The importance of paying attention: Dead Space and Dark Void

So at first glance i expected these forthcoming original IP's to be very similar, a big disappointment when you're looking at original games to overshadow the glut of sequels common to the gaming world. I mean...come on; main characters enclosed in helmets with gloing, unnaturally oriented eye slits, emphasis on defying gravity and limited HUD, even the titles sound similar as all hell. But closer inspection showed to very different, and somewhat promising titles. 1up.com has some excellent previews on both games here (DV) and here (DS) but i'll give you a quick lowdown on what sets these games apart from one another:

Dark Void: You take on the role of a cargo pilot that has been sucked into the Bermuda Triangle into the titular Dark Void amidst a war going on against the inhabiting "Watchers." The game plays out like most cover-based shooters (think Gears of War) only vertically instead of horizontally, with new abilities gained through self-augmentation with Watcher technology. The latter raises some very Too Human like issues about how to maintain your humanity while simultaneously giving it away in favor of more power. The vertical combat seems like an interesting (if perhaps gimmicky) twist, allowing players to simply throw enemies over the side. Later on players even acquire the power of flight, changing the combat yet again. All in all a seemingly much faster paced more action oriented title than Dead Space.

Dead Space: Playing as an engineer sent to repair a mining vessel in deep space only to discover that an alien virus has overrun the ship and killed/mutated the majority of the crew and wrecked the ship, which is where the gravity-free gameplay portions come from. While the setup is very familiar, there is one key difference: you character, Isaac Clarke, is not a soldier in any way, he's an engineer. For those of you used to non-military personnel like Gordon Freeman (Half-Life) i'll explain: Isaac has no truly traditional weapons, you'll be fighting with mining and repair equipment rather than assault rifles and futuristic pulse weapons. This fact kicks up the adrenaline factor with enemies even more since the only way to kill them is through prompt, i mean PROMPT, dismemberment...think cult movie Re-Animator. Severed limbs can and will attack you if not dealt with accordingly. Being a survival-horror title, Dead Space should have a much more deliberate pace than Dark Void, except when it comes time to combat; the up-close, frantic fights with powerful, disgusting enemies may make Dark Void seem pedestrian by comparison.