Tweet
Familiarity doesn't have to breed contempt, but it still makes for barren soil where horror is concerned. In fact, it's a cruel irony that the genre most damaged by repetition is the one that spawns the most sequels. Freddy Krueger managed to clock up nine big screen appearances, but went from shadowy menace to court jester in the process.The shambling, meatbag Necromorphs of Dead Space aren't making quips yet, but it's perhaps understandable that developer Visceral Games has started to tug the series towards action for this third entry. After all, there are only so many rusty, steam-filled corridors you can creep down, so many times a sudden lunging creature can make you jump, before the jolts lose their sting.
It's not as if Dead Space has always been a pure-bred horror title in the first place. True horror requires vulnerability to generate fear, and this is a series where you play a heavily armoured man with an arsenal designed for ripping flesh and psychic powers that hold the monsters in place while he puts them to use. Look past the jump scares and gory surface details, and the Dead Space trajectory has always been one of escalation rather than emasculation.
Read more…
More...