I'm having a hard time remembering Dead Space 3.

It's not that I've recently become afflicted with amnesia or anything like that. I just don't find the game all that memorable. If you read my review, you'll know that I had my share of gripes with the third title in what was previously known to me as one of the better sci-fi horror series I've played.

I can recount scenes to you that stuck with me from the original Dead Space and its sequel. I can slip off and recall memories filled with genuine fear and creepiness. The first time I floated through zero gravity, or the infamous eyeball scene. Revisiting Ishimura, or the baby Necromorph introduction. These are all memories that I've kept with me since playing the previous two Dead Space titles.

What Dead Space 3 was missing, among many other things, were those memorable moments. It was the lack of creepiness that really struck me as odd about Visceral Games' latest foray into their horror series. Where were the hallucinations? Where were the mind twists and the horrifying cultist attitude?

They were saved for Awakened, apparently.

Awakened actually starts off sort of weak. The new content picks up where the game left off, somehow sparing the lives of Isaac and Carver, who are left stranded on Tau Volantis. Their initial mission is to find a way off the planet, to get back home safely. Ok, so far so boring. But the duo soon meet what appears to be a sect of the Church of Unitology crazier than any worshipper you've ever encountered before. They're self-mutilating and whispering their fears to no one in particular, over and over again. This is more like it.

WHY: All of Dead Space 3's creepy is hiding in Awakened. And the cooperative portions are fun and fairly clever.

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Dead Space 3: Awakened

Developer: Visceral Games
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360 (reviewed)
Released: March 12th

Type of game: Third-person shooter, survival horror

What I played: Two-ish hours cooperative on hard difficulty.

Two Things I Loved

• Creepy, mutilated cultists and the psychological thrill of hallucinations.
• Fun cooperative elements, including the evolving relationship between Isaac and Carver.

My Two Things I Hated

• Boring introduction that dragged its feet before getting to the fun parts.
• Rough storytelling that doesn't play up its strengths, like its villains and the mystery behind them.

Made-to-Order-Back-of-Box-Quotes

• "Are you next to me? Where are you? Are you seeing this? What's happening? Who's attacking you? Do you see me? Is it over?" —Tina Amini, Kotaku.com
• "It's evil Edward Scissorhands!" —Tina Amini, Kotaku.com

It doesn't take long for it all to start getting to Isaac and Carver. They suffer from frequent, and what look like painful hallucinations. Granted, most of these hallucinations are the same image burned into your screen at random intervals. Other times it involves battles against the new mutilated enemies (which you can watch in action in the video posted at the end of this article). Are you being attacked? Did you get separated from your partner? Who knows. You just shoot and pray, and hope there's a bottle of advil somewhere to quiet the inevitable in-game headaches.

The hallucinations begin to take their toll on the two, and it becomes a divisive point between them, which then begets some interesting tension in the storyline. Yes! Finally, I say aloud to my co-op buddy. This is what I've wanted. A reason to feel more invested in the people I'm adventuring with/as. Dead Space 3 felt like it was filled with characters I couldn't care less about. I was listening in on the drama of some bizarre romantic triangle instead of getting deep inside the psychological damage these horrors were inflicting on Isaac, and potentially other people. But Awakened ignores all the cheesy film fodder in favor of real drama, and Isaac and Carver's relationship unfolding throughout that is a good execution of it.

Isaac's unhealthy drive to purge the universe of Necromorphs becomes abundantly clear, all the more so when juxtaposed with Carver's no bullshit demeanor. Carver works almost to balance Isaac, giving him a good slap across the head when he needs it, sometimes literally and sometimes figuratively.

I've said here on Kotaku that Dead Space 3 is more fun to play with a friend. That holds true for Awakened. The creepy interlude is followed by some really interesting cooperative elements that were surprisingly fun to play. Visceral toys with some good ideas in the latter half of this new content. It's not just about watching your partner's back in battle. You'll work together to complete tasks. You'll interact in an entirely unfamiliar way than you have ever before in this game.

