Zero Punctuation: Dead Space 3

Dahaka27

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Apr 20, 2009
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Eh, I liked it.

I got to the point of replaying Dead Space 2 the umpteenth time that I could predict when the scares would happen so I really wasn't expecting DS3 to do much for me but some bits are actually quite creepy and unsettling. Not horror by any stretch but unsettling and thats ok for me.

On another note some of the weapon combos are completely overpowered. You can craft a minigun/chaingun near the middle of the game that wrecks everything.
One of the things I liked about DS2 and DS1 is that most of the weapons were improvised tools, this time you can make shotguns, assault rifles, chain guns and bloody full on rocket launchers, which arent as useful as they sound.
 

Arcane Azmadi

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Jan 23, 2009
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I'd be interested in seeing a discussion between Yahtzee and Jim about this series, considering Yahtzee has repeatedly panned it in all 3 reviews while Jim recently put out a video hailing it as the best new IP of this generation.
WaitWHAT said:
DVS BSTrD said:
http://mygaming.co.za/news/wp-content/uploads/isaac_949041574.jpg
Look Buddy, I'm an engineer. That means I solve problems. Not problems like "What's a horror game?" because that would fall within the purview of your conundrums of philosophy. I solve practical problems
For instance: how am I gonna stop some big, mean mother-hubbard from giving me a profit-damaging horror atmosphere? The answer? Lose the fun.

[sub]Also: LOL[/sub]
Dude, you win forever.
 

Kingme18

Destroyer of Worlds
Mar 26, 2011
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Darks63 said:
Well after Jim's endorsement i was prolly gonna get this game after it dropped in price, but after hearing about these coop only rooms im not so sure anymore.
Bro, there are three coop rooms each about the length of an optional mission. Each one is a great way to figure out Carver's backstory. Get the game. It's fantastic.
 

GonzoGamer

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Apr 9, 2008
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Best punchline I've heard in a while.
crimson sickle2 said:
You have to feel sad for the fans of this franchise. They got two decent games and then EA completely assumes control, forces it into this shell of a game, and places a quota as ransom to guilt fans into buying it.
Is that what they're doing now? Pretty clever,sick & evil but clever; that should move a few more units. It's like they have the MCP running things at EA.
 

Full

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Sep 3, 2012
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Abomination said:
Well if you enjoyed the first two games combat, you will still enjoy this one's combat. The things that are different gameplay-wise from the first two games are the fact it's way too easy to find supplies and there's a serious lack of memorable moments and areas (like the hemorrhoid in the tumble dryer or the day-care center).

Gameplay is still Dead Spacey fun but get it when the price drops considerably, because it's just flat out not as good as the other ones.

Anyway, the analogy for the micro-transactions and the cast of characters were perfect.
 

Machine Man 1992

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crimson sickle2 said:
You have to feel sad for the fans of this franchise. They got two decent games and then EA completely assumes control, forces it into this shell of a game, and places a quota as ransom to guilt fans into buying it.
You have no idea.

I loved the first two games to death, but this...

Yahtzee pretty much hit all the points I expected him to, though I thought he'd harp on the weapon crafting system some more, rather than the lack of scares. The only really scary bits were the parts with the regenerating ubermorphs.
 

Iron Lightning

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Oct 19, 2009
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I never ran out of healing items or ammo when I was playing Silent Hill 2 on hard action mode. So what's the difference between never running out in Silent Hill 2 and never running out in Dead Space 3? I'll answer my own question. The difference is that I had to work hard (sometimes shamefully turtleing) to keep my stuff in Silen Hill 2 oftentimes having to run away from monsters since that was a much smarter alternative.

Now that's the litmus test for whether a horror game is actually a horror game, namely: is it wise for the player to often avoid the monsters?

Anyway, while the Dead Space series was never really scary (all three games failing the test above) I did get some perverse joy out of the Dead Space 2 demo for the fact that I was absolutely dominating these monstrosities when I should be panicking in fear of them. It's like when you unlock the Infinite Ammo Machine Gun in Silent Hill 3. I tried the Dead Space 3 demo and I couldn't even get that irreverent feeling from Dead Space 2. The enemies were just too pathetic and as such could not even give me the modicum of tension that I could laugh at in Dead Space 2. Dead Space 3 commits the worst possible artistic sin by being boring in its mediocrity. I'd rather the game be terrible than mediocre, at least then it would be interesting.

