Dead Space 3 sucks, and why it does

[Glaice]

I only believe Dead Space and Dead Space 2 are the only major games that are canon, I fully dismiss Dead Space 3 as some Michael Bay wankfest who entwined the story up and fucked it up big time. Yea really, human enemies? Too much action/explosions? Microtransactions? Get that shit outta here.

Yep, they screwed it up, and adding co-op to a game that is supposed to have a suspenseful atmosphere but noo EA had to fuck it up with whoever wrote the bloody storyline for it! Give me the writers for the first two games, not this Dead Call of Battlespace BS.

So what do you guys think? Does this game do the same by ripping the tension from the game and making it into a generic horror shooter for you as well compared to the first two superior games?

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

My main problem with the game is how predictable it is.

Spoiler

- Finished an objective? Expect enemies to burst through the vents.
- Entered a large room with a door on the other end? Expect enemies to burst through the vents as soon as you try to open it.
- Waiting for an elevator? Expect enemies to burst through the vents while you wait.
- Walking through a quiet, dark corridor? Expect enemies to burst through the vents.
- Large area with lots of crates? Expect those fast weird-looking enemies that charge you.
- Large arena-like area? Guess we're fighting the spider-crab boss again.
- You gain a group of allies you have little to no interaction with? Except for your ex and the soldier you play in coop, they're all going to die.
- Ex's new boyfriend behaving like a dick? He'll end up betraying you to the unitologists.
- Ex seemingly dies in chamber full of flesh-disolving gas? Yeah, she'll turn up again near the end to raise the stakes.

After only an hour of playing I knew exactly when and where enemies would show up. I could pretty much place myself into a strategic position with my back against the wall, aim where enemies will inevitably walk into my line of fire and I just had to pull the trigger when they did. Most of the time I didn't even need to ever adjust my aim. Just fire and wait until they stopped coming. Made combat very, very boring, very quick.

And the characters suck. I know they're pretty much just there to die and the game pretends like you should care, but how can you when you hardly spend any time getting to know them? Beside the soldier, the ex and the douchebag boyfriend, I don't remember any of them. Can't even remember any names besides Isaac Clarke.

Spoiler: Some things I did like

- The atmospheric re-entry with the shuttle. That was a fun setpiece.
- Weapon customization. Really easy to break the game, but still fun. Force Gun with Stasis + Grenade Launcher rocks.

And that's about it.

 

[skywolfblue]

I'm one of the rare people who actually loves Dead Space 3. It's not without major flaws, but it's probably my favorite of the series.

The love triangle/what they did to Ellie was horrible. Whoever wrote that does need to be fired.
Apart from that the rest of the plot was OK, Danik is a decent villian (well, he's dumb and stupidly obsessed, but that's kind of the point), the backstory about the Sovereign Colonies fleet was nifty, the giant Cthulu moons are neat.

Level design was the best of the series. I love ice/snow environments, and Tau Volantis didn't disappoint. They did an excellent job at portraying it as a completely inhospitable place. The levels in orbit were also fantastic, the shattered fleet was a whole lot of fun to explore.

Gameplay wise I thought the weapon crafting was the Bees Knees. Dead Space has always had excellent gun variety and the dismemberment combat is perfect. So adding the ability to swap out parts and put a force gun on a flamethrower or a rocket launcher on a machine gun was really enjoyable to me.

human enemies?

Remember the Fanatic guy in DS1? Remember Tiedemann? Issac's always had human enemies, the only difference is he can shoot them now.

Their AI could have been better and headshots shouldn't be quite so easy, but they're a decent change of pace from necromorphs.

Too much action/explosions?

I think Dead Space 2 had more explosions. In DS3 once you reach Tau Volantis there's not very many huge explosions. More explosions/action doesn't mean "Bad".

Microtransactions?

