.

Much has been made about the fact that the game doesn't have a HUD (heads up display). The lack of HUD makes the game feel more realistic in a couple of ways:

You pick up a video log left by your girlfriend, and you project it with your suit, producing a rectangular picture in front of your character's face - the bloody corridor is still visible, and the mysterious clanks and rattles are still audible.

There is not compass map showing where you have to go all the time, instead, you can press B to produce a holographic line leading to your objective. It looks cool, and it feels like it fits in with the technology and style of the setting.

Critical information like ammo and health are shown on your character's gun and spine, respectively, which also fits.

I mentioned there was a slight character development element to the game. This comes in the form of upgrading your weapons, tools, and armour by using collectable power nodes. You are forced to either specialise or spread points thinly by the scarcity of these nodes.

Visual design, graphics and sound:

The design of the ship, weapons, your character's suit, and the enemies is top notch. Technology has sort of grimy, clunky feel that is almost steampunkesque, yet is lightened by sexy futuristic touches like the holograms. The broken interface looks slick, at least.

Shaders and bloom are used to give an eery, almost ethereal cast to the ship and its objects. The sound is similarly impressive. My 5.1 system is crap, but the sounds are still conveyed directionally and accurately. The noises, for example, of a man committing suicide by banging his head against a wall are disturbingly realistic - particularly how the dull thwacks travel down the metallic corridor as you approach him.

While the lighting is excellent, the textures are disappointingly low resolution, betraying their cross platform origins. Hopefully there will be an eventual mod to rectify this.

Conclusion:

The game creates a tangible atmosphere of daunting adversity, yet the tools and weapons it gives you are so fun to use and effective that the atmosphere is not too oppressive to be enjoyable. Perhaps the weapons are too good, and the ammunition too plentiful, as I've only died once, and that was when I was ambushed in a scripted event.

I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes survival horror, particularly those who also like science fiction horror, and especially to those who enjoyed System Shock 2.

A real review, not just DRM bashing, 10 Nov 2008
Dead Space is very visually pleasing; it loads of great effects and tense action. you can go through the game with that "what's going to happen next?" feeling, but then it gets very predictable. the enemies have very little variation to them and all you're doing through the whole game is just blowing of limbs and stamping on bodies.

It doesn't take long to learn that they will come when you pick up a certain object or when you enter a large room; you can predict them coming far too easily for my liking. When i first played this game it felt a little like Bioshock, trapped in a large area (city/space station), it's very dark, tense, jumpy and action packed with a lot of weapons and abilities. Sadly, this game is nothing to Bioshock.

The enemies at the start are you're standard close combat running and screaming enemies and you just blow off some limbs. They have tried to make them scary but failed completely, they seem really cool the first time you see them; but I'm afraid the novelty wears off fast. it's not an intelligent AI either, it just runs at you, doesn't use cover, doesn't use any real strategy, just runs and screams and crawls along the floor when you blow off its legs.

When you first start playing this game, you won't stop for a little bit, but then you won't pick it up for a while, it's the kind of game that you will play every now and then when the mood takes you; it won't really hook you and make you want to keep on going. it really does lack an addictive edge that makes a game enjoyable.

as a piece of programming it's brilliant, lots of effects, a fairly interactive environment but it won't astound you. You're not going to think "that's just awesome!" when you're playing this; I was disappointed with the result, i had really hoped for better.

I was very disappointed with the result; I think I'll go back on Gears of War 2 instead of playing this.


Don't think I will buy it, 08 Nov 2008
Reading all the reviews sounds like a great game!! However, I do hate being told what I can and cannot do so think I won't buy it!

This is a Dead Space review, not a DRM review., 06 Nov 2008
I installed the Dead Space game, no problems.
My setup includes 2 x 8800GTX graphic boards in SLI mode and the games graphics are really good at 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution, I played it on the Vista operating system.
During over 3 hours of continuous playing the only problem I had with my system was the frights when mutated human things leaped out at me or upon me, definitely a case of wearing your brown trousers when playing this game as it is really atmospheric and the sound effects had me twitching and looking over my shoulder.
My computer system however had no problems at all with the game and it played as smooth as silk, which was nice.
If you like Science Fiction and shooting some really scary things then this game is for you! (I think the games designer must have seen the film "The Thing" by John Carpenter).
This game is unique in its approach and yes the keyboard layout controls take a bit of time getting used to but I managed to terminate quite a few things with extreme prejudice after they had almost frightened the life out of me and the good old foot stomp was not always needed but it channeled the adrenaline, released some stress and slowed the heart down to a more manageable rate after a near change of underwear.
I am really enjoying playing this game but its now 00:40 hours and I must go and get some sleep after all the shooting and stomping.
I need to be alert for my next mission, my mates are relying on me and I just can't let them down.
I just hope I don't have any nightmares.

Pay the money, Play the game and say Thank You to all the people who have worked so long and hard to bring you such good game entertainment.

Great game, too bad you can't buy it..., 05 Nov 2008
Tried this game, loved it, it has great atmosphere, looks polished and is great fun.
I was very disapointed to discover I can't buy Dead Space.
At best Eletronic Arts will let me rent it. For the full price of a game, I get to install it a limited number of times.

No sale for me.
Here's to hoping they release a patch to get rid of this limitations, looking forward to buying the game.

This game absolutely rocks in Multiplayer!, 29 Oct 2008
This is a sequel to BFME 1, few advancements from the first game; better create a hero for custom heroes, war of the ring mode (which is very engaging even in single player. The game is let down slightly in the campaign, very cookie cut style campaigns. This game really comes out to its own in Multiplayer. Very engaging, loads of fun teaming with friends to play against the computer, or even against each other. I paid full price for this game, worth every penny - now the price has droped to £7.91 (at the time of writing) go grab yourself a bargain stocking filler - cant go wrong!

I went back!, 09 Oct 2008
After solidly playing the first game when it came out... I rushed to buy this one. But after the initial thrill of a new game had calmed down... I realised this game is very bad.

Firstly - It won't run properly on most computers I know (unless you happen to be an oil baron capable of buying the most amazing PC on the planet!). I mean the first one was resource heavy... But this one is just insane!

Secondly - The all new campaigns... SHOCKING!! They didn't seem to follow any story at all... Unlike the first which obviously followed the story from the books/films.

Thirdly - It just doesn't 'feel' like a good fun game anymore. EA tried to improve on an already fantastic game (as they have a habit of doing and usually failing). They should have just made expansion packs for the first game, so that users of the first game have the option to keep the old styles of playing, or including an option for turning on the new features like "build anywhere" which is just an annoying feature, as archers cannot go on walls etc (like they could on the castles in the first game... oh yeah and two factions don't even HAVE walls!

Some of the creatures or creations in this game are also a little farfetched, for example most of the goblin units... The naval battles that EA also rave about are about as exciting as watching a fly around a light bulb.

I'm not saying the first one was perfect... But this one is just not a patch on the first!! When will EA learn to not create sequels to already good games?!

this game rules, 07 Aug 2008
this game is very good especially if you like lord of the rings because it is parts of the films that have been edited that you wouldnt have seen before. the graphics are excellent and you can play as a variety of armys and heroes.

What a Shame, 27 Jan 2008
Well, looked forward to playing this game but alas it will not run on my computer for no apparant reason! I've updated to the latest patch 1.05, and updated my graphics card drivers! I also made sure to end all unneccessary tasks on my pc, but still it wouldn't even load! An error with the game.dat file, and my pc is far beyond the specs needed for this game (this is the collectors edtion btw). My GPU is 8800GTS maybe its too new for the game to handle but this is very annyoing and a waste of money!

Great game...but!, 10 Jan 2008
I really love this game, i love to play it with my friends..but:

1. You should be able to change the heroes look a bit more! Like haircolour,skincolour and the clothes.

2. The evil teams sucks compares to human team! You can't win with evil, and that really, really bugs me. For example: The human team's got archers that can shoot a rain of arrows anywhere on the map, healing & when you create a hero they can have invulnerability a time - while the evil ones dont have anything like that!

3. Sauroman is a real big issue! In the movies/books (at least at the beginning)Sauroman is better than Gandalf, not in the game! He's the most expencive hero of Isengard, but he dies first!

