The horror of Dead Space is amped up, brought planetside in series' third installment
Release: February 5, 2013 (Playstation 3, Windows, Xbox 360)
By Ian Coppock
The American Psychological Association should make it illegal to play as many horror games as I do. While this habit's impact on my sanity is questionable, it has trained me to dominate at avoiding soiled pants. All of that counted for naught in Dead Space 3, the third chapter in Visceral Games' sci-fi horror project. Before reading any further, check with your mother and make sure she's on board with getting whimpering, panicky phone calls at 3 a.m.
By Ian Coppock
The American Psychological Association should make it illegal to play as many horror games as I do. While this habit's impact on my sanity is questionable, it has trained me to dominate at avoiding soiled pants. All of that counted for naught in Dead Space 3, the third chapter in Visceral Games' sci-fi horror project. Before reading any further, check with your mother and make sure she's on board with getting whimpering, panicky phone calls at 3 a.m.
The Story
The Dead Space games spin a deliciously bleak tale. Isaac Clarke, a 26th-century spaceship engineer, is involuntarily pitted against hordes of alien-infested corpses called Necromorphs. The Necromorphs are created by the Markers, strange alien monoliths that raise the dead by emitting an electromagnetic signal. This hair-raising premise has carried Isaac through two award-winning games already, and in Dead Space 3, he's determined to end the Necromorph threat forever.
At the beginning of Dead Space 3, we find our hero hiding in a crappy apartment complex on the moon, until two soldiers show up and rope him into their own crusade to stop the Necromorphs. Exhausted and depressed from the events of the past two games, Isaac reluctantly takes up his trademark plasma cutter for a third go at the alien monstrosities. The Necromorphs aren't Isaac's only problem; he's also on the run from a sketchy, totalitarian government and a cult that worships the Necromorphs as a divine form of life after death. As you can well imagine, all of these obstacles create a tough, imperative tension that drives the story forward.
The story is made especially frightening by the Necromorphs, who jump, dash, and cut towards Isaac throughout the game (you have been warned, this ain't no flowerwalk). The story is given more tension by the presence of these insidious creatures, and this makes it more immersive. How easy is it to break away from a horror story? Think of a time when you needed to go to sleep but stayed up reading a scary book anyway. That's exactly what happened to me last night.
Isaac's character has developed markedly over the years. When Dead Space debuted in 2008, he was a silent protagonist who was ordered about by other survivors. In Dead Space 2, he was given a voice and personality and began driving the story himself, using his past experience with the Necromorphs to ensure his survival and think his way through obstacles. By the time Dead Space 3 rolls around, Isaac has survived two Necromorph outbreaks and has become well-versed in stopping them. He exudes strong, world-weary character that counters heavily against the spaceship captain he throws in with, the suave but somewhat clueless Robert Norton.
Anyway, it turns out that Norton is also the leader of a small group of people out to stop the Necromorphs, including a gruff sergeant named John Carver, and Ellie. We're also introduced to some new but rather two-dimensional minor characters who each contribute some form of expertise to stopping the Necromorphs. The team stumbles upon Tau Volantis, a remote, icy planet that Ellie believes contains the secret to stopping the Markers, and therefore, the Necromorphs.
After some jump-scary adventures in the derelict ships surrounding the planet, Isaac and his team crash-land on Tau Volantis. He quickly learns that his team is not the first group of people to explore the planet. As Isaac draws closer to the source of the Necromorphs, he begins uncovering the answers to those questions we've been pondering for years: where did the Markers come from? What about the Necromorphs?
The opportunity to find these answers drove the story forward in an epic way. I found it refreshing that I was finally hunting down answers I'd been seeking for two games, and I found them in an intriguing and horrific fashion. It was like watching a sequel to a movie and learning about huge events happening behind the scenes of the first installment. The creators of this story should be given credit for that; they took gamers' very wanderlust for long-sought answers and turned into a means of moving the story along. The character conflicts, the desperation of the Isaac's search for the source of the Necromorphs, and the insidiousness of the creature's origins create a worthwhile story. Some of the missions were a little tedious (Good Lord, how many repairs does this shuttle need?) but overall, the game's story is quite solid. For the first time, players can also embark upon side missions to collect items and add detail to the main story.
At the beginning of Dead Space 3, we find our hero hiding in a crappy apartment complex on the moon, until two soldiers show up and rope him into their own crusade to stop the Necromorphs. Exhausted and depressed from the events of the past two games, Isaac reluctantly takes up his trademark plasma cutter for a third go at the alien monstrosities. The Necromorphs aren't Isaac's only problem; he's also on the run from a sketchy, totalitarian government and a cult that worships the Necromorphs as a divine form of life after death. As you can well imagine, all of these obstacles create a tough, imperative tension that drives the story forward.
The story is made especially frightening by the Necromorphs, who jump, dash, and cut towards Isaac throughout the game (you have been warned, this ain't no flowerwalk). The story is given more tension by the presence of these insidious creatures, and this makes it more immersive. How easy is it to break away from a horror story? Think of a time when you needed to go to sleep but stayed up reading a scary book anyway. That's exactly what happened to me last night.
