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Dead Space 3

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 03/01/2013

Posted in: Microsoft, PC Reviews, PlayStation 3, Retro Consoles, Sony, Steam Deck Playable, Steam Deck Verification, Xbox 360. Tagged: dead space 3, ea, horror, monsters, necromorph, origin, pc, scary, shooter, visceral. Leave a comment

Publisher: EA

Developer: Visceral Games

Release Date: 2/5/2013

Available On

Dead Space is one of my favorite franchises of all time. The first game was the most memorable with its deformed and twisted monsters, a very deep and intriguing plot, and revolutionary HUD that was very minimal. Dead Space 2 was more of the same, but not enough new to make it memorable. It also had so-called multiplayer, which was fun for a few hours but quickly got boring. Dead Space 3 is here with a co-op and a new more open design. Is it better than DS2? In a way.

The story is pretty epic and is told on a larger scale now. You are no longer stuck on a derelict ship or space colony. You start out on Earth in your run-down apartment, where we find out Isaac has turned himself into a depressive bum. Ellie has recently left Isaac for another man, but they soon get brought back together to save humanity once again. A crazy man named Danik is trying to find a way to bring humanity to “ascension” and “rebirth” by wanting the Necromorphs to destroy everything. You and a team cast off to the Marker homeworld to stop all this once and for all. The problem here is that the game is stretched out so much that the story is hard to follow during the first half. Cutscenes are too far apart, and so little is told because it is saved for the end. The story is a bit disappointing, and the ending doesn’t have the wow factor that it should. You just finish it and think, “That’s it?” It’s one of those trilogy endings.

The gameplay is pretty much the same and untouched. Things feel a bit more smooth and streamlined, but nothing has changed there. The first big change you will notice is that you can create your own weapons. A crafting system has been implemented where you get loot off of dead bodies to craft various items. You can build weapons from blueprints or build your own. You start out with a frame, then add an upper tool, a lower tool, and a tip for each tool. After that, you can add chips that increase the gun’s stats more than two support modules, such as more ammo, stasis-coated bullets, and various other things. This is really awesome and allows you to combine your favorite weapons. Stick a flamethrower under your shotgun. How about a blade gun under your plasma gun? Do whatever you want. The problem here is that you can only carry two weapons now. This really sucked. I guess they thought that each gun had two weapons, so it really was four. It doesn’t really work that way. It also takes a really long time to gather enough materials to craft anything. I couldn’t really do much until I was nearly halfway through the game. This is to encourage people to spend money on microtransactions and sucker them into buying materials. Taking advantage of impatient gamers isn’t a nice thing to do, but what can you expect from a greedy corporation like EA?

The crafting system is similar to your suit because you can gather materials to upgrade them, like air capacity, stasis, telekinesis, health, and armor. Another major addition is side missions. There are only seven of them in the game, but three additional ones are added for co-op only. I found these side missions boring because they were all the same. Go through the same identical compound, killing hordes of Necromorphs, to find a chest of stuff. The stuff isn’t even that good. The loot packs don’t give you much, so these side missions were disappointing. At least the main missions are fun and varied, with some fun scripted events. You can set out scavenger bots to help find loot if you want, but that’s just a distraction rather than a mission. I felt EA really tried too hard with this game. Instead of making the game memorable like the first one with scares, they just make it completely action-based and stretch out the world.

The first half consists of you floating around several ships in space, trying to find information and various other things. Humans are a new enemy in this game and are a nice change of pace, but the same old Necromorphs pop up. Sure, they are cool, but there weren’t enough new ones. By the end of the game, I was so sick of these damn things. I honestly don’t want to see another Necromorph again, not because they’re scary but because I’m tired of seeing them. The game just isn’t as scary as it used to be. In the beginning, it felt a bit eerie, but after that, it was just the same hordes of monsters coming at you. Once you are done being in space, you crash land on an icy planet, which is the “homeworld,” but things just feel the same here too.