4. I think that you should be able to use the custom-hero in the single-player game, that would be fun!

An Actual Review, 11 Nov 2008
*DRM will not factor in my assessment of this game. For the record - I don't approve of the system, but I feel that the game is worth buying anyway.*

This is an action adventure game in the style of System Shock 2 and, more recently, Bioshock. In other words: it's an atmospheric adventure with a linear plot, a lot of shooting and some very light RPG character progression elements, which I will expand on later.

Premise:

The game's premise is hackneyed. You are a simple mechanic travelling on a support ship to investigate a huge mining ship that has ceased communications mysteriously. Sounds familiar? It is. In many ways this game is a tribute to the entire "In space, no one can hear you scream" subgenre - it borrows heavily storywise and thematically from films such as the Alien series, and Event Horizon. A sense of isolation and hopelessness is present throughout.

Plotting and structure:

As I mentioned, the plot is linear and tight. The pacing is carefully measured and the level design is well considered, with each area presenting a decent variety of different challenges and puzzles. The objectives you have to achieve are feasible in the contexts they are presented in, though occasionally it is obvious that the developers have added find and fetch goals that do little for the game but fill in time. There are numerous scripted events in the tradition of the games and films it was influenced by - creatures casting shadows round corners, crew members of the ship dying in various horrible ways, and environmental events such as explosions and fires.

Information about the situation on the ship is gradually revealed via video, text, and audio logs that crew members have conveniently left behind for you to pick up. This is a very "gamey" concept in that it is unrealistic, but still manages to increase immersion and feeling within the game. If you have played Bioshock or System Shock 2, you will probably recall the chilling audiologs you could activate, Dead Space uses them in much the same way, though it also includes videologs.

Gameplay and controls:

The game is controlled from an over the shoulder 3rd person perspective where your character's body takes up much of the screen, restricting your field of view. I have a feeling that this was a conscious design decision, as it makes for some very claustrophobic scenes.

I played the game with mouse and keyboard, though I understand that it is possible to play the game with a gamepad as well.

The mouse response is most sluggish than one might expect, particularly if you're used to playing control sensitive shooters. You aim and raise your weapon by holding down the right mouse button. This also enables contextual commands, such as using your static field or telekinetic abilities for puzzles, or to incapacitate/kill enemies. The movement and combat controls are ok, they don't limit you overly, and they aren't spectacular.

The weapons are powerful and satisfying to use. The enemies, while well animated, are not very intelligent and fairly easy to dispatch.

Much has been made about the fact that the game doesn't have a HUD (heads up display). The lack of HUD makes the game feel more realistic in a couple of ways:

You pick up a video log left by your girlfriend, and you project it with your suit, producing a rectangular picture in front of your character's face - the bloody corridor is still visible, and the mysterious clanks and rattles are still audible.

There is not compass map showing where you have to go all the time, instead, you can press B to produce a holographic line leading to your objective. It looks cool, and it feels like it fits in with the technology and style of the setting.

Critical information like ammo and health are shown on your character's gun and spine, respectively, which also fits.

I mentioned there was a slight character development element to the game. This comes in the form of upgrading your weapons, tools, and armour by using collectable power nodes. You are forced to either specialise or spread points thinly by the scarcity of these nodes.

Visual design, graphics and sound:

The design of the ship, weapons, your character's suit, and the enemies is top notch. Technology has sort of grimy, clunky feel that is almost steampunkesque, yet is lightened by sexy futuristic touches like the holograms. The broken interface looks slick, at least.

Shaders and bloom are used to give an eery, almost ethereal cast to the ship and its objects. The sound is similarly impressive. My 5.1 system is crap, but the sounds are still conveyed directionally and accurately. The noises, for example, of a man committing suicide by banging his head against a wall are disturbingly realistic - particularly how the dull thwacks travel down the metallic corridor as you approach him.

While the lighting is excellent, the textures are disappointingly low resolution, betraying their cross platform origins. Hopefully there will be an eventual mod to rectify this.

Conclusion:

The game creates a tangible atmosphere of daunting adversity, yet the tools and weapons it gives you are so fun to use and effective that the atmosphere is not too oppressive to be enjoyable. Perhaps the weapons are too good, and the ammunition too plentiful, as I've only died once, and that was when I was ambushed in a scripted event.

I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes survival horror, particularly those who also like science fiction horror, and especially to those who enjoyed System Shock 2.

A real review, not just DRM bashing, 10 Nov 2008
Dead Space is very visually pleasing; it loads of great effects and tense action. you can go through the game with that "what's going to happen next?" feeling, but then it gets very predictable. the enemies have very little variation to them and all you're doing through the whole game is just blowing of limbs and stamping on bodies.

It doesn't take long to learn that they will come when you pick up a certain object or when you enter a large room; you can predict them coming far too easily for my liking. When i first played this game it felt a little like Bioshock, trapped in a large area (city/space station), it's very dark, tense, jumpy and action packed with a lot of weapons and abilities. Sadly, this game is nothing to Bioshock.

The enemies at the start are you're standard close combat running and screaming enemies and you just blow off some limbs. They have tried to make them scary but failed completely, they seem really cool the first time you see them; but I'm afraid the novelty wears off fast. it's not an intelligent AI either, it just runs at you, doesn't use cover, doesn't use any real strategy, just runs and screams and crawls along the floor when you blow off its legs.

When you first start playing this game, you won't stop for a little bit, but then you won't pick it up for a while, it's the kind of game that you will play every now and then when the mood takes you; it won't really hook you and make you want to keep on going. it really does lack an addictive edge that makes a game enjoyable.

as a piece of programming it's brilliant, lots of effects, a fairly interactive environment but it won't astound you. You're not going to think "that's just awesome!" when you're playing this; I was disappointed with the result, i had really hoped for better.

I was very disappointed with the result; I think I'll go back on Gears of War 2 instead of playing this.


Don't think I will buy it, 08 Nov 2008
Reading all the reviews sounds like a great game!! However, I do hate being told what I can and cannot do so think I won't buy it!

This is a Dead Space review, not a DRM review., 06 Nov 2008
I installed the Dead Space game, no problems.
My setup includes 2 x 8800GTX graphic boards in SLI mode and the games graphics are really good at 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution, I played it on the Vista operating system.
During over 3 hours of continuous playing the only problem I had with my system was the frights when mutated human things leaped out at me or upon me, definitely a case of wearing your brown trousers when playing this game as it is really atmospheric and the sound effects had me twitching and looking over my shoulder.
My computer system however had no problems at all with the game and it played as smooth as silk, which was nice.
If you like Science Fiction and shooting some really scary things then this game is for you! (I think the games designer must have seen the film "The Thing" by John Carpenter).
This game is unique in its approach and yes the keyboard layout controls take a bit of time getting used to but I managed to terminate quite a few things with extreme prejudice after they had almost frightened the life out of me and the good old foot stomp was not always needed but it channeled the adrenaline, released some stress and slowed the heart down to a more manageable rate after a near change of underwear.
I am really enjoying playing this game but its now 00:40 hours and I must go and get some sleep after all the shooting and stomping.
I need to be alert for my next mission, my mates are relying on me and I just can't let them down.
I just hope I don't have any nightmares.

Pay the money, Play the game and say Thank You to all the people who have worked so long and hard to bring you such good game entertainment.

Great game, too bad you can't buy it..., 05 Nov 2008
Tried this game, loved it, it has great atmosphere, looks polished and is great fun.
I was very disapointed to discover I can't buy Dead Space.
At best Eletronic Arts will let me rent it. For the full price of a game, I get to install it a limited number of times.

No sale for me.
Here's to hoping they release a patch to get rid of this limitations, looking forward to buying the game.

This game absolutely rocks in Multiplayer!, 29 Oct 2008
This is a sequel to BFME 1, few advancements from the first game; better create a hero for custom heroes, war of the ring mode (which is very engaging even in single player. The game is let down slightly in the campaign, very cookie cut style campaigns. This game really comes out to its own in Multiplayer. Very engaging, loads of fun teaming with friends to play against the computer, or even against each other. I paid full price for this game, worth every penny - now the price has droped to £7.91 (at the time of writing) go grab yourself a bargain stocking filler - cant go wrong!

I went back!, 09 Oct 2008
After solidly playing the first game when it came out... I rushed to buy this one. But after the initial thrill of a new game had calmed down... I realised this game is very bad.

Firstly - It won't run properly on most computers I know (unless you happen to be an oil baron capable of buying the most amazing PC on the planet!). I mean the first one was resource heavy... But this one is just insane!