Isaac's character has developed markedly over the years. When Dead Space debuted in 2008, he was a silent protagonist who was ordered about by other survivors. In Dead Space 2, he was given a voice and personality and began driving the story himself, using his past experience with the Necromorphs to ensure his survival and think his way through obstacles. By the time Dead Space 3 rolls around, Isaac has survived two Necromorph outbreaks and has become well-versed in stopping them. He exudes strong, world-weary character that counters heavily against the spaceship captain he throws in with, the suave but somewhat clueless Robert Norton.
Anyway, it turns out that Norton is also the leader of a small group of people out to stop the Necromorphs, including a gruff sergeant named John Carver, and Ellie. We're also introduced to some new but rather two-dimensional minor characters who each contribute some form of expertise to stopping the Necromorphs. The team stumbles upon Tau Volantis, a remote, icy planet that Ellie believes contains the secret to stopping the Markers, and therefore, the Necromorphs.
After some jump-scary adventures in the derelict ships surrounding the planet, Isaac and his team crash-land on Tau Volantis. He quickly learns that his team is not the first group of people to explore the planet. As Isaac draws closer to the source of the Necromorphs, he begins uncovering the answers to those questions we've been pondering for years: where did the Markers come from? What about the Necromorphs?
The opportunity to find these answers drove the story forward in an epic way. I found it refreshing that I was finally hunting down answers I'd been seeking for two games, and I found them in an intriguing and horrific fashion. It was like watching a sequel to a movie and learning about huge events happening behind the scenes of the first installment. The creators of this story should be given credit for that; they took gamers' very wanderlust for long-sought answers and turned into a means of moving the story along. The character conflicts, the desperation of the Isaac's search for the source of the Necromorphs, and the insidiousness of the creature's origins create a worthwhile story. Some of the missions were a little tedious (Good Lord, how many repairs does this shuttle need?) but overall, the game's story is quite solid. For the first time, players can also embark upon side missions to collect items and add detail to the main story.
The Artwork
Dead Space 3's artwork is dark, beautiful, and insidious. The lunar slums, centuries-old spaceship husks and Tau Volantis's Mordor-with-snow aesthetic create a profound sense of despair. From the very beginning I knew that this was going to be a dark world, and even gamers who haven't played the first two Dead Space games will be able to infer that.
Visceral Games' artists took a hard-edged approach to the game's visuals, creating sophisticated technology with old-fashioned aesthetics, derelict ships containing turncrank-style bulkheads, and a planet littered with the garbage and decay of a broken mission. Environments usually ramped up the creepy with flickering lights (assuming there were actually lights) blood stains, cryptic messages, and startling noises.
As with the other two Dead Space games, this one's artwork was blessed with a sort of sad beauty. The vessels Isaac explores in orbit contain furniture and couches not unlike one would expect to find in a Victorian house. This seemingly jarring combination of aesthetics actually works, and adds a great deal of bleak elegance. Tau Volantis is overcast much of the time, but the sky is occasionally lit up with brilliant blood-red sunsets and jagged mountains one might expect to find in the Rockies. The facilities Isaac explores on the planet are decorated with decaying regalia, reminding us that these halls once thrummed with a vibrant quest for independence and human progress. Of course, all of this faded beauty made me sad, because it had been committed in a mission that ultimately failed.
The game's score compounded this feeling of beautiful despair, alternating between mournfully sharp orchestral pieces and the spine-chilling strings that Dead Space has become well-known for. Can I also point out the irony of the Dead Space's composer being named Jason Graves? Huh? Anyone?
Visceral Games' artists took a hard-edged approach to the game's visuals, creating sophisticated technology with old-fashioned aesthetics, derelict ships containing turncrank-style bulkheads, and a planet littered with the garbage and decay of a broken mission. Environments usually ramped up the creepy with flickering lights (assuming there were actually lights) blood stains, cryptic messages, and startling noises.
As with the other two Dead Space games, this one's artwork was blessed with a sort of sad beauty. The vessels Isaac explores in orbit contain furniture and couches not unlike one would expect to find in a Victorian house. This seemingly jarring combination of aesthetics actually works, and adds a great deal of bleak elegance. Tau Volantis is overcast much of the time, but the sky is occasionally lit up with brilliant blood-red sunsets and jagged mountains one might expect to find in the Rockies. The facilities Isaac explores on the planet are decorated with decaying regalia, reminding us that these halls once thrummed with a vibrant quest for independence and human progress. Of course, all of this faded beauty made me sad, because it had been committed in a mission that ultimately failed.
The game's score compounded this feeling of beautiful despair, alternating between mournfully sharp orchestral pieces and the spine-chilling strings that Dead Space has become well-known for. Can I also point out the irony of the Dead Space's composer being named Jason Graves? Huh? Anyone?
Should I Get It?
Yes, you should. Despite occasional glitches, some tedious repair missions, and one-shot minor characters who contribute rather under-whelmingly to the story, Dead Space 3 is well-worth the money and the time. It is by far the most compelling installment of the Dead Space series, and arguably the most terrifying. I don't know if Visceral just lets any psychopath wander in to start designing games, but whoever they've got in there excels at creating a video game that will delight and scare. The story is rich, the artistry and graphics are cutting-edge, and the gameplay has been considerably refined from prior installments of the series. This game has set the bar pretty high for the rest of the year.
The Launch Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U356b_x0_4U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U356b_x0_4U
All of the images in this article came from the Dead Space wiki. It has some awesome content, especially if you're interested in learning more about the Dead Space universe: http://deadspace.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
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