No other game I can recall more exemplifies this phrase than Dead Space 3: a good game with a thousand little minute problems that all add up to holding it back from being anything more than merely "good" or "ok".
First: this is really the first example of micro transactions being inserted into a AAA game at the expense of the actual game. It breaks the game balance as a whole that you can simply buy the materials you need for weapons, it's insulting that they put this on top of the dlc and the online pass, gouging customers for every penny they can in the most obvious way.
Dead Space 3 has problems beyond its horrendous business practices though. First of which being the story. It's got an awful villain with weak motivation, Earth Gov make for much better antagonist than the cult who somehow managed to form a seemingly unstoppable military force to oppose you. There's a terrible love triangle that doesn't belong in this game and is given way too much attention. And the ending is not really satisfying at all (dlc undoes it for the record which makes it even worse).
The action focus here is obvious and it is a detriment is many areas while being acceptable in others. The set pieces aren't as well executed as those in Dead Space 2, they aren't as memorable, and I think that might be because they have too many of them, it just becomes nonstop. Dead Space 2 was so brilliantly paced that it gave the player "time to breathe" and quiet moments so that the set pieces felt more special when they happened. Here, there's literally almost a couple dozen of them and many times they happen one after the other. The scares are nonexistent here even though there's plenty of opportunities for them.
The game is also way too big. Many of the levels have side objectives in a sense that comes off more like Uncharted or Tomb Raider, and it drags down the pacing and makes the game drag on long, something which it already had a problem with.
What makes Dead Space 3 still a good game is that it's still fun. The combat is pretty similar to Dead Space 2, the combat against humans works much better than you'd expect, and the cover system works okay as well. Plus the co op is done well, though it's odd that Carver just disappears if you're doing single player. The graphics are also quite good, along with the effective music and sound design, the crunch of the snow underneath Isaac's boots. It's good stuff.
Dead Space 3 is a game that is good and I can softly recommend, but it's got so many problems that I'd advise players to come in with lowered expectations. Expect something more along the lines of Resident Evil 5 or 6 instead of Resident Evil 4.
First: this is really the first example of micro transactions being inserted into a AAA game at the expense of the actual game. It breaks the game balance as a whole that you can simply buy the materials you need for weapons, it's insulting that they put this on top of the dlc and the online pass, gouging customers for every penny they can in the most obvious way.
Dead Space 3 has problems beyond its horrendous business practices though. First of which being the story. It's got an awful villain with weak motivation, Earth Gov make for much better antagonist than the cult who somehow managed to form a seemingly unstoppable military force to oppose you. There's a terrible love triangle that doesn't belong in this game and is given way too much attention. And the ending is not really satisfying at all (dlc undoes it for the record which makes it even worse).
The action focus here is obvious and it is a detriment is many areas while being acceptable in others. The set pieces aren't as well executed as those in Dead Space 2, they aren't as memorable, and I think that might be because they have too many of them, it just becomes nonstop. Dead Space 2 was so brilliantly paced that it gave the player "time to breathe" and quiet moments so that the set pieces felt more special when they happened. Here, there's literally almost a couple dozen of them and many times they happen one after the other. The scares are nonexistent here even though there's plenty of opportunities for them.
The game is also way too big. Many of the levels have side objectives in a sense that comes off more like Uncharted or Tomb Raider, and it drags down the pacing and makes the game drag on long, something which it already had a problem with.
What makes Dead Space 3 still a good game is that it's still fun. The combat is pretty similar to Dead Space 2, the combat against humans works much better than you'd expect, and the cover system works okay as well. Plus the co op is done well, though it's odd that Carver just disappears if you're doing single player. The graphics are also quite good, along with the effective music and sound design, the crunch of the snow underneath Isaac's boots. It's good stuff.
Dead Space 3 is a game that is good and I can softly recommend, but it's got so many problems that I'd advise players to come in with lowered expectations. Expect something more along the lines of Resident Evil 5 or 6 instead of Resident Evil 4.