The new downloadable content may not be perfect. The pacing is a little odd and the framing of the villain side of the story feels hackneyed even though there's certainly potential for it to be unique. The main villain seems like he could be a fascinating character, but he's drowned out with focus leaning favorably to other angles, like on Isaac and Carver and their escape. It may also be somewhat "too little, too late" when thinking about Dead Space 3 as a whole. But it's a welcome addition to a horror experience that was seriously lacking in horror. And the fun cooperative elements? Well that's just the perfect excuse I need to get a friend online to play a game with me.

Proof That There's Some Creepiness Left In Dead Space 3, Thanks To New Content

One of my biggest problems with Dead Space 3 is that it is utterly lacking in the hallucination department. What happened to all those twisted, freaky things I witnessed in the first two titles?
Playing as Isaac got you close to zero hallucinations. More »

One of my biggest problems with Dead Space 3 is that it is utterly lacking in the hallucination department. What happened to all those twisted, freaky things I witnessed in the first two titles?

Playing as Isaac got you close to zero hallucinations. You could get minor satisfaction in co-op while playing as Carver, but even then the acid trippy moments felt thin. And weak.

Well, fortunately we're getting more Dead Space 3 content. Awakened, the DLC that releases today, brings some of the much-needed creepy back.

What kind of creepiness, you say? Look no further than the video above, which I captured earlier tonight while playing cooperatively with a friend. Beware of minor enemy spoilers, which are new in this latest chapter. But if you're up for a little tease, the video will give you a glimpse at what I'm referencing.

Expect my review of Awakened tomorrow.

Dead Space 3 presented a pretty radical departure from the first two games in the sci-fi horror series. Too many fetch quests and co-operative play made Isaac Clarke's third outing against the Necromorphs feel less scary and atmospheric than DS1 & DS2. But, most of all, longtime Dead Space fans missed the freaky hallucinations that made Isaac Clarke doubt his own sanity.

But, you don't have to worry: the mindfuckery is coming back.

Next week's Awakened DLC is an epilogue to Dead Space 3's main storyline that pits Isaac and partner character John Carver against crazy Unitology cultists on the derelict wreck of the Terra Nova. At a recent preview, an EA representative told Kotaku that head trips are going to be a major part of Awakened and that those who play as Isaac will experience up more hallucinations in the DLC than in the whole game. You can still play co-op, too.

If you want the horror to come back to Dead Space 3, then you should know that Awakened is coming to PSN, Xbox Live and Origin on March 12. European PSN gets it on March 13.

It's been over two years since we saw the design for the first one, but Indonesian artist machine56's amazing line of Dead Space hoodies and shirts are now finally ready to order, direct from the artist.

You'll find ordering info below, as well as a full catalogue containing other pieces, some Dead Space-related, others less so. Those RIG and Ishimura hoodies are just the best.

5060 X DS3 PREORDER [machine56]

One of EA's top executives says the website VideoGamer fabricated news yesterday when they reported that Dead Space 4 was no more.

The VideoGamer report, which cited an anonymous source, said that "EA has ceased development on Dead Space 4 and effectively axed the series following lower than anticipated sales of Dead Space 3."

According to the VideoGamer story, the studio Visceral Montreal (Army of Two) had been prototyping Dead Space 4 when EA came in and cancelled it. VideoGamer also reported that EA pushed the SF-based Visceral Games to make Dead Space 3 "feel more like BioWare's Mass Effect."

Last month, EA laid off a number of Visceral employees and shut down Visceral Montreal.

Multiple EA and Visceral employees denied the VideoGamer rumor yesterday, but not before a number of websites picked up on it, including the trade site GamesIndustry.biz, where EA's Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore took to the comments, calling it a lie:

(EA confirmed to Kotaku that the comments are really by Moore.)

Moore followed up:

We reached out to VideoGamer this morning, but they declined to comment.

Update: VideoGamer tells us they'll be commenting on their own site later today.

Update 2: VideoGamer has released a statement on their website detailing the steps they took to reach out to EA's UK PR. They stand by their story:

VideoGamer.com would never publish information from a source whose identity could not be verified, or that we do not believe to be accurate. We carried out internal checks to verify the validity of the comments made by our source - and while we have a duty of care to protect their identity - we stand by the comments made in the original story.