Secondly - The all new campaigns... SHOCKING!! They didn't seem to follow any story at all... Unlike the first which obviously followed the story from the books/films.

Thirdly - It just doesn't 'feel' like a good fun game anymore. EA tried to improve on an already fantastic game (as they have a habit of doing and usually failing). They should have just made expansion packs for the first game, so that users of the first game have the option to keep the old styles of playing, or including an option for turning on the new features like "build anywhere" which is just an annoying feature, as archers cannot go on walls etc (like they could on the castles in the first game... oh yeah and two factions don't even HAVE walls!

Some of the creatures or creations in this game are also a little farfetched, for example most of the goblin units... The naval battles that EA also rave about are about as exciting as watching a fly around a light bulb.

I'm not saying the first one was perfect... But this one is just not a patch on the first!! When will EA learn to not create sequels to already good games?!

this game rules, 07 Aug 2008
this game is very good especially if you like lord of the rings because it is parts of the films that have been edited that you wouldnt have seen before. the graphics are excellent and you can play as a variety of armys and heroes.

What a Shame, 27 Jan 2008
Well, looked forward to playing this game but alas it will not run on my computer for no apparant reason! I've updated to the latest patch 1.05, and updated my graphics card drivers! I also made sure to end all unneccessary tasks on my pc, but still it wouldn't even load! An error with the game.dat file, and my pc is far beyond the specs needed for this game (this is the collectors edtion btw). My GPU is 8800GTS maybe its too new for the game to handle but this is very annyoing and a waste of money!

Great game...but!, 10 Jan 2008
I really love this game, i love to play it with my friends..but:

1. You should be able to change the heroes look a bit more! Like haircolour,skincolour and the clothes.

2. The evil teams sucks compares to human team! You can't win with evil, and that really, really bugs me. For example: The human team's got archers that can shoot a rain of arrows anywhere on the map, healing & when you create a hero they can have invulnerability a time - while the evil ones dont have anything like that!

3. Sauroman is a real big issue! In the movies/books (at least at the beginning)Sauroman is better than Gandalf, not in the game! He's the most expencive hero of Isengard, but he dies first!

4. I think that you should be able to use the custom-hero in the single-player game, that would be fun!


You gotta get this., 10 Nov 2008
You want my ohnast opinion? Its great! I neednt say anymore though. The fact that this game has 40 game of the year awards, is enough on its own to make you buy, which you should. If you love the action of a battle but also love taking your time figuring out how to overcome objectives then this is the one for you, and its 5 games! The problem, which i had and seems to be a big one, is the duplicate cd key error. My problem was solved fairly quick but i needed to provide proof (receipt, cd key, etc..). Also Steam is great, a handy program(once you get it up and running that is!) but dont be put off! The 20GB of used space will all be worth it once you get on to the games.

A Brilliant Boxset of Great Games, 18 Oct 2008
The Orange Box is one of the best deals out there for all Computer game lovers. Essentially you get the second chapter of one of the finest Computer game franchises out there along with its own first two Episodes. So thats Half Life 2, Half Life 2 Episode 1 and Half Life 2 Episode 2. Whilst the two episodes are short in playtime they are quite simply stunning. These coupled with the awesome Half Life 2 you are going to be glad you made the purchase. Added to these three gems are Portal which is a superb game and one of the most innovative puzzle games I have come across in ages. It is quite simply brilliant. The cherry on top comes in the guise of Team Fortress 2. There is little I can add to what already has been said about this game. It is stunning. Multiplayer has never been so much fun! So buy this and get involved. My final point is about Steam. Most of the negative reviews surround this. Steam is easy to use. And is far more user friendly then it was in its first inception and to be fair it wasn't bad even then. The truth is that if you have a dial up modem to connect to the internet you are probably best not buying this boxset until you upgrade. If you have broadband then buy this now and stop worrying. I have found Steam to actually be a useful tool rather than a hinderance. Ignore the prophets of doom and fear not. The Orange Box and all its glorious elements can be yours to play! This is PC gaming at its finest. Oh how we love you!!

Updated Review, 11 Oct 2008
Well after 4 days of cursing and swearing, I finally got everything installed. 4 days after that, my computer died a violent death.

Having installed it on Vista (SP2), and it installed perfectly, all I can say is WOW!!!!

I've just completed "Portal" and it is amazing.

And Half Life 2 is just amazing. Every so often I have to walk away. The atmosphere is just terrifying. Be warned. It's a 15, but I do wonder if it shouldn't be an 18 for atmosphere and some of the monsters.

I've only had it for a few weeks, and have not played Episodes 1 or 2, and I don't have network access, so Team Fortress is out, but I am so pleased with what I got. And all for £15 from Tesco.

Go get it..

(on a different note - does anyone know how to edit a review?)

For God's sake - just buy it!, 25 Sep 2008
I made the naive mistake of not buying this, thinking "Half-Life 2 might not be so great and I may not want the episode packs; Team Fortress 2 looks silly and Portal looks weird. I'll just buy HL2 and save money."

Well, two months on and I'm sorely regretting not buying this because I have since bought EVERY game individually, and regard each one as one of my all-time favourites.

Half-Life 2 (and particularly the episodes) are beyond explosive and it's very playable despite the age. I never once felt the game was 'dated', due in part to Steam still updating their older games - I was impressed to see HL2 making use of my 64-bit processor, which is more than many brand new games do. Oh, and Team Fortress 2 is the *only* multiplayer game most of you will ever need. It's as fun as it is addictive.

Do not knock Steam: as well as allowing you to play your games without inserting the DVD, Steam automatically patches and updates your games. It is an absolute lifesaver and I now buy all my games over it.

If you're a big online gamer and don't already have Counterstrike, and feel that TF2 may not be enough to satisfy you, consider buying the Source Premier Pack over Steam instead. It includes the Orange Box in the price, but throws in a bunch of Source games too.

A MUST BUY GAME, 23 Sep 2008
you get 3 games. team fortress 2 is a brillaint FPS game. the best i have played.
portal a first person puzzle game like nothing else i have played. very absorbing.
Half Life was O.K, not as good a previous games, but enjoyable.
brilliant value for money.

An Actual Review, 11 Nov 2008
*DRM will not factor in my assessment of this game. For the record - I don't approve of the system, but I feel that the game is worth buying anyway.*

This is an action adventure game in the style of System Shock 2 and, more recently, Bioshock. In other words: it's an atmospheric adventure with a linear plot, a lot of shooting and some very light RPG character progression elements, which I will expand on later.

Premise:

The game's premise is hackneyed. You are a simple mechanic travelling on a support ship to investigate a huge mining ship that has ceased communications mysteriously. Sounds familiar? It is. In many ways this game is a tribute to the entire "In space, no one can hear you scream" subgenre - it borrows heavily storywise and thematically from films such as the Alien series, and Event Horizon. A sense of isolation and hopelessness is present throughout.

Plotting and structure:

As I mentioned, the plot is linear and tight. The pacing is carefully measured and the level design is well considered, with each area presenting a decent variety of different challenges and puzzles. The objectives you have to achieve are feasible in the contexts they are presented in, though occasionally it is obvious that the developers have added find and fetch goals that do little for the game but fill in time. There are numerous scripted events in the tradition of the games and films it was influenced by - creatures casting shadows round corners, crew members of the ship dying in various horrible ways, and environmental events such as explosions and fires.

Information about the situation on the ship is gradually revealed via video, text, and audio logs that crew members have conveniently left behind for you to pick up. This is a very "gamey" concept in that it is unrealistic, but still manages to increase immersion and feeling within the game. If you have played Bioshock or System Shock 2, you will probably recall the chilling audiologs you could activate, Dead Space uses them in much the same way, though it also includes videologs.

Gameplay and controls:

The game is controlled from an over the shoulder 3rd person perspective where your character's body takes up much of the screen, restricting your field of view. I have a feeling that this was a conscious design decision, as it makes for some very claustrophobic scenes.

I played the game with mouse and keyboard, though I understand that it is possible to play the game with a gamepad as well.

The mouse response is most sluggish than one might expect, particularly if you're used to playing control sensitive shooters. You aim and raise your weapon by holding down the right mouse button. This also enables contextual commands, such as using your static field or telekinetic abilities for puzzles, or to incapacitate/kill enemies. The movement and combat controls are ok, they don't limit you overly, and they aren't spectacular.

