The original Dead Space was a pleasant surprise in 2008, and garnered much praise and a fan following. I love “haunted space ship” movies, and as you probably know, there aren’t that many. So when the original DS came out, I was all over it. I was excited when DS2 came out, but that excitement faded when I felt like I was just playing more of the same. Luckily, DS3 does not have that problem. It does what a successful sequel should—feel both familiar and new at the same time.

This game focuses on action more than resource management. Which is fine for me, because I’m about as good at managing resources in video games as I am in real life. (Now if you’ll excuse me I have to eat this bologna sandwich for lunch because I spent my entire paycheck on Ultraman figurines from Japan.) Seriously, they give you plenty o’ ammo in the game, which is a big departure from previous games.

And I need said ammo, because I tend to waste it. The monsters in this game are really freaky. Way scarier than most games due to the horrid, unnerving sounds they make, the fact that they seem to pop out of nowhere, and they’re really fast. I will say, most games don’t scare me, but when I see these guys I turn into an inflatable, wacky-arm-waving man shooting everything in sight but the monster. 

Mr. Isaac Clark now has the ability to duck behind stuff for the shooter sections of the game. He can also do a combat roll! I love combat rolls! I didn’t really feel like these added much to the game as you spend most of it exploring spaceships full of dead people that stay dead and others that turn into scary monsters and try to kill you, but I supposed it’s nice to have a little more variation in the action.

The outer space stuff is a lot cooler in this game. Isaac can now control where he flies by means of his suit, and those sections are where the game really shines. There’s a beautiful part of the game where you’re flying around space above a giant glowing blue planet with derelict spaceships and other debris gently floating around. It’s one of those “magic” video game moments where you just have to stop and take it all in. Unfortunately, you can’t for very long, because your oxygen only lasts 280 seconds. To me this is completely absurd, considering spacesuits today have oxygen tanks that can last 6–8 hours and this game takes place in the future. But that’s video game logic for you!

Also new in this game, you can make your own weapons and other useful things like ammo and the all-important time-slowing stasis packs. I fooled around with some weapons, but essentially stuck with the tried-and-true cutter and machine gun. And like in previous games, you can upgrade your weapons and suit as the game progresses.

And of course the game now features a co-op mode. But I am too afraid to play it because I don't want a random online person see me flail around like Don Knotts every time a monster attacks me. You can't play the whole game on co-op, just selected missions.  

This game is a beauty to behold. The creatures are nightmarish, the ships filthy and claustrophobic, and there is plenty of gore to go around. As I mentioned above, the outer space stuff is downright inspiring at times, and the entire game is polished and the result of a lot of money and very talented people. These are the kinds of games that come at the end of a console’s life cycle when programmers have become experts at squeezing all the juice out of the machine.

Dead Space 3 is a creepy good time. Fans of the original might be mad by the abundance of ammo, but it’s all right with me. I’d rather have too much ammo, than have none and run around like Shaggy from Scooby Doo while a two-headed, five-armed cockroach/man/zombie chews on my head until it’s gone. But that’s just me!     

Hint: Don't play this game alone with the lights off. Unless you're not a scaredy cat like I am. 

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by Urian Brown