We would also like to reiterate that we ran the story in good faith, taking the necessary steps with both EA and our source to ensure that the story was as accurate, fair, and well-represented as possible.

We find it perplexing as to why EA changed its stance on its decision not to comment on rumours and speculation, especially given the opportunities that the publisher had to clarify the situation before and after VideoGamer.com published the story. We firmly deny any accusations of fabrication on our part.

A report earlier this morning, citing unidentified sources, suggested that Electronic Arts had terminated its Dead Space franchise—including work on an unannounced Dead Space 4—in light of poor sales of Dead Space 3. The game's studio says the rumors are false, and EA itself disputes the portrayal of Dead Space as a troubled brand.

"The reports of our death were greatly exaggerated," said Dino Ignacio, a member of the Dead Space development team, over Twitter. Another Visceral Games developer, writing on NeoGAF, called the rumor "completely false based on my knowledge."

An EA spokesperson at first told Kotaku that the company wouldn't comment on rumor or speculation, but later added: "While we have not announced sales data for Dead Space 3, we are proud of the game and it remains an important IP for EA." In another statement to Kotaku, echoing comments made elsewhere, she called the rumor "patently false."

Electronic Arts has laid off a number of development staff in both Los Angeles and Montreal, the publisher confirmed today.

We're hearing from multiple sources that they've shut down Visceral Montreal, the studio behind upcoming shooter Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel, but EA wouldn't confirm or deny that news.

However, in a statement to Kotaku, an EA spokesperson confirmed layoffs:

Today EA internally announced some adjustments to select development teams to align staff and skills against priority growth areas, including new technologies and mobile. Many employees are being retrained for new positions; however a small number will be released. These are great, talented people and we wish them well. EA is growing globally, and we expect our headcount to increase this year.

When asked whether Visceral Montreal would shut down, an EA spokesperson said "Not disclosing impact on individual teams or studios."

EA's Frank Gibeau also addressed the layoffs in a post on the company's website:

EA's leadership on these high-growth platforms allows us to retain and attract the industry's best talent. Thousands of our existing employees have been retrained and redeployed to work on the new platforms and initiatives. But when it is not possible to redeploy a team, we soften the tough decisions with assistance. This week we let some people go in Los Angeles, Montreal as well as in some smaller locations. These are good people and we have offered outplacement services and severance packages to ease their transition to a new job.

Visceral Montreal is the developer behind shooter Army of Two: Devil's Cartel, scheduled for release on March 26 for Xbox 360 and PS3.

Titan Books has got together with Electronic Arts to release an art book that celebrates the work not just of the team behind the recently-released Dead Space 3, but of the entire series.

The Art of Dead Space, a 300-page, hardcover book, has art from the entire franchise. So not just the three main games, but also spin-offs and other projects like Dead Space: Extraction, Dead Space: Ignition, Dead Space: Salvage and Dead Space: Liberation.

A word of caution: some of the images below are from the end of the game, so don't scroll any further if you're concerned about possible spoilers.

One of the artists featured is Patrick O'Keefe, whose Dead Space 3 pieces we showed you last week.

The Art Of Dead Space [Titan Books]

I beat Dead Space 1.

I nearly beat Dead Space 2, but I got so frustrated with one section near the end in which I was trapped in a room with regenerating Necromorphs that I shelved it. (This was after the amazing "needle/eye" bit.)

I come from a long history of loving sci fi, in particular, scary, gritty sci fi. Growing up I was more about "Aliens" than "Star Wars." "Event Horizon," as flawed as it was, still inspired a 20-something Cliff to implement similar scare gags in Unreal 1. "Sunshine" included, I love movies in which man explores space with his best intentions and all Hell breaks loose.

