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.

No dubstep, no angry men blowing up other angry men. Just a dude enjoying himself in the jungle, while shooting a crossbow bow and turning invisible and doing other Crysisy things.

The shooter Crysis 3 will be out on February 19 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. For more, check out Tina's impressions.

Some would contest whether or not Dead Space was ever a scary franchise, but most will agree that Dead Space 3 focuses more on being an action title. In a recent NowGamer interview, Dead Space 1 writer Antony Johnston explained why he thinks the added action emphasis occurred.

While admitting that the newer Dead Space games weren't really for him thanks to the action focus, he said that the emphasis was "a necessary evil in order to broaden the fan base."

"I know the developers always wanted to go bigger, in terms of scope. And I've mentioned before that the universe we created was huge, with lots of elements, which simply didn't make it into the first game.

"So to get that story told, to round out the universe, it was inevitable the settings and environments would open out a bit, become a bit more epic in scale."

Without the more epic scale Johnston claims that Dead Space would likely become "pretty dull."

What do you think, does Johnston have a point? It seems to me that regardless of what Dead Space "really is" (or was), there is a group of people that wish Dead Space 3 was more of a horror game. People who are upset to be cast aside for the sake of a wider audience, even.

Dead Space 3's Action Focus A 'Necessary Evil' - Dead Space 1 Writer [NowGamer]

As much as first-person shooters evolve—what with new weapons, armor abilities, and creepy new alien enemies (if we're talking the sci-fi brand)—there's always a key component to any good game that most seem to miss the mark on.

Humanity.

We forget that the protagonist is perhaps more than the silent, big-bodied bulk of strength capable of taking on massive waves of armed men and fictional creatures. We forget that enemies have backgrounds, too. We forget that being in the midst of war—being the sole savior, being tied down to an image of a hero—can be frustrating for the lead character whose clunky boots you step into. Because heroes don't usually show their weaknesses. We never really get to see beyond their helmets to look at their expressive faces. Do they even have expressive faces? Who knows.

Crysis is a strikingly beautiful series from Crytek where you'll combine the powers of first-person perspective shooting and stealthy hunting of humans and aliens alike. It's somewhat open, somewhat linear, but full of tactical power granted to you by the mysterious technology of a nanosuit.

Crysis 3 peels back the layer of nanosuit to look at what the reconstruction of the human body has done to these soldiers. If you played the original game, you'll remember Psycho, who returns in this third title of the series. He's one of those that were skinned in a painful process that most don't even survive. It's a cruel, cold-hearted procedure whose purpose I'm still not clear on even four hours into the game.

Psycho represents everything that too many games forget: humanity. The man behind the kill score. The broken, confused, still viciously-talented-at-killing man behind the gun. The human behind the soldier.

Halo 4 did this to Master Chief recently, with such touching execution than we've ever seen from a Halo story.

After my demo event, I IM'd our own Kirk Hamilton (who will be reviewing Crysis 3 for us) about what I played and what I thought. I figured I'd share our chat here with you in the raw:

Kirk: how was crysis?

Tina: i liked it! i love that bow and arrow

Tina: it reminds me a lot of halo 4

Tina: in terms of the direction that the series is taking

Kirk: interesting
you played the first game?

Tina: crysis? nah actually. i just read up on all of them
this is the first i've actually played
which might be why i like it

Kirk: well
I actually think it might be good
I like both games
crysis, at its best, was better than crysis 2
but it had a lot of low points too

Tina: well first off this one has the bow
which, c'mon

Kirk: crysis 2 was an underrated game, I thought

Tina: i should play it
they seem like my kinda games

Kirk: good action, insane-ass graphics on PC
fun stealth

Tina: dude even on 360 the new one looked GORGEOUS

Kirk: but I don't understand why Crytek won't just let the games do more of what they're good at, which is:
hunting dudes in an open area
enough with the aliens, the boss battles, the corridor shooting
just hunting dudes
after far cry 3, it'll be even more apparent if they're still not getting that right often enough

Tina: yeah so
far cry 3 was another comparison i made

Kirk: how open was what you played?
and how many aliens were there?

Tina: cause you basically go into a camp, mark your dudes, and then go on the hunt
it gets linear at moments, like when you're in buildings
but otherwise its very similar to far cry 3 in that you have an open space
and can choose which route you wanna take, where you want to attack from and how

Kirk: interesting
but you were hunting actual humans?

