It's completely acceptable, and almost expected for a long running franchise to change its focus from time to time. You either evolve and introduced new elements or become stale and lose your core audience. In the case of the highly successful Dead Space series though, EA and Visceral Games may have chosen to evolve the latest chapter at the expense of what made the series so unique to begin with. As an action game, Dead Space 3 is sub-par and as a survival horror game it's easily the weakest in the series. There are some great moments in Dead Space 3, and it's still a worthwhile game in the ling run; but it spends too much time trying to find an identity that it established years ago.

Reeling from the events of the first two games, series protagonist Isaac Clarke has gone into hiding and sworn that he wants nothing to do with the Makers or the Necromorphs. He's become a wanted man, with his former allies, as well as his enemies searching for him. Long story short; Isaac is reluctantly dragged back into the battle and Dead Space 3 begins proper. It's evident from the start that EA and Visceral have created one hell of a believable world with Dead Space 3. The world is amid chaos and every inch of the game feels like it. Playing through, I was constantly reminded of the vivid world of sci-fi classic Blade Runner - -which is saying a lot.

"...tries very hard to make you feel for its characters and the world..."

Dead Space 3's story is one that tries very hard to make you feel for its characters and the world around it, but it feels so cliché that it's tough to. There were plenty of moments, especially those in the middle of the game that I couldn't help but groan as it has the chance to make bold choices, but chooses to play things safe and take the story in the same direction that countless other games and movies have.

The opening chapters of the game are decidedly Dead Space, as you'll be running around abandoned space stations and battling Necromorphs as they pop out. If you were to squint your eyes, you could actually think that the game is less of a sequel and more of an update. It isn't long though before takes you out of the space stations, and as a result the comforts of Dead Space and into an icy planet known as the Tau Volantis. At first, the new location allows for some interesting and unique moments; in certain sections you can only see directly in front of you, making for the perfect setting for creepy crawlies to jump out at you - but it's a potential that never gets realized.

While there are moments where you'll be braving the elements to survive, much of this section of the game finds you exploring identical looking caves and having to backtrack to finish key objectives. To be fair, some of the game's best moments are found in these sections, and long time fans of the series will get answers to some of the questions they've been asking since the original Dead Space, but it's sure fair to question whether they're worth finding at times.

"...facing down a wave of mutating creatures determined to rip you apart..."

In fact, much of the campaign is the same way. Rather than rely on tension and scares to sell the game, Dead Space 3 is unquestionably more reliant on AAA action style QuickTime events, fetch quests and throwing hordes of enemies at you at one time. Sure, there's a certain sense of terror when facing down a wave of mutating creatures determined to rip you apart (for what it's worth, the game also features some remarkable death screens), but it also often feels like the development team took the easy way out, rather than actually crafting any real tension filled moments. The game is also insistent that you do a million fetch quests during your time with the game …as if you have nothing else to do, and stopping the necromorphs can wait.

There are two new elements to the game that do tend to break up the monotony of the combat; the weapon crafting system and the much debated co-op multiplayer mode. The former gives you a reason to keep exploring those similar looking caves and fetch quests for the right materials as the right weapon can make even the most redundant battles seem fresh and new. The co-op serves a similar purpose, as you'll find new and often ways to complete quests and battles when playing with a partner.

With Dead Space 3, Visceral Games and EA attempt to take a series in a bold new direction while still attempting to appease long time fans with survival horror gameplay-ish moments that feel forced. There's still a ton of fun to be had inside the world of Dead Space 3, but you're just going to have to suffer through some of the series' growing pains to get to them.