The original Dead Space made Capcom’s Resident Evil series look like a children’s birthday part. It “did” survival horror better than any other title before it, ramping up the tension to almost unbearable levels and making you feel helpless and vulnerable at all times. In short, it was an assault on the senses, and a classic debut.
We’re now up to Dead Space 3, and almost inevitably, the franchise has been forced to succumb to market trends in order to maintain its commercial appeal. Is this latest instalment a step too far, or does it retain the pants-wetting horror of the first release? Grab your plasma cutter, because we’re about to find out.
The good
Dead Space 3 is clearly a blockbuster video game – the gorgeous visuals and high production values suggest as much. From crumbling, derelict space ships to the snow-covered terrain of Tau Volantis, everything looks amazing – and suitably scary, too. This definitely feels like a step up from Dead Space 2 in terms of pure graphics.
Action fans will also be pleased to note that there’s a lot more gunplay on offer this time around. Protagonist Isaac Clarke has access to a stunning range of weapons, and can even craft his own using parts he finds around each level. This customization aspect is one of the biggest draws in Dead Space 3; you can come up with all kinds of cool designs, and even purchase additional parts using microtransactions.
Another big bonus this time around is the ability to experience the entire single-player campaign with a partner, thanks to the inclusion of co-op play. While this has the effect of lessening the horror – with someone at your side, you feel braver and less prone to jumps – it adds a dimension to the game that wasn’t there previously. It also opens up the gun battles later in the game, allowing you to tactically pick apart hordes of enemies with your buddy.
The bad
Dead Space 3’s main problem is that the shift to gung-ho action has come at the expense of the creeping horror that made the previous titles so compelling. The ability to tool yourself up with an arsenal of insanely powerful weapons robs the game of that all-important tension – in the first Dead Space, you were attacking enemies with anything that came to hand and constantly worrying about your ammo reserves; in this third outing, it feels as if you’ve got the resources of an entire intergalactic army at your disposal.
The microtransaction element – while unique – also leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Although it’s perfectly possible to play through the game without having to buy anything, such a feature has no right being in a game you’ve already paid £40 for. Hopefully the negative reaction to this move will dissuade EA – and other companies – from pulling the same trick again in the future, but we have a feeling that might be wishful thinking.
The bottom line
Dead Space 3 is a fine action game, but it’s not quite as convincing as a survival horror experience. That makes it a difficult title to recommend; if you adored the edge-of-your-seat experience of the original then you’ll be disappointed to see so little of it has made it into this latest instalment, and even though there’s more blasting to do here, Dead Space 3 isn’t action-packed enough to satisfy the demands of Gears of War addicts. It’s not a disaster by any means, but Dead Space 3 feels like a compromise – and that’s a real shame when you consider how brilliantly gripping its forerunners were. Ironically, the series has fallen foul of the very same problem Resident Evil has – it doesn’t know what type of game it wants to be, and that’s a shame.
