In just a few short weeks, the third game in Visceral Games’ popular thriller, Dead Space, will be released. To wet your appetite, if you’re into Necromorphs, they will be releasing a demo to the public next week but we managed to get our grubby mitts on it a little early and here’s what we thought!
The demo has been released to show off three main elements: single player, co-op and weapon crafting – a new feature for the series. Starting out with the campaign, player-one takes control of Isaac Clarke from the previous games while player-two, who can drop in and out of the co-op whenever they feel like it without interrupting the game, will play as John Carver, a EarthGov Sergeant. From what the demo had to offer, the co-op only added a few additional features, which will be explained below, but there is likely greater differences in the full game.
One of the first things veterans of Dead Space will notice is the change in the environments. Alongside the cramped hallways of the spaceships and space stations, we now find Isaac and his companion venturing into the open wastelands of a snow filled planet. This change in scenery is a welcome one and really freshens up the feel of Dead Space and allows for some new battle situations. While the Necromorphs are still your main enemy, there are also soldiers trying to hunt you down, which means Isaac, an engineer, has to deal with trained enemies with guns – it’s a good job he’s spent two games practicing his aim!
There are many new types of Necromorphs both large and small that require specific ways to be killed. You will still be aiming for limbs, but they come in all shapes and sizes, much like the second game, so changing your weapon is vital in a tight spot. Battling enemies can be the least of your worries at times as the planet is hazardous in it’s own right with collapsing machinery and unstable land. These usually result in quick time events which differ depending on whether you are playing single player or co-op. In single player you will have to put in more work to survive, while in co-op your partner will be able to assist you and get you to safety much quicker.
The kiosks are back and allow you to change suits, which are looking very detailed, and you can also upgrade them here to increase your health, air reserves and armour. The shop has now been removed, unless it’s available later, and all weapon crafting is done from the bench. The bench now allows you to craft new weapons from scratch and upgrade existing ones but to a whole new level compared to the previous games. While fighting Necromorphs and exploring you will come across lots of useful bits and bobs such as scrap metal, scopes and frames for weapons. You can then create new weapons from blueprints you find or simply create a weapon from scratch.
Creating a weapon from scratch gives you complete freedom over what your weapon does in every respect. As an example of what you can do with the bench: a weapon created in just a few minutes had a scoped tesla coil as the main fire weapon and a burst fire machine gun as the alt fire, which both apply a small stasis to the enemy and also have increased damage and accuracy. This thing tore the limbs of Necromorphs like there was no tomorrow, which means, with some thought, even more powerful weapons can be created. The greatest thing about the weapon crafting is any weapon you create can be shared with your friends, which means you are able to show off your greatest creations!
Overall the demo will just leave you wanting more and if you’ve yet to play a single Dead Space game you still have time to get cracking on them! For those of you who have played and completed them, you can enjoy the dedicated weapon crafting mode included in the demo or simply play through the campaign level again and again!
