Is breaking of the fourth wall actually good or bad thing?

For people that are not familiar with this here are the links to the subject

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FourthWall

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BreakingTheFourthWall

I am in two minds about this, since there was only one moment in Dead Space 3 that used this and it completely broke the immersion for me. But there are other games which can actually benefit from this. I want to hear other peoples opinion on this, since I was thinking about doing this almost constantly through the dialog of my game. But the thing is that my game would touch on somewhat heavier subjects.

If it's done well (and often for comedic effect in a lighthearted game) then it can be good. If it's a serious game that aims to completely immerse the player into its world, then no - it usually isn't a good thing.