I'm quite familiar with the controversy over Dead Space 3 and the issue of horror versus action. Generally speaking, the scarier a game is the less empowered a player feels. Controls are often clunky on purpose, and the pacing is quite different from an action movie. It feels as if developer Visceral consciously gravitated the franchise more towards the "action" elements over the "suspense/horror" ones, and I'm quite okay with that. We look at the target audience for your average console game and it's often a cocky young male who doesn't want to be scared. Unfortunately, he's the guy who wants to get in and "fuck shit up."

Is it possible to blend the two? Yes, I do think it is, and those of you who have read my interviews in which I talk about how you could do that in Resident Evil have seen the thoughts. (Random idea 1: Alternate between two storylines, one is a first responder and the other is a terrified child.) Horror is HARD, and suspense is even HARDER. It requires a true director's hand. A nudge this way and a moment plays as comedic, a nudge too far the other way and it's not scary at all. To compound it all, making a scary moment is kind of like trying to tickle yourself. You think it's scary, but you're never sure until you test it on someone who has NEVER SEEN THE MOMENT.

(This is why James Wan is evolving into a great filmmaker. Apart from the slightly over the top 3rd act there are scares in his "Insidious" that work amazingly well.)

Regardless, I'm currently burning through the campaign of DS3 with my wife in co-op and it's still quite a bit of fun. The dynamic of using stasis and limb shooting in a co-op environment works surprisingly well. If there are surprises and scares to be had it's often the person who charges ahead LeeRoy Jenkins style who enjoys them. Grabbing a leg and impaling a foe is worth the effort, and it's gratifying.

I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the weapon crafting and upgrading system, to be honest. Generating circuits, crafting them, etc… I could have used a bit more hand holding there. (The UI borders on comedic at times when you're starting a game, with ROTATING METAL PANELS OF STUFF FLYING AT YOU EVERYWHERE!)

Overall game pacing is something that's really hard to get right; it's something that a lead campaign designer or overall lead designer are responsible for and that pacing doesn't let down. The game builds to a crescendo of exciting moments (often with ships crashing) and then it takes its time before getting back into combat. The vistas and skyboxes are breathtaking, and the weapons generally feel good. (One of the issues with making sci-fi weaponry is that the guns don't always look like guns. I know the series was going for more of a "mining equipment" vibe but I often have a hard time figuring out which gun is which when they're icons.)

And yes, there's a part when the game briefly feels like Lost Planet, but it's a welcome change of pacing from dark space corridor after dark space corridor. One of my personal quibbles with the game is the lack of memorable locations. There are just so many corridors; there aren't a lot of areas that can be defined as "the room with the N in it."

Oh, and as a side note the parts when you're in space flying around in your suit are suspenseful but somehow peaceful, if that makes any sense.

At the end of the day this franchise feels like it's starting as a solo experience, a solitary and confined horror game, and now it's evolving into much more than that. You can either fight it or embrace it. I choose the latter, as at the end of the day it's FUN. (We're about 50% through…the giant drill bit section was a highlight.)

p.s. In the 60$ disc based market horror doesn't fly—it's the ultimate "Campaign Rental" that's played for 2 days and traded in and I'm sure EA knows this. When we're fully digital we'll see more true horror games coming back. (Look at Amnesia and Slenderman on PC.)

Cliff Bleszinski is a game industry veteran. He blogs on Tumblr and can be found on Twitter at @therealcliffyb.

Republished with permission.

When it comes right down to it, Dead Space 3 is a game about standing in a corner and blasting aliens into bloody bits. I've been playing through the opening hours of the game, and despite recognizing the various problems mentioned in some reviews (including Tina's less-than-glowing review), I have to say that after six or so hours, I'm enjoying myself quite a bit.

Leaving aside the game's overarching successes and failings, I want to take a moment to go in-depth with the thing Dead Space does nigh-on peerlessly: this game knows how to stomp.

The thrill of stomping an alien into the floor is the primary reason I like Dead Space games. It has yet to get old. (I gather that given Dead Space 3's length, it might? But it hasn't yet.) Despite developer Visceral's insistence on adding detailed backstorthy, character-motivation and lore, only one Dead Space "story" captures my imagination, and it's this one: I'm backing up slowly, blasting away at horrifying creatures, hoping to violently dismantle them all before they get their massive, spiny hooks into me. That's it. That's literally the entire game, as far as I'm concerned. Everything else is just window-dressing.