A teeny tiny, completely avoidable, button to buy stuff you'll earn eventually? /gasp GAME RUINED! I don't care much for microtransations either but in this case it's completely ignorable.

ripping the tension

I didn't feel that way. My first playthrough of DS3 had as many "Tense" moments as my first playthrough of DS2. Tension goes down after the first playthrough, so I've always felt that the various guns and mixing it up to kill enemies in new ways has always been the series greatest strength, rather then being a true "horror" title.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

I liked it.
It flowed in and out of it's set-pieces almost as seamlessly as Uncharted. IN SPACE.
I fell in love with the crafting system, even though that along with the ammo system makes the came a bit too easy.
And yes, I didn't find it scary at all, and I'm a lightweight who found the first two games scary.
All things considered, I think it was a good game, not a good Dead Space game, but a good game in general.

 

[TheScottishMexican42]

I posted about Dead Space 3 a long time ago, praising it. You want to know what I said? Take a look for yourself.

"I'll be as honest as I can be in this post.

When I first played Dead Space (The first one) I didn't find it all that scary. The only moments that made me jump were the weird drag tentacle things and the ending. Oh dear god, the ENDING.

However, I liked it, so I was hyped for Dead Space 2, hell I even pre-ordered it. I played it, and I found it better than the first. I think I found it better because I never really saw the "scare" factor to begin with. The more action direction was a little distracting, but awesome. I didn't let those moments deter me.

However, even though I was hyped (initially) for Dead Space 3, the comments by others kinda put me off. Reviewers, gaming journalists and so fourth made me look at it again, and made me think much differently.

Wide open areas? Rubbish.
More set pieces? Bah.
Human opponents? Pfft.
Co-Op? Just why?
Microtransactions? It's EA.

So I didn't pre-order it. Hell, I wasn't even all that excited and even spoiled myself of the story because I didn't think I'd get it.

...A month later, I got it.

I've only finished about a third of the game (Single Player, I wanna prolong it a little) and I enjoy it. I noted all the things that reviewers mentioned and while I can see their point, I kinda went "Yea, I can see what they are an about...moving on". I would like to talk about some things that people have issues with:

Less scares, more action: Yes, this is true. There are a lot more 'intense' moments in an exciting sense than in a frightening sense. But, as I mentioned before, I never really found Dead Space all that scary to start with. The thing is, Dead Space 3 has 'scared' me more than Dead Space 2 has. The enemies are like Creepers, they can be right behind you, and they won't make a sound (Even the orchestral scare cords shut up). So that can make you jump.

Human opponents: You are Isaac Clarke. You have weapons capable of dismembering limbs in 1000 different fashions and have quite a lot of health by the time you really face them if you choose to upgrade it. You do the math.

Co-Op: I think this links to the scares thing. Yes it's true that the game is much less scary with a friend, and yes it annoys me that the story is ever so slightly different without the added character. My opinion? Play both, if you can. Play the single player first and the multiplayer second. Dead Space 3 is a long ass game. Do you really think you're expected to play the game for that long? The answer to that question is...yes. So play it the way it should be played first. Alone.

Micro-transactions: Now, something no-one seems to mention that kinda annoys me is that you don't have to buy the micro-transactions. The game gives you "Ration Seals" given to you by your scavenger bots which can be used to buy the extra resources instead of your real money. In all honesty, if you feel you need to use real money to buy more stuff, then stop playing. Also, there is an exploit for unlimited resources. Nice job making your own money-grubbing techniques redundant, EA.
However, some of the extra DLC is just plain stupid. A DLC that costs 400 Microsoft points ($5?) to give your scavenger bot a personality? Gimme a break. And if the rumors are true, the upcoming story DLC picks up after the ending.
...Yea, I'm gonna wait for a price-drop...or for when it's free...or just watch it on Youtube.

If you can ignore the general stuff that people mention about Dead Space 3, that it's not scary or the Co-Op, then you may enjoy it. He'll, I haven't even mentioned the weapon crafting on general which is rather enjoyable or the rather fun gameplay. Some people will have already played it and have their own opinions, be it positive or negative (Hell, my own opinion might change, I'm not done yet), but if you are curious about whether it's a good game or not compared to the previous, at least rent it or borrow it from someone and give it a shot. You might be surprised.

P.S. Sorry if this seems like mindless rambling. Just trying to get my point across here."

 

[Mossberg Shotty]

I have to agree with you, for the most part. I still like the game, but there were so many things wrong with it.

