I thoroughly enjoyed playing through the first two Dead Space games so I was excited to see what the third installment had to offer. Of course I set my expectations fairly modestly as Dead Space 3, along with many other games of that era with a three, had it's share of controversy. Going back and playing a lot of Xbox 360 games it is easy to see how that generation underwent a kind of jarring transformation from quality single player experiences to experimental multiplayers experiences. All that said I feel confident saying Dead Space 3 managed the shift quite well. Sure it is a bit different from the first two entries; the horror elements are toned down and the action is a bit faster paced, but I don't feel like any of that detracts from the experience as a whole. This is quality story driven action game with a lot to offer.
Dead Space 3 starts with Isaac Clark feeling quite down on his luck. Ellie, his companion from the last game, has left him and his city is under attack by the Unitologists. The Unitologists are a cult religious organization that believes the alien markers are key to humanities future. Of course Isaac and Ellie know how dangerous the markers really are and they finally found a lead that may offer humanity a glimpse of hope; its the marker's home world. If they can get to the planet and uncover the mysteries surrounding the marker's origin they many have a chance to shut down it's network. It won't be an easy task as not only does the marker have it's own twisted defense but Jacob Arthur Danik, leader of the Unitologists, plans to do everything in his power to see that the marker thrives.
Just like the previous entries Dead Space 3 again plays out as a third-person shooter. This time around the action is quite fast paced and even features a crude but effective cover mechanic. You're going to do plenty of shooting both at monsters and Unitologists but there is more than just run and gun at play. For one thing both stasis and kinetic powers return to give you an edge and keep combat options flexible. You may also need those powers to solve light puzzles which are featured along with some simple hacking minigames. One of more exciting additions to the third game is new action sequences. You many find yourself flying straight ahead through space requiring you to dodge and shoot obstacles in your way. Similarly, their are a handful of climbing sequences that play out in the same manner.
A big change for this entry is how you acquire weapons and boost their stats. Weapons in this game are made from combing different parts which can be found in crates or crafted if you have the spare pieces. The main parts affect which kind of projectiles your weapon will fire and how you want to alter those projectiles to fit your play style. Most gun frames can support two styles of projectiles which is important because in this game you only have two weapon slots. What would have been a third slot is instead a little drone that you can drop off to collect pieces for you. Building a weapon from scratch can be a bit overwhelming but thankfully you'll find blueprints that do most of the work for you. Chips are handy stat boosters that can be swapped in and out of your weapons to enhance their damage, fire rate, reload time, and clip size.
I really had a good time with Dead Space 3. I feel that this entry definitely benefitted from having the most fluid combat in the series. Its true that the first two games where creepier and many have been a bit more atmospheric but the new direction works for this entry. I would have loved to have seen what this would have been like to play co-op if I had had the chance. Overall I was really pleased with the characters and the over arcing story. Ellie, Carver, Norton, and the rest of the cast are all very memorable and are well acted out. This was a pretty good length game with a variety of environments from floating through space debris, to exploring a frozen planet, to running around labs. I can easily recommend Dead Space 3 both to fans of the series or anyone looking for a good action adventure game.