Dead Space 3 Reviews

Dead Space 3 is the long awaited conclusion of the franchise we have come to know and love. We've seen Isaac, our hero for the newcomers, come far since his initial journey a few years ago, with the games taking a slightly different approach on what horror is with every new release. Now, in 2013, we finally get to play the third game.



History
As a horrorfanatic since my early ages I was thrilled to get my hands on this game. Sure, I figured it wouldn't be nearly as scary as the original debut title, but the combination of action/horror the second game gave us made me hungry for more. Sure, Dead Space 2 wasn't completely a horror game, but it had so much more than the original, namely a better storyline, more intense action sequences (anyone remember the first time you get shot out of the Solar Array station? Awesome!) and felt more like a full horror experience in general.

So here we are with 3, which could have taken two directions: follow in the footsteps of the first game and make us piss our pants, or line up with the second game, trying to give us the Hollywood-definition of horror. It's the second option that Visceral and EA chose for, but it isn't all that bad like many people claim it to be. Dead Space is back with a bang that won't let go of you for a long time.



Gameplay
Dead Space 3 is a third-person horror/action game and plays as one. For those who never played a Dead Space-game before; the controls are very similar to a modern Resident Evil (4 and 5), with the exception that you're allowed to move while aiming. You play Isaac Clarke, a man with arguably the worst past in history. He's seen the most horrible things, had to kill hundreds, if not thousands flesh hungry Necromorphs; a horrible parasitic creature that turns corpses and infected beings into horrific new morphs, hence the name. In Dead Space 3, Isaac is dragged into a war he doesn't want to be a part of, a war between the EarthGov and the Church of Unitology. The latter has gone berserk and will do anything to kill Clarke, no matter the price (read: suicide bombings).

This time, however, Isaac is joined by a battle hardened soldier: John Carver. He's seen his family slaughter by the leader of the Church and has survived the terrorist attacks so far. At first, the duo absolutely hate each other, but nothing's without reason. To find out what will happen to them, you'll need to play the game, which this time can be done in two-player co-op.

In Dead Space 3 your main objective is to survive, which can be done in several ways. You can choose to run away from enemies, but this will not always work. Then you'll be forced to fight, meaning you'll get to cut off all limbs of a Necromorph before they'll die. Yup; headshots will only make them more aggressive. Ammunition is limited, so players will need to scavenge whatever they can find, which is also where Dead Space 3 takes a new turn compared to its predecessors. Players will be able to craft weapons, supplies and ammo this time around. Anyone want an electrified Ripper with a rocket launcher as a secondary attachment? I do!



Graphics and Sound
Many gamers nowadays immediately look at the graphics of a new title, which brings us to the next point in this review: Graphics and sound.

Dead Space 3 doesn't look all that special, but still maintains the Dead Space-vibe the previous two games have. Everything looks depressing, dead and gory. The quality of the graphics themselves are nothing special, but they get the job done right. The engine the game runs on is showing its age; things such as texture pop-up among other minor graphical distractions might annoy graphics purists.

The sound, mainly the game's score, is as brilliant as it's ever been. The soundtrack is overwhelming and intimidating at the same time, mainly when certain unkillable enemies will chase you. It's simply amazing and will manage to put you on the edge of your seat.

The sound itself is also perfect for a game like this. Necromorphs make sounds that will send chills down your spine, dialog is emotional and genuine and certain vehicle and explosion sound effects are simply amazing. Crank up the volume, will you?!



Replayvalue and Achievements
Just as with the previous two titles, Dead Space 3 offers a nice amount of content for your buck. A single playthrough can take between 10-16 hours, depending on the amount of sidemissions you'll do. After completing the game, players will be presented with several New Game+ options, such as the infamous Hardcore mode, but also several new difficulty levels that will guarantee to spice up your Dead Space 3 experience.

The many collectibles and fun weapon crafting system will also drag players back into the action, especially us achievementhunters. Speaking of achievements; Dead Space 3 offers a nice list of rewards to brag about. Varying from completing several storymode related events, to doing ridiculous tasks such as not getting seen by certain enemies during a specific chapter and achievements that will make you play the game again with a co-op buddy; Dead Space 3 has a nice and varied list of achievements out there for you to achieve. However, it will take quite a few hours, skill, luck and patience, as the list is anything but easy.



Verdict
Visceral and EA have turned Dead Space into a well-done mix of horror and action since the second game, and have improved that experience with Dead Space 3. Everything here is spot on; from the graphics to the sound up to the weapon crafting system and the new sidemissions. It's all here and the addition of co-op allows players to experience the galatic terror with a friend. If you're looking for a game like the original: you won't find it here. What you will find is an excellent game with plenty of content, scares and great action sequences. A must-buy for fans of the series and fans of the genre.