I looked over my 2011 review of Dead Space 2 and found myself saying more or less the same thing:

Visceral has created a world in which things have real heft to them—metal body-suits contract and lock into place with satisfying clicks and pops, alien limbs are severed with disgustingly satisfying cracks, and mucus, blood and viscera splat and explode with palpable physicality. When Isaac stomps monsters beneath his feet, he begins to scream from behind his helmet, a panicked, desperate cry that's all but drowned out by the pounding of metal boots into flesh. Visceral Games, indeed.

The stomping in Dead Space 3 is just as good as in its predecessor. Sure, Isaac's motivation is murky, and he's a lump of a main character. Sure, the sidequests already feel kind of repetitive just a few hours in, and the jump-scares and large-scale encounters are entirely predictable. But sometimes I have to ask: when it feels this good to smash monsters to smithereens, who cares?

Watch this:

That combo move, which I have creatively named the "Kneecap-Then-Stomp," is my go-to tool for enemy destruction in the early goings. (I understand that I'll eventually be able to make weapons that far outstrip my current assault rifle/shotgun combo, but hey, so far this seems to work.) First, you shoot the enemy in the leg so that it falls onto the ground. Then, approach and stomp. Rinse and repeat until everything is dead.

Here, check out this extended cut of an encounter I survived during the game's second optional side mission:

I'm playing on normal difficulty, so it's easier for me to blast off limbs and close in for the stomp. Watch the way Isaac is animated, bringing his gun-arm up and throwing his leg down. It mirrors the urgency with which I'm mashing the shoulder-button, willing him to just crush this fucking thing so that I can whip my head up and deal with whatever fresh hell is likely onrushing.

In those moments, I feel vitally connected to the game and to Isaac, and I get a sense of just how disorienting it would be to begin frantically stomping while wearing a heavy suit of space-armor. Notice how the camera shakes when Isaac brings his boot down. Between the strobe-lights, the writhing monsters and the camera-jitters, it's all so desperate and chaotic and violent. And perhaps most impressive, it's seamless. The idea with these kinds of big games is that the craft will blend into the background and the player won't notice just how many people it took to make each part of a game work properly. And so it is with Isaac's stomp. But when I pause to think about how many different things had to work in harmony to make the stomp as awesome as it is, it's hard not to be impressed.

Clearly the folks who made Dead Space are aware of how much fun it is to stomp things. See that glowing case over there? Want to know what's inside? Better STOMP IT INTO DUST. The game also makes you stomp on dead monster-bodies to get more power-ups, which is at once an absurd concession to video-game logic (what, did the necromorph eat that extra ammo?) and an endearingly goofy concession to how much we like to stomp.

And okay, the sound. Audio director Nick Laviers and his team are killers. Every time I'll roll my eyes at another hackneyed plot development or grumble at a bit of backtracking, I'll survive an encounter and laugh to myself about how excellent it all sounded. (For more on the game's sound design, check out this cool video from Kill Screen and The Creator's Project.)

Check out the audio on Isaac's stomp:

YES. The boot just smashes into the ground, hitting just the right blend of the carom of the boot and the squish of necromorph-guts. (The scream at the end is another alien, by the way, not Isaac. He never gets that freaked out.)

I've been trying to figure out just what it is that makes me drawn to Dead Space games, sometimes despite myself, and the stomp best encapsulates it. I like how these games feel. The jury's out for me on Dead Space 3 as a whole—I haven't even landed on this ice planet that people seem to have such mixed feelings about, and I haven't sampled the co-op.

Last night on Twitter, I was talking about the game and Polygon's Arthur Gies asked me, with his tongue somewhat in his cheek, yeah, but how does the game make me feel? This was the best I could come up with on short notice:

That pretty much sums it up. The grapes are screaming, and I'm screaming, and as long as I keep stomping, it's a lot of fun. Stomp, stomp.