I hate the way they gave Ellie a boob job and had her stand around on a frozen planet wearing a revealing red top with the first couple of buttons down. And I would have much rather her have an eye patch than a glass eye that nobody is gonna notice. I wish the had set more of the game on the surface of the frozen planet, but the only do that like, 3 times. For the rest of the time, you're in a series of samey, dimly lit corridors. They also changed combat from the solid formula of the first and second installment and made it too fast paced, with almost every enemy attack sending you to the ground, where you take forever to get back up.

It took me weeks to beat it, because I could never convince my co-op partner to play it with me. It just felt like a chore.

 

[Comic Sans]

I thought Dead Space was a decent game, loved Dead Space 2. Never finished 3. It just didn't do anything for me. At first I enjoyed the weapon crafting and such, but once you got most of the stuff it began to lose it's luster. It was WAY too easy to break the game with certain weapon combinations. The universal ammo made inventory management a non-concern, and let me use whatever weapons I wanted with no drawbacks. So using a contact beam with Stasis rounds and a mounted Force Gun made pretty much every fight a non issue. For everything else there was my acidic chain gun with mounted shotgun. Even without using these absurdly strong weapons, using materials instead of money made resource management much easier. Even if I ran into a first aid kit dry spell, which was rare, I could easily craft more. By what I am told was 60-70% of the way through the game I had weapons that got me through every fight, maxxed out health and armor, and had so many health kits and full ammo slots that I was leaving first aid kits behind. The game blew it's load early, and then got too damn easy and broken. I should not have to turn the difficulty all the way up on my first time through. I only died to the little skeletal enemies if I got too swarmed (and only a few times) and on trial and error spots that instant kill you. All the combined with the mediocre story and lack of scares, even by Dead Space standards, left me very underwhelmed.

 

[stroopwafel]

The action in DS3 was mostly great, it just didn't have anything more on offer. The atmosphere was all but gone, the story was just stupid filler to connect one setpiece to the other and the whole affaire was just predictable from beginning to end. And still I enjoyed it. If DS3 distilled to its essence are the shoot-outs against the Necromorphs than the gameplay was really good. It's just a shame they threw so much out the window b/c looking at DS1 and 2 the developer is capable of so much more. Visceral deserves a much better publisher than EA. Even with an obviously 'design by committee' game they still managed to deliver a mostly fun third person shooter.

That DS3 isn't as good as DS1 or 2 we have EA to thank for. They represent everything that's wrong with the industry nowadays. Even considering DS3 a 'failure' b/c it didn't sell over 5(!) million copies. wtf?

Anyways my favorite Dead Space game is still DS2. It's like RE4 in space. They really nailed the action(which I found somewhat sub-par in DS1) and atmosphere in this game.

 

[GoaThief]

Strange, I think the first in the series as the only good game amongst them. The second was a huge letdown in atmosphere, gameplay and maturity - the third seemed to take that decline further but I've yet to play it.

Why companies take a winning formula and then destroy it resulting in less sales is beyond me, adding a voice for Isaac for example - unnecessary for starters, let alone the terrible writing and turning him into an unlikeable and unbelievable shitbag.

 

[DeepReaver]

I loved the first and second dead space, the third one dropped the ball on three major points for me that made me lose all my interest. Point one, everything felt too open, and that was clearly due to the co-op. The hallways in everything were widened in order to allow for two players and it got rid of the sense of claustrophobia and helplessness that the first two had. Point two, the crafting mechanic, Due to that being in the game all the ammo had to be the same type, that much is clear, but due to that not only could you create a weapon that could tear through everything, The machine gun rivet gun, but you had enough ammo most of the time to not care about anything ever coming after you. I had one weapon that most of that game once i found the parts for the machine gun rivet gun, and i was never required to switch.

And point three, and boy is this my most petty one. There were human enemies, yes i know it is a logical progression, to eventually have humans ending up as the main enemy but come on... The mesomorphs were what made those games and they felt like they were just there in order for the unitoligists to steal all of the spotlight. It was somewhat the same in the second game and i know a major enemy needs a face but when the mooks are boring as hell and a whole lot less intresting this this consuming alien force you need to rethink things.

 

[Snotnarok]

I haven't played 3 yet, I have no plans to either considering I think the co-op will ruin the horror and suspense and the trailer that had him spitting out one liners made me want to plasma cutter his face off.