The weapons are powerful and satisfying to use. The enemies, while well animated, are not very intelligent and fairly easy to dispatch.

Much has been made about the fact that the game doesn't have a HUD (heads up display). The lack of HUD makes the game feel more realistic in a couple of ways:

You pick up a video log left by your girlfriend, and you project it with your suit, producing a rectangular picture in front of your character's face - the bloody corridor is still visible, and the mysterious clanks and rattles are still audible.

There is not compass map showing where you have to go all the time, instead, you can press B to produce a holographic line leading to your objective. It looks cool, and it feels like it fits in with the technology and style of the setting.

Critical information like ammo and health are shown on your character's gun and spine, respectively, which also fits.

I mentioned there was a slight character development element to the game. This comes in the form of upgrading your weapons, tools, and armour by using collectable power nodes. You are forced to either specialise or spread points thinly by the scarcity of these nodes.

Visual design, graphics and sound:

The design of the ship, weapons, your character's suit, and the enemies is top notch. Technology has sort of grimy, clunky feel that is almost steampunkesque, yet is lightened by sexy futuristic touches like the holograms. The broken interface looks slick, at least.

Shaders and bloom are used to give an eery, almost ethereal cast to the ship and its objects. The sound is similarly impressive. My 5.1 system is crap, but the sounds are still conveyed directionally and accurately. The noises, for example, of a man committing suicide by banging his head against a wall are disturbingly realistic - particularly how the dull thwacks travel down the metallic corridor as you approach him.

While the lighting is excellent, the textures are disappointingly low resolution, betraying their cross platform origins. Hopefully there will be an eventual mod to rectify this.

Conclusion:

The game creates a tangible atmosphere of daunting adversity, yet the tools and weapons it gives you are so fun to use and effective that the atmosphere is not too oppressive to be enjoyable. Perhaps the weapons are too good, and the ammunition too plentiful, as I've only died once, and that was when I was ambushed in a scripted event.

I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes survival horror, particularly those who also like science fiction horror, and especially to those who enjoyed System Shock 2.

A real review, not just DRM bashing, 10 Nov 2008
Dead Space is very visually pleasing; it loads of great effects and tense action. you can go through the game with that "what's going to happen next?" feeling, but then it gets very predictable. the enemies have very little variation to them and all you're doing through the whole game is just blowing of limbs and stamping on bodies.

It doesn't take long to learn that they will come when you pick up a certain object or when you enter a large room; you can predict them coming far too easily for my liking. When i first played this game it felt a little like Bioshock, trapped in a large area (city/space station), it's very dark, tense, jumpy and action packed with a lot of weapons and abilities. Sadly, this game is nothing to Bioshock.

The enemies at the start are you're standard close combat running and screaming enemies and you just blow off some limbs. They have tried to make them scary but failed completely, they seem really cool the first time you see them; but I'm afraid the novelty wears off fast. it's not an intelligent AI either, it just runs at you, doesn't use cover, doesn't use any real strategy, just runs and screams and crawls along the floor when you blow off its legs.

When you first start playing this game, you won't stop for a little bit, but then you won't pick it up for a while, it's the kind of game that you will play every now and then when the mood takes you; it won't really hook you and make you want to keep on going. it really does lack an addictive edge that makes a game enjoyable.

as a piece of programming it's brilliant, lots of effects, a fairly interactive environment but it won't astound you. You're not going to think "that's just awesome!" when you're playing this; I was disappointed with the result, i had really hoped for better.

I was very disappointed with the result; I think I'll go back on Gears of War 2 instead of playing this.


Don't think I will buy it, 08 Nov 2008
Reading all the reviews sounds like a great game!! However, I do hate being told what I can and cannot do so think I won't buy it!

This is a Dead Space review, not a DRM review., 06 Nov 2008
I installed the Dead Space game, no problems.
My setup includes 2 x 8800GTX graphic boards in SLI mode and the games graphics are really good at 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution, I played it on the Vista operating system.
During over 3 hours of continuous playing the only problem I had with my system was the frights when mutated human things leaped out at me or upon me, definitely a case of wearing your brown trousers when playing this game as it is really atmospheric and the sound effects had me twitching and looking over my shoulder.
My computer system however had no problems at all with the game and it played as smooth as silk, which was nice.
If you like Science Fiction and shooting some really scary things then this game is for you! (I think the games designer must have seen the film "The Thing" by John Carpenter).
This game is unique in its approach and yes the keyboard layout controls take a bit of time getting used to but I managed to terminate quite a few things with extreme prejudice after they had almost frightened the life out of me and the good old foot stomp was not always needed but it channeled the adrenaline, released some stress and slowed the heart down to a more manageable rate after a near change of underwear.
I am really enjoying playing this game but its now 00:40 hours and I must go and get some sleep after all the shooting and stomping.
I need to be alert for my next mission, my mates are relying on me and I just can't let them down.
I just hope I don't have any nightmares.

Pay the money, Play the game and say Thank You to all the people who have worked so long and hard to bring you such good game entertainment.

Great game, too bad you can't buy it..., 05 Nov 2008
Tried this game, loved it, it has great atmosphere, looks polished and is great fun.
I was very disapointed to discover I can't buy Dead Space.
At best Eletronic Arts will let me rent it. For the full price of a game, I get to install it a limited number of times.

No sale for me.
Here's to hoping they release a patch to get rid of this limitations, looking forward to buying the game.

This game absolutely rocks in Multiplayer!, 29 Oct 2008
This is a sequel to BFME 1, few advancements from the first game; better create a hero for custom heroes, war of the ring mode (which is very engaging even in single player. The game is let down slightly in the campaign, very cookie cut style campaigns. This game really comes out to its own in Multiplayer. Very engaging, loads of fun teaming with friends to play against the computer, or even against each other. I paid full price for this game, worth every penny - now the price has droped to £7.91 (at the time of writing) go grab yourself a bargain stocking filler - cant go wrong!

I went back!, 09 Oct 2008
After solidly playing the first game when it came out... I rushed to buy this one. But after the initial thrill of a new game had calmed down... I realised this game is very bad.

Firstly - It won't run properly on most computers I know (unless you happen to be an oil baron capable of buying the most amazing PC on the planet!). I mean the first one was resource heavy... But this one is just insane!

Secondly - The all new campaigns... SHOCKING!! They didn't seem to follow any story at all... Unlike the first which obviously followed the story from the books/films.

Thirdly - It just doesn't 'feel' like a good fun game anymore. EA tried to improve on an already fantastic game (as they have a habit of doing and usually failing). They should have just made expansion packs for the first game, so that users of the first game have the option to keep the old styles of playing, or including an option for turning on the new features like "build anywhere" which is just an annoying feature, as archers cannot go on walls etc (like they could on the castles in the first game... oh yeah and two factions don't even HAVE walls!

Some of the creatures or creations in this game are also a little farfetched, for example most of the goblin units... The naval battles that EA also rave about are about as exciting as watching a fly around a light bulb.

I'm not saying the first one was perfect... But this one is just not a patch on the first!! When will EA learn to not create sequels to already good games?!

this game rules, 07 Aug 2008
this game is very good especially if you like lord of the rings because it is parts of the films that have been edited that you wouldnt have seen before. the graphics are excellent and you can play as a variety of armys and heroes.

What a Shame, 27 Jan 2008
Well, looked forward to playing this game but alas it will not run on my computer for no apparant reason! I've updated to the latest patch 1.05, and updated my graphics card drivers! I also made sure to end all unneccessary tasks on my pc, but still it wouldn't even load! An error with the game.dat file, and my pc is far beyond the specs needed for this game (this is the collectors edtion btw). My GPU is 8800GTS maybe its too new for the game to handle but this is very annyoing and a waste of money!

Great game...but!, 10 Jan 2008
I really love this game, i love to play it with my friends..but:

1. You should be able to change the heroes look a bit more! Like haircolour,skincolour and the clothes.

2. The evil teams sucks compares to human team! You can't win with evil, and that really, really bugs me. For example: The human team's got archers that can shoot a rain of arrows anywhere on the map, healing & when you create a hero they can have invulnerability a time - while the evil ones dont have anything like that!

3. Sauroman is a real big issue! In the movies/books (at least at the beginning)Sauroman is better than Gandalf, not in the game! He's the most expencive hero of Isengard, but he dies first!