To the few people who say that Dead Space was never really a horror series and thus it can be enjoyed as an action game I say, fine, you can still enjoy it but it is still a failure of a series. It's a failure because it was clearly trying to be scary and it failed in that so much that's it's utterly given up on trying. Enjoying Dead Space for the action is like enjoying a linear, heavily story-focused JRPG for its combat.
 

Bindal

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May 14, 2012
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themilo504 said:
I was expecting a alien colonial marine review since every critic and their dog are currently tearing this game apart.
Two weeks are usually required - one to play, one to write. Aliens came out last week. So, more likely going to be next week a review.
 

Sylocat

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Nov 13, 2007
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Yahtzee Croshaw said:
Luckily the series ended just as I was running out of sci-fi authors
Oh please, you think they're going to stop making Dead Space games, if the third one sells even remotely well?
 

Dead Seerius

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Feb 4, 2012
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That's too bad; I loved Dead Space 1. Haven't played through DS2 myself but it seems to keep to the mechanics I loved about the first game. Anyway, it's on my list of games to tackle this summer, and I was excited to try 3 after it..

Sadly, the general consensus coming from reviewers (including the ones who gave the game a high score) is that DS3 loses a lot of tension found in the first 2 games, and isn't helped by its over-abundance of health packs and ammo. Sad news for this guy, but I'll probably end up playing it eventually.

And what was with all the Christmas references, Yahtzee? Is someone in the holly, jolly spirit this February?
 

Grach

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YodaUnleashed said:
This review is yet another example of Yahtzee bringing in all his preconceptions about what he expects a game to be like, in this case a horror game, rather than what the game actually is, which I think its fair to say is an action game with horror elements (though to what degree these 'horror elements' go is more up for debate).

On further reflection, it's that sort of approach to reviewing of Yahtzee's, which ends up being as much a 'review' of the game as a critique on the wider video game industry and specific game publishers/studios a lot of the time, that actually grates with me. I'd prefer it if these aforementioned elements remained in Yahtzee's weekly columns though I suppose Yahtzee clearly has his own style and he's going to do it his own way, and he may have good valid reasons for including said elements.

I suppose though that's not what I have real issue with here; my main problem is his apparent lack of a fair and unbiased opinion (as much as reasonably possible) on a game as a single product in itself. I won't deny, I'm genuinely interested in hearing what Yahztee's opinions are on a game that I have some interest in, as many of his criticisms and praises (though the latter are fewer and far between) are often valid and highly salient, but at the same time, many of his points are sadly lacking in at least some form of objectivity. I'm not saying go all out in the objectivity as it is the subjective opinions of a particular reviewer which is the reason many read/watch certain reviews in the first place, but nonetheless, this subjective opinion should be based on some form of objective framework, and Yahtzee, as I said, seems to me to rely on preconceived notions (quite outside of his own tastes and preferences which are fine to include), which really doesn't give the game a chance to stand on its own feet but rather judge it as based on what he expects from it.

He's still entertaining, and he still makes many very good valid points, but I tire of his essentially groaning and moaning when a game doesn't match what he personally envisioned for it or wanted out of it more. There's a place for that sort of critique but I don't believe it belongs in even-handed reviews; I just want to know what you thought of the game in itself, not what personal wishes you expected the game to fulfil. So what if you wanted it to be more horror orientated and less of a typical action game? I don't care about that in a review; if its an action game just tell me what's it like as an action game and a game full stop in your opinion and I can use that informed analysis to help me either decide whether it's a game that might possibly suit me or whether your criticisms and positive points correlate with my own (if I've played it already) or are ones I hadn't made myself and thus provide a different perspective.

That's how I'd review games anyway.......
Dictionary.com said:
"ob·jec·tive (adj):
Not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased."
If you want a objective game review to even exist then you'll have to wait until the SI develops a standard measurement of enjoyment. A review is by its nature biased and subjective. There is nothing to measure here. Not empirically at least.
Also I don't get what you really mean by Yahtzee starting with a preset vision of a game that can't be flipped on it's head. The Spec Ops: The Line review started the same way and he ended up praising it because of story alone. So if he didn't find anything particulary interesting about the game, then it's probably because there is simply nothing interesting.
Besides "even-handed reviews"? From the man that practically says that no-one likes him to be good to a game?
 