The game just suffers from fatigue at this point. Fans will enjoy this game for sure, but you long for a good scare or something to really change. There is a lot of backtracking towards the end of the game, with you running back and forth through the same area several times. It is almost like the developers ran out of ideas towards the end. I would have loved a shorter, more solid campaign, but what is here is fun. The graphics look good on PC, but the textures still stink. Up-close shots really show that this is a console port. There are some nicer lighting effects, but they are subtle. Even an older rig can handle this game maxed out.

Should you buy this game? If you are a hardcore fan, sure, but I just suggest waiting for a price drop. When you finish this 15-hour campaign, you will be slightly disappointed. Sure, it’s fun and all, and crafting weapons is neat, but the scare factor that people expect when they play a Dead Space game is nearly gone.

Reviewed On

Dead Space 2

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 02/18/2011

Posted in: Microsoft, PC Reviews, PlayStation 3, Retro Consoles, Sony, Steam Deck Playable, Steam Deck Verification, Xbox 360. Tagged: dead space 2, ea, horror, multiplayer, necromorph, online, playstation, playstation 3, ps3, scary, shooter, space, survival, visceral. Leave a comment

Publisher: EA

Developer: Visceral

Release Date: 1/25/11

Available On

Ever since the entertainment industry was born, man has always loved to be scared. Despite our curiosity about death, we loathe it every day, yet we surround ourselves with it in an ironic twist. Dead Space 2 is just a dot on the timeline of horror and death in the media, and we suck it up like candy. What makes Dead Space 2 quench our curiosity for horror and push the human mind to its psychological limits? The story of Isaac Clarke aboard The Sprawl and returning to the Ishimura may hold the answers.

Isaac Clarke wakes up in a straight jacket and is being chased by Necromorphs once again. He has to destroy the marker, but he doesn’t know how. His journey through The Sprawl is very dangerous and gut-wrenching, but I guarantee you’ll love it. The combat is pretty much the same but feels slightly tighter and a little more responsive this time around. De-limbing Necromorphs is as satisfying as ever and proves to be pretty scary and gruesome. You can now use your telekinesis module in combat, such as throwing limbs and objects at enemies to kill them, but I rarely use this method.

There are a ton of weapons at your disposal, but upgrading them all takes a couple of playthroughs since power nodes are harder to come by, and you really need to rely on buying them. The new weapon (there’s only one, sadly) is the javelin gun, which lets you launch spears at enemies and impale them on walls. A secondary fire mode allows you to electrify the spear to shock nearby enemies or do extra damage. It seems a little overpowered, but it works well on larger enemies.

Speaking of new Necromorphs, there are a few great ones. The Stalkers are really great enemies because they hide, peek around corners, and rush you. Using the force gun or the javelin gun and using alt-fire are great ways to stop these guys, or just planting mines. The pack is screaming evil-morphed children that rush you into, well, packs. The force gun is the best way around these guys, or the flamethrower. Another new enemy is crawlers, which are morphed infants that cry like babies and whose bodies can explode. Using the force gun or flamethrower works great here too.

Despite the combat being the same, the pacing is great, and the atmosphere is extremely haunting, especially during the first few chapters. The storytelling is deeper thanks to Isaac actually talking and interacting with the characters. The ending is excellent, but the game runs out of steam after the first few chapters and just becomes a hallway grinding shooting fest. This isn’t to say that’s bad because the varied environments are nice to see, but I would have liked more scripted moments.

Some other key elements have changed, such as zero-gravity gameplay. Instead of jumping from fixed point to point, you can now move around freely, and the sections are much longer and more involved. Sometimes a whole chapter will be in zero gravity, and this includes being out in deep space. I really liked this change, which is probably one of the biggest in the game.

I really feel as if the story mode was well planned out, but the middle of the game is pretty straightforward and keeps the game from getting a higher score. The game is also a lot harder and pretty relentless in doling out enemies at you without stopping. You really need to stay on your toes this time around, and strategy is key to figuring out which weapons work in which situations. So, with the first few chapters and last few being the best, the rest of the game is just mainly atmosphere, but it’s paced well, and that matters a lot.

