Xbox 360 Critic Reviews

It's not perfect, and the art style can be irksome with its intentionally marred characters, but for five bucks (or for free), Dead Space: Ignition delivers a good backstory and a few pieces of entertaining puzzle gameplay.

There are right and wrong ways of offering downloadable goodies in preparation for an upcoming release and Ignition is the wrong way. The short side story doesn't bring anything of interest to the table. This should have just been a free motion comic series in the same way the first game had; we shouldn't be charged to play three types of mini-games over a dozen times.

Even for hardcore Dead Space fans (which we are), skipping Ignition will mean missing nothing of import to the Dead Space canon.

Overall, as I have mentioned, Dead Space Ignition is just a very poor attempt to generate hype for Dead Space 2. The art is bad, the mini games are not fun, and the experience is short unless you go back for more endings.

Essentially, you're paying five bucks for some story and unlockable content when you purchase Ignition. Whether that's a good deal to you or not is your decision, but for the majority of our readership demographic, it's probably worth it, hence the Buy It recommendation despite the low score.

Dead Space Ignition is a cool idea -- a prologue that bears fruit in the real game -- but it's just so poorly executed.

Dead Space Ignition is a great idea, an optional introduction to a top tier game available as downloadable content. Imagine the opportunities this kind of product could have offered. Instead this game is equal parts frustrating and boring.

As a free extra to the main game it would've been acceptable. As it is, an expensive entreè to what's to come, Dead Space Ignition feels like an unpolished add on. If you can't live without the unlockable extra weapon to be used in Dead Space 2, you might consider buying it. Otherwise, patiently wait for the big deal in January and save the money.

Filling the narrative gap between the two main chapters sounds original, but the game completely fails. Ignition is a faux pas in Dead Space universe, with annoying gameplay and horrible graphics: an experience you can easily and definitely avoid.

Dead Space Ignition is ugly to see and boring to play.