Dead Space 3 is still scary, despite the addition of co-op

If you've seen any footage of Dead Space 3, you might have noticed a new turn of direction EA and Visceral seem to be taking with the survival-horror franchise. Dead Space 3 looks like more of an action shooter than the terrifying experience it once was, but according to EA Games marketing boss Laura Miele, Dead Space 3 is "no less scary" than its predecessors.

"The horror of Dead Space is still all there," Miele reassured fans. "It's still true to its roots and no less scary, but people felt far more comfortable playing it with someone else than they did doing it on their own."

In fact, that was one of the reasons EA and Visceral decided to add a co-op component. Miele explained that the addition of a co-op mode will appeal to people who enjoy the game, but found the first two Dead Space games too scary to experience on their own.

"We were doing research coming out of Dead Space 1 and 2 and we're really proud of those products," Miele explained. "We received feedback to understand how we can take the game out to even more consumers."

"We were hearing feedback that they love the thriller game, but it was pretty scary, and the obvious next step was that they wanted to play with someone. So we introduced co-op into the game."

Laura likened the experience to seeing a scary movie, and how it was easier to experience it with a friend than alone.

"Personally, I would rather go to scary movie with my husband rather than sit at home with the lights out watching one on my own. We're looking for that to reach out to consumers that perhaps were not open to Dead Space 1 and 2."

In Dead Space 3, series protagonist Isaac Clarke will fight alongside merciless soldier John Carver with the cooperative mode mirroring the single-player campaign, but accommodating the added character. Dead Space 3 is set to arrive in February 2013. You can check out our preview of the game from E3.

[MCV]