The multiplayer suite is unusual, but only addictive for a little while. This isn’t like Call of Duty or Halo, where you’ll be coming back for dozens of hours at a time. It plays a lot like the single-player game where you blast away Necromorphs, but humans control those too, and they keep respawning until the objectives are met. You can collect health packs, ammo, etc., but Necromorphs are pretty relentless. There are four types you can play as, and each has its own unique abilities. Ganging up on humans is the best strategy, but sometimes the whole ordeal feels unbalanced since this is a tricky way of doing multiplayer for a game that wasn’t designed for that. The multiplayer is thrilling after a while, but once you play all the maps and classes for a few hours, you’ll be done.

Collector’s Edition: If you want to dish out an extra $20, you get a nice plasma cutter replica that lights up and is built rather nicely. You also get a pointless comic panel, the Zealot force gun and armor, plus the soundtrack. It’s a nice package for $20, and the PS3 version gets Dead Space: Extraction (originally a Wii exclusive) that’s compatible with the Move (but you can use a controller!). Even gamers who aren’t hardcore fans will love this.

Reviewed On

Game of the Year is one of the hardest decisions because so many games are created every year. But to come out on top the game must be excellent in its genre (usually re-define it) and have great production values, and not feel repetitive, and usually, it changes the way we think about games.

Red Dead Redemption

What sets Red Dead apart from all of these other excellent games is how authentic its world is. It feels so real and feels just like the wild west. With excellent voice acting, a huge open world to explore, lots of missions, and it’s just the subtle details that make it a winner. Hunting, gambling, horseback riding, even down to the drinks, attitudes of the people, clothing, accents, it just all adds up to something spectacular and really shows what a game can do. It’s Red Dead’s subtle details that truly make this game shine over the others.

Runner-Ups

Heavy Rain

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God of War III

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Mass Effect 2

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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

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Bayonetta

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

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StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

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Super Mario Galaxy 2

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Alan Wake

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Fallout: New Vegas

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Dante’s Inferno

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Civilization V

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2010 Game of the Year Awards — Achievements — Best New Character

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/17/2010

Posted in: 2010, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2010, achievements, action, adventure, awards, bayonetta, best new character, cowboy, dante, dante's inferno, ea, ethan mars, game of the year, heavy rain, john marston, mafia ii, Microsoft, move, open world, pc, platinum games, playstation, playstation 3, red dead redemption, rockstar games, sandbox, Sega, sexy, shooter, Sony, steam, visceral, vito scaletta, western, xbox, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

Characters are just as essential as stories and they go hand in hand. Characters are what define video game series, and really make gamers separate from each other, and can decide how much a game sells. Developers really strive to make memorable characters, and most of the time it’s a huge factor in sales.

Bayonetta (Bayonetta)

It’s not just Bayonetta’s sex appeal that makes her Messiah’s top pick of the year, but a sexy character in a game that’s actually good? With a good story? Great gameplay? And the best thing since Devil May Cry! It’s a miracle! Bayonetta also has some serious attitude and shows it is not just a trashy trampy way, but with a style that makes you drool with a sexy coolness that would make glaciers melt in sub-zero temperatures. She’s is sassy, smart, sexy, and just overall out for the greater good as well. Her soft side for little girls and her great sense of humor helps her along as well.

Runner-Ups

Vito Scaletta (Mafia II)

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Ethan Mars (Heavy Rain)

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Dante Alighieri (Dante’s Inferno)

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John Marston (Red Dead Redemption)

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Dante’s Inferno

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 03/14/2010

Posted in: Microsoft, PlayStation 3, PSP, Retro Consoles, Sony, Xbox 360. Tagged: action, adventure, dante's inferno, ea, playstation, playstation 3, Sony, visceral. Leave a comment

Publisher: EA

Developer: Visceral

Release Date: 2/5/2010

Also Available On

The first thing you will notice when you play Dante’s Inferno is that it’s a bold game. The game is one of the darkest, nastiest, and most mature games ever created, and it makes Christianity look like a damned fool. The game is about a man named Dante, who is a crusader and betrays his love, Beatrice. Upon his return to Florence, he sees her dead and watches as Lucifer takes her into hell, and Dante follows. The story is pretty good and keeps you interested, but it’s predictable. The game goes extremely deep into Christian and Greek mythology and pulls out names only hardcore followers would know, but enough of the story, let’s get to the gameplay.