Tina: here's the thing about "hunting"
i felt that i was, to an extent
cause mid-battle, reinforcements come
and i have to hide and retag everyone
which is obnoxious and it disrupts my gameplan
it sort of feels tensiony, but i would prefer to lay out a plan

Kirk: well, crysis has always been about improvisation
they tend to go more for quick improvisation and using all of the suit's abilities

Tina: yeah i figured it must be a franchise staple

Kirk: which can be annoying
it's not as satisfying as laying a plan out
but their AI is usually good, which keeps things fun

Tina: yeah you'd probably never use the armor-strengthening ability if you didn't have to do that
i can never not alert the AI though
so it makes me feel like i won't get rewarded for a particularly stealthy kill

Kirk: I got very good at crysis 2 actually
(I played that game an almost weird amount)
the trick was getting a sniper rifle and using cloaking, lining up a shot, snapping cloaking off and taking the shot, then snapping it back on and relocating
very fun! in that sadistic stealth-game kind of way

Tina: but they find the body quickly
and then are all on alert

Kirk: yeah that's fine if you keep moving
also, most of what I've played lately in crysis 2 has been on my NG+ kinda thing, where I have all the powerups
so my stealth lasts a lot longer, etc

Tina: true but i want to eliminate an entire crew
and, while creeping up on the last guy, hear him go "wtf where did everyone go GAHHH"

Kirk: those are my favorite kinds of barks, when they freak out
sadistic

Tina: well it would be if they did that!
cause they're always sort of expecting it
and are too aware of the surroundings
but yeah this is the ideal game for NG+
because you can customize your abilities and amp up the crossbow, for instance

Kirk: well, it'll be interesting I guess
I sense it'll be a lot like crysis 2 but with a bit more open levels
which is fine, if boring

Tina: i didn't even get to play around with upgrades
which feels like the best part
why boring?

Kirk: it's ok
well, just like
I dunno
another crysis game
those games are profoundly boring in every aspect except for their gameplay
boring writing
lame, perma-angry characters
no charm or wit
robotic
did your character talk?
were you playing as prophet?

Tina: yeah and yeah

Kirk: so he'll have more personality

Tina: oh! so that's the thing
where i liken it to Halo 4
they're "skinning" the dudes and putting them in suits
and one guy who has been skinned already is an emotional wreck
psycho
the dude from 1

Kirk: the cockney guy?
he's in it?
oh neat
he was actually decent. he was the star of the add-on, Warhead

Tina: oohh werd yeah i like him

Kirk: that's good, sounds like they've stepped up the personality

Tina: he's in the first few levels at least

Kirk: now if they can just keep it light and have a little fun
it gets so heavy and dull

Tina: it sounds like it will be
cause the skinning process is very painful and most don't live through it

Kirk: well, I'm intrigued at the very least
the suit like merges with your body
it's gross
but opens the door to some interesting transhumanism stuff
that, you know, never really reaches an interesting or coherent conclusion
typical

Tina: yeah for real
but this year/last year feel like a year where people are taking their narrative a deeper direction
some anyway
like for halo that kinda thing was never investigated
and crysis as far as i know similarly

Kirk: yeah, true

Tina: i love when you take a character you're invested in, and finally open him up
like, you've played as this character for so many years, and have built so many memories with him
but did you ever really think about what it's like to actually be him?

Kirk: sure, though it's amazing that people are able to become interested in characters like Prophet and Master Chief
it's like
we're dying of thirst in the desert!
at least this masked robot person has a voice!

Tina: hahaha
for real
it doesn't take much to get us excited
but it's a start

Kirk: yeah and people become RELIGIOUSLY attached to master chief

Tina: yeah it's strange
it's definitely a source of strength
an admiration thing
but i love breaking people down to their core and seeing who they really are
that's sort of what halo 4 and crysis 3 are trying to do
even if it's through the vessel of another character
which might even be better, cause it's proof that it's hard for these characters to open up
but their strengths and weaknesses as human beings is of course still there
it's more like a bravado thing

Kirk: yeah, for sure
it's an interesting thing to do to archetypes as well
I just wish better, more adventurous writers handled it
like, making the guy sad about his lost father is fine
but look at what Watchmen did to the superhero
that kind of shit is like, ACTUALLY interesting

Tina: yeah total tear down

Kirk: it's always baby steps, it can feel frustrating
like, let's do Basic Character Development 101 on master chief
(I still haven't finished Halo 4! lol)

Tina: haha yeah i think they're worried about taking too far a step
and freaking everyone the fuck out

Kirk: which sucks
be bold!
if the game is good no one will care
no one cares when the story sucks, after all

Tina: it does
it doesn't pay to be though

Kirk: make it a sick-ass shooter and go insane with the story
people will still buy it
look at what FC3 at least attempted
I mean there were attempts at boldness in there
and when it came down to it no one gave a fuck about successes or failures because it was a good game

Tina: man what a good game

I might be being optimistic, or hopeful, but I think there's great potential in Crysis 3 to turn the series from a solid first-person shooter into a solid first-person shooter with more heart than we're used to in these kind of games. If things go well, we'll get a Crysis 3 that develops on the personal relationships and struggles of the actual people in the game, on top of a fun, tactical, sometimes stealthy and sometimes guns-blazing hunt of human and alien enemies alike.

