Dead Space 3

The main protagonist of Dead Space 3 is Isaac Clarke, an engineer who survived the Ishimura incident, resultant torture by EarthGov for the Marker blueprints in his mind, a subsequent outbreak on the Titan-based space-station Sprawl, and mental illness triggered by the Markers.[16] The secondary protagonist is John Carver, an EarthGov soldier who survived a Necromorph outbreak that killed his family.[18] Other characters include Ellie Langford, a pilot and Isaac's ex-girlfriend; Robert Norton, an EarthGov officer and Ellie's new boyfriend; Jacob Danik, terrorist leader of a militant Unitologist group called the Circle;[19][20][21] and Marker researchers Jennifer Santos and Austin Buckell.[21]

Dead Space 3

When Wanat became director, he wanted to place more focus on story than had the earlier games. As the team suspected, it would be the final game in the series, and they decided to conclude the overall narrative.[22] Wanat said he "shoehorned in" a lot of story to close the series.[24] The cliffhanger ending of Awakened left the series open for a possible continuation.[29] The team had written a backstory for the Dead Space universe, and beginning with Dead Space 2 had started making a cohesive narrative involving these elements. Feedback from players wanting explanations for the Markers prompted a focus on their origins and the creation of the Necromorphs.[19] Speaking about the pacing, Wanat said he wanted to give players breathing space and to pace the horror elements.[39] Beaver was involved with the series from the beginning.[18] The story and script were a collaborative effort between Beaver, Wanat, and in-house writer Jay Turner.[40] Another writer on the project during 2011 was novellist Cherie Priest, who appreciated the experience but was uninterested in working again with Electronic Arts.[41]

Tim Turi of Game Informer and Arthur Gies of Polygon were positive about the game, saying the incorporation of action benefited the series without diluting its horror and aesthetic, and praising the co-op mode as an unobtrusive addition.[8][87] Shaun McInnis of GameSpot, while calling its story convoluted, praised its atmospheric presentation and gameplay additions.[2] Nathan Ditum of PC Gamer praised the game's tone and co-op elements, though he noted pacing issues due to its size and the disjointed nature of its chapters; he also said the game is a natural evolution of the series and still carries key elements of the Dead Space series.[92] Joystiq's Ludwig Kietzmann called Dead Space 3 "an exciting, shocking and mammoth adventure", praising its integration of action elements and co-op mode, and lauded its space sections as some of the best parts of the game.[89] Computer and Video Games's Matthew Pellett praised the mechanics, highlighting some early co-op sections and enemy designs for their use of horror but said several elements, including changes to ammunition and a lack of variety, were detrimental, and that the game "[wasn't] Dead Space anymore".[10]

Edge Magazine lauded Dead Space 3's immersion and outer-space section but said the campaign is too long and the storyline of saving humanity lets down the narrative.[85] Electronic Gaming Monthly's Ray Carsillo praised the presentation and storyline but said the mechanics are generic and noted a lack of horror compared with earlier games in the series. Carsillo also said the microtransactions are an unwelcome addition to the game.[9] IGN's Casey Lynch spoke negatively about the game's story and mission structure but said the gameplay in both single-player and co-op is enjoyable enough to allow players to overlook any problems.[88] Dan Whitehead writing for Eurogamer summed up the game as having many contradictory parts ranging from polished and well-designed to clumsy or unoriginal, calling it a game for newcomers rather than series fans.[86]

Ryan Stevens of GameTrailers enjoyed the co-op gameplay and noted the outer-space sections as a highlight but disliked the story and characters, and criticized the microtransactions.[3] Joel Gregory of PlayStation Official Magazine UK, while enjoying the gameplay, noted a loss of elements that make earlier Dead Space games stand out, and that the recycling of elements caused a loss of scariness.[90] Edwin Evans-Thirlwell writing for Official Xbox Magazine UK praised the crafting and co-op integration, but wrote negatively about the story and repetitive gameplay elements.[91] VideoGamer.com was less enthusiastic than other reviewers, faulting a lack of originality and faulting the quality of both action and horror elements.[93]