The evolution of a series or the death of it?

With Dead space 3 Viceral games and Ea bring out the 6th game in the series (the good on rail shooter extraction, the godawfull ignition and thedecent mobile Ios game) and the end of what they called "the isacc clarke trilogy"
Dead space one was a survival horror game pursang, one in the old school section of the genre (started by capcoms sweet home, perfected by acclaims alone in the dark,named by capcoms Resident evil) Of small and corridors.
Dead space 2 on its own included a more actiony survival horror experiance (extraction was the first to really make the series a survival horror/action combo) something that did not please all the fans of the first game.
Now 2 years after dead space 2 we play dead space 3.

The story
The story of Dead space 3 is like most of the recent games not that original. But EA and viceral manage to present the story as treu master story tellers. where some parts actualy managed to throw me a wrong idea.
After Dead Space 2 Isaac clarke is sick of it all , and goes into hiding.
Sadly humanity has need of him as does his ex love Ellie.
As it turns out there is a home planet of the markers, that might hold they key to it all (as the prolugue and intro movie tells us) and Ellie has gone on this mission only to go dark, but not before telling earthgov (yes those bastards that put you through all that crap in Dead space 2) " if i go missing , get Isaac clarke"
And there is James Carver, he and another person of earthgov's last battalion in your appartment (wich isaac failed to pay the rent on if you listen to his answering machine)
The church of Unitoligy (those nutters who follow altman) have gone from religous nuisance to almost full blown terroristic portions, For they concider Earthgov's marker experiments as blasphemy, and do everything to " releas " the markers.
And where Isaac Clark is known as the " marker killer" means he also has to die.
What follows is a story line that has you go to derelict ships and the ice planet tau volantis, with a Team of people , to find out what the hell this secret is and if this secret can actualy help you.
The story is well paced , how ever the the travel to tau volantis is a long one, wich is not hat bad for it serves thepurpose of the story and its characters.
With a note worthy mention that the single players story and the co-op story are slightly diffrent from one and other , it is not a " just add a 2nd person to the Single player stroy" kind of deal.
There are even a couple of m ission you can only acces in Co-op (wich deals about carvers demons)

the gameplay
Dead space 3 has a perfect blend of action and survival horror, with a more "equal leveld" gameplay, was it possible to use your plasme cutter through out the entire game in the first two games, in Dead space 3 this "tool" is actually not that strong.
Enter gun crafting.
Through out the game you will find gun parts and with these you gan create an almost endless varriation of guns wich you can upgrade with chips and additions.
This is done amazing, and it is a lot of fun to see what diffrent "tool tips" have for effect on your weapons, Do you make a rocet launcher or do you make laser trip mines ? the dead space is the limit.
This crafting also marks the more action part of the game, you are able to create a weapon so strong you can shoot to kill rather easily (on the lower difficulties at least).
But the horros is still in dead space, and the game actually seems to invite you to " play survival horrory as you like" Yes you can shoot through it with a kick ass strong weapon or you can make 2 "weaker" weapons and try to survive, ITS UP TO YOU.
Are scary games not your thing ? but have a friend that does? You can team up and play this game in co-op.
"What Co-op in a horror game? thats not scary"
I beg to differ, especialy if you play the game on one of the higher difficulties (or the enscrutiating nearly undoable hard " true survival" mode) you need to work with your buddy (or random stranger ) to survive this game.
The inclusion of several "Optional" missions is a nice addition gto the gam.
A side from one annoying enemy (the Feeders, wich CAN be avoided if you do it right)
After you finish the game the new game + adds a nice way to complete the higher difficulties with better weapons, and if you manage to beat insanity (wich is nearly treu to its name) you get a nice 8bit homage to the game (have not yet seen it but want to ).
And even a "original" mode that is like the first game.
So there is enough replay value.
The only "bad and "annoying" part about the game is the total lack of save points and a seemingly broken "auto save" feature.

Verdict

The good
1:beter leveled gameplay
2:Co-op
3:great story telling
4:weapon crafting
5: multiple locations (space, derelict vessels, ice planet)
6:make the game as survival horror or action as you want.
7:optional missions.
8: easy mission select after completion
9:High replay value
10:PENG need i say more?

The bad
1:The feeders (this enemy is annoying and some how to strong for its own good)
2:The openingpart of the game misses the impact of the one of dead space 2.
3:sometimes feels a little "been there, done that, seen it"
4:the final boss, no matter how epic it is and how amazingly cool "the road" to it is , misses the feel of the boss of dead space 1.

