Because I needed a new journal up here.

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*POSSIBLE SPOILERS: READ AT OWN RISK*

Dead Space 3 released this past Tuesday to some very mixed reviews, which is putting it lightly. I've seen a ton of backlash against the game for numerous reasons similar to those that are being thrown at the Resident Evil series as of late.

"This isn't survival horror, it's an action game."

"It's not scary."

"Weakest of the series."

"Another franchise ruined because of budgets/reaching a larger audience."

This seems to be a common theme with most "horror" games which come out nowadays, with a lot of people crying over the ruining of the gaming industry and who hold indie games such as Amnesia, Limbo, and even Slender now as the only true horror games to come out in recent memory. And not to take anything away from those games, because I do find them all to be sufficiently scary in their own right, but to throw so much hate towards Dead Space 3 seems excessive.

I've played through the main campaign twice now. Once on normal and once on the unlockable "classic mode" because daddy needs his hand cannon (go look to see what I'm talking about). I'd have to admit during my initial play through I did feel like I was coasting. I seemed to have ample resources available to me, never once running low on ammo or health, and I always seemed to mow necromorphs down like Issac had started his own extermination business for a living (which at this point in his story, he might as well). I was also very disappointed with the fact that the plasma cutter, which is the iconic weapon of the series quickly becomes absolutely useless before the first half of the game has gone by. And this is coming from a guy who beat DS1 and DS2 using nothing but the plasma cutter.

But after my first run I decided to start New Game+ and the "Classic Mode" which only allows you to use weapons from Dead Space 1 and allows no weapon crafting. This mode as well as the "Survival" mode unlocked after you beat the game for the first time are both set on the "Hard" Difficulty. And boy what a change that was. Suddenly I was without the large quantity of ammo and health I had in my previous run. My carefully crafted death machines were gone and I had to approach every encounter with a bit more strategy. And every single shot and health pack used meant something, which further incurred the feeling of dread that came over me every time I went into a new room.

This was the Dead Space I remembered.

Primarily, Dead Space has always outwardly relied on the "jump scare" and they're not too shy about admitting that fact. But there are subtle horrors in Dead Space 3 that don't automatically jump out at you that still made me feel like this was an appropriate entry to the franchise. The best scene in Dead Space 2 by far was when you had to reenter the USG Ishimura, the planet cracking space ship which was the primary setting of Dead Space 1. Memories and even in-game hallucinations concerning this ship. Why this was effective was mainly for the reason of suspense. You had been through this area before in another game, remembering exactly where certain enemies would appear. And yet none came, at least not until you were half way through the chapter.

Though Dead Space 3 admittedly is more of an action game, it does find ways to build up suspense over the course of the game. Traversing through derelict ships in outer space, walking through abandoned outposts on Tau Volantis, and viewing the last recorded messages from the Starship Trooper-esque space marines and scientists who were stationed there all help build this tension up until you're finally attacked by a suddenly appearing necromorph from the snow or a ventilation shaft you hadn't seen.

Probably the most effective use of this is after you initially crash land on Tau and are searching for a snow suit to keep yourself warm. You end up in a basement surrounded by creatures known as the "Feeders," skeletal looking necromorphs who come at you in packs, yet you can actually avoid most confrontations with them by distracting them with thrown objects because of their poor eye sight. During the harder difficulties this is advisable, especially because of the lack of resources to effectively heal yourself and get through a battle. Creeping past these enemies is absolutely something I'd expect more out of this kind of game, specifically because Clarke isn't a soldier, but an engineer.

Speaking of which, this that is precisely the reason why I enjoy the new "crafting" system in this game. It absolutely makes sense that Clarke, who was originally played up as the next Gordon Freeman-esque smart dude forced to become a badass, can take scrap materials and turn them into instruments of death. There are two main complaints about this feature though: first that it's time-consuming and draws you out of the actual meat of the game, which I feel isn't really the case once you understand how the system works. The second comes from the "micro-transaction" aspect of the game. For those who don't know, EA has given players the option to purchase resource packs with actual money containing raw materials and weapon parts to make more effective weapons. Essentially, if someone were so inclined to spend the money, they could build a maxed out arsenal at the first "Bench" they come across in the game. Now while yes, I don't think that's a very sportsmanlike way to go about playing the game, it is simply an "option" which doesn't really change the game of someone like me who wouldn't even consider dropping money on downloadable content that doesn't expand my gaming experience, but simply makes cosmetic or gives me what is essentially a "cheat". And it certainly doesn't break the game, in my opinion.

Now I can see I'm going on a little long here, but in short, Dead Space 3 is very much still a horror game and a good addition to the franchise. I feel the main complaints rendered against it are thrown at it mainly by those people who feel every horror game should be Silent Hill 2 or the original Resident Evil. And keep in mind, a lot of great franchises turned more action oriented and are still beloved by their respective fan bases, ie Aliens and Terminator 2. Just because a game gets slightly more action oriented doesn't necessarily detract from the game itself or the fun that can be had from it.