Got hooked up with a code for the DS3 early access demo and just played through it. Definitely an interesting looking game, we'll see how it goes.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS.

So there's some cool new controls if you guys haven't seen it. There's now roll and crouch which are useful. I actually at first thought they were having me hold down the right stick for the locator just to keep from accidentally using it (because who hasn't gotten flustered when trying to fight a necro that startles you and lost some health thanks to accidentally pressing the locator button instead of shooting?) but it's actually because pressing the right stick (in xbox at least, presumably in PS3 as well) is for the crouch. Double tapping the run button (left bumper on xbox) is the roll.

Weapons crafting is... interesting. Looks like there's tons of components and such to work with, it seems like it gets really in depth, like almost RPG status with this shit haha. Looks to me like nodes are a thing of the past and instead you get circuit components that are specific to improving damage/reload/capacity/etc. Also it seems like stores might not be a thing in this game? Or at least there weren't any in the demo. Instead there's an individual station exclusively for switching out and upgrading your RIG and your safe is now stored in benches. Which reminds me, you can use components to craft items at the bench like med packs, stasis modules, etc, further leading me to think stores might be gone in this game. Final note on this is that you also only get 2 weapon slots (unless you maybe can unlock a RIG later that lets you carry more but as far as I know only 2). Because you get so much customization this should make up for it but I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. The two guns you get in the demo are a good ol, plasma cutter and then a gun that is basically a combo of the Pulse Rifle and Force Gun, so rather than having four weapons you get 2 that can be two guns combined (if you have the parts). Oh, one more thing, you can add special parts to the guns for support effects like a splash guard which protects you from damage from explosive weapons, stuff that boosts stasis, a scope, one that automatically attracts dropped ammo to you, etc, etc. Still a little iffy about all this, like I said, the weapon crafting and item creation kinda feels like it's coming from an RPG and feels a little out of place in Dead Space but I'm sure I just have to give it some time.

As for the horror aspect of the game.... eh. I know lots of people that have played more for reviews say DS3 still has a solid horror element and this is only the demo but I get the impression EA might turn Dead Space into the next resident evil. Definitely vibes more towards action than the last two games but hopefully that's not the case.

One last thing: some of the new necromorphs are INCREDIBLY ANNOYING. First, FEEDERS. FUCK THEM. They're like The Pack just bigger and more annoying. They can come in infuriating swarms and scream a lot. UGH. Also there's a new one, not sure what it's called yet but it essentially imitates the kill scene for the dividers. They're just heads that crawl around and reanimate bodies, I THINK the only way to beat them is shoot the head off the body, shooting limbs is useless (or so it seemed to me). HOWEVER, they're not dead and will jump right back on a body so after you shoot them off, you have to hit them again to kill them for good. Finally the wasters (the ones with pick axes that split into different forms depending on how you shoot them) seem like they might take up a lot of ammo if you're not careful. I had one literally end up being three different forms before I killed it so watch out for those guys when you play!

OH AND ONE MORE THING: CO-OP. I wasn't ever really sure until I played but there's no split-screen gaming on the same console for it, online only co-op as far as I know so there's that.

Going from what I've seen and played so far (which obviously isn't much) I don't know if I'll like it more than the first two games but I should at least enjoy it regardless since I love the series so much. Guess we'll see! Don't take all of this as "MAN I DUNNO, THIS DOESN'T SEEM AS GOOD AS THE OTHER ONES, IT'LL PROBABLY SUCK DON'T GET TOO HYPED" haha because I know it'll be good, I just have a lot of fears that EA is gonna eventually wreck the franchise trying to make it like everything else for more sales but we'll see! If you get a chance, play the demo! If you've seen much of the videos online, especially the 20 minute gameplay one, you've already seen most of what you'll be doing but it's worth it for nothing else just to get a feel for all the new features.