ISSAC WAS A HIGH FUNCTIONING SPANNER IN A SPACE SUIT.
The game does away with the idea of fixed weapons types and the credit-fuelled upgrade system of the prior games. This time, each weapon can be crafted from scratch and is comprised of integral components such as weapon frame, tool, modules, upgrade circuits and attachments. All these elements can be mixed and matched and fundamentally affect various attributes of the weapon. For example, a frame decides if the gun is one or two handed and how many upgrades it can carry, whereas weapon tools actually determine what sort of projectile or energy source it will employ. Upgrade circuits, as the name suggests, enhance parameters such as damage, speed, reload time, clip size and more. Modules affect alternate fire. Attachments, more or less, are similar to passive buffs found in RPG games. They imbue a weapon with additional fire, electricity and stasis effects, in addition to providing scopes, energy concentrators and even healing properties.
In essence, Dead Space 3 has pretty much crammed its weapon crafting system with every conceivable element from an RPG skill tree. This lets players create a staggering permutations and combinations of weapons and save their creations as blueprints in order to share with their friends. All that weapon building requires resources, which can be garnered through crates and enemy drops. The game would have been great if it had just ended here.
However, even Dead Space 3 doesn't escape EA's penchant to squeeze lunch money out of kids with its mad push for microtransactions. The game essentially locks you out of sampling the weapon crafting and modification feature to the fullest for the want of resources. Mind you, the resources aren't scarce to create tension, but to ensure that you end up spending real cash for these raw materials that EA shrewdly describes as "DLC" to avoid the microtransaction controversy. Not that it helps, though
Prima facie, the concept of automated resource gathering with the Scavenger Bots seems like a viable alternative to paying real cash to buy what you need. Just drop one down and it goes about mining for raw materials, which will be in your inventory after a short while. Unfortunately, these bots are frustratingly slow and don't scavenge enough resources to make much difference. Not unless you plonk Rs 600 to increase their speed and efficiency.
This paying for resources business doesn't sit well with me because it creates a clear conflict of interest. I mean, it's hard to trust a game where developers have to make a choice between implementing gameplay tweaks and design decisions to make it fun for the gamer and doing the same to make them spend their hard-earned cash on in-game content. Although it's tragic of EA to cripple Real Racing 3 with ludicrous microtransctions, one can argue that it's after all a free game. However, it is downright ridiculous to take the same approach with Dead Space 3, especially after charging Rs 3,000 for it.
This paying for resources business doesn't sit well with me because it creates a clear conflict of interest. I mean, it's hard to trust a game where developers have to make a choice between implementing gameplay tweaks and design decisions to make it fun for the gamer and doing the same to make them spend their hard-earned cash on in-game content. Although it's tragic of EA to cripple Real Racing 3 with ludicrous microtransctions, one can argue that it's after all a free game. However, it is downright ridiculous to take the same approach with Dead Space 3, especially after charging Rs 3,000 for it.
There's a possibility that the microtransaction business may have even caused far-reaching effects to the core gameplay mechanics. It was rumoured that the developers had to include the microtransactions pretty late in the development stage, and the system has therefore been retrofitted into what was essentially supposed to be the traditional Dead Space approach to resource handling. Although it's difficult to confirm this rumour, one can't help but notice a distinct lack of balance in Dead Space 3 when compared to the last two games. This time around, the latest instalment simply doesn't have the tight control over ammo and upgrades that the last two games spoiled me with.
The downside to creating any sort of weapon you want clearly lies in how deceptively easy it is to craft a gun that can take down Necromorphs in a single shot. The concept of unified ammunition makes matters worse by ensuring that you no longer run the risk of using up all ammo should you choose to spam enemies with your favourite gun. Yes, this brand of simplification also means that you don't have much to lose if you don't spend real money on upgrades. However, the idea isn't just to save money, but to instead create an enriching survival-horror experience by challenging the player. Dead Space 3's lack of balance tends to take the fun out for those seeking a challenge.
More bad news awaits fans of the franchise, because the PS3 version that I have tested at least seems to have stagnated from the graphics perspective. I don't mean that the game looks dated, but if you approach this expecting a major eye candy jump over the last game, you'll be sorely disappointed. What's worse, however, is how the 3D modellers working on this game somehow managed to make a right mess of Ellie's face. It genuinely made me wondered if Visceral had outsourced the task of creating that particular model to a Maya Academy reject over here. Fortunately, the sound department makes up for Dead Space's poor visual showing, as it is expected from any EA game.
The downside to creating any sort of weapon you want clearly lies in how deceptively easy it is to craft a gun that can take down Necromorphs in a single shot. The concept of unified ammunition makes matters worse by ensuring that you no longer run the risk of using up all ammo should you choose to spam enemies with your favourite gun. Yes, this brand of simplification also means that you don't have much to lose if you don't spend real money on upgrades. However, the idea isn't just to save money, but to instead create an enriching survival-horror experience by challenging the player. Dead Space 3's lack of balance tends to take the fun out for those seeking a challenge.
More bad news awaits fans of the franchise, because the PS3 version that I have tested at least seems to have stagnated from the graphics perspective. I don't mean that the game looks dated, but if you approach this expecting a major eye candy jump over the last game, you'll be sorely disappointed. What's worse, however, is how the 3D modellers working on this game somehow managed to make a right mess of Ellie's face. It genuinely made me wondered if Visceral had outsourced the task of creating that particular model to a Maya Academy reject over here. Fortunately, the sound department makes up for Dead Space's poor visual showing, as it is expected from any EA game.
The Dead Space franchise has been admired for its rich mythos fleshed out with excellent narrative. The latest instalment, however, screws the pooch on that aspect rather spectacularly. It's clearly evident that in its quest to emulate the success of cover shooters, Dead Space 3 has also imbued their hackneyed plots and puerile narrative style. This is compounded by the game's 20-hour playtime that has been padded with objectives spread out excessively far apart from each other and Quick-Time Events that get repetitive over time. The linear progression and uninspired level design tends to make the proceedings seem longer than they should rightly feel.
At the end of the day, although Dead Space 3 manages to be a decent shooter at heart, it still pales in comparison to the survival-horror greatness of its predecessors. It may have the big-budget trappings of a AAA game, but all the cinematics and eye candy in the world cannot save it from the largely banal and uninspired implementation of these elements. This is all the more conspicuous in the face of a weak narrative that tends to undo the legacy of the past two games. When stripped of its tension and survival-horror roots, what you're left with is a mediocre cover shooter that doesn't live up to the series' standards.
At the end of the day, although Dead Space 3 manages to be a decent shooter at heart, it still pales in comparison to the survival-horror greatness of its predecessors. It may have the big-budget trappings of a AAA game, but all the cinematics and eye candy in the world cannot save it from the largely banal and uninspired implementation of these elements. This is all the more conspicuous in the face of a weak narrative that tends to undo the legacy of the past two games. When stripped of its tension and survival-horror roots, what you're left with is a mediocre cover shooter that doesn't live up to the series' standards.
CONCLUSION-
RATING-7.5/10
PRICE-2,999.
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