I finally beat the first one last night...and it really is a fantastic game. I was jaded and put off years ago due to being informed that it was supposed to be "survival horror" and it just plain wasn't. It does have foreboding atmosphere in spades, though. Honestly, Resident Evil 4 wasn't survival horror and it was a damn fine game, and Dead Space 1 is what RE5 should have been if Capcom decided to take it to space. Visceral uses such subtlety in their game design while large screaming things are right in your face, and it's brilliant. I wouldn't call it the best new IP of the generation, but I am excited as hell to get started on the second one now. Just...dying a lot, playing around with the store/bench like the "straaanger" guy from RE4, the game actually remembering that it's a game and playing to those strengths.