4. I think that you should be able to use the custom-hero in the single-player game, that would be fun!


You gotta get this., 10 Nov 2008
You want my ohnast opinion? Its great! I neednt say anymore though. The fact that this game has 40 game of the year awards, is enough on its own to make you buy, which you should. If you love the action of a battle but also love taking your time figuring out how to overcome objectives then this is the one for you, and its 5 games! The problem, which i had and seems to be a big one, is the duplicate cd key error. My problem was solved fairly quick but i needed to provide proof (receipt, cd key, etc..). Also Steam is great, a handy program(once you get it up and running that is!) but dont be put off! The 20GB of used space will all be worth it once you get on to the games.

A Brilliant Boxset of Great Games, 18 Oct 2008
The Orange Box is one of the best deals out there for all Computer game lovers. Essentially you get the second chapter of one of the finest Computer game franchises out there along with its own first two Episodes. So thats Half Life 2, Half Life 2 Episode 1 and Half Life 2 Episode 2. Whilst the two episodes are short in playtime they are quite simply stunning. These coupled with the awesome Half Life 2 you are going to be glad you made the purchase. Added to these three gems are Portal which is a superb game and one of the most innovative puzzle games I have come across in ages. It is quite simply brilliant. The cherry on top comes in the guise of Team Fortress 2. There is little I can add to what already has been said about this game. It is stunning. Multiplayer has never been so much fun! So buy this and get involved. My final point is about Steam. Most of the negative reviews surround this. Steam is easy to use. And is far more user friendly then it was in its first inception and to be fair it wasn't bad even then. The truth is that if you have a dial up modem to connect to the internet you are probably best not buying this boxset until you upgrade. If you have broadband then buy this now and stop worrying. I have found Steam to actually be a useful tool rather than a hinderance. Ignore the prophets of doom and fear not. The Orange Box and all its glorious elements can be yours to play! This is PC gaming at its finest. Oh how we love you!!

Updated Review, 11 Oct 2008
Well after 4 days of cursing and swearing, I finally got everything installed. 4 days after that, my computer died a violent death.

Having installed it on Vista (SP2), and it installed perfectly, all I can say is WOW!!!!

I've just completed "Portal" and it is amazing.

And Half Life 2 is just amazing. Every so often I have to walk away. The atmosphere is just terrifying. Be warned. It's a 15, but I do wonder if it shouldn't be an 18 for atmosphere and some of the monsters.

I've only had it for a few weeks, and have not played Episodes 1 or 2, and I don't have network access, so Team Fortress is out, but I am so pleased with what I got. And all for £15 from Tesco.

Go get it..

(on a different note - does anyone know how to edit a review?)

For God's sake - just buy it!, 25 Sep 2008
I made the naive mistake of not buying this, thinking "Half-Life 2 might not be so great and I may not want the episode packs; Team Fortress 2 looks silly and Portal looks weird. I'll just buy HL2 and save money."

Well, two months on and I'm sorely regretting not buying this because I have since bought EVERY game individually, and regard each one as one of my all-time favourites.

Half-Life 2 (and particularly the episodes) are beyond explosive and it's very playable despite the age. I never once felt the game was 'dated', due in part to Steam still updating their older games - I was impressed to see HL2 making use of my 64-bit processor, which is more than many brand new games do. Oh, and Team Fortress 2 is the *only* multiplayer game most of you will ever need. It's as fun as it is addictive.

Do not knock Steam: as well as allowing you to play your games without inserting the DVD, Steam automatically patches and updates your games. It is an absolute lifesaver and I now buy all my games over it.

If you're a big online gamer and don't already have Counterstrike, and feel that TF2 may not be enough to satisfy you, consider buying the Source Premier Pack over Steam instead. It includes the Orange Box in the price, but throws in a bunch of Source games too.

A MUST BUY GAME, 23 Sep 2008
you get 3 games. team fortress 2 is a brillaint FPS game. the best i have played.
portal a first person puzzle game like nothing else i have played. very absorbing.
Half Life was O.K, not as good a previous games, but enjoyable.
brilliant value for money.

Fun, Simple. Addictive. The best game ever., 20 Jun 2008
Although this game is quite old, the enjoyment gained when one plays this game easily compares to modern day games like GTA. The graphics are simple but realistic and doesn't require a top class PC at all. The gameplay is very easy to learn and once you have played it for about a week, you will be hooked. I currently go to a high school and out of a 1000 pupils, over 100 play this game because it is so enjoyable. Even though we have access to more modern games, we still choose this because it is absolutely amazing.
FUN. SIMPLE. ADDICTIVE. = GREAT BUY

An honest Review, 11 Apr 2008
Source is the latest installment in the Counterstrike series following on from the not-so-popular 'Condition Zero' and the previous 'Counterstrike 1.6'.
If you are a fan of either of the latter mentioned games then stay away from this.
Followers of the Counterstrike series will be deeply disappointed with this game:
1. The gameplay has been ripped out, removed and not replaced with anything. You shuffle from place to place shooting guns that no longer require any control, precision or practice to master.
2. The hitboxes are awful. You can stand pointblank to someone and it doesn't connect sometimes, depending on the server you play. This is especially prevalent when people are running (if you can call the animation 'running').

You would do well to note that Valve have gone for good graphics over any sort of good gameplay. You can master this game within 2-3weeks of playing! I have played cs 1.6 since beta and have been to most of the top LAN tournaments around the world competing against other professional players. My credentials are valid.

In conclusion: If you are looking to purchase this, try a demo or something first to avoid disappointment. If you play 1.6 I very much doubt you will like it!

Ignore the reviews, this game is absolute rubbish., 20 Nov 2007
If you want to play Counter Strike, yes, COUNTER STRIKE, then play the original or it's Condition Zero counterpart.

This latest outing buy Valve is the biggest joke of the FPS world.

The original Counter Strike was a mod made by some University students for the Half Life engine, the game was so popular that Valve decided to embrace it and make it part of the product line.

The original was fast, hard and very rewarding.

Ofcourse all good things come to an end as we come to CS:Source.

The game has thrown out all the technique of the original, tactics from 10 years worth of play from professionals to everyday gamers.

The simple fact was the original was hard, you had to be a good gamer to play well, this ofcourse turned many a gamer away due to the simple fact people of the current age want the cake and eat it.

CS:Source is completely illogical, hold the trigger down and slam a headshot, what used to be a rewarding or something to aim for in the original, is now an every-kill subject.

The game is trolled by adolescent 12-15 year old teenagers, the whole game is awful, period.

The speed is awful, you get flashed behind brick walls, any technique or good gaming has gone.

I was an avid fan of the original, but this is just an overadvertised pathetic excuse for a serious FPS.

You want an Arcade game, get this, you want a serious shooter, grab the original.

ANY Lan Arena shall tell you the same, this is for kids, the others are not.

Ok, I admit it, nothing will ever beat counter strike., 05 Aug 2007
I think i may have been 13 or 14 when I was first introduced to Counter - Strike. Back then it was a free half life mod which my brother introduced me to. Now I am 20, and since then I have purchased several games consoles and many other computer games throughout the years, all in search of a game that would top CS. I own an Xbox 360 and a Nintendo Wii, and whilst games like Gears of War may be fun for a while, nothing, absolutely NOTHING will ever beat Counter Strike Source.

It is difficult to even begin to explain why Counter Strike is so great. I think because it is the ultimate test of your reflex and skill. Each map has its own quirks and all are brilliantly designed. Yes, you do the same thing over and over and over again, and not once, absolutely NEVER will this get boring. It is an incredible achievment, a genius human creation. I am so pleased that I live in a time where I got to experience Counter Strike, because I do not believe that any game will ever top it.

Excellent!!!! MUST BE BOUGHT, 15 May 2007
I do not personally own this game but I have played it with a friend a few times! I am about to buy this truly amazing game! It's a total ACE! I don't normally enjoy war games, but this is certainly a game you cannot ignor!

The graphics are life-like, by today's standards and I would recommend this game to anyone who likes to go on mindless killings - it's just that sort of game from what I gather. I think there is a story mode however I haven't seen this part of the game - only the multiplayer.

