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Is EA's Dead Space series dead in the water?

Keith: Back during 2008, EA and a new and upcoming development crew, Visceral Games, shocked the gaming world with a new kind of survival horror game. That game was known as Dead Space. Set far head in the future, the story of Dead Space revolved around combining sci-fi survival horror, nasty aliens called necromorphs, religion, and a hefty amount of action. Taking cues from other survival horror games, especially from Resident Evil (who Visceral Games were big fans of), Dead Space was easily one of my favorite games and I was surprised to find so many different elements that the game incorporated and how accessible the title was. In fact I played that game twice through it’s lifetime. Thirsting for more, I eagerly awaited the anticipated sequel that would eventually arrive several years later during January 2011.

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-Foxtrot3787d ago

Well it's their fault

Despite seeing Capcoms mistakes with Resident Evil and those fans flock to Dead Space for their survival horror experience they basically stabbed their of us in the back and did the same thing Capcom did by going after the action crowd with Dead Space 3.

Co-op
Ruined Ellie as a character
Brought in a generic, space marine type character
Human enemies with guns
Story was poor
Isolation and fear was gone
Universal ammo
Big guns and craft benches
Always ammo

It's worse then what Capcom did to Resident Evil because they saw it didn't work out for Resident Evil and they STILL went down that path. They could have picked up broken hearted RE fans after RE6 but ruined their chances.

jerethdagryphon3787d ago

They way dead space 3 went was the only way it could have think . issac in one had no idea what was happening now did we. So everytging was frightning. In deadspace 2 issac is coming to terms with what happened and is messed up. But he knows more about what to expect. So they added the pack and used errieness to expand it rather thwn shock tatics. Dead space 3 he knows he expects and hes learned he keeps a cutter near him he expects it. Yes crafting was bad so was universal ammo (dont remember universal ammo though) but it had to be more action the story was less wtf and more race to stop unitoligy. The marine worked. Ecause hes new to it all and issac can give a solid back to him as hes been there. Coop was fine only because of the nature of it.

Bassically games and chars lrarn and grow we arent affected by the same tricks we knew where they would come from and we tested corpses to make sure thwy were dead we evolved our game to match the foe as did issac

Omnisonne3787d ago (Edited 3787d ago )

I kind of liked the crafting.. still remember going through the game with a semi-auto seeker rifle and stasis coating. Took almost everything down in a mere 2 shots lol (yeah a little OP but good fun)

Biggest dislike for me was the ending chapter, really blown up and over the top. Felt more like some random sci-fi shooter at that point

Anyway, I do hope it will eventually make a comeback as I love the series

Bimkoblerutso3786d ago

They managed the keep the creepy factor from 1 to 2, and 2 made them quite a wad of cash, if I remember.

...but they're EA, and if a franchise is not making Battlefield / Madden levels of cash, then it's not worth the effort. So EA, in their vast stupidity, decided what we Dead Space fans really wanted was infinite ammo, more explosions, ultra-mega-guns, and for Ellie to have a large exposed rack and the personality of a sexy bag of hammers.

That is the ONLY reason it became the bastard son of a Michael Bay film. I can think of at least ten good scenarios in which they could have kept things true to the series without resorting to contrivance.

Bahamut3786d ago

So introduce a new character. Add a different perspective. They screwed up with Dead Space 3 by changing the entire dynamic. DS 1 and 2 were the best survival horror games in yeeears, and I beat them multiple times, loving (and hating) every second of it. I never even finished DS 3 because I just don't care for it. The isolation is what made the first two special... They probably could have gotten away with the crafting, but the co-op just kills it.

bouzebbal3786d ago

There was a purpose to the enemies with guns and they only appear a few times in the game.
I think ds3 was a step forward from previous episodes. I agree it's less dark than the old ones but the third episode had some very welcomed additions like weapon crafting etc.. I like the fact they removed the loading screens between episodes which made the game more smooth and more engaging.
What I disliked is that there is almost no new enemies. I enjoyed ds3 from stay to finish because I never considered the series as survival horror. It's an action game and the third one takes the action to the next level

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_-EDMIX-_3787d ago

Yes and no. Yes EA clearly messed up with Dead Space, not in creation of the IP but merely the expectations of it.

Dead Space 1 did like 2 million and a game like that on 3 platforms doing such sales is actually pretty bad if you consider the amount of money it cost to develop it and the expectation of huge sales.

http://www.cinemablend.com/...

