Dead Space 3 brings us back to the story of Isaac Clark, one of the most unlucky guys in the world. This time however he wasn’t really on the scene when things went down. He’s visited by some nice people who kindly ask him to help them save the world. And if you didn’t catch the sarcasm in that last sentence it’s your own fault. Once again you’re off to destroy Markers. Since you’re the only person who’s really ever done it everyone’s looking to you as their last hope. You’d think that after the first two games people would stop making these things.

As soon as Issac decides he’s going to help he’s attacked. Not by the usual monstrous foe though. “Regular” soldiers are after his life. Apparently there are people who like the Markers and see you as a direct threat to their existence. Can’t really blame them for that, but anyone who can see the necromorphs and think, “that’s alright” is kind of a loon. After a lot of trouble Isaac finds his way to the icy planet Tau Volantis and has quite the adventure.

The gameplay is the same as the previous two so I wont go into too much detail. However, there were some significant changes that I didn’t like all that much. The first thing I noticed was that ammo has become universalized. This makes it easier to always have ammo on you but it defeats the purpose of even having separate weapons in the first place. Generally I’m able to kill everything with the plasma cutter and call it a day. The next thing that bugged me were the micro-transactions. Of course I didn’t buy anything, why would I want to?, but I was just bugged about them existing. I don’t think it would have bugged me as much if the game didn’t advertise them at every loading screen. I would say something about the multiplayer but I sadly didn’t get the opportunity to try it out. I was told that it takes away from the fear in the game but I don’t think that would be an issue.

I’d like to say the game is plenty scary but sadly I feel like at this point it’s not scary at all. It’s true that the game has always had a bit of a focus on the combat and that it’s focus on it has only grown with each game but it doesn’t really kill the fear like so many people say it does. What does it for me is the enemy placement, cinematic quick time events, and music. Almost every quick time event or battle made me feel like I was in a Steven Spielberg movie. Not only that but every enemy is placed in front of you on your linear travels. Effectively eliminating the fear of something that could sneak up on you. Because of this I don’t think the multiplayer could hurt fear that just doesn’t exist.

I do kind of think it’s annoying how there are different endings depending on if you beat the game in single player or multiplayer (or at least I’ve heard that). I don’t really like the thought of being punished for not knowing anyone else with the game to play with. Also, I would really love to see the fourth game revisit the idea of tight dark corridors rather than the more open setting they went for in this one. I did like how they changed the location so that we got to see more than just a space station but when I play Dead Space it’s because I’m looking forward to a creepy action game, not an Indiana Jones movie. I think that with better graphics, specs, and more money franchises like Dead Space start to suffer over time when it comes to what made them great in the first place. It’d be nice if EA kept in mind what made the first one as good as it was and added to that some more gameplay wise. It’s EA we’re talking about here though so I wont hold my breath.

3/5