Do4600

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YodaUnleashed said:
This review is yet another example of Yahtzee bringing in all his preconceptions about what he expects a game to be like, in this case a horror game, rather than what the game actually is
The game is part of a series, this is the only one that doesn't qualify as survival horror. So it's not okay to judge a game in a series by the other previous two titles?
YodaUnleashed said:
my main problem is his apparent lack of a fair and unbiased opinion
Really? Nobody else has ever noticed that Yahtzee isn't fair to video games! How astute!
YodaUnleashed said:
objectivity
I think you're bringing your preconceptions of what a reviewer should do too far into this comment and I don't believe it belongs in even-handed comments sections.
YodaUnleashed said:
I don't believe it belongs in even-handed reviews; I just want to know what you thought of the game in itself, not what personal wishes you expected the game to fulfil. So what if you wanted it to be more horror orientated and less of a typical action game? I don't care about that in a review; if its an action game just tell me what's it like as an action game and a game full stop in your opinion and I can use that informed analysis to help me either decide whether it's a game that might possibly suit me or whether your criticisms and positive points correlate with my own (if I've played it already) or are ones I hadn't made myself and thus provide a different perspective.
Do you see a chart here that shows you how the game scored in five different categories? Do you see an amalgamated score at the bottom of that chart? Do you see a recommendation for purchase based on those scores?

You are asking Yahtzee to water himself down to the same shit that EVERY other game review website is already doing literally ten times a week, which, ironically, is the same thing that EA asked Dead Space to do for it's third game.

Yahtzee is rather unique in the industry that he is a part of, he reacts to games with wit and razor sharp criticism interspersed with a peerless kind of humor, but he doesn't pretend that his opinion should sell video games (I can count the number of times he's recommended a video game on one hand) and he won't simplify his criticisms into a number. If you want somebody to convince you to buy a game and give you a number you should check out any other game review website.

YodaUnleashed said:
That's how I'd review games anyway.......
Great! Start your own show, but it sounds like just about every other reviewer I can think of. This is how Yahtzee reviews and reacts to video games. You can disagree with his points, there's plenty of room for that but rebuking him over four paragraphs for not directing his opinions in a fair and objective way is simply being willfully naive to the purpose that he's put himself to. He isn't fair and that's why people watch, they watch because they can trust him to point out every crucial failing that the video game industry makes with their video games. This is why praise from Yahtzee is usually worth investigating, because the role he plays is video game's harshest critic.
 

ResonanceSD

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Dec 14, 2009
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DVS BSTrD said:
http://mygaming.co.za/news/wp-content/uploads/isaac_949041574.jpg
Look Buddy, I'm an engineer. That means I solve problems. Not problems like "What is a horror game?" because that would fall within the purview of your conundrums of philosophy. I solve practical problems

Monsters in Dead Space 3? ***** please, Level 3 sentry over here.
 

Hutzpah Chicken

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Mar 13, 2012
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This seems like a game that should have a fish be the best weapon available. I always thought Dead Space was kind of a joke from the beginning, so EA should go all the way and make a Serious Sam like game. Problem is EA can't make a fun game, so back at square one.
 

michael87cn

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Jan 12, 2011
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I couldn't disagree with Yahtzee more about this series, he doesn't like it simply because it's not the type of horror game he likes.

I love it because its loot collection 3rd person actiony fun.

He says it has no merits and it boils down to nothing, and that "all the hard work the team that worked on it" did was "white noise" o_O

Oookay.
 

Epic Fail 1977

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Dec 14, 2010
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Legion said:
My biggest criticism was the level design more than anything. It felt very repetitive to the point where my default tactic was to run to whatever corner didn't have a vent by it and wait for them to come to me.
I got into the vent-checking habit as well. The first three steps after going through any door:

1. Find a spot with no vents.
2. Walk around until you find the invisible tripwire that makes shit spawn.
3. Run to the spot with no vents.

So... yeah. Not great.

However... I would then be at step 4:

4. Fight for your ***ing life and try not to scream like a girl.

It's in step 4 that I remember why I love Dead Space.
 

curintedery

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Sep 8, 2010
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Love the Sooty reference... although I doubt it's a reference that many people will get. Used to love that show as a kid XD.
 

Metalrocks

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Jan 15, 2009
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in short: dont give ?A your money and dont play a game thats not even horror anymore.

not even part 1 was scarey besides the first 2 missions. good thing i saved my money and time with part and 3.