Some last notes for you, from my scribbles during the event:

• Everything feels very real. The thick grass, the smudges on your visor, even your hyper-awesome suit feels real. If we're gonna pretend to be all powerful, you might as well be able to really feel that when you play.
• Struggle between wanting that machine, that power, and being human. Forget how much you've sacrificed because of the dependency you've developed on the nanosuit.
• Claire, a scientist/researcher who I shouldn't say much more about in fear of spoilers, is a bitch. She called me a mutation.
• There's a vicious, electric-charged shotgun type of weapon that is super effective at blowing aliens away.

…Literally!

This video from Prima Games shows how to get the "Devil Horns" weapon, which… well, it's actually just a foam finger. Like, from sporting events? Yeah. They say it's the most powerful weapon in the game. Makes sense.

To get it, you'll have to beat the game in classic mode. This is not the first time the Dead Space series has given us the finger. Nor, let's hope, will it be the last.

Via GameFront, here's how to take advantage of an exploit to farm unlimited resources in horror-survival game Dead Space 3, which came out yesterday for Xbox 360 and PS3.

This, of course, means you won't have to pay for microtransactions in the new EA-published game, which allows you to pay real money in exchange for resource packs. If you have the patience to farm forever, you can get the best weapons without shelling out any extra cash.

Which I suppose raises the question: is it unethical to take advantage of a glitch in order to avoid paying for downloadable content? I guess that's up to you.

Dead Space 3 Unlimited Resource Farming Glitch [YouTube]

The game itself may be dividing critics, but I'd hope there's one thing we can all agree on, and that's the fact that before the game's frozen wastelands could be played, they first had to be drawn by some very talented people.

We've featured Patrick's work here before, but now that Dead Space 3 is available at retail, he's been cleared to release and share with us a whole ton of artwork, most of which is presented here at wallpaper scale.

You can see more of Patrick's stuff at his personal site.

I'm not a Dead Space guy. Oh sure, the series is great, but Fatal Frame and Silent Hill are more my speed when it comes to pants-wetting horror. But you know what would make me a Dead Space guy? Absurdist spin-offs and mods.

How about a survival-horror game starring legendary comedian, father figure and star of the Cosby Show, Bill Cosby?

Or a spin-off in an alternate universe where everyone is a giant Shiba Inu puppy? All upgrades would be chew-toy related.

Or perhaps a gritty sequel to the movie Office Space? Players can customize their own Swingline stapler.

Or maybe if the Dude from the Big Lebowski played a space marine out of his element, trying to track down the Necromorphs that peed on his rug?

Got an absurd Dead Space spin-off you'd like to see become a reality? Submit it in the comments. Bonus points if you throw in some Photoshop magic.

Once upon a time there was a video game publisher named Electronic Arts. Electronic Arts was a very big video game publisher with lots of money and friends. Every year, they would release lots and lots of video games, which they would sell for lots and lots more money and friends.

One day, Electronic Arts was ready to launch a Very Big Game! It was called Dead Space 3, and Electronic Arts wanted people to buy it. But how could they make it look as good as possible? Electronic Arts thought and thought. Suddenly, they got it! They would write a Press Release! They would fill it with mystical alchemical ingredients with exotic names like Hyperbole and Cherry-Picked Review Scores.

So Electronic Arts sent out the Press Release to Media and Investors all across the world.

Dead Space 3 Launches Today to Global Critical Acclaim – Heralded as One of the Best Games of This Generation

Dead Space 3 is an International hit having received a 9.0 from Multiplayer.it in Italy, 9.0 from AusGamers in Australia, 8.8 from 3DJuegos.com in Spain and a 9.75 from Game Informer magazine in North America. As a result of these four, the game is launching with an average score of 91, and being raved by Game Informer magazine who said Dead Space 3, '[is] one of the best games of this generation.'

Electronic Arts was happy! The Press Release was a success. They would sell lots of video games and make lots of money and their Investors would all be very happy.

But then, Big Bad Reality came lumbering in with an ugly smile on his face. "I come from the city of Metacriticopolis," he said, "where all of the numbers people assign games live."

"I have a message for you from my city," he continued, in a gruff voice. "You did not get a 91. You got a 79."

And Electronic Arts was heartbroken, and they cried and cried. But they learned a lesson that day: To stop spinning and distorting, because telling the truth looks a lot less ridiculous than trying to skew it just to make yourself look good.

The End.