The ugly
1: auto save troubles, (i lost my internet connection and sadly lost 2 hours of game time and 2 optional missions i had to redo)


I recomend this game to people who love the series, and wantr to play with a friend, to those who like action with their horror, to people who feel the urge to cut of limbs and to those who enjoy a good game.

Hello fellow gamers and Welcome to my Dead Space 3 Review.

Story
First off I don't want to give any story spoilers, but I will say that Dead Space 3 takes place after the events of Dead Space 2. Ellie Langford has gone missing while she was searching for more information on the planet Tau Volantis for data on the Markers. Even though Issac Clarke has given up on destroying markers and wanting to leave that part of his life in the past gone, he agrees to go help find Ellie. To make matters worse though the Unitologist are after Issac because he is the only one who carries the key on destroying Markers. This sets up the long and painful journey for Issac that is Dead Space 3.

Gameplay:
The gameplay controls very similar to Dead Space 2, it's a third person shooter with the camera being over the shoulder. Kinesis and Stasis and big factors in Dead Space. From slowing down a group of enemies from overwhelming you, to shooting of limbs and then throwing the back at the Nercomorphs for a little extra damage. There is many different ways you can go about tackling encounters. This makes Dead Spaces gameplay very diverse.

Graphics/Design:
Dead Space 3 takes us to some new places. Instead of being placed on a space ship through out the whole game about halfway through you discover the planet Tau Volantis which is a snowy planet that. The first half feels like your traditions Dead Space environments.
One of the bigger design changes that DS3 has is Co-Op. Anytime you can invite a friend in to tackle the Necromorphs together. Now I didn't play through in Co-Op
*Edit* After I put this review up I played some missions in Co-Op while they were fun yes, they still took away the Dead Space feel to me. Having a buddy by your side doesn't make anything more terrifying. Just gives the game more action.*
I wanted to enjoy Dead Space for what it was to me and that was a single player horror survival game. With not playing in Co-Op I feel actually the single player lacks quite a bit. You partner is not there unless it's in a cutscene. This is good thing since AI partners are never the best but seems odd when you are all by yourself then out of the blue in a cut scene there is your partner right beside you.
Acting like he has been there every step of the way and was doing so much to help you.
One of the biggest changes in Dead Space 3 is how you build weapons instead of just out right buying them. You recover resources and parts through out your journey that you then can go and use to at a work bench to create new weapons, upgrade your suit, make health packs, stasis packs, ammo, ect... EA did a real bitch move though adding micro-transactions to Dead Space 3. This is a full $60 game. Not a F2P game. Users if they so choose can buy resources with real money to put towards upgrades in the game. This feature I made sure I did not use. But it didn't make it any less tempting when I wasn't getting enough resources to build some of the cooler guns.
Graphics, Dead Space 3 looks beautiful. From the Space atmosphere to the snowy planet everything is very detailed and holds up to the creepy atmosphere that other Dead Space titles have established.

*EDIT*
Since some people thought all that I did was show my complaints, I have made a Pro/Con chart.

Pros:
-Beautiful Graphics
-Smooth Gameplay
-Sound Design
-New Environments
-Weapon Crafting is a neat feature in the game
-Travel system is another addition that I liked in the game, instead of always backtracking on foot.
-The addition of the Snow Planet setting is a nice change of scenery compared to the space stations in the past Dead Space games.
-Additional side objectives give the player more background information of the mysterious planet and the story behind the Markers.

Cons:
-Dead Space 3 loses it's horror aspect
-Feel of Isolation and Insanity is no longer present
-Few Boss Battles
-Some parts in the game seem to feel like they drag on a little to much
-Playing this game in Single Player leaves much to be missed in story content
-Co-op feels forced to get the full experience
-Tension in the game is missing
-Micro Transactions shouldn't exist.
-Some Side Missions cannot be accessed because you need to be in Co-op (Back to the Co-op feels forced)




Even though Dead Space 3 has a lot of cool new little features (and some not so cool) I feel it lacked in what the previous titles gave to the player..Horror..Insanity..Isolation... Dead Space was the last of the survival horror genres this generation had, and now it's gone. Replaced with action and filled with Co-Op and micro-transactions.
*EDIT*
As this is my personal opinion, Dead Space 3 did not leave me in "Awe" as the previous titles did. It didn't leave me wanting more. Don't get me wrong co-op is fun but for the right games. I feel co-op doesn't need to be in every single game and Dead Space was one of them. Because I feel Dead Space was predominantly a Single Player Survival Horror game to me. With all these things Dead space 3 was a mediocre game to me. Nothing Jaw dropping, Nothing to memorable,

RIP Dead Space. You will forever be missed...

3/5