Systems – Wii
Publisher – EA
Developer – Visceral Games
Genre – Rail-Shooter
Many people scoffed at the thought of a rail-gun Dead Space on the Wii. People said it was dumbed down for the console, and wasn’t a true Dead Space experience. These people are morons. Instead of just porting Dead Space onto the Wii, Visceral has created a unique experience using the advantages of the console that makes Dead Space: Extraction a true Dead Space experience.
Dead Space: Extraction is a prequel to the original Dead Space, you are a rag-tag group of survivors that have to escape the infected colony and board the USG Ishimura Planet Cracker space ship. All of these characters are very real and believable and really stick with after the credits roll.
EA has been throwing around a BS marketing term for Dead Space: Extraction, instead of calling it a Rail-Shooter which made them feel like it was a “dumbed-down experience”, they instead tried to dub the term “Guided First-Person Experience”.
Oddly enough, I think “Guided First-Person Experience” describes Dead Space: Extraction very well. In the game you play a normal human, and the game constantly reminds you that you’re a person. The camera will making hectic, almost terrified movements that successfully replicates the terrified motions of a person.
They also use the first-person view to do some weird stuff, for example there’s a hacking mini-game where you have to guide an electrical charge through traps towards the power-switch, and in a couple of sections you’ll have to be hacking a machine, while at the same time fending off the Necromorphs. Also keep a look-out for something that happens near the end of the game which solidified Dead Space: Extraction as an awesome title.
Another worry of gamers was that Dead Space: Extraction wouldn’t be able to replicate the Dead Space atmosphere. I’m happy to report that the game is very much “Dead Space”. The graphics of the game are amazing for the Wii, and stand out as some of the best visuals on the console. The voice-acting is good, but the audio effects aren’t as memorable nor as creepy as the original Dead Space. Overall the game isