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Dead Space 3 continues with the adventures of Isaac Clarke, an engineer out to save humanity from the scourge of Necromorphs.
The third-person shooter sets off at breakneck pace, with the player having to plough through a blizzard on Tau Volantis, engage in close combat with the Necromorphs, battle down the streets and run on top of a running train, all within the first half an hour. And, just to add to the fun, soon you have Unitologist fighters trying their best to kill you.
Soon you’ll have to fashion some kind of weapon out of the scraps you collect on the way, if you want to make any progress — you’re an engineer after all.
However, combat is at the heart of Dead Space 3 — vicious, feral and bloody, and involves severing appendages of the undead, stomping on them or even impaling them. The game is clearly not for the faint-hearted, and yet isn’t very true to the survival horror genre — it won’t spook you out of your wits.
Compared with the previous instalments, this game isn’t that scary. In fact, it feels more like an action game masquerading as a horror one, set in the locales of the horror genre. The wide vistas of Tau Volantis and the rusty insides of abandoned ships provide the grim backdrop to this game.
This time, Clarke has John Carver, a soldier with a tragic past, for company on their journey across space. Carver is the franchise’s first co-op playable character. The co-op mode opens many optional quests exploring Carver’s past, and you’ll enjoy this bit if you choose to explore it. A pity it isn’t available in the single-player mode and that the PS3 version (Rs 2,999), which was reviewed, had some issues with graphics in the co-op mode.
The shooting, at least on the PS3, left a lot to be desired initially. Despite being an action game, the weapons feel heavy-handed, like in the survival horror genre. Yet, with every battle, you realise one needs swiftness to survive. One needs to try out a few guns (or build a few) till one hits the sweet spot. And then it’s all too simple.
Remember Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando, where he single-handedly decimated a deposed dictator’s army? Well, you feel like that character after that — kind of invincible. Of course, you’ll still be engaged by the side quests, which more often than not win you a bunch of goodies (which doesn’t directly affect the outcome of the game).
As well as the exhilaration of the zero-gravity sequences and the set-pieces, one must mention the glorious cut-scenes, the fabulous background score and the brilliant acting, which lifts the game to another level. And the variety of environments on offer. Developers Visceral need to be applauded for that. As with all recent games, this one, too, offers a load of downloadable content and add-ons.
Of course, this version has a few new things up its sleeve — such as the fact that you can carry only two weapons at a time. But, hey, all the ammunition you collect is common for all guns — so no challenge there. And one can’t get enough of the co-op mode, possibly the best part of this instalment. Completing the game unlocks a new game, which makes the game last longer.
What really lets down Dead Space 3 is the plot, which seems forced, especially if you’ve played the previous versions. If you’ve not, you’ll get your share of fun without being able to unravel the rather convoluted story, which now includes a love triangle as well! But soon a Necromorph jumping from above you won’t surprise you. The legacy of the previous instalments seems the game’s biggest enemy.
Dead Space 3 is a lot of things to a lot of people. But, for me, the single element that provided the most amount of fun was scavenging for resources and designing your own firearm, providing a lot of insane fun. Finally an engineer is able to design stuff from the resources he collects.
The game is worth playing, especially for those who haven’t played the series before. And for those who’ve had experience, approach the game with an open mind and you won’t be disappointed.
