After “Dead Space 2” earned critical acclaim from critics and gamers alike, Electronic Arts or EA for short made a third installment in the “Dead Space” series. Released in 2013 (same year The Last of Us came out) on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, it received positive reviews from critics. Unfortunately, the game failed to make a profit forcing EA to cancel a fourth entry.
In 2023, EA will release a remake of the first Dead Space game exclusively on PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X/S. To prepare for the upcoming remake, I wanna share my thoughts on EA’s botched threequel. I’m also prepping up for “The Callisto Protocol.”
This review contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t played all three games, read at your own risk.
Alive & Dead Qualities
Alive: Actors all did a great job for their respective performances.
The third game retains core mechanics from the last two installments. Presented as a third-person survival-horror, your health is displayed on the back. Your equipped with a suit of armor, limited oxygen supply, a navigation system, a holographic map, stasis slows down an object or enemy and your handy dandy weapons. Use all your skills solving puzzles.
Upgrade System is refurbished. You can customize your personal weapons, increase damage, reload speed and rate of fire. Don’t forget to fuse your two favorite guns in one. Try experimenting with each one to see which one suits your preference.
Necromorphs (undead space zombies)make their return. Only way to take ‘em down is using your handy dandy weapons, stasis to slow ‘em down and a kinesis module allowing you to pick up a sharp blade (a smart move to conserve ammo) that’ll instantly kill an enemy. Remember, to aim for the body parts. They’re not the only ones trying to get you, human soldiers want you dead. Certain Necromorphs have strengths and weaknesses. Exploit each type’s tactic.
A scavenger robot really comes in handy. It’ll help you obtain resources you need survive.
Co-Op Mode marks the first time you and your buddy play as Isaac and John Carver. Too bad you can’t play as the latter in Single-Player.
Graphics bring character models, environmental locations, fluid movement, lighting and world to life.
Before you go outside. wear a warm suit. Otherwise, you’ll freeze to death.
Sound Effects are pretty cool. Especially the guns.
Like the last two entries, Scare Factor still gives me the heebie jeebies.
Gathering all audio logs and texts reveals what happened two hundred years prior to the the first game.
Set after the second game, Isaac embarks on a dangerous mission to put an end to another Necromorph epidemic spreading across the galaxy. If he wants to save humanity, he’ll have to find a source where the virus originated, on an icy planet.
The game’s set on an icy environment taking cues from “John Carpenter’s The Thing.”
After you beat the game, you can replay it on New Game Plus. Allowing you to retain all your upgrades. Think you can beat the game on Hardcore Mode? If you die, you’ll have to start way back to Chapter 1. Good luck.
Dead: EA tries to force you to buy unnecessary microtransactions, instead of currency within the game to save up on ammo and provisions. Only DLC I buy are expansions regarding new levels and powerful equipment worth spending to support video game studio’s content.
Again, you can’t play as Carver in Single-Player Mode. It would’ve been fine if EA allowed players to choose Isaac or Carver at a nearby save station.
If you purchased the DLC story “Awakened,” set after the third game’s ending, the true ending shows Isaac & Carver arriving in Earth. Necromorphs moons show up before they do. Then, they’re attacked by them abruptly ending the franchise. Due to EA’s incompetence, I am subtracting this con three times. Will never know if Isaac & Carver are alive or dead.
The Final Verdict: C-
Dead Space 3 is a disastrous disappointment imploding EA’s credibility. They’ve gone to “EA Games, challenge everything” to “EA Games, spend your college fund.” Oh how the mighty have fallen! Had they not rely on microtransactions and a lackluster ending, we could’ve gotten “Dead Space 4.” I cannot wait for the remake and The Callisto Protocol. They better not be epic failures.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 