Dead Space 3 was unleashed upon PS3, Xbox 360 and PC last month. It is another iteration -yes, the third, number recognition aficionados! Excelsior to you! Have a cracker and a patronising pat on the head- of Visceral Games’ disconcertingly scary, gory, blood leaking on the shagpile carpet in the rumpus room-y futuristic TPS franchise. This installment has been infused with an array of new ideas, so let’s see if it compares favourably with its much-vaunted predecessors.
Series stalwart Isaac Clarke reprises his protagonist role again. (This time, he has a craptacular beard, but that doesn’t have much influence on proceedings, so we shan’t mention it.) Three years after the harrowing events of Dead Space 2, two EarthGov soldiers encroach on Isaac’s apartment to coerce him into joining them on a venture to find the previous title’s co-star, Ellie Langford, who had vanished into the ether whilst investigating the origin of the series’ enigmatic Markers. From here, as is the wont of Dead Space, the whole affair descends into a farcical, convoluted action/disaster movie, much akin to that Romanian soap opera I once tried to comprehend.
There will also, I need scarcely add, be much shooting of Necromorphs. Those guys’ insatiable hunger for squelchy man-face has not abated at all.
The most pertinent change for Dead Space fanatics -do you have a tattoo of a plasma cutter proudly emblazoned on your gonads? Then I’m talking to you- is the setting. The frozen Sodom that is Tau Volantis, purportedly the Marker home world, is the franchise’s first foray onto the surface of a alien planet. As such, while these shenanigans are again rather linear, we are granted areas and scenery of a remarkable scope. A deft mix of cruising outside on the surface of the planet walking like you’ve evacuated your bowels involuntarily, like all dudes in heavy space suits/MC Hammer’s parachute pants tend to and tentative traversal of those familiar claustrophobic corridors varies the scenery wonderfully, and emphasizes that this is a new chapter in both the lore and the trilogy.
Dead Space 3 has also taken a notable turn to the bullet-flailing, bullet sundae with extra bullet sauce side (see also: Resident Evils 4, 5 and 6). While there’s little deference to the ‘survival horror’ notion as a result, the core combat is bolstered immeasurably by the upgraded bench system. As Isaac Clarke is an engineer, he now has the capacity to fashion his own weapons from materials you find (which are now the bulk of the pickups that vanquished foes drop). Flamethrowers, line guns, rippers and so forth remain, but can be combined as an upper and lower tool on the same weapon, to function as the primary and secondary fire respectively. You can augment your death-dealer further with elemental properties, such as acid bullets which will sap vitality. It’s a surprisingly deep system, and once you have accrued a large crop of parts it is hugely compelling to experiment with the range of effects you can achieve.
I’d venture that Dead Space 3 is the finest entry in the series. It is quite a feat to implement co-op play in an established IP of this calibre without detracting from the experience, but it has been achieved with aplomb here. Solo and dual campaigns are entirely separate, newcomer Sergeant Carver remains an unobtrusive NPC alongside Ellie and her team if you want him to. It is the longest campaign thus far, and the differing experiences offered by having a companion or dispensing with them bolsters replayability. Depending, too, upon your opinion of the weapon crafting, the temptation to experience it all again, with certain tools pertaining to the difficulty level you’ve selected, adds ample value to the package. In summation, I would conclude that Dead Space 3 is a sequel done right.
Source of images: cinemablend.
