Dead Space 3

It took me a day to open Dead Space 3, mainly because its predecessors left their mark. Dead Space veterans know what I’m talking about: alien creatures that want to kill you and turn you into one of them, popping out of everywhere; hallucinations of Isaac’s former girlfriend appearing at inopportune moments to terrify the hell out of you.

So it was a bit of a relief to find that DS3 didn’t quite wreak the same psychological havoc. That’s not to say it isn’t a good game; it is, although tsome elements could have done with a little more work, if I’m being honest.

Once again, the Markers are causing an alien virus outbreak – you’d think that by now everyone would have twigged that these things are bad news – and Isaac Clarke is off to try to save the day. Again.

There is definitely a larger emphasis on action in the third instalment. What Dead Space did brilliantly was stretch your nerves to almost breaking point before hitting you with ugly waves of the undead necromorphs. That’s not quite as obvious here. On the other hand, if you like stomping aliens into the ground, you’ll love DS3 – especially when you ditch the easier modes and head for “impossible”.

There’s also the option to play in co-op mode, which means you don’t feel quite as alone when being stalked by mutated corpses.

Overall, Dead Space 3 is enjoyable. Yes, you have to constantly blast aliens to bits, and that’s the main objective. And there are times when you think that the writers could have done a better job of making the story stand out, and ditched some of the more repetitive elements.

But while the fear factor isn’t quite as high, there are nicely creepy moments throughout.