The Dead Space series is my favorite survival horror franchise of all time. A sci-fi horror franchise whose inspirations are some of the greatest science fiction horror films ever made, Alien, the Thing, and Event Horizon. Since I just finished playing all three games I thought it would be best to write down my feelings regarding the series. Consider each entry in this retrospective to be a mini review as each game will receive a score with a final rating and score given to the series as a whole. So now without further ado, let us begin.
The original Dead space is undoubtedly a classic of the seventh console generation. Basing itself off of Resident Evil's 4 gameplay, an over the shoulder third person shooter with the minor difference of actually being able to MOVE WHILE YOU SHOOT. Dead Space was built on the gameplay concept of "strategic dismemberment". This is because the Necromorphs [ the main antagonists of the Dead Space series] are creatures that can only be stopped by literally ripping them to pieces. Shooting their heads is completely useless. Certain Necromorphs require a very specific body part to be cut off from their bodies, and there are even Necromorphs where shooting them in the wrong spot can be catastrophic to the player. Keeping a calm head and a ready trigger finger is required as these deadly alien life forms can kill you in seconds, and that's not counting the fact that most times you'll be walking through empty hallways or in large rooms where you can hear the Necromorphs crawling through the ship stalking you, or other survivors, while the noises of the ship also reverberate in the background. The flickering lights, dark brown and gray coloring, ambient noises in the background that may or not be caused by Necromorphs all convey a sense of claustrophobic dread that you really are trapped on a derelict ship in the middle of unexplored space. No help is coming and the noises you hear could be the sound of a hostile alien life form stalking you, or the sound of a piece of machinery giving out due to age or disuse. It is this fear of not knowing, this fear of the unknown that helps convey a sense of terror at what may jump out at you next. The game also manages to perfectly blend gameplay with cinematics. The inventory menu is a holographic screen you can bring up that still has you in gameplay, the health bar is on your back and changes colors depending on how low or high it is, and your ammo count appears when you're aiming your gun. It feels natural and adds a movie like feeling to the game, without taking away control from the player. Add that with exceptional sound design and you have a game that every survival horror fan needs to play at least once, my favorite game in the Dead Space series, and my favorite survival horror of all time.
4/4. Go out and play it.
Dead Space 2.... is to Dead Space 1 what Aliens was to Alien. Moving from a slow paced, atmospheric experience based on horror, to an explosion filled, action oriented experience with one liners and a newfound emphasis on set pieces. What the game lacked in atmosphere and tension, it made up for with a newfound emphasis on combat and quick time events. And for the most part it worked. For all its flaws Dead Space 2 did feel like an expansion of the original Dead Space. While it may not have sought out to scare its audience it did manage to convey an atmosphere that was occasionally creepy such as exploring an elementary school where all the children had been transformed into Necromorphs. Dead Space 2 also introduced new Necromorphs like the Puker and the Stalker, with the Stalker being responsible for making the game having moments of genuine terror from time to time. It should also be noted that Issac is given a voice actor in Dead Space 2 and actually talks from time to time, and while it doesn't really add anything other than giving Issac a personality, its nice to hear Issac speak his mind from time to time. All in all, Dead Space 2 is a matter of opinion just like Alien and Aliens. Some people enjoy the more action orientated approach, some prefer terror and atmosphere. I'm one of the latter but I can still enjoy the former. And I will say this in Dead Space 2's favor. Its the best Iron Man simulator I've ever played. Though it must be said, the advertising campaign (Your mom hates Dead Space 2 advertisements] were beyond stupid. Dead Space 2 gets a 3/4. Not really scary, but still fun to play.