After boarding the USM Eudora, Isaac along with Norton, Carver, Rosen and Locke travel via shock space to reach Ellie's last point of contact located in the Tau Volantis system. Emerging into orbit around the planet, the crew find themselves surrounded by mines and the ship quickly sustains critical damage. They manage to escape via an emergency pod and dock with the derelict CMS Roanoke from which Ellie's S.O.S. signal is being detected. Isaac uses his engineering skills and combat experience to fight off Necromorphs and restore power and functionality to the ship. He eventually reunites with Ellie but discovers she has developed a relationship with Norton. Isaac then meets the researchers Santos and Buckell who are part of Ellie's Marker Ops team. Ellie reports that the Captain of the Roanoke wrote Marker inscriptions on the wall of her room that may provide further leads. After investigating, Isaac deciphers the writing and reveals that the Captain discovered a Machine that can control the Markers and was obsessed with the command to "turn it off." Ellie concludes that Tau Volantis is the Marker home world. Norton speaks out urgently in favor of escaping to safety, but Isaac, Ellie and the Marker Ops team continue the mission. A spare shuttle is found aboard the CMS Terra Nova that can descend to the planet's surface.

Visceral Games took a different approach in the development of Dead Space 3. Rather than the generic space/ship environment, the development team set the settings of the game in a harsh, snowy environment.

It's with that in mind that I was extremely wary about Dead Space 3's addition of co-op into the campaign. Since its origin, Dead Space has been about scares. They've ranged from cheap monster closet scares to more creepy undead kindergarden classroom scares, each of the games likely made your hair stand on end at one point or another. Toss in a buddy and what happens? You lose all of that tension. Those perfectly timed moments, when a necromorph pops out of the ceiling right in front of you, can't happen any more because you and your buddy won't always be next to each other. What was once a creepy, atmospheric scarefest becomes a regular ol' space shooter.

Apart from making the story more compelling and digestible, Motive Studio's main focus for a Dead Space 3 remake should be its gameplay. The game needs to lean back into its survival-horror roots, featuring an abundance of tight, dark spaces with an emphasis on unique scares (rather than the original Dead Space 3's reliance on jump scares). The universal ammo system should be scrapped, and co-op should be given a good, hard, second look, as having another player to lean on made the game easier and less scary.

First launched in 2013, the writing was on the wall for Dead Space 3 long before its arrival. The first game was a harrowingly tense survival horror experience in the vein of Resident Evil or Silent Hill, tinged with an aesthetic that clearly tried to ape Event Horizon. It was both predictable in its inspiration and innovative in how it approached horror in gaming. Aside from System Shock 2 and a handful of other classics, modern creators had never thought to abandon us in space with a seemingly unstoppable threat before. We felt powerless, and trying our best to survive aboard the USG Ishimura has stood the test of time beautifully.

A change of pace on the surface of the planet moves Dead Space 3 into more conventional action territory. The snowstorms and wind-battered outposts are a nod to the influence of The Thing on Dead Space, just as surely as the Ishimura paid tribute to the devastation of the Nostromo in Alien, but the combat here introduces elements of cover-based shooting. There are still encounters with skittering necromorphs in corridors and vent-heavy rooms, but there are also more clearings and open spaces, and action set-pieces in the form of cliff-face rappelling (both up and down), boss encounters (tiresome), and an industrial drill that's transformed into a giant rusty flesh-whisk (loud).

Combat against the necromorphs is refined and dangerous. It manages what the hapless Aliens: Colonial Marines could not: abundant monsters that are also individually deadly, thanks to Isaac's accumulated skill set which includes the ability to slow enemies in time, to move and fire small objects with telekinesis, and the need to slice enemies limb by limb in order to despatch them most effectively. It's a layered, satisfying set of systems.

It's possible to make the same cutting, tearing, flaming tools that have been the series' mainstays, but just as effective now are single-shot weapons with high concentrated damage, and forgiving, spray-and-pray automatic rifles. The basis of Dead Space's combat is a little undermined; de-limbing enemies is a precise, engineer's way to kill space zombies. It sits uncomfortably with the game's own rules that, with damage stats boosted, necromorphs can now be killed with a single sniper shot to the chest.

That transition isn't immediately apparent. During the introductory hours, Dead Space 3 feels like a natural extension of the series. You'll explore the harrowing hallways of spaceships abandoned long ago, hopeless and alone. You'll solve simple but enjoyable puzzles using a mixture of Stasis, Kinesis, and your own intelligence, and float through Zero-Gravity while avoiding numerous life-threatening perils. You'll even get to fly around gaping sections of space, filled with the debris and remains of a 200-year-old fleet. Granted, there's not much to do while free flying in space, but floating through the gorgeous, deadly vastness of it all is entrancing. 041b061a72