My personal opinion on titles like Dead Space is that they need to lower the budget and expect a bit less in sales.

I'd rather they lower the marketing and keep it horror, the raise the marketing to ridiculous heights and change the genre mid way to action ruining the series.

No on Capcom. The reality is.....it did work, those RE games that went action had HUGE sales, RE fans like myself don't even recognize RE5 or 6 as real RE games, I don't even see RE4 as a real RE game in terms of concept.

Pretty much exactly what you listed, unlimited ammo, huge amounts of heath, no more zombies ie enemies with guns.

EA went that route JUST like Capcom, except Capcom did pretty damn good in sale doing that ,Dead Space merely failed trying that.

At least Capcom split the series and is focusing on both concepts as suppose to JUST action with it.

I feel Dead Space can do well, merely with lower expectations, if they have to lower the budget, the so be it, but I don't want a Dead Space 4 being made JUST for ACTION and HUGE COD sales or anything like that, I'd rather they lower the budget and keep it horror if they don't expect a huge turn out.

Horror titles don't do extremely HUGE millions, they are pretty niche in that regard.

Dead Space 3 is just over all a bad way to even end Dead Space and they just need to keep the series simple.

Horror, isolated in a ship and stop expecting COD numbers. lol

I personally like Dead Space 1 way better then even RE4, as at least it seeked to be about survival and about horror.

Dead Space 2 was ok and imho just as good as 1, Dead Space 3.........we don't talk much about Dead Space 3. They Day EA went full YOLO with that series lolz

ScaReCrow903787d ago

I actually didn't mind dead space 3 that much but obviously loved 1 and 2 so much more.

Would like the ip to continue. I think they have a lot of room to expand in the horror department.

But then again. this is ea. They suck.

Seraphim3786d ago

EA may suck but Visceral Games can make some solid stuff. Exception being Battlefield. Or one could argue Dante's Inferno but it was a pretty solid game with nothing more than typical problems an action/adventure has when confined to close quarters... If EA actually gives Visceral time and money they can surely hammer another great Dead Space experience. I think all 3 were solid but obviously none touch the original while 2 was better than 3 but 3 also came at a bad time in gaming where developers, rather EA, was pushing and trying micro transactions along with trying to figure out how to appeal to gamers who think a campaign isn't worth their money.

Azzanation3787d ago

@Foxtrot
There was nothing wrong with Dead Space 3. I enjoyed it a lot, might not be my favourite but its still a great game. Also RE5 and RE6 are the most successful selling RE games in its franchise history. If what your saying is true then Dead Space 3 would also be the most successful Dead Space game if they followed Capcon.

Dead Space just came out at a time where the horror phase was dying out. Sometimes you cant predict or sell a good game based on what the phase is at the current time. I remember when Dead Space 3 came out, I wasn't overlay excited for it. I am sure me and many others were the exact same.

donwel3786d ago

You're not wrong about RE5 and RE6 being the most successful sales-wise, but they also have the lowest user rating in the series, RE6 especially was panned by both players and reviewers.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if there was some correlation between the release of RE6 and people losing interest in horror games (or at least big budget horror games).
On topic though, I would like to see Dead Space continued, preferably with minimal interference from EA, though that's unlikely to happen.

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robtion3787d ago

Me too. The original Dead Space was a breath of fresh air and I loved it. They need to go back to the original game's formula.

MJunior3787d ago

No. Is Dead in the space.

gantarat3787d ago

i don't think so ?
Didn't Visceral Games busy with Star Wars Open World Game ?
I mean Visceral Games will make Dead Space 4 if their finish Star Wars Project .

Kyosuke_Sanada3787d ago

Knowing EA, Visceral will be sent to work on Hardline 2 instead.

_-EDMIX-_3787d ago

lol, I have no idea where you get your info from.

Its confirmed Visceral is working on a Star Wars game right now that is apparently action. I heard nothing about them working on another BF game.

_-EDMIX-_3787d ago

They are, if anything a part of the team could come up with some design stuff while working on that Star Wars game, not sure how big Visceral is though.

They could start on it after they are done with the early production stuff for Star Wars, which for all we know could actually be this year.

PhoenixUp3787d ago

I really enjoyed playing through Dead Space 1&3 and hope they continue the franchise

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200°

EA Cut Dead Space's Marketing Budget to Pour Into Mirror's Edge Due to Mock Review Scores

Former Visceral Games devs reveal Dead Space's marketing budget was cut in favor of Mirror's Edge because of mock review scores.