Last, and least, is Dead Space 3. If Dead Space 1 is equivalent to Alien, Dead Space 2 is Aliens, then Dead Space 3 is, you guessed it, Alien 3. Uninspired, good ideas but terrible execution, and the illusion of a conclusion to a franchise that has begun to be milked, when in reality the franchise will be exploited for years to come. Dead Space 3 abandoned horror entirely and instead seemed to devout itself fully to explosive action set pieces, enemies that charge you in ridiculous numbers and multiple waves. The formula becomes stale extremely quickly. You enter a room. The doors lock. Five to ten waves of cannon fodder enemies enter the room and you have to kill all of them. There is no sense of dread or tension because there's never any build up to anything even remotely terrifying. Combine that with human enemies that may as well be Necromorphs with guns [which are in this game by the way.] and you have what is clearly an attempt to turn Dead Space into a generic third person shooter. The problems from a technical perspective includes a cover system that has no point to it [enemies are such pushovers that they won't last long enough to worry about hiding behind cover.] a dodge button that has no purpose since the dodge button doesn't actually grant you any increased mobility or usefulness in combat even against enemies with RPGs, a weapon's crafting system that again has no purpose since all you need is to build one good weapon from a blueprint and you're set [meaning there is no point in experimenting since literally ANY weapon is more than capable of carrying you through the game], and the fact that there is universal ammo. Now I may be in a minority here, but I find the concept of universal ammo to be stupid. An assault rifle should not be able to use ammo used for a shotgun and vice versa, it's stupid in Mass Effect and its stupid in Dead Space 3. Combine that with a story that completely goes against the ending of Dead Space 2, destroys the mystery surrounding the Necromorphs and the Markers, and through one DLC causes Dead Space to do a triple axle flip over a shark, and you have one of the worst survival horror games in history, arguably the worst game of 2013, and the worst Dead Space game of the franchise. Dead Space 3 gets a 1/4.
Overall, the Dead Space series is a solid survival horror series. For someone who enjoys sci fi horror, its a dream come true. There may be better series out there, but if you enjoy the Thing or Alien, you'll love this series. Just stay far away from Dead Space 3. And bear in mind we may never see a Dead Space 4 due to poor sales and word of mouth, which I can't exactly complain about due to Dead Space 3. The series as a whole, earns a 3.5/4.
3.5/4
Red Vulture out.
Last, and least, is Dead Space 3. If Dead Space 1 is equivalent to Alien, Dead Space 2 is Aliens, then Dead Space 3 is, you guessed it, Alien 3. Uninspired, good ideas but terrible execution, and the illusion of a conclusion to a franchise that has begun to be milked, when in reality the franchise will be exploited for years to come. Dead Space 3 abandoned horror entirely and instead seemed to devout itself fully to explosive action set pieces, enemies that charge you in ridiculous numbers and multiple waves. The formula becomes stale extremely quickly. You enter a room. The doors lock. Five to ten waves of cannon fodder enemies enter the room and you have to kill all of them. There is no sense of dread or tension because there's never any build up to anything even remotely terrifying. Combine that with human enemies that may as well be Necromorphs with guns [which are in this game by the way.] and you have what is clearly an attempt to turn Dead Space into a generic third person shooter. The problems from a technical perspective includes a cover system that has no point to it [enemies are such pushovers that they won't last long enough to worry about hiding behind cover.] a dodge button that has no purpose since the dodge button doesn't actually grant you any increased mobility or usefulness in combat even against enemies with RPGs, a weapon's crafting system that again has no purpose since all you need is to build one good weapon from a blueprint and you're set [meaning there is no point in experimenting since literally ANY weapon is more than capable of carrying you through the game], and the fact that there is universal ammo. Now I may be in a minority here, but I find the concept of universal ammo to be stupid. An assault rifle should not be able to use ammo used for a shotgun and vice versa, it's stupid in Mass Effect and its stupid in Dead Space 3. Combine that with a story that completely goes against the ending of Dead Space 2, destroys the mystery surrounding the Necromorphs and the Markers, and through one DLC causes Dead Space to do a triple axle flip over a shark, and you have one of the worst survival horror games in history, arguably the worst game of 2013, and the worst Dead Space game of the franchise. Dead Space 3 gets a 1/4.
Overall, the Dead Space series is a solid survival horror series. For someone who enjoys sci fi horror, its a dream come true. There may be better series out there, but if you enjoy the Thing or Alien, you'll love this series. Just stay far away from Dead Space 3. And bear in mind we may never see a Dead Space 4 due to poor sales and word of mouth, which I can't exactly complain about due to Dead Space 3. The series as a whole, earns a 3.5/4.
3.5/4
Red Vulture out.
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