Dead Space 3

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This is the best looking Dead Space yet. I'm playing the single-player campaign first. I'll update this review later once I get a chance to try the co-op campaign.

Dead Space has evolved. The original was the scariest game I've ever played. The second moved on to a larger environment, updated graphics, and gave us more Zero-G along with more outdoor space time, and the third installment gives us an even bigger environment, more Zero-G space time, and a planet to explore all to a full orchestral score.

Dead Space 3 is bigger than the first two games combined. It has a new weapon crafting system and upgrading weapons is different than the past two titles in the series. A rover bot is added to the mix that is hand-held and used like a scanner to find resources. When the signal is strongest, just set it down and it goes searching. The bots are used to get resources that Isaac can't see or retrieve himself.

The single-player campaign is just that. There is no A. I. character that follows you around. I know this was a big concern for a lot of people. Co-op was added so we can play with a friend. There are more powerful enemies and better loot. It's really like a second game. Co-op offers additional things that you won't see in the single-player version.

The graphics are about the best there is for this generation. It runs native 1080 and everything looks amazing. Visceral did a great job putting detail into every little thing. I appreciate the fine details.

We have some new necromorphs that look awesome. They are no longer a mashed up looking clump of flesh like in past games. Some of these necromorphs are extremely fast so expect fairly frequent use of stasis. You'll recognize similarities between some of these necromorphs and some from past games.

A large part of the game is in outer space where you get plenty of air time to explore. There's a graveyard of space ships and space stations to explore with plenty of creepy moments reminiscent of Dead Space 1.

The ice planet looks awesome and the weather effects are nothing short of spectacular. Even outdoors, you'll get a lot of scares. Necromorphs pop up out of the snow or come from holes in the cliff's walls. They might even climb over the edge of the cliff to get at you.

There are many blueprints unlocked from the beginning, but you can't use them until you collect enough resources; that's where the rover bots come in. Start using them early. You have 2 weapon slots and most weapons use an over/under system ala Alt-Fire. I have a carbine with a shotgun attachment and a line gun with a force gun attachment. You can craft your own weapon from scratch with tons of choices. You can even add attachments that add shock or acid damage to your rounds, for example.

There is a story and it doesn't suck; it just doesn't make you care for the other characters so much. It tries to at times, but doesn't quite do it for me. The story for this game is one of self discovery. Rather than being character driven, it unfolds through your actions. The more text logs you read, audio logs you listen to, and the more you explore away from your waypoints, the more the story is revealed. You get certain parts of the story from the characters, usually through objectives. Isaac's mind has healed a lot since Dead Space 2. He still has episodes, but not near as frequently. He can decipher the marker's symbols to discover hidden messages now. Maybe since Visceral has mastered graphics and combat they will focus more on this issue for the next Dead Space title.

Combat is dead on, not much more to say about it. The combat is solid. I even liked scaling the icy mountainside while avoiding falling boulders and fighting necromorphs along the way.

I think this is by far the best game in the series. It's not constant stress and fear like the first Dead Space, but there is still plenty of it. Visceral did a good job of giving us some breathers between shots of intensity. A good series should evolve and not be exactly like its predecessors. Dead Space 3 does it well, while still keeping to its roots.

I have to recommend Dead Space 3. If you haven't played the previous two titles in the series (I highly recommend them) you will still have a lot of fun with this one. With side missions and some extra exploration you can easily pull 25-30 hours out of this game and that doesn't even count co-op. It has high replay value because of game+ mode, which allows you to keep your tricked out gear for another play through.

If you're not sure about a purchase, at least rent it, but try this game out. It's unique.

Oh, and one last thing--when you finish the game--let the credits roll to the end because this is one of those games that has a little something after the credits are over.

Update: Co-Op Review:

I spent some time on the co-op campaign. You can run through the entire campaign this way if you like, but there are only a few extra areas that you cannot explore in single-player. I was curious to see these additional areas and find out more about the story. I spent four hours in co-op and we got to Chapter 5. I got to see inside a space ship that was unavailable in single-player. I wish all areas were available in single-player.

