Dead Space Comments by Dan Whitehead

Dan Whitehead, what is up with your reviews?

dead space so far plays like a somewhat ham-handed hybrid between system shock 2, doom 3 and alone in the dark (the original, i haven't played the new thing yet). the comparison to system shock is obvious but it also has the doom 3 scripted enemies who break out of ventilation shafts etc when you cross a certain trigger area of the map or after you've achieved something more or less important. imho the introduction of the abominations that haunt the abandoned ship is way too soon and there's almost no build-up of tension and menace. even doom 3, a rather lackluster -but still quite good- game, did better in this regard. the audio logs are a compulsory exercise of the genre and not particular remarkable in this particular game. it was heralded as innovative title, mainly for the fact that you can shoot monsters into pieces, but that gets old quick and what remains is an okay survival horror game, so full of clichés that you don't know if it's a homage or a parody. sadly, it takes itself dead serious and exercises one standard after another.

it's still a fun experience, especially if you don't know any of the spiritual predecessors, and certainly one of the better games of the year but the controls of the pc version single-handedly bring it down a whole point on the scale. srsly, wtf? on the other hand it's bug free and runs on the highest setting even on my lower middle class graphic card.

why did it receive such high scores on other sites? i applaud dan whitehead for ignoring the hype and delivering a fair and balanced review. again it turns out that it doesn't depend on a particular site or magazine but on individual reviewers when looking for advice on choosing the next game. everyone has an opinion and it's understood that reviews are just opinions in the end, but a good reviewer -who does this for a living btw- should be able to consistently bring some objectivity to the table. if it's a good and clever read to boot, all the better.

edit: just a typo

well i m playing it on hard for my first playthrough(it is very easy on normal having ended the first chapter without dying even one time so i started it on hard) and im on chapter 6.its easilly the right dificullty for the first playthrough.i agree with dan for the score.but im really a big fan of resi4 so im having a blast with this game.i hope resi 5 copy the control scheme from this game.i mean strafing and moving while shooting beasts really works.this game proved it to me.basically if you are a big resi fan like me you are gonna like this game.thats all!

Mr Tulip, I dont see the "objectivity" in the review that you see, sorry. Since when is Dead Space the "hyped game" versus the blockbusters Fallout 3, Far Cry 2 and Fable 2? Your logic there doesnt make any sense to me so please explain. Also I'm not sure your comparison to Doom3 holds water. That was a tired and terribly repetitive game that was indeed over-hyped. The enemy AI is Dead Space is interesting and unpredictable, which is more than I can say about Doom 3. So Tulip, I gotta ask, how long did you play Dead Space exactly and truthfully? 2 hours max? Yea, i thought so.

Now if EG had given Fable a 7, and said the one-button too easy combat ruins the game, now THAT would have been interesting and insightful review.

Let's just put it simple; If a guy like me had written the Dead Space review it would've recieved a solid 9/10 based on the unmatched production value, it's great game-mechanics, solid gameplay, and in my opinion, entertaining story (no, I didn't say complex story...). Now, unfortunately for EA this time, they got the less enthusiastic reviewer at EG (no, I didn't say wrong reviewer). I love EG and usually use you guys as a reference for all my games, but I would've liked to see a second opinion of some sort by other journalists here at EG, as this in many cases will demonstrate that there's obvious subjective differences among your reviewers as well. This might give a more realistic general impression of the game.
This is by all means not a flaming post directed at Dan, as I think he does a great job, and I do not doubt the fact that this is a 7/10 for him personally. Only for a long time gamer as well as a sci-fi and horror fan like me, this is very close to perfection.

Score: 9/10

This is why I love Eurogamer. It understands the true gamer ethos and reviews accordingly. Perect score, perfect reasoning. Bravo. Everytime I see you give a 7 and Gamespot give a 9 I know you are rocking on to the right beat.

Bahadur, if you actually played the game you would know how completely off EG's review is in this instance. For me, Dan Whitehead's reviews are not useful. He clearly likes games different than those I like, which is fine, but I think he missed this review by miles, which is _not_ good if his goal is to be a professional reviewer....

Don't usually comment but this game is far better than the review makes out. For anyone on the fence certainly rent it at least.

Game of the year? Probably not. Most fun I've had in a game this year? Probably.

Think Edge got the review nailed on but then again they usually do...

I think that is a very good game . I was impressed and I think that has happened so afraid Dan Whitehead with this game as a traumatized and that is why he has a 7.
Wonderful game.
Score: 9.5/10

This game is excellent, it takes the best from Resident Evil 4 & Bioshock and mixes it with the atmosphere of Aliens, definitely my best gaming surprise this year!

this game is great with some good death-metal.

I have just completed this game and am now on my second playthrough. This game is easily as enjoyable, entertaining and as brilliant as Fable2, Fallout 3 or GOW2. 7/10 is just BS. Maybe the mud has stuck on EA and no matter what they do they wont get credit for it.

From the review: "...remains fun even after eleven hours of gameplay (the time on the clock at the end of my first run, by the way)".

I actually find this very impressive. If anything, it supports what I read somewhere that reviewers are forced to rush through games as fast as they can to make it with the reviews on time.

My first playthrough was just under 22 hours, on normal. Playing a second time on Impossible I managed to get a little over 18 hours. Not rushing it by any means, but not dilly-dallying either. These are "on the clock" times, not real playtime. Impossible forced me to do a lot of... repetition. ;-)

The "go there, fix that" story progression does seem artificial and is annoying, but nevertheless the game is a solid 8 for me. I'm now playing for the 3rd time to get the remaining trophies (2nd round on normal, it's so easy!) and I'm still not bored.

i absolutely loved this game. There is only one way to play this game, pitch dark, sound up to the max, and dont use the run button. This is obviously not how the reviewer played this game. The best scares I've had with a game since project zero

Hah, this only got 7/10? It was my favourite game of 2008. Such high production values and polish, and actually brings some new interesting ideas of its own (vacuum/space section sounds muting, projected interface etc). Great fun!

What a crap review. This game is easily a 9/10. The most visceral experience on the 360, no doubt.