Human enemies? Sure that's buyable given I was expecting to fight some in 2, but cover based combat and one liners and an ally? No. Tried that with FEAR 3 and it was the worst of the series, it was fun regardless but not what I was looking for in the title.

 

[loc978]

As far as I've seen (watched people play the games on my PS3, I refuse to deal with thumbstick aiming or EA Origin)... Dead Space as a series absolutely fails as compelling horror, but succeeds in being a fairly well-realized sci-fi universe and decent action franchise. So... yeah, that's a combination built for co-op campaigning heavy on exposition and shooting galleries. Which is what DS3 is. The story has been pretty goddamned consistent.

 

[Hazy]

The problems with Dead Space 3 stem from the fact that it just isn't fun to play. Dead Spaces 1 and 2 threw an interesting concoction of enemies at you in the same room, forcing you to juggle weapons and tactics on the fly. You want a variety of enemies here? Too bad - here's a guy who can run and a guy who can run even faster, and you'll only need one gun to take out both. If you get really lucky, you'll get an enemy that can slow you down and leave you vulnerable, but since you'll never be short of ammo, these aren't life-threatening so much they are a minor inconvenience.

The only intensity present is in the last hour or so of the game, where the enemies become incredibly lethal and you're low on both health and ammo. If more of the game had this sort of tenacity, maybe it wouldn't have been as bad.

Not to mention, the only space aspect of DS3 takes place in brown and grey, dilapidated space freighters where the local sights are rust and slightly more rust. Once you land, it's just Lost Planet with a trite love-triangle.[footnote]Seriously, whose idea was it to shoehorn that shit into a game like this? Felt like I was in goddamn middle school again.[/footnote]

 

[krazykidd]

Eh . Didn't buy it . For the same reasons i didn't buy Resident Evil 6 . They switched genres , and i wanted Survival horror , not action horror . I'm glad people liked it , but i wouldn't be caught dead with that game in my videogame library .

 

[Machine Man 1992]

I disagree.

Logically, considering the enemies that Clark made of the Unitoligst, it stands to reason that they would try to kill him as a non believer or heretic or something.

The games were pretty action and explosion filled since Dead Space 1.

Micro transactions from credits that can be acquired in game by means of scavenger bots to make yourselves more powerful. Not really seeing an issue there.
*I'm talking about the ones that needed real money.
In that case, don't like it, don't buy it. I never bout any of it and that hasn't detracted from my fun in the game. Currently on my 5th play through. IF the game sucked I wouldn't have bothered to finish i the first time.

It would have been fine if the Unitologists featured in one, -one- gun battle to mix things up and keep us on our toes.

It would have been fine if the upgrade system was just improved and given more depth and balance.

It would have been fine if there were a couple of set piece explosion whoosh kapow sequences.

But it isn't about the game not being scary, or that they added human enemies. It's about them doing too much; they took a combat system that required split second tactics (okay, cut the legs off him, stasis that guy, grab the bomb off that exploder and herd the rest together..) and added crafting that's frankly overpowered and easily exploited. Human enemies recur enough times to lose the shock value and become tedious, and the game's so loud that it becomes meaningless.

Is it fun? Hell yeah; Making guns is fun, shooting stuff is fun, but the heart and soul of Dead Space has been diminished. And this is coming from someone on play-through 3.

 

[michael87cn]

I'm loving it. I love the crafting system.

I love options. Options rock.

... Brb gonna go come up with a new whacky gun I haven't tried yet cuz the game lets me do that.

(All the rest of the game is filler).

 

[Full]

I liked Dead Space 3 up until the planet. Then things started to fall through the cracks and the flaws started to pop their little heads up. I'm not usually one to judge something too harshly by only it's flaws, but if they're this apparent in a game series I really like, then it's at a point.

The almost incessant padding and predictability (three fights with that spider monster thing? Why?), the Dragon Age 2 levels of level re-use (which wouldn't have been a problem in a shorter, less padded game, look at Dead Space 2), the plot that makes me hate all the characters (except the lore is still pretty interesting). That being said there's still fun parts and overall I think it's okay despite these bad things.