*Visit my profile - to contact me about my reviews!*

Take to the skies in Medal of Honor Airborne, where you'll drop into grueling ground attacks in a bid to turn the tide of WWII. Begin each mission in the air above Axis controlled battlefields, then make your mark in the largest airborne operations in history. Starting with your jump from a C-47 transport plane, every choice you make can seal your fate. In the air, control your parachute to select a landing spot that brings you the greatest strategic advantage. Follow the green smoke to recommended landing areas where Allied forces will be waiting, or go it alone by landing on rooftops or balconies. But craft your strategy carefully : every move you make-from your choice of landing spot to the enemies you engage on the ground-will determine your success in the mission, and whether or not you are truly one of the Airborne elite.






Developer :
Official site :
Minimum age : 16 years
Game setting : Historical
Orientation :
Violent : Yes
Multiplayer mode : Yes
Network mode : Yes
Processor :
Memory :
Other :
It may be the game that popularised the whole concept of first person shoot `em-ups set during World War II, but as the years have gone by, the Medal of Honor series has found itself besieged by more and more copycats trying to offer ever more realistic simulations of the era. This is the first Medal of Honor game made specifically for the next generation of consoles though and finds you taking the roles of both pathfinder Eddie La Point and Private Boy Travers - paratroopers in the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division. As such, you'll end up with a whistle stop tour of enemy hotspots in Sicily, France, Holland and Germany. The game takes its paratrooper motif serious too as the game levels are big enough that you actually have some control over where exactly you land and as a consequence what tactics you choose to employ.

The game also tries to give you as much freedom as possible with the weapons you use, with each being customisable with authentic parts which you can find during missions. Even the missions are as open ended as possible, as you're given up to a dozen objectives, of which only a few have to be tackled in any sort of order. One side benefit this creates is that the developers have been forced to drastically improve the enemy artificial intelligence so that they can react intelligently to your attacks, instead of just relying on the pre-scripted movements of the earlier games. There's also a stronger tactical element than ever before as you monitor the back and forth of battle between all the forces on the map. As over-familiar as WWII shooters have become, there looks to be enough new ideas here to keep even the most jaded virtual soldier happy.
HARRISON DENT

An Actual Review, 11 Nov 2008
*DRM will not factor in my assessment of this game. For the record - I don't approve of the system, but I feel that the game is worth buying anyway.*

This is an action adventure game in the style of System Shock 2 and, more recently, Bioshock. In other words: it's an atmospheric adventure with a linear plot, a lot of shooting and some very light RPG character progression elements, which I will expand on later.

Premise:

The game's premise is hackneyed. You are a simple mechanic travelling on a support ship to investigate a huge mining ship that has ceased communications mysteriously. Sounds familiar? It is. In many ways this game is a tribute to the entire "In space, no one can hear you scream" subgenre - it borrows heavily storywise and thematically from films such as the Alien series, and Event Horizon. A sense of isolation and hopelessness is present throughout.

Plotting and structure:

As I mentioned, the plot is linear and tight. The pacing is carefully measured and the level design is well considered, with each area presenting a decent variety of different challenges and puzzles. The objectives you have to achieve are feasible in the contexts they are presented in, though occasionally it is obvious that the developers have added find and fetch goals that do little for the game but fill in time. There are numerous scripted events in the tradition of the games and films it was influenced by - creatures casting shadows round corners, crew members of the ship dying in various horrible ways, and environmental events such as explosions and fires.

Information about the situation on the ship is gradually revealed via video, text, and audio logs that crew members have conveniently left behind for you to pick up. This is a very "gamey" concept in that it is unrealistic, but still manages to increase immersion and feeling within the game. If you have played Bioshock or System Shock 2, you will probably recall the chilling audiologs you could activate, Dead Space uses them in much the same way, though it also includes videologs.

Gameplay and controls:

The game is controlled from an over the shoulder 3rd person perspective where your character's body takes up much of the screen, restricting your field of view. I have a feeling that this was a conscious design decision, as it makes for some very claustrophobic scenes.

I played the game with mouse and keyboard, though I understand that it is possible to play the game with a gamepad as well.

The mouse response is most sluggish than one might expect, particularly if you're used to playing control sensitive shooters. You aim and raise your weapon by holding down the right mouse button. This also enables contextual commands, such as using your static field or telekinetic abilities for puzzles, or to incapacitate/kill enemies. The movement and combat controls are ok, they don't limit you overly, and they aren't spectacular.

The weapons are powerful and satisfying to use. The enemies, while well animated, are not very intelligent and fairly easy to dispatch.

Much has been made about the fact that the game doesn't have a HUD (heads up display). The lack of HUD makes the game feel more realistic in a couple of ways:

You pick up a video log left by your girlfriend, and you project it with your suit, producing a rectangular picture in front of your character's face - the bloody corridor is still visible, and the mysterious clanks and rattles are still audible.

There is not compass map showing where you have to go all the time, instead, you can press B to produce a holographic line leading to your objective. It looks cool, and it feels like it fits in with the technology and style of the setting.

Critical information like ammo and health are shown on your character's gun and spine, respectively, which also fits.

I mentioned there was a slight character development element to the game. This comes in the form of upgrading your weapons, tools, and armour by using collectable power nodes. You are forced to either specialise or spread points thinly by the scarcity of these nodes.

Visual design, graphics and sound:

The design of the ship, weapons, your character's suit, and the enemies is top notch. Technology has sort of grimy, clunky feel that is almost steampunkesque, yet is lightened by sexy futuristic touches like the holograms. The broken interface looks slick, at least.

Shaders and bloom are used to give an eery, almost ethereal cast to the ship and its objects. The sound is similarly impressive. My 5.1 system is crap, but the sounds are still conveyed directionally and accurately. The noises, for example, of a man committing suicide by banging his head against a wall are disturbingly realistic - particularly how the dull thwacks travel down the metallic corridor as you approach him.

While the lighting is excellent, the textures are disappointingly low resolution, betraying their cross platform origins. Hopefully there will be an eventual mod to rectify this.

Conclusion:

The game creates a tangible atmosphere of daunting adversity, yet the tools and weapons it gives you are so fun to use and effective that the atmosphere is not too oppressive to be enjoyable. Perhaps the weapons are too good, and the ammunition too plentiful, as I've only died once, and that was when I was ambushed in a scripted event.

I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes survival horror, particularly those who also like science fiction horror, and especially to those who enjoyed System Shock 2.

A real review, not just DRM bashing, 10 Nov 2008
Dead Space is very visually pleasing; it loads of great effects and tense action. you can go through the game with that "what's going to happen next?" feeling, but then it gets very predictable. the enemies have very little variation to them and all you're doing through the whole game is just blowing of limbs and stamping on bodies.

It doesn't take long to learn that they will come when you pick up a certain object or when you enter a large room; you can predict them coming far too easily for my liking. When i first played this game it felt a little like Bioshock, trapped in a large area (city/space station), it's very dark, tense, jumpy and action packed with a lot of weapons and abilities. Sadly, this game is nothing to Bioshock.

The enemies at the start are you're standard close combat running and screaming enemies and you just blow off some limbs. They have tried to make them scary but failed completely, they seem really cool the first time you see them; but I'm afraid the novelty wears off fast. it's not an intelligent AI either, it just runs at you, doesn't use cover, doesn't use any real strategy, just runs and screams and crawls along the floor when you blow off its legs.

When you first start playing this game, you won't stop for a little bit, but then you won't pick it up for a while, it's the kind of game that you will play every now and then when the mood takes you; it won't really hook you and make you want to keep on going. it really does lack an addictive edge that makes a game enjoyable.

as a piece of programming it's brilliant, lots of effects, a fairly interactive environment but it won't astound you. You're not going to think "that's just awesome!" when you're playing this; I was disappointed with the result, i had really hoped for better.

I was very disappointed with the result; I think I'll go back on Gears of War 2 instead of playing this.


Don't think I will buy it, 08 Nov 2008
Reading all the reviews sounds like a great game!! However, I do hate being told what I can and cannot do so think I won't buy it!