The game has a pretty damn solid combat system. You use your scythe as your main weapon, and you have a cross-projectile attack. You can do aerial combat, launch enemies into the air, and use your magic. You can unlock moves by following the holy or unholy paths (which don’t actually affect the story), and each tree has a different set of moves. You can have four different magic items equipped, and all are useful and powerful. You can also find relics throughout the game that benefit Dante in certain ways. For example, one relic allows Dante to have more powerful throw attacks, one lets him instantly break fountains, one lets him take less damage, etc. These are found by talking to Virgil or in secret areas. Anyway, the combat system is fluid, fast, powerful, and very deadly. If you feel you are getting whomped, you can use your redemption meter, which is kind of like Rage of the Titans in God of War.

When it comes to exploration, Inferno both satisfies and disappoints. The game has you descending into the nine circles of hell, and each is harder, more deadly, and more brutal. Some levels are pretty epic, like The City of Dis and Limbo, and some disappoint, like Lust (just an ascending tower) and Gluttony (just fight Cerberus and a few baddies, and you’re down to the next level). The levels are varied in length, and I wish they would have been fleshed out more. Puzzle-solving is pretty rare, and when you do get some puzzles, they are pretty easy to solve.

One thing I have to get straight is that the game is pretty epic. Not a God of War epic, but enough to keep it very cinematic. There are QTEs in the game, such as when you take down a minotaur to ride it, take down bosses, etc. You can punish or absolve most enemies to get fed your tree paths. There are famous historical figures that you find throughout the game that you can punish or absolve upon reading what they ended up in hell for.

The game’s visual style is very impressive. It’s what you think hell would look like—dark, disgusting, and evil. The gluttony level is a good example since you are walking through the intestines, bile, puke, and so forth. The Lust level has female enemies’ wombs coming out of them to attack you. A giant Cleopatra with tongues coming out of her nipples and evil babies—yes, it’s bizarre, but it works, and it’s amazing to look at. The game is also extremely difficult, even in an easy setting. Wave after wave of enemies come at you from all directions, bosses are extremely hard to beat, and the game can be very frustrating often. However, the game’s major flaws are mainly the length, difficulty, and the fact that the levels weren’t developed to their fullest potential.

DIVINE EDITION: Exclusively to the PS3 is the Divine Edition, which includes a different cover, a fully digital version of Dante’s Inferno, and a free code for the Trials of St. Lucia (which is still not out yet). All of this for the same $60 price tag. The only disappointment was that there was no special book that came with the game that included Inferno. Reading the poem in a small window that is over 30 chapters long is not fun at all.

Reviewed On

Dead Space

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 10/05/2009

Posted in: Microsoft, PC Reviews, PlayStation 3, Retro Consoles, Sony, Steam Deck Verification, Steam Deck Verified, Xbox 360. Tagged: dead space, ea, horror, ishimura, Microsoft, necromorph, shooter, survival, visceral, xbox, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

Publisher: EA

Developer: EA Redwood Shores

Release Date: 10/13/2008

Available On

Well, well, well, EA finally pulls itself together. After this and the upcoming Mirror’s Edge, I think EA finally got some brains that we’re full of new IP and original content. Dead Space is a superbly gruesome and atmospherically terrifying game that goes above and beyond the call of duty (no pun intended) when it comes to atmosphere, story, and gameplay ideas. The story is really unique, and it’s been ages since a great new original story has blossomed in the horror genre. You are Isaac Clarke, who is a repairman sent out to the Ishimura to find out why there are no communications on that ship. The ship is known as a “Planetcracker” and is carrying a mysterious relic called “The Marker,” and Isaac finds everyone aboard dead and the place deserted, except for extremely creepy monsters, a couple crazy doctors, and his girlfriend. Yeah, it’s a superb story, and it’ll keep you hooked throughout, but it won’t really unfold until the last three levels.