It's fun playing with a friend and the new area that I explored was interesting. It seemed similar to the other ships that you get to explore in the game, but there are new artifacts, voice messages, and text messages that add to the storyline. Puzzles that you could do by yourself in single-player are now designed for two people. There are times when some puzzles can be solved with one person while the other defends the area from attacks. I played with my nephew and he seemed to get his kicks by not telling me when a necromorph was standing right behind me. There were also several occasions when some necromorphs ran right past me to go after him, but there were more that came for me anyway.

In co-op, necromorphs are more numerous. I understand that they are supposed to be harder to kill, but since I was playing game+ on normal difficulty they didn't seem any stronger to me. Perhaps if I started a new game from scratch then I would notice the increased strength of the enemies.

I recommend turning on the "player locate" and "player rescue" features. I may have misnamed those two things, but you'll see what I mean when you check the menu.

I still have two other co-op only areas to explore, but having had a taste, I can say that the game is fun in both modes, single-player and co-op.

Awakened (DLC)

Wow! I was not expecting this. Awakened picks up right where Dead Space 3 leaves off. Things take a bizarre twist as we make a major discovery regarding the origins and purpose of the necromorphs. The moon has crashed into the planet causing a catastrophic end-of-world scenario and you need to find a way out.

There are some new gruesome necromorphs to deal with and a cult of Unitologists who are severely twisted. They mutilate their bodies to make themselves look like necromorphs. It is a horrific sight. The origins of the necromorphs are stronger than ever and reaks havoc on Issac's mind. He has episodes and visions where the world he sees becomes veiled in red, almost like colored smoke enveloping the area, which seems to indicate that different dimensions in time and space are merging at that moment. Enemies appear from thin air. Issac's visions focus on the original source of the necromorph outbreak revealing a hefty story line. This is one mind-bending horror show.

The DLC is worth every bit of the ten dollar price tag. It doesn't take very long to complete. You can easily run through this in under three hours, but the additional story is monumental to the series. I can't wait to see what happens next with this franchise. And if you feel like it was missing something once you play through it, don't be quick to judge. It's better the second time through. You will notice things that you missed on the first run. I highly recommend Dead Space 3: Awakened.

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What was once wandering alone through tight corridors of a ship that went dark, is now filled with explosions and action scenes. This is like a big-budget summer blockbuster movie. Its huge, pretty, and fun. Now let me go into detail with what I find wrong with it...

Its easier. Ammo is now universal. Pick ups are now types of metals and gels.

I don't like the weapon crafting. Too many options complicates things. In the previous titles I would LOVE finding benches to upgrade my things. Now, I just don't care. So many options and menus, combine resources to do this, blah blah. I find myself skipping benches very often. The game is easy enough to skip them too. I miss the stores. I thought they worked so well.

Lights, camera, action! After playing the first 4 chapters, I returned to Dead Space 1 for comparison for a friend. The difference couldn't be more obvious. It's just not the same game.

Ellie somehow got her eye back? Whatever. None of the characters are interesting enough to care about anyway. Not even Issac anymore. In the first two games he was battling with his (in)sanity. In dead space 3, he is just boring. I don't even know what or why he is doing what he is doing half the time. It was actually a little hard to play because I would get bored so quickly, with the story. Killing necromorphs is as fun as ever!

Suspense is sparse. Like I said, no more wandering alone through dark corridors. This time you are on a wide open big bright white planet. So scary. Humans play a bigger part as villains. Ducking and shooting at people? What?

My friend called it call of duty. He said he could play this no problem, he would be great at it, but DS1, not so much.

A love triangle... in Dead Space..

Sure, its Dead Space at its backbone, but like the bionic man it has parts from other places (COD, Gears of War, Borderlands, Lost planet). Bigger is not better. Quit trying to be like everyone else.

