There's a lot of talk about the direction of the third Dead Space game, most involving changed gameplay mechanics, human enemies and, of course, co-op.

Having immersed himself in the Dead Space universe for the better part of the last few months for preview opportunities, AusGamers contributor, Naren Hooson, was a perfect fit to deal with this game's Unitolgy propaganda and come out unscathed (or at least turned), and he even brought with him new information on crafting weapons, dealing with snow-drenched terrain and playing nice with friends. Has the game really stood up against its predecessors though?

Read our review to find out.

There's still dark areas and the flashlight is needed at times for sure. There is definitely some shift to action but there are still some suspense moments. The action is more due to enemy behavoiur.

People, it's not noob friendly. The game is definitively more challenging than previous games. Necros are much more aggressive and they don't get stunned easily.

You need to choose the right weapons and use them well. This game needs DS1 + 2 player's experience!

Just because horror aspect is gone and the game is less suspense doesn't mean everything became too easy.

Sounds like its good, and worth playing, but I get the impression the franchise is kind of on a downward slope and becoming less Dead Space. I dunno why they added a cover mechanic, seems like a stupid and un-necessary addition. Although, if by 'active dive' you mean an evade type move, where you can dive to the side as something charges at you, then I'm glad they added that. Been playing Dead Space 2 lately and theres parts where I really miss having some kind of evade move. If some bigass necromorph is charging me down I want to stand my ground and blast away and dive out of the way at the last second.

Actually, you don't have to mind the cover mechanic. It's close to not existing in the game because it doesn't have specialized system/animation like Gears of War or at least, Resident Evil 6.

Basically, you just walk behind any objects and Isaac will crouch automatically when you pull LT trigger. It doesn't feel uncomfortable fortunately.

I went oldschool and ordered a physical copy from Ozgameshop

It was dispatched friday, I'd be expecting to get it maybe tomorrow based on delivery times previous times I've used them (usually 3 - 4 days or so). Dunno if chinese new year holidays affect them though

I've put in a solid 10 hours and I only just hit the snow as issacc.... It's really really cool.

DS3 consists of "randomly spawn an enemy or two in front of you and 3 or 4 at your rear and flank".
It lacks horror and difficulty is roll your eyes and quit the game kind of cheap.