“Dead Space 3” looks great, and its wintry locale offers a nice change of pace from the endless Ridley Scott corridors of past games, but the demo still left me with a sinking feeling. From the introduction of a cover system and co-op, to a much heavier reliance on human enemies and/or zombies who fire guns and act like humans, it feels like “Dead Space” is inching towards “Gears of War” and away from its roots in survival horror. Granted, “Dead Space” has always had a shade more Michael Bay about it than most of its brethren, that’s why we love it, but now it feels like the balance might tip too far.
There were a few attempts at “scare moments” at the beginning of the demo, if by “attempt” you mean a loud musical stab as an enemy casually (almost hilariously) strolls into your field of view. Not a single person in the audience jumped, I kid you not, and the volume was cranked. The demo then disposed of such things forever, and quickly funneled us into a bunch of cover-based firefights with humans and the aforementioned trigger-happy zombies.
The team from Visceral seemed very jumpy about the introduction of co-op, constantly assuring us that the game could still be played solo and they weren’t messing with the formula. But the co-op didn’t bother me, even if it does have a reputation for sucking the scare out of scary games. What bothered me was watching the gunplay trend towards a much more convention, “Uncharted” experience. When Isaac Clarke dropped a few zombies by aiming at their heads, as opposed to their limbs, I really began worrying.
With all this said, however, there are a lot of good things about what Visceral is up to. The snowy levels are wide open and ominous, and I’m excited to explore them. The drop-in-drop-out-whenever co-op is a welcome addition, as is the introduction of a priceless evasive roll. I didn’t even know I was missing that option in past games, but once I saw it in action, I realized how many times I had desperately needed it. Also, the demo featured one pretty outstanding action set piece that dropped my jaw. I won’t spoil it, but I’ll give you a hint: Jonah and the whale.
We’ve seen “Resident Evil” go down the action road, and even though I think RE5 was a quality game, I concur with its detractors that it set a bad precedent. Once horror goes action, it very rarely ever comes back. “Dead Space 2” hit the sweet spot between “holy sh@t!” action and horror, and while it wasn’t scary per se, it did ooze atmosphere. With “Dead Space 3,” that atmosphere will hopefully be retained, but the more I see things that remind me of Marcus Fenix and Nathan Drake, the more I worry.
_AA
ipacial section
3 Comments
Arrgghhh!! I don’t need to have cover mechanics in every game!
I know, right?
I agree. The fact that this game series made you rely on sheer tactics alone instead of cover mechanics was one of the draws.
On the other hand, there weren’t any combat-able human enemies in DS1 or DS2.
I’m hoping that the cover system is really only useful in situations against enemies with guns… and that enemies with guns aren’t the main focus.