I have now played all three Dead Space games, and have decided to make my voice heard about the third game in the series. Most of what I have to say is positive. However, there are quite a few things that were changed in the third game that i feel really take away from not only the series, but the genre. Before you dive in, this is mostly about the differences between the games, not the plot. Not quite as exciting, but please feel free to keep reading if you're interested.
First I'd like to say that Dead Space is considered a "Survival Horror" game, and you see this in bounds in the first game. You start off with a plasma welder as your only weapon, and you struggle through the game scavenging for health packs, weapon-specific ammunition, and save points. The game is truly frightening, not only because of the nearly sickening graphic pop-out violence, but also because of how desperately sparse your resources are sometimes. The game is constantly dark, and lacks a solid soundtrack, which leaves a lot of room for flashing lights to catch you off guard, and horrific sounds to jar you to the bone, whether someone is coming or not. Simply put, the game is like a very well designed interactive horror film.
The second game is nearly identical to the first with a couple well placed upgrades, like the ability to "run," which is really no more than a fast paced walk. Also, the main character Isaac has a voice in the second game. The gameplay is almost exactly the same, the story line is quite a bit deeper, and its maybe a bit harder overall.
The third game is so different it could almost be a standalone. The story is a continuation of the first two, and most aspects of the game are very similar, but there are so many differences in the game that I felt it necessary to tell the internet about it. To start, the game looks very different. The basics are the same, but interactive objects are different, the monsters look a lot different (mostly due to upgraded graphics i think, but they really look completely different), and the atmosphere is much different. Surprisingly, the game is still just as linear as the first two. This is definitely a game series that is solidly sticking to the linear video game instead of branching out to free reign. I am glad about this because I believe that being linear keeps the focus solely on the game instead of exploring, and in a horror based game, it doesn’t do much good to branch out anyway, it would just get you into trouble.
The store in the game is completely gone, and the upgrade system has been wiped and replaced. Instead of entering the store and buying ammunition, weapons, suits, you go to the suit kiosk and pick the suit your want which you get from purchasing them as DLC. In the kiosk you also use resources you pick up laying around (scrap metal, semiconductors, transducers, etc) to upgrade your suit instead of purchasing the upgrades with credits. Similarly, you go to the bench where you would before add power nodes to upgrade suit and weapons, and you craft your weapons out of scavenged parts and use the resources to make your own med kits and ammunition. Ammunition is now universal, and the amount of shots you get out of an ammunition pack depends on your weapon and how you upgrade it. You still have power nodes, but they are only for weapons, and they are specific. Reload speed, damage, rate of fire, and clip size.
The biggest difference to me is Autosave. In the first two games you could not save unless you found a save point which made the game even more intense because when you got into a stressful situation if you turn the console off and start later you start at the save point, which may be very far behind where you stopped when you turned the game off. I feel this strongly takes away from the game, as it takes away the stress factor, which is important in a survival horror game.
Well anyway, i'm done ranting now. I'd love to hear your opinions. Which game is your favorite, and how do you feel about the changes?
First I'd like to say that Dead Space is considered a "Survival Horror" game, and you see this in bounds in the first game. You start off with a plasma welder as your only weapon, and you struggle through the game scavenging for health packs, weapon-specific ammunition, and save points. The game is truly frightening, not only because of the nearly sickening graphic pop-out violence, but also because of how desperately sparse your resources are sometimes. The game is constantly dark, and lacks a solid soundtrack, which leaves a lot of room for flashing lights to catch you off guard, and horrific sounds to jar you to the bone, whether someone is coming or not. Simply put, the game is like a very well designed interactive horror film.
The second game is nearly identical to the first with a couple well placed upgrades, like the ability to "run," which is really no more than a fast paced walk. Also, the main character Isaac has a voice in the second game. The gameplay is almost exactly the same, the story line is quite a bit deeper, and its maybe a bit harder overall.
The third game is so different it could almost be a standalone. The story is a continuation of the first two, and most aspects of the game are very similar, but there are so many differences in the game that I felt it necessary to tell the internet about it. To start, the game looks very different. The basics are the same, but interactive objects are different, the monsters look a lot different (mostly due to upgraded graphics i think, but they really look completely different), and the atmosphere is much different. Surprisingly, the game is still just as linear as the first two. This is definitely a game series that is solidly sticking to the linear video game instead of branching out to free reign. I am glad about this because I believe that being linear keeps the focus solely on the game instead of exploring, and in a horror based game, it doesn’t do much good to branch out anyway, it would just get you into trouble.
The store in the game is completely gone, and the upgrade system has been wiped and replaced. Instead of entering the store and buying ammunition, weapons, suits, you go to the suit kiosk and pick the suit your want which you get from purchasing them as DLC. In the kiosk you also use resources you pick up laying around (scrap metal, semiconductors, transducers, etc) to upgrade your suit instead of purchasing the upgrades with credits. Similarly, you go to the bench where you would before add power nodes to upgrade suit and weapons, and you craft your weapons out of scavenged parts and use the resources to make your own med kits and ammunition. Ammunition is now universal, and the amount of shots you get out of an ammunition pack depends on your weapon and how you upgrade it. You still have power nodes, but they are only for weapons, and they are specific. Reload speed, damage, rate of fire, and clip size.
The biggest difference to me is Autosave. In the first two games you could not save unless you found a save point which made the game even more intense because when you got into a stressful situation if you turn the console off and start later you start at the save point, which may be very far behind where you stopped when you turned the game off. I feel this strongly takes away from the game, as it takes away the stress factor, which is important in a survival horror game.
Well anyway, i'm done ranting now. I'd love to hear your opinions. Which game is your favorite, and how do you feel about the changes?