EA is terrible. They just want money. Microtransations (1$-5$) help you upgrade quicker. Remember free cheat codes in any game? Soon to be history. There's maybe five to ten pieces of day one DLC all at about 5 dollars each, obviously already on the disc. You just have to pay to unlock it.

Dead Space 3 is made for a wider audience. Casual gamers will buy this. Its understandable though. They sold out a little. They lured in the mainstream audience and now they're charging for extra stuff that should be free.

It's all about the money.

P.S. Upgrading weapons is more fun in new game+

Verdict: Core fans such as myself will be alienated. Casual gamers will love it. All in all it is a fun, good game. I just suggest renting it or finding it used. An open mind is needed.

EA is Dead Space's biggest problem.

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Most of people rating this game low is because people don't like changes. People get used to stuff most of the time and they don't understand that changes in every aspect of life is what makes it interesting. YES, it is not the same Dead Space you are used to, YES there has been changes and YES it feels different. But it is important to mention that some of the aspects that made this franchise big, still in DS3. You are going to find yourself walking around the game (not running) scared of what you are going to encounter around the corner. This game plays with your brain the same way the other 2 games did. You play 2 or 3 minutes without any action (your brain thinks everything is all good), minding your own business and all of the sudden, you find your self pressing buttons, holding the controller like your life depended on it (literally), your brains flips out and changes to survival mode from one second to the other. THAT is what makes DS lovely... and that is still in the game. On the other hand, co-op was added to the game and that sensation i just mentioned is lost, since you play with a partner and you feel more secured. The story in the game changed as well... WHY?? because developers wanted to explain many of the things that happened on the other 2 games, so the MYSTERY is lost. Which in my opinion, should not affect your experience at all. The addition of co-op is not the developers fault, BUT YOUR FAULT. Thanks to the COD phenomenon and other shooters, instigating and forcing developers to add multiplayer to everything, now it has transcended to DS and other games, which NEVER depended on multiplayer to be excellent games. But, business is business, since multiplayer sells nowadays, why not have it on other games. Again, I blame it all on COD fanboys.

Anyway, BUY THE GAME... who cares about reviews, who cares about others opinions. BE A MAN/WOMAN and play the game and judge it on your own, your voice and opinion counts and if you are a FAN of the DS universe, you know you won't be disappointed, 'cause you know what DS is about and trust me, they kept the ESSENCE of what made this franchise, better than Resident Evil and destroyed Silent Hill.

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I remember when Dead Space 2 was first announced, Visceral was completely open about the fact that it was going to have "a little more action than Dead Space 1 had, some set pieces to counter balance the constant dread." A big chunk of the fanbase immediately lost their collective s*** over this and decided that they had ruined the franchise, DS2 would be all action, no horror, blah blah blah. It was a ridiculous overreaction. I myself took a wait-and-see approach. About a year later Dead Space 2 was released, and all in all I thought it was very close to the first game. Yes, it did have more action. But not much. Just enough to add some flavor. I still thought it was about as close as we're going to get to "classic survival horror" in the post-RE4 era.

The lead up to Dead Space 3 has been pretty similar. It was a long time ago that Visceral broke the news that the third entry in the series was going to have a new crouch/cover move, a dodge-roll move, human enemies that shoot at you, a co-op campaign. Again they were very open and honest that they were doing all of this in the hopes of attracting more fans. i.e. catering to the lowest common denominator. Cue angry fanmob weilding torches and pitchforks, rending their own garments and weeping tears of blood. Though I admit, even I myself was not happy when I heard all of that stuff. But I loved Dead Space 1 and 2 so much, I was so impressed by what the development team was capable of, that I continued to have faith. I never got as hyped up and excited as I waited for Dead Space 3 to come out as I had for the previous two games, but I never lost the hope that when the game did finally come out, I'd buy it on day 1, I'd play it, and I'd come to find out that there was really nothing to worry about.

Well, I'm very happy to say today: that's basically what happened.

For the most part, it feels like classic Dead Space to me. The new additions to the formula, the "shooter" stuff... The only occasions the cover mechanics are useful at all are when you're faced with human gun wielding enemies... and these guys appear so rarely in the game that it's a complete non-issue. The dodge-roll move... the only time I can recall actually relying on it was during one single boss fight. Other than that, it might as well have not been there. Most of the time I just felt like I was playing good ol' Dead Space. Making my way through grim environments, fighting off necromorphs, repairing systems (i.e. solving puzzles, and may I say a few pretty cool ones in the classic survival horror style) grabbing loot from containers and corpses. All at a very deliberate pace.

One thing I was not enthralled with and never really warmed up to is the new weapon systemcrafting weapons from spare parts. I dabbled with this mostly in the demo, and it seemed like every weapon I made was a piece of crap compared to the weapons I already had in my inventory. So I pretty much ignored this aspect in the full game. I'm sure this has a lot to do with why this game felt so much like classic Dead Space to meI relied on the trusty ol' Plasma Cutter 90% of the time, once in a while I'd try another weapon for the sheer hell of it, but would soon go back to using the cutter. This game didn't feel like Gears of War to me because I chose not to play it that way, blowing everything away with a rocket launcher duct taped to a machine gun. Hmmm... maybe I'll try that in New Game+.

The worst I can say about this game is that I did seem to notice a subtle drop in overall quality. There were occasions were I thought I was back-tracking through an area I'd already explored, and then I'd realize "Oh, wait... this is actually a whole new area." DS 1 and 2 had their fair share of revisiting previously explored areas, but in this game some areas are literally copy/pasted. Generally speaking, there were other times when the overall look of things just seemed to lack the incredible attention to detail of past games. As an exampleApparently one of the team's new environment designers didn't get the memo that the little elevator holograph control panel in the previous two games wasn't just some generic abstract symbol meaning "press here," it's meant to be an *arrow* showing the direction the elevator will move in when you activate it. I could only shake my head every time I'd get in an elevator and it would go in the opposite direction the arrow was indicating.

All in all, I have to say that while this may technically be the "worst" of the Dead Space trilogy, it's still a damn good game and well worth playing if you're into the series. Ignore the whiners who blubber about it being turned into an action shooter, because you can ignore those aspects of the game, and it will feel just like classic Dead Space.

Want Dead Space 3 Discount?

I was very surprised as soon as I started playing, in both a positive and negative sense.

Looking at it from an overall game perspective, dropping the element of it being a sequel, it is a fun game. The Co-op and weapon crafting are two wonderful concepts. But I find it annoying that have to spend $120 to do this, as you can only play Co-op online. The weapon crafting is great because you never feel limited to one gun, you can mix elements of electricity, plasma cutters, and fire into one weapon. Lots of action, some puzzles, and creative use of outer-space, although in an inconsistent manner. All in all, it felt like a new product created by someone who was a fan of Dead Planet, Dead Space, Call of Duty, and Gears of Wars, and wanted to fuse them together.

As a Dead Space game, it is a completely different story. I was always told in storytelling, that if every moment is a big moment then none of it is. Throughout the game you feel drowned in enemies. Sure your heart rate goes up, but shortly becomes the norm as enemies pile on in large numbers over and over. I would become so furious with the constant flood of enemies that I was never given a real chance to be afraid. The open sequence is rather confusing, it is bright and colorful. A futuristic utopia, flying cars and bright buildings, but the story focuses on civilization being scarce on resources or perhaps I missed something. Isaac becomes a very take charge leader, pulls out one-liners here and there, and feels almost in no way identical to his presence in Dead Space 1. Some new changes make the game feel entirely too easy. The bots, online purchases, glitches, and the hordes of enemies seem to be as strong as say 2 or 3 enemies in previous titles. I will say I was very visually pleased with the deep space elements and events. The body temp gauge gave a new element to work through. New bosses and monsters were given a lot of focus in their design, while previous ones seemed like they were watered down. The whole concept of Dead Space was really thrown away to fit the style of Gears or CoD. I am still a huge fan of the series, but I don't think I will be pre-ordering Dead Space 4.