Dead Space 3 Wiki

Dead Space 3 is a third-person action/horror game from Visceral Games and EA. It’s the third game in the critically acclaimed series launched in February , 2013.

The game is set in outer space with lead protagonist Isaac Clarke, who was sent as an engineer to the USG Ishimura space station. Things go wrong and alien beasts called Necromorphs start killing everyone and converting them.

The first Dead Space game was released in 2009, followed by its successor in 2011, which also included a multiplayer mode.

The platforms are PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. The game was developed by Visceral Games and was published by EA.

EA has confirmed that the game wont be on the Wii U–Nintendo’s next generation system and the successor to the Wii. [reference]

• 1. Development
• 2. Gameplay
• 3. Story
• 4. Characters
• 5. Marketing

Development

Dead Space is a franchise that began as a sleeper hit, with the first game in the series really capturing people’s imagination due to how satisfying it was to shoot Necromorphs and the unique moves that Isaac had in his arsenal to take down a bunch of them. The weapons were unique too with the iconic Plasma Cutter–which became a defining object for the series showcased in box arts and special editions.

The first goal of the development team was not to emulate Resident Evil but provide an action packed game filled with horror moments that will keep players on edge of their seats. The game is set in space so there are quite some ways how could design the game with zero-gravity in mind. Both Dead Space 1 and 2 featured these elements and the third game in the series looks to be following in the same path.

The game has become more action oriented with Dead Space 3 having a co-op mechanic and more emphasis on moving down the Necromorphs. Long term series fans had a bit of objection to the direction taken by Visceral Games, but EA is targeting 5 million sales this time around, so the change in direction is completely expected.

They had also said earlier that the game will be focused on action because gamers Dead Space 1 and 2 were scary for gamers. EA also detailed reasons why they added in co-op to the third game.

“We were doing research coming out of Dead Space 1 and 2 and we’re really proud of those products. We received feedback to understand how we can take the game out to even more consumers,” EA games boss Laura Bailey. “We were hearing feedback that they love the thriller game, but it was pretty scary, and the obvious next step was that they wanted to play with someone. So we introduced co-op into the game.”

“The horror of Dead Space is still all there. It’s still true to its roots and no less scary, but people felt far more comfortable playing it with someone else than they did doing it on their own.” [reference]

In Dead Space 3, you can also craft weapons in addition to upgrading them, build them from scratch, choosing a frame, handle, engine, primary adapter (which effects which form projectiles will be shot as) and more. You can also share the guns you’ve created with friends. [reference]
The game was officially announced at E3 after a few teases earlier, and almost everyone knew the game was in development due to job ad leaks and other things. It was also revealed that the game has drop-in drop-out co-op.

It was also revealed that they were going to drop the multiplayer component that was found in Dead Space 2. A good decision because hardly anyone played that, and it doesn’t fit the tone of the series which has a slow pacing.

Gameplay

Dead Space 3 is a third-person shooter with move and shoot mechanics, and a lot of arsenal of unique weapons is available at your disposal. The game normally requires you to dismember the Necromorphs to prevent them from regenerating. Set in a space station, the game requires you to make use of the unique suit which has an embedded HUD that shows how much health you have and an non-intrusive menu system.

In Dead Space 3 there is co-op and other mechanics that are designed to be friendly to two players. The co-op is implemented properly with some unique twists like follows. There is a 30 storey tall Necromorph called the Nexus. The enemies are more badass this time around.

“If you play single player you’ll hear everything you need to hear to get the whole story.” Unitologists will also pose a threat – and the game will feature “zero gravity space sections, dark corridors, and all the other things that made the series what it is.” [reference]

They have also added a Universal ammo pick-up ability which makes the whole process streamlined.

The streamlining of ammunition brought with it the increased emphasis on combat; this has been greeted with both good and bad reception. While combat overall performs better, it also replaces most of the game’s horror elements which many fans have blamed for the primarily negative opinions of the game.

Story

The Necromorphs are aliens that have been brought into existence due to an alien marker that influences humans and makes them convert other humans into these alien species. The game is set two months after the main characters escaped The Sprawl, where Isaac Clarke and Ellie Langford encounter Sgt. John Carver–your co-op partner and also a vital cog in the story–who survived the Necromorph incident in Planet Uxor and they all discover  Tau Volantis–an Icy planet.

Their ship breaks apart and Ellie is parted prompting Clarke and Carver to go and find her. New enemies are shown and the goal of Isaac in this game is to find the original source of the marker and also find Ellie. Here’s the type of gameplay players encounter on Tau Volantis.

Characters

Isaac Clarke:  The primary protagonist of the game. Clarke is an engineer who uses his engineer tools to kick Necromorphs’ ass. His main goal in Dead Space 3 is to find Ellie who is stranded and also to find the source of the marker and put a stop to the Necromorphs. In Dead Space 2 he escaped from a massive space station called The Sprawl.

Ellie Langford: Ellie, a Class IV Heavy Equipment Pilot, was found in The Sprawl by Isaac and during the events there she lost an eyeball but became Isaac’s closest companion and together they escaped the space station only for their ship to crash and Ellie to land in a planet called the Tau Volantis. She is stranded there and it’s up to Isaac to find her.

Sgt. John Carver: John is Isaac’s partner in the game and one of the survivors of the Necromorph attack. He meets Clarke on route to planet Tau Volantis and they become partners. His only goal is to find and stop the markers from creating more Necromorphs.

Marketing

The Dead Space 3 Limited Edition provides gamers with first access to two game bundles: “First Contact” and “Witness the Truth” – each of which contains an advanced suit and devastating new weapon. These hand-crafted weapon combinations act as initial blueprints for the millions of permutations players are able to create using the all-new weapon crafting system in the game.

Check out both the bundle contents and the trailer below.

First Contact Bundle contents:

• First Contact Suit: This unique EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity) suit was built by the SCAF (Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces) for encounters with “foreign entities.” It sports a flamboyant golden finish to provide protection from long-term space exposure and thick armor for… unspecified reasons. The suit was given the nickname “First Contact” by the scientists who made it.

• Negotiator Weapon: While technically classified by the SCAF as a “scientific instrument,” the gold-plated “Negotiator” is loaded with some surprisingly aggressive hardware. The overclocked, top-mounted Tesla Beam is capable of bursting a man-sized organism into several pieces with a single shot. The bottom-mounted Linegun appears to have been built with the sole purpose of cleanly dismembering organic tissue from a distance.

Witness the Truth Bundle contents:

• Witness Suit: These insulated suits were worn by a SCAF deep dig team assigned to exhume the darkest secrets of Tau Volantis. Whatever they found locked deep in the ice changed them forever. When they emerged weeks later, they were covered head to toe in strange graffiti and claimed to be “Witnesses to the Truth.”

• Evangelizer Weapon: A modification of the standard AL-2 used by the Sovereign Colonies Legionaries, this version sports a souped-up AL-2g assault rifle on the top with an Emerson 2100 “Big Boy” tactical shotgun on the bottom. The surviving “Witnesses” of the SCAF deep dig team dubbed it the Evangelizer and decorated them top to bottom with strange symbols.

New concept art for the game was revealed for Visceral Games, it showed bosses and environments. [reference]

This wiki was last updated on 1st, January, 2015.