Knightofelemia518d ago (Edited 518d ago )

I wish EA would just release a DS2 remake. DS is my favorite horror game and DS2 is the best one in the franchise. But because DS1 failed to meet certain numbers EA scrapped the DS2 remake. SH2 remake was great rumors are Konami might be asking for another SH remake. The RE2 remake was great EA just needs to give it another try. But all they seem to do is shitty sports games that are no different from the year before. Change a few players, add different uniform colours, maybe change a team logo. Wash, rinse, repeat.

goken518d ago

Agreed. DS was great. But DS2 was even better. Would love to see a DS2 remake, though I would love to see a DS4 even more.
The problem with EA is they make easy $ from the slight changes to their sports titles like football FC games (whatever it’s called nowadays). People just lap that sh1t up.
Comparatively, games like DS which don’t sell 10s of millions, can’t sell them team player add ons and all the like, would seem a hassle to make and unappealing comparatively. Especially when you consider that most EA non sport titles haven’t actually performed well recently.

Pyrofire95518d ago

Dark Souls 2, Darksiders 2, Dead Space 2, Death Stranding 2, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2

chicken_in_the_corn518d ago

The Dead space remake was so good. Better than the original. Shame they won't remake 2.

__y2jb518d ago

I loved the original dead space but the remake I just found boring. Game design has moved on and the game really showed its age, just small area encounters repeated again and again.

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DefenderOfDoom2518d ago

I bought Dead Space during launch window and I never bought a Mirror's Edge game .

Inverno518d ago

Then they went on to screw both games over.

UnbreakableAlex518d ago

I'd rather see a new and great Mirrors Edge than another boring Dead Space.

80°

PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for October: WWE 2K24, Dead Space, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus

All playable from October 1.

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200°

EA Japan Exec Criticises Japanese Ratings Board

An executive of Electronic Arts Japan has criticised the Japanese video game ratings board for allowing upcoming action game Stellar Blade to be released uncensored while EA's own Dead Space was banned in the country.

CrimsonWing69766d ago

He’s got a point. If a game is M-Rated, which is the equivalent of an R rating, I don’t get why you need to censor anything. The rating is the indicator of the content and the age appropriate. If it’s appropriate for adults… why treat them like children? 🤷‍♂️

Eonjay766d ago (Edited 766d ago )

This is about gore... not about anything sexual. And specifically I think it is about the realistic depiction of gore. Unfortunately I don't know the nuance of the CERO board or how it is relevant their specific culture (as a prohibition on gore may transcend age) so I hesitate to make a statement. Can anyone else provide insight to what kind of gore is considered unacceptable?

CrimsonWing69766d ago (Edited 766d ago )

Yea, I know this is about gore, but thanks for pointing that out.

My point still stands, if a game is essentially rated for a mature audience then why censor for them as if they’re too young to view it? Makes no sense.

To answer your question: Decapitation, dismemberment, like… anything gore. They have been censoring that since CERO was established. Look up RE4 chainsaw decapitation or any MK games that made it there.

Cacabunga766d ago

EA Japan? Wtf never heard of that

ZwVw766d ago

Yet, the Oneechanbara series (y'know, the game with half-naked samurai females slicing up zombies to bloody pieces) get released in Japan uncensored.

The CERO ratings board is an equilibrium.

Smellsforfree765d ago

This confuses me since I've seen so many gory Japanese movies and anime. For example, Battle Royale.

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gold_drake766d ago

definitely has a point.

but .. its japan. are we really surprised?

VersusDMC766d ago

I don't know if the EA executive is going off the one close up of an arm being cut off in the demo. Maybe it's uncensored because it's the arm of a cyborg or it doesn't happen that often (didn’t see EVE dismemberment when killed in the demo) .

In the states there's a certain amount of swear words allowed to a PG13 movie before it is deemed R. So maybe it's the same in Japan for gore?

Eonjay766d ago

Yes I think you may be on to something. The violence is gory but I wouldn't call it gruesome.

Retroman766d ago

Ea Japan please make Knack 3
in the future

Eonjay766d ago (Edited 766d ago )

Does EA Japan actually make games at all? Or are they just a regional publisher?

Retroman765d ago

I'm sorry Japan Studio made Knack