Let’s go right into gameplay. You can buy five different weapons (yeah, this game needs more weapons). They are the plasma cutter, ripper, flamethrower, force gun, contact beam, and line gun. They are all cool weapons, yet there is a twist: they’re tools, not guns. Isaac is a repairman, not a one-man-army mercenary or ex-military dude. This guy was not trained for combat, and he must learn very quickly how to defend himself. This makes the game feel even more creepy and makes you feel more helpless since you have to make do with what you have. What I loved is that everything is displayed visually, so there are no meters, bars, or gauges telling you your health and ammo. Everything is displayed to you. You have your health bar, which is a bar on your suit; your stasis bar is on your back (more on stasis later); your ammo is displayed holographically when you’re using your weapons; and so is your flashlight.

Everything in the game is easily accessible, and the controls are well mapped out. You can use melee combat by stomping on enemies or punching them. While you’ll not want to do this since it’s a bit clunky, it saves your butt in hairy situations. The way you kill enemies is by dismembering them to do extra damage. If you shoot their legs off, they’ll crawl to you. If you shoot their arms off, they’ll bite you to death. If you shoot one arm and one leg off, they’ll still crawl to you, decapitate them, and well, they’ll still try to kill you! If you get overwhelmed, just use your stasis and slow them; this is a must-do for some creatures like the Twitchers, who run ultra-fast. The creatures are very disturbing and are probably some of the sickest and most twisted things created in a game I’ve ever seen. These things are nasty, and you just feel the pain when you realize they were all once humans (most of them). There are also lots of cinematic sequences, like when a tentacle arm grabs your leg and it’s dragging you down a hall while you’re trying to shoot it off. There are HUMONGOUS boss fights, some turret gun sections, etc.

You’ll never get bored with the game since the scores vary so much. You’ll walk down a hall and a guy will be petting his dismembered leg and then fall over dead; you’ll hear a nurse laugh hysterically and blow her brains out; people will be killed behind bulletproof glass, etc. The game has a very disturbing atmosphere, and you really do get scared with all of the amazing ambient sound effects that will keep you on the edge and make you jump constantly. Dead Space does everything differently from other horror games since it’s all so surreal because of the way it’s done. You really do feel abandoned on a ship that once bustled with life. The graphics are also absolutely amazing; these are some of the best graphics seen so far, and they are breathtaking. There’s not much I can say except see it for yourself; you’ll be blown away!

There are segments that have zero gravity and vacuums. Zero-gravity sections have you jumping around the room, solving puzzles, and shooting things. These are very interesting, and they change the pace a lot. When you enter a vacuum, you are on an air timer, and if you don’t have any spare air, you’re dead! You can upgrade everything via workbenches by finding or buying power nodes. These work like “trees,” where you have to fill a path to that upgrade with nodes. Each weapon has different upgrade specs, and you won’t be able to upgrade them all in one play-through. In fact, it’ll take about two playthroughs to get all the achievements. There is plenty to do in the game, and the achievements are not impossible to get (like in FEAR!!! or Burnout Revenge!!!), so don’t panic.

All I have left to say is that Dead Space is absolutely amazing, and I’d give it a higher score if there were more enemy types, more weapons, and just a bit more variety. There’s enough to keep you interested through a couple of playthroughs, and I hope there will be a sequel (wait, it’s EA, of course there will be!) (Until we hate it.) There are six Dead Space comics available that you can pick up for about $15 each. I HIGHLY suggest reading these since they fill you in about a few weeks before the game takes place. They have the same atmosphere and storytelling as the game, and they are a really good read. Dead Space is one of the best horror-action games made, and this will be a piece of gaming history. I also look forward to the next few sequels.