It all started a long time ago when a cursed artefact was discovered.

Those were the bad times in our future history, almost no resources left and way too many people. So this strange object that seemed to have an inexhaustible source of power was received as a true salvation. But then disaster struck. Almost all of the human colonies began to show signs of a strange infection that turned humans in horrible killer creatures. And despite all the chaos and destruction that this artefact brought upon our kind, a strange religion rised from humanity's ruins: the Unitology. Its believers were convinced that this alien object, now known as the Black Marker and all its human made copies, are good and this is an evolutive process that must be let to take place...no matter what the consequences would be. The unitologists, lead by Michael Altman, are a strong force, able to whitstand a gread deal of influence, and the one man that can stand against them is Isaac Clarke, a simple engineer. But Clarke's mind holds a terrible secret as it was in direct contact with one of the markes and that changed his life forever. Now he's the only human that can build a new marker and the only one that can destroy them.

If you enter Dead Space 3's universe without any other previous contact with this franchise, things might look a bit strange at first, especially as Isaac's background is quite limited to only a few relevant details. But for all of you - the others - that have played Dead Space before, there's not going to be all that much of a difference from the previous episodes. Basically, the gameplay stayed the same and the few modifications that the producers introduced aren't all that important.

Still, as in many of the modern games, the first level was kept on a lighter note, being more of an introduction to the main plot and a good excuse to get the players (re)aquainted with the controls. Especially as the screen was cleared of any signs and indicators. Instead of that, the health meter was quite cleverly disguised in Isaac's back gear and the remaining ammo meter was transfered direcly onto a small screen in the right side of the weapons. So yeah, that's a unique feature of this shooter. Here we go again It doesn't take long to discover the plot behind the game's scenario: A crucial event that threatened to turn the tide in humanity's war for survival against the markers. A series of research data unraveled the fact that all the markers have a common source, a planet called

Tau Volantis, something that you might call hell if not for the freezing temperatures and all the dangers that are lurking around. 200 years after these main events, we get to see Isaac Clarke that, after numerous troubles, decided to take a low profile and avoid the official authorities that in the past tried to disect his mind for knoledge about the markers. A lousy appartment on a lunar colonyand some old photos, nothing much yet quite enough after all that fighting for survival. But what hero could stay away when his ex-girlfriend's life is at stake. So Isaac has to get back in the game, just to find out that Michael Altman and his unitology troops are onto him. So in just a couple of minute, Isaac departure from the lunar colony turns into a desperate fight for survival that will take him, step by step, closer to Tau Volantis. But as ever, his plasma cutter remains a trusted and efficient ally, both against unitarian soldiers and in Isaac fights with the monsters formed after the colony's marker has been turned on. First class horror Despite some malicious remarks regarding the first trailers published by the devs, the thing is that the game's atmosphere is as horror as every other Dead Space title ever was. In fact, from some viewpoints things went even further, taking the suspense a step further with very well thought fight scenes that escalates the tension until that critical point where its all down to fighting for your life. After escaping from the, now infected, moon colony, Isaac and a small party led by John Carver leave in search of Ellie, Clarke's ex girlfriend and one of the few that were still pursuing the intel about the original planet of the markers. But the flight turns in more than what they bargained for when their FTL flight ends up in a field of space debrees on the high orbit of Tau Volantis. Sadly, the team is forced to leave their ship, badly damaged by some space mines and take refuge on one of the wrecked ships floating around. But even after 200 years none of these vessels are empty as the crew members turned...into something else. Of course, hanging to that well thought horror athmosphere, the game doesn't throw monsters at you from the first moment you get on board. You may pass through severall halls and rooms without encountering anyone and then, suddenly you start to see dried blood on the walls and wonder what the heck happend there. Its only the first sign that something bad took place back 200 years ago. And then, out of the shadows or from that elevator close to you, a large monster attacks you without any warning. Indeed, this isn't a game for those suffering from heart issues. High tech stuff

Speaking of monsters, they come in various shapes and sizes, many having even regeneration abilities, something that makes them close to impossible to defeat. But such a large field of debrees cand be an ideal opportunity for an engeneer like Isaac. All sorts of parts can be found both on the ships and in space, turning this game in more than a simple monster shooting adventure. We're talking here about serious upgrades, both for the weapons and for Clarke's suit. Actually, one of the most interesting element in Dead Space 3, is the presesnce of the Work Station, a kind of work bench where you can modify your gear using special menus. You could say that this is as simple as a game of Lego because all you need to do is combine compatible parts between them in order to obtain the best configuration possible. More or less there's an infinite number of combinations available where you can join the efficiency of the plasma cutter with the high damage of a grenade launcher or a flame thrower. And beyond these high tech weapons, Isaac has two more special abilities: telekinesis and the power to freeze his enemies for a certain amount of time. But both are limited in time so if you play Dead Space 3 you will have to learn how to use them wisely. The good looks I must say that this game has an excellent graphics to it and DS3 really manages to catch that sense of horror and suspance. But as good as the visual effects are, they come with a cost of their own as some older PCs won't be able to render them properly. As is, Isaac Clarke is one of the best represented characters in terms of graphics and his armored suit was created to the smallest detail so not to disturb the player's eye in any way. And while his suit looks awesome, for those of you that bought the cross promotion between Mass Effect 3 and Dead Space 3, there's also gonna be available the N7 suit wore by Shepard in ME3. The co-op is at its best If you want a really interesting experience from Dead Space 3, you should try out the co-op function where you will play together with a friend. But of course, one of you will have to borrow John Carver's space boots as there's no way you could have two Isaacs at the same time. But anyway, this is mode will unravel more of Carver's personal life and tragedy, opening the road for a more unexplored part of the game's script. Moreover, there are going to be interesting elements to the co-op, special missions and puzzles designed to be solved only as a team, and so on... And here I draw the line

Its anyting but easy to condense such a great deal of information in such a small space but as is, I belive you have enough to get a picture of what kind of game Dead Space 3 is. It is also obvious that we're talking about a very good game with a complex story that will keep you connected to it for the whole lenght of the game. So I really recomend you play Dead Space 3 not only for its above mentioned qualities but also because this is one of the most interesting games of the year.