This is a Dead Space review, not a DRM review., 06 Nov 2008
I installed the Dead Space game, no problems.
My setup includes 2 x 8800GTX graphic boards in SLI mode and the games graphics are really good at 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution, I played it on the Vista operating system.
During over 3 hours of continuous playing the only problem I had with my system was the frights when mutated human things leaped out at me or upon me, definitely a case of wearing your brown trousers when playing this game as it is really atmospheric and the sound effects had me twitching and looking over my shoulder.
My computer system however had no problems at all with the game and it played as smooth as silk, which was nice.
If you like Science Fiction and shooting some really scary things then this game is for you! (I think the games designer must have seen the film "The Thing" by John Carpenter).
This game is unique in its approach and yes the keyboard layout controls take a bit of time getting used to but I managed to terminate quite a few things with extreme prejudice after they had almost frightened the life out of me and the good old foot stomp was not always needed but it channeled the adrenaline, released some stress and slowed the heart down to a more manageable rate after a near change of underwear.
I am really enjoying playing this game but its now 00:40 hours and I must go and get some sleep after all the shooting and stomping.
I need to be alert for my next mission, my mates are relying on me and I just can't let them down.
I just hope I don't have any nightmares.

Pay the money, Play the game and say Thank You to all the people who have worked so long and hard to bring you such good game entertainment.

Great game, too bad you can't buy it..., 05 Nov 2008
Tried this game, loved it, it has great atmosphere, looks polished and is great fun.
I was very disapointed to discover I can't buy Dead Space.
At best Eletronic Arts will let me rent it. For the full price of a game, I get to install it a limited number of times.

No sale for me.
Here's to hoping they release a patch to get rid of this limitations, looking forward to buying the game.

This game absolutely rocks in Multiplayer!, 29 Oct 2008
This is a sequel to BFME 1, few advancements from the first game; better create a hero for custom heroes, war of the ring mode (which is very engaging even in single player. The game is let down slightly in the campaign, very cookie cut style campaigns. This game really comes out to its own in Multiplayer. Very engaging, loads of fun teaming with friends to play against the computer, or even against each other. I paid full price for this game, worth every penny - now the price has droped to £7.91 (at the time of writing) go grab yourself a bargain stocking filler - cant go wrong!

I went back!, 09 Oct 2008
After solidly playing the first game when it came out... I rushed to buy this one. But after the initial thrill of a new game had calmed down... I realised this game is very bad.

Firstly - It won't run properly on most computers I know (unless you happen to be an oil baron capable of buying the most amazing PC on the planet!). I mean the first one was resource heavy... But this one is just insane!

Secondly - The all new campaigns... SHOCKING!! They didn't seem to follow any story at all... Unlike the first which obviously followed the story from the books/films.

Thirdly - It just doesn't 'feel' like a good fun game anymore. EA tried to improve on an already fantastic game (as they have a habit of doing and usually failing). They should have just made expansion packs for the first game, so that users of the first game have the option to keep the old styles of playing, or including an option for turning on the new features like "build anywhere" which is just an annoying feature, as archers cannot go on walls etc (like they could on the castles in the first game... oh yeah and two factions don't even HAVE walls!

Some of the creatures or creations in this game are also a little farfetched, for example most of the goblin units... The naval battles that EA also rave about are about as exciting as watching a fly around a light bulb.

I'm not saying the first one was perfect... But this one is just not a patch on the first!! When will EA learn to not create sequels to already good games?!

this game rules, 07 Aug 2008
this game is very good especially if you like lord of the rings because it is parts of the films that have been edited that you wouldnt have seen before. the graphics are excellent and you can play as a variety of armys and heroes.

What a Shame, 27 Jan 2008
Well, looked forward to playing this game but alas it will not run on my computer for no apparant reason! I've updated to the latest patch 1.05, and updated my graphics card drivers! I also made sure to end all unneccessary tasks on my pc, but still it wouldn't even load! An error with the game.dat file, and my pc is far beyond the specs needed for this game (this is the collectors edtion btw). My GPU is 8800GTS maybe its too new for the game to handle but this is very annyoing and a waste of money!

Great game...but!, 10 Jan 2008
I really love this game, i love to play it with my friends..but:

1. You should be able to change the heroes look a bit more! Like haircolour,skincolour and the clothes.

2. The evil teams sucks compares to human team! You can't win with evil, and that really, really bugs me. For example: The human team's got archers that can shoot a rain of arrows anywhere on the map, healing & when you create a hero they can have invulnerability a time - while the evil ones dont have anything like that!

3. Sauroman is a real big issue! In the movies/books (at least at the beginning)Sauroman is better than Gandalf, not in the game! He's the most expencive hero of Isengard, but he dies first!

4. I think that you should be able to use the custom-hero in the single-player game, that would be fun!


You gotta get this., 10 Nov 2008
You want my ohnast opinion? Its great! I neednt say anymore though. The fact that this game has 40 game of the year awards, is enough on its own to make you buy, which you should. If you love the action of a battle but also love taking your time figuring out how to overcome objectives then this is the one for you, and its 5 games! The problem, which i had and seems to be a big one, is the duplicate cd key error. My problem was solved fairly quick but i needed to provide proof (receipt, cd key, etc..). Also Steam is great, a handy program(once you get it up and running that is!) but dont be put off! The 20GB of used space will all be worth it once you get on to the games.

A Brilliant Boxset of Great Games, 18 Oct 2008
The Orange Box is one of the best deals out there for all Computer game lovers. Essentially you get the second chapter of one of the finest Computer game franchises out there along with its own first two Episodes. So thats Half Life 2, Half Life 2 Episode 1 and Half Life 2 Episode 2. Whilst the two episodes are short in playtime they are quite simply stunning. These coupled with the awesome Half Life 2 you are going to be glad you made the purchase. Added to these three gems are Portal which is a superb game and one of the most innovative puzzle games I have come across in ages. It is quite simply brilliant. The cherry on top comes in the guise of Team Fortress 2. There is little I can add to what already has been said about this game. It is stunning. Multiplayer has never been so much fun! So buy this and get involved. My final point is about Steam. Most of the negative reviews surround this. Steam is easy to use. And is far more user friendly then it was in its first inception and to be fair it wasn't bad even then. The truth is that if you have a dial up modem to connect to the internet you are probably best not buying this boxset until you upgrade. If you have broadband then buy this now and stop worrying. I have found Steam to actually be a useful tool rather than a hinderance. Ignore the prophets of doom and fear not. The Orange Box and all its glorious elements can be yours to play! This is PC gaming at its finest. Oh how we love you!!

Updated Review, 11 Oct 2008
Well after 4 days of cursing and swearing, I finally got everything installed. 4 days after that, my computer died a violent death.

Having installed it on Vista (SP2), and it installed perfectly, all I can say is WOW!!!!

I've just completed "Portal" and it is amazing.

And Half Life 2 is just amazing. Every so often I have to walk away. The atmosphere is just terrifying. Be warned. It's a 15, but I do wonder if it shouldn't be an 18 for atmosphere and some of the monsters.

I've only had it for a few weeks, and have not played Episodes 1 or 2, and I don't have network access, so Team Fortress is out, but I am so pleased with what I got. And all for £15 from Tesco.

Go get it..

(on a different note - does anyone know how to edit a review?)

For God's sake - just buy it!, 25 Sep 2008
I made the naive mistake of not buying this, thinking "Half-Life 2 might not be so great and I may not want the episode packs; Team Fortress 2 looks silly and Portal looks weird. I'll just buy HL2 and save money."

Well, two months on and I'm sorely regretting not buying this because I have since bought EVERY game individually, and regard each one as one of my all-time favourites.

Half-Life 2 (and particularly the episodes) are beyond explosive and it's very playable despite the age. I never once felt the game was 'dated', due in part to Steam still updating their older games - I was impressed to see HL2 making use of my 64-bit processor, which is more than many brand new games do. Oh, and Team Fortress 2 is the *only* multiplayer game most of you will ever need. It's as fun as it is addictive.

Do not knock Steam: as well as allowing you to play your games without inserting the DVD, Steam automatically patches and updates your games. It is an absolute lifesaver and I now buy all my games over it.

If you're a big online gamer and don't already have Counterstrike, and feel that TF2 may not be enough to satisfy you, consider buying the Source Premier Pack over Steam instead. It includes the Orange Box in the price, but throws in a bunch of Source games too.

A MUST BUY GAME, 23 Sep 2008
you get 3 games. team fortress 2 is a brillaint FPS game. the best i have played.
portal a first person puzzle game like nothing else i have played. very absorbing.
Half Life was O.K, not as good a previous games, but enjoyable.
brilliant value for money.

Fun, Simple. Addictive. The best game ever., 20 Jun 2008
Although this game is quite old, the enjoyment gained when one plays this game easily compares to modern day games like GTA. The graphics are simple but realistic and doesn't require a top class PC at all. The gameplay is very easy to learn and once you have played it for about a week, you will be hooked. I currently go to a high school and out of a 1000 pupils, over 100 play this game because it is so enjoyable. Even though we have access to more modern games, we still choose this because it is absolutely amazing.
FUN. SIMPLE. ADDICTIVE. = GREAT BUY

An honest Review, 11 Apr 2008
Source is the latest installment in the Counterstrike series following on from the not-so-popular 'Condition Zero' and the previous 'Counterstrike 1.6'.
If you are a fan of either of the latter mentioned games then stay away from this.
Followers of the Counterstrike series will be deeply disappointed with this game:
1. The gameplay has been ripped out, removed and not replaced with anything. You shuffle from place to place shooting guns that no longer require any control, precision or practice to master.
2. The hitboxes are awful. You can stand pointblank to someone and it doesn't connect sometimes, depending on the server you play. This is especially prevalent when people are running (if you can call the animation 'running').

You would do well to note that Valve have gone for good graphics over any sort of good gameplay. You can master this game within 2-3weeks of playing! I have played cs 1.6 since beta and have been to most of the top LAN tournaments around the world competing against other professional players. My credentials are valid.

In conclusion: If you are looking to purchase this, try a demo or something first to avoid disappointment. If you play 1.6 I very much doubt you will like it!

Ignore the reviews, this game is absolute rubbish., 20 Nov 2007
If you want to play Counter Strike, yes, COUNTER STRIKE, then play the original or it's Condition Zero counterpart.

This latest outing buy Valve is the biggest joke of the FPS world.

The original Counter Strike was a mod made by some University students for the Half Life engine, the game was so popular that Valve decided to embrace it and make it part of the product line.

The original was fast, hard and very rewarding.

Ofcourse all good things come to an end as we come to CS:Source.

The game has thrown out all the technique of the original, tactics from 10 years worth of play from professionals to everyday gamers.

The simple fact was the original was hard, you had to be a good gamer to play well, this ofcourse turned many a gamer away due to the simple fact people of the current age want the cake and eat it.

CS:Source is completely illogical, hold the trigger down and slam a headshot, what used to be a rewarding or something to aim for in the original, is now an every-kill subject.

The game is trolled by adolescent 12-15 year old teenagers, the whole game is awful, period.

The speed is awful, you get flashed behind brick walls, any technique or good gaming has gone.

I was an avid fan of the original, but this is just an overadvertised pathetic excuse for a serious FPS.

You want an Arcade game, get this, you want a serious shooter, grab the original.

ANY Lan Arena shall tell you the same, this is for kids, the others are not.

Ok, I admit it, nothing will ever beat counter strike., 05 Aug 2007
I think i may have been 13 or 14 when I was first introduced to Counter - Strike. Back then it was a free half life mod which my brother introduced me to. Now I am 20, and since then I have purchased several games consoles and many other computer games throughout the years, all in search of a game that would top CS. I own an Xbox 360 and a Nintendo Wii, and whilst games like Gears of War may be fun for a while, nothing, absolutely NOTHING will ever beat Counter Strike Source.

It is difficult to even begin to explain why Counter Strike is so great. I think because it is the ultimate test of your reflex and skill. Each map has its own quirks and all are brilliantly designed. Yes, you do the same thing over and over and over again, and not once, absolutely NEVER will this get boring. It is an incredible achievment, a genius human creation. I am so pleased that I live in a time where I got to experience Counter Strike, because I do not believe that any game will ever top it.

Excellent!!!! MUST BE BOUGHT, 15 May 2007
I do not personally own this game but I have played it with a friend a few times! I am about to buy this truly amazing game! It's a total ACE! I don't normally enjoy war games, but this is certainly a game you cannot ignor!

The graphics are life-like, by today's standards and I would recommend this game to anyone who likes to go on mindless killings - it's just that sort of game from what I gather. I think there is a story mode however I haven't seen this part of the game - only the multiplayer.

*Visit my profile - to contact me about my reviews!*

Best of the bunch, 11 Oct 2008
This game has only one flaw and that is the large machine gun totting SS man in the final chapters...but that aside it is well worth the money.

I have read all of the revues of this game and find some of them laughable. If it is too short try playing it on the hardest level...if it doesn't run on your machine check the spec required first.

I have played every MOH and Brothers in Arms and Call of Duty as they appear and this is by far the best...Call4 is a close second but this is top.

If you have to buy a game for pure pleasure go for this one...if you just want to complain try anything from CDV or better yet Bioshock.

Useless....., 10 Oct 2008

As I have read in other reviews, this game will not work in my DVD drive. I am packing quite a hefty PC, with all the latest drivers, and yet this game decides not to run. As I have mentioned, I am not alone in this. I have no idea why it won't run, the DVD drive just won't read it. Useless. It's going in the bin. I can't even be arsed to re-sell it. IF YOU BUY THIS GAME, YOU'RE TAKING A GAMBLE, NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOUR PC IS.

not bad WW2 FPS, 31 Aug 2008
A lot of people seem to not like this and, while I can understand their points, I found this okay if a little frustrating a times.

Basically you drop into the action taking a hard route or an easy one, then you go for your objectives via a variety of bad guys. Frustrations include a long time between checkpoint saves,the fact you have to keep parachuting in despite your checkpoint being on the ground, and the strange addition of hard to kill super-soldiers(?) near the end!

On the plus side the graphics are lovely and it can be intense fun at times. My XP machine was top spec two years ago but managed to cope well, (apart from some occasional freezing) and still enjoyed this. Yep it could have been better but it is still an acceptable shooter that will entertain you for a few hours.

Yet again EA expect you to buy a new computer, 03 Jul 2008
I'm sure this would be good game if I ever was able to play it. Why is it EA expect to change our computer everytime they bring out a new MOH so we can get it to work? I wont be buying this game in the future as I know it wont work as it is so hungry for graphics, processor etc.



dvd drive woes, 09 Jun 2008
I would love to give a complete review of MOHA but, as is the case with a colleague who also bought the game, I cant play it. The game won't load. I used the compatibility checker and was informed that my DVD drive was not supported!. To say I was dissapointed would be an under-statement. It would appear that in an attempt to prevent the game being copied it does not work with certain DVD drives.My drive is only a DVD ROM so I could not copy it even if I wanted to. I have never had this problem before and there is no warning on the case stating that you need a particular make of drive to play the game. Looks good but I will never find out so one star, only because I cant give it no stars.

An Actual Review, 11 Nov 2008
*DRM will not factor in my assessment of this game. For the record - I don't approve of the system, but I feel that the game is worth buying anyway.*

This is an action adventure game in the style of System Shock 2 and, more recently, Bioshock. In other words: it's an atmospheric adventure with a linear plot, a lot of shooting and some very light RPG character progression elements, which I will expand on later.

Premise:

The game's premise is hackneyed. You are a simple mechanic travelling on a support ship to investigate a huge mining ship that has ceased communications mysteriously. Sounds familiar? It is. In many ways this game is a tribute to the entire "In space, no one can hear you scream" subgenre - it borrows heavily storywise and thematically from films such as the Alien series, and Event Horizon. A sense of isolation and hopelessness is present throughout.

Plotting and structure:

As I mentioned, the plot is linear and tight. The pacing is carefully measured and the level design is well considered, with each area presenting a decent variety of different challenges and puzzles. The objectives you have to achieve are feasible in the contexts they are presented in, though occasionally it is obvious that the developers have added find and fetch goals that do little for the game but fill in time. There are numerous scripted events in the tradition of the games and films it was influenced by - creatures casting shadows round corners, crew members of the ship dying in various horrible ways, and environmental events such as explosions and fires.

Information about the situation on the ship is gradually revealed via video, text, and audio logs that crew members have conveniently left behind for you to pick up. This is a very "gamey" concept in that it is unrealistic, but still manages to increase immersion and feeling within the game. If you have played Bioshock or System Shock 2, you will probably recall the chilling audiologs you could activate, Dead Space uses them in much the same way, though it also includes videologs.

Gameplay and controls:

The game is controlled from an over the shoulder 3rd person perspective where your character's body takes up much of the screen, restricting your field of view. I have a feeling that this was a conscious design decision, as it makes for some very claustrophobic scenes.

I played the game with mouse and keyboard, though I understand that it is possible to play the game with a gamepad as well.

The mouse response is most sluggish than one might e