Dead Space 3 - Must-know facts about the Dead Space universe

Some RIGs let people harness what is essentially magic

Stasis modules basically let humans shoot globs of energy(?) out of their hands, which drastically slowed the movement of anything it touched. It was designed for use in hazardous occupations (boring), but Isaac found it useful for slowing down the aliens that were trying to kill him.

Kinesis, on the other hand, let him pick junk up by shooting Force Lightning out of his fingertips--which would be awesome for magically summoning console controllers to the couch without moving. Instead, mankind chose to use Kineses for dumb things, like moving humongous rocks and turning door handles without actually touching them (which, on second thought, is actually really cool).

The Red Marker on the Ishimura was actually a man-made replica of the original Black Marker

Okay, so remember how Altman blew the hell out of the underwater research facility and destroyed the Black Marker? Well, before he did that, he had uncovered a sort of "genetic code" for the artifact, which EarthGov got a hold of after his involuntary martyrdom.

That means the government was able to figure out a way to artificially create new Markers based on the genetic blueprints of the original--and the first duplicate had been sent to the faraway planet of Aegis VII (the planet the Ishimura retrieved the Red Marker from) to be studied from a safe distance. Bummer that didn't work out so well, eh?

Isaac was made a prisoner by EarthGov after escaping the Ishimura

While drifting through space in a mere shuttle, Isaac activated a distress beacon and was ultimately saved. THEN he was handed over to EarthGov and placed in an insane asylum on the Sprawl, a giant space station/colony. This was done partially because he'd gone a bit wacko after having had so much contact with a Marker, but mainly because EarthGov wanted to probe his brain for Marker secrets.

After three years of being force fed memory-erasing meds and having his brain violated, Isaac suddenly "regained consciousness" during a Necromorph outbreak, which had overrun the entire colony. And that could mean only one thing...

Yet another Marker existed, and it was located on the Sprawl

Where did it come from? And how did it get there? Well, it was all Isaac's fault, actually. His close encounter with the Marker on the Ishimura meant his brain had been forcefully ingrained with the blueprints for building more of them. And since EarthGov had been shoving needles into his mind to find those blueprints, they were able to figure out how to construct as many of the things as they pleased.

Isaac knew he needed to destroy this new Marker, and dismembered the limbs of Necromorph-ed men, women, and children--f* those things--by the hundreds in order to complete his mission. Along the way, he encountered even more hallucinations of his dead girlfriend Nicole, and witnessed all sorts of creepy drawings (most in blood) by Unitologists, proclaiming that the Marker would make them all "whole."

The ultimate goal of the Necromorphs/Markers/Unitologists is to achieve "Convergence"

What is Convergence? Well, it was never really explained in either Dead Space 1 or 2. But! It sounded really bad. What we do know is that it was triggered when a ton of Necromorphs gathered around a Marker, at which point they all started to get sucked up into the air.

Not one to wait around and see what would happen should Convergence occur, Isaac figured out how to destroy the Marker (and succeeded in doing so) to prevent Convergence. His actions were surely heroic--but he couldn't have done all that without a little bit of help.

Isaac met Ellie Langford, a CEC pilot, on the Sprawl

Why is this important? Well, mainly because Ellie plays a large role in Dead Space 3. During his lovely, totally kill-free travels through the Sprawl, Isaac teamed up with this CEC pilot in hopes of putting an end to the Marker-produced madness.

Ellie sacrificed a lot to help him out--namely one of her eyes, which was slowly and painfully removed via screwdriver by a crazy dude on the Sprawl. But the fact is, Isaac couldn't have completed his selfless objective without her, as she not only provided assistance throughout Dead Space 2, but also saved his ass at the end (and became his new love interest). Then, right after the credits finish rolling, a mysterious voice piped up over a transmission. And guess what it said?

There are tons of Marker sites all over the galaxy, which means one thing: sequels

EarthGov constructed not one, but many new Markers based on the blueprints stored in Isaac's brain. You'd think mankind's best and brightest would've figured out pretty quickly that the Marker's aren't so much sources of energy as they are instruments of extinction, but hey, POLITICS, RITE?

Dead Space tres

We know Dead Space 3 will at least partially take place on the frozen ice planet of Tau Volantis, which is supposedly the Marker homeworld. What will Isaac find there? And how will the addition of two player co-op and weapon crafting affect the tension of the series? Find out in our Dead Space 3 review, which goes live this Tuesday at midnight.

Think Necromorphs are scary? Then check out the Top 7 uncomfortably sexy video game animals, or what would happen if Duke Nukem had failed his mission.