Way back in 2008 EA took us back to what made us love films like Alien by bringing us Dead Space. The bone crushing atmosphere, well written story and excellent audio/visual standards made Dead Space one of the best titles of 2008, period. So 5 years later, 2 tie in games, 1 sequel and 2 animated films later the epic finale to the Dead Space saga is finally here. But does Dead Space 3 live up to its name of being the best new franchise this generation?
Dead Space 3 takes place just two months after the events of Dead Space 2. Isaac and Ellie have had a brief relationship but have parted ways and now Isaac is in hiding from the people who are hunting him. He is contacted by Robert Norton and John Carver, some of the only remaining EarthGov employees after the Church of Unitology has attacked and overthrown the organisation.
When leader of the Church Jacob Danik finds Isaac and begins to hunt him down he activates another Red Marker causing another Necromorph outbreak. Isaac, Norton and Carver escape the outbreak and go in search of a missing Ellie. They trace her signal back to the ice planet Tau Volantis, they find her and her crew but attempt to land on the planet due to a fabled way to destroy the markers and stop Convergence once and for all, however when they crash land and are followed by Danik it becomes a race against time to put this ancient plan into action.
Dead Space 3's story is the biggest yet and it delivers. Epic action sequences, drama, actual emotional weight...Dead Space 3 has it all. However what the game does with telling an excellent story it fails in character development. All the character building that has been done for Isaac in the previous two Dead Space games seems to have been for nothing, he has changed, but its never explained as to why. Ellie has turned into bitchzilla over the course of two months however she becomes bearable again around three quarters of the way in. Carver is the blandest character on the face of the planet with no backstory explained as to who he is or what he has done to make him such a 'dark' character. As for the supporting cast the only one I actually liked was Danik and even he isn’t developed, but he sticks to the 'bad guy' stereotype and has an excellent British accent.
It is saddening that the characters are developed as it would give the game so much more gravity. I did feel that the game could have followed suit of many book-film traditions of having a two part film for the final book. Have a Dead Space 3 part 1 & part 2 as there are two distinct sections to the game; pre-Volantis and when you are on the planet itself, the pace shifts and feels like a new game due to the spaceship crash scene; Part 1 could have been to establish characters and get a long introduction to the game then part 2 would play out very similar to how it does anyway, the fact that EA missed out on this opportunity to make even more money shocks me too.
The game plays much like the previous two main Dead Space titles. However some very big changes have been made in certain areas, and not all of them are good changes. The most notable change is the Weapon Bench. In the previous games the Bench was used to upgrade weapons by using Power Nodes on a skill tree to better damage, reload speed or clip size. In Dead Space 3 Power Nodes are gone, and so is the skill tree; instead you must collect engineering items such as scrap metal and semi-conductors to craft appendages to weapons or craft the weapons themselves. This means that the weapon will only be as strong as the resources you can scavenge making combat tedious, slow and not enjoyable. My Plasma Cutter at the end of the game had +4 damage, +2 reload speed and +6 fire rate yet a standard necromorph would still take 2 entire clips to kill. The shops and Credits currency system are also gone, in place you must use the crafting resources to make Med-Kits and the such, this means you have to manage resources of which are limited as they are. My first playthrough was on Easy difficulty was at times near impossible due to the fact that my weapons weren’t strong enough to kill bog standard necromorphs and I didn’t have any health kits to heal damage from stronger enemies. Suits have also changed, instead of having progressively better suits as the game goes on you have suits that adapt to the conditions the game will put you in such as snow suits & archaeology suits, they all share exactly the same stats but just allow you to progress through the section meaning you cant have a suit you like for too long. You can still upgrade your health, air, stasis and kenisis however this is also upgraded using the resources used in weapons and item crafting making the resources even scarcer than previously thought. This is one of the worst decisions I have ever seen implemented into a series that worked perfectly previous to this, why change what was so popular in the past two games into something that makes the game tedious, frustrating and hard to play, especially for newcomers.
The final complaint I have regarding gameplay is that they have brought back the much demanded boss battles that Dead Space 2 was missing, however its just 3 bosses, one of which that fight 3 times. It is incredibly tedious and unnecessary in every singe way. The final boss, is satisfying to fight and one of the series highlights however which almost makes up for the spider-like one you have to fight what seems like every couple of hours once you land on Tau Volantis.
Moving on from the negative, Dead Space 3 has some of the best puzzles in the franchise. Most are repeated in the game however you don’t mind because they are well designed and enjoyable. Some are frustrating, such as when you have to reassemble a cross sectioned corpse but once you figure it out you cant help but feel accomplishment afterwards.
Dead Space 3's visuals are in tradition with the series standards, among the best graphics this console generation and keeping a smooth, high frame rate even when the screen is absolutely full from edge to edge with enemies, set pieces and the gorgeous environment. I was simply astounded that the frame rate never noticeably dropped during some sequences in this game due to the scale of what you were being shown and the complexity of it too. Though the graphical standard hasn’t changed much since Dead Space 2 there is no complaining because it is still one of the best looking games around.
The sound is just as good as it has been in the series so far too, eerie noises in abandoned sections of buildings, the harsh snowy winds are deafening and voice acting is top notch. If you can play with headphones I recommend it, especially in the latter sections of the game where the superb soundtrack, enemies and chaos that is happening around you all bled together to create a treat for your ears so unlike anything else I have ever heard.
This review details the singleplayer only, the co-op mode review will come in time but its just a matter of finding someone to play it with. The game will last you a good 8 hours minimum if you do a sprint, but with newly introduced side missions, collectibles and just general exploration of the environments easily push Dead Space 3 over the 10 hour mark making it the longest entry in the series by over 4 hours, that’s a lot of game for your money in comparison to titles such as Resident Evil 6.
As of writing I am undecided on Dead Space 3, in terms of storytelling, audio/visual design and value for money it is easily the best entry in the series and good contender for GOTY already, however due to the removal of what was a near perfect customisation, store and combat system and replacing it with a broken, horrible to use and just plain awkward new set up means that Dead Space 3 is also the worst entry in the series. So, I am letting one factor decide the outcome my view on the game, the ending. The ending, without spoiling it, closes off all lose ends and leaves nothing unanswered, something of a rarity in games today. All the surviving characters are likeable and you wish them well in their future lives. The absolutely monumental final boss fight will go down in history as perhaps the largest creature you have ever had to fight in gaming...ever and the after credits sequence is purely jaw dropping.
So after an absolutely amazing 5 year thrill ride consisting of 3 main titles, 2 spin-offs and 2 films all of which are spectacular in their own right I can well and truly say that Dead Space 3 is the best entry in the franchise and a game that every 3rd person shooter/horror/action-adventure fan should play. Dead Space 3 is absolutely amazing and if you try to move past the poor decisions made you will have an absolute blast.
Dead Space 3: 9/10
+Great story
+Amazing audio/visual standard
+The Ending
-The new stuff
