AdM1r4l Nelson's Dead Space Guide

General Strategy

Only Use "One Gun"
The plasma cutter is the most versatile weapon. It is accurate, has focused fire, and once fully upgraded it is powerful enough for any of the enemies. I recommend using only the plasma cutter on your first playthrough. Doing this will also get you the One Gun achievement on the first playthrough.

It's a good idea to carry only one gun and to use it exclusively. The plasma cutter and pulse rifle are the only guns worth consideration. This will ensure that you are able to fully upgrade it with power nodes, and it will also increase the probability that the ammo you find is for your favorite weapon. When you do find ammo for one of the other guns, sell it at the store and buy power nodes.

Buy a DLC Suit
If you don't mind spending $3 of real world cash, I recommend purchasing the Tank Suit from the Xbox Live Marketplace. Purchasing this downloadable content will make the best suit available for 0 credits at the in-game store. It is the most protective suit available in Dead Space (60% shields), and it also allows you to use the full inventory. Like Resident Evil, this game is very annoying with limited inventory slots. A few bucks is worth all of the frustration and inconvenience you will have with the standard suits.

Aim for Limbs
You will conserve ammo and kill enemies faster by blowing off their limbs. This is especially important for the big fat pregnant aliens. You don't want to have more enemies to deal with by letting them out of its belly. Don't forget to adjust the plasma cutter with the alternate fire button for the best chance at severing a limb.

Use Environmental Weapons
The red exploding tubes are your friend. Launch them at your enemies with kinesis whenever they are around. It will conserve ammo and they kill most enemies with a single explosion. The gravity tiles are also a great way to dispatch the aliens. Freeze them with statis while they are near a gravity disturbance, then push them into it for an instant kill. Be careful not to get too close yourself.

Use Stasis
Frozen enemies can be killed by just stomping them to death with your foot (alternate fire button). This is another way to save ammo. If you are near a statis recharge station, then freeze away as much as you like. There is also a statis cheat code that will instantly refill your gauge. However, if you want to enjoy the game, I would not use any of the cheat codes. I did my first playthrough on Hard without using any cheat codes.

Loot Every Room
Don't pass by any of the small rooms. These often contain power nodes, health and ammo.

Boss Strategy

Leviathan
At the end of Chapter 6, you will fight Leviathan. Once you know his pattern, he is very easy to beat. I beat it without taking any damage on Impossible difficulty.

When you first enter the zero G environment, use kinesis to grab all of the health packs and ammo that you can see. You can do this from the doorway without activating Leviathan. There will be many more that you can collect after the fight is over.

There are three stages to the Leviathan fight: 1) Tentacles, 2) Mouth, and 3) Tentacles & Mouth.

The tentacles only have one attack. A single tentacle will slam down and then sweep across the floor. If you stand directly in front of Leviathan, the tentacle will slam down to one of your sides. As soon as it slams down, perform a zero G jump to your right or left. You will not take any damage from the tentacle attack. Once all of the tentacles have been destroyed, you will enter the second stage.

There are two ways to defeat the mouth. You can kill it by shooting it many times, or you can catch its pods with kinesis and throw them back. If you don't mind using the ammo, just stand in one spot and fire repeatedly at the mouth when it opens. Your shots will destroy any pods it attempts to throw, and will kill the mouth. To conserve ammo, use the second method. Run and strafe to your left while the first four pods are fired. When the fifth and final pod is launched, grab it with kinesis and quickly launch it back into the mouth.

The third stage is just a combination of the first two stages. Zero G jump to dodge the tentacle, then deal with the mouth, and repeat.

Final Boss
The final boss is easy as well. Just run left and right to avoid being hit, then stop and fire your gun at it. Repeat until dead.

Achievement Guide

Most of the achievements are self explanatory. I will only cover the ones that require advice.

Maxed Out - Upgrade all weapons and equipment
You will need to beat the game about three times to unlock all of the achievements. After the first playthrough (Round 1), you will be able to create a new save game that starts you back at Chapter 1 with all of the items and upgrades that you collected in Round 1. It will also unlock Impossible difficulty. It is not possible to max out your equipment in Round 1. You will need to start with the new save game and play Round 2 until everything has been fully upgraded. I unlocked this achievement on Chapter 11 of Round 2.

Epic Tier 3 Engineer - Complete the game on the hardest difficulty setting
Once you have unlocked Impossible difficulty, you can start a new game and beat it on Impossible.

Crackshot - Achieve a perfect score in the Shooting Gallery
On Chapter 9 you will find a shooting gallery game. Just keep playing it until you achieve the full score on each level. An upgraded plasma cutter works great. Make sure the cutter is set to horizontal mode. Aim low at the targets because they are vulnerable at the bottom for longest period of time.


There's Always Peng - Find the Peng Treasure
In Chapter 11 you will return to the large shuttle bay from the end of Chapter 1 (where the ship exploded). Look between the two walkways for the treasure and use kinesis to grab it. It's worth a bit of money at the store.

Don't get cocky, kid - Survive the ADS Cannon with over 50% shield strength remaining
This is the hardest achievement in the game. You need to finish the asteroid shooting scene at the end of Chapter 4 with at least 50% shield strength left. There's no trick to this. You just need to do it. It took me about 10 tries.

Here are some tips:

Sit close to the screen.
Focus on one at a time. Aim, fire, aim, fire...
Shoot them when they are far away, especially at the beginning.
Shoot large ones by holding both triggers down briefly.
Don't be afraid to hold the trigger down to catch those tough ones that are about to hit you. Let your gun cool if you have time to.
Prioritize them based on speed, size and distance. A big fast one that is close is the highest priority, etc.
Even if one is about to hit you, swing over and hit it with a spaz shot.

Slugger - Kill the Slug Boss with more than 50% shield strength remaining
This is similar to Don't get cocky, kid. The highest priority target is any projectile moving towards you. The second highest priority target is a tentacle that is about to throw an object at you. The third highest priority target is a tentacle that is picking up an item from below. Shoot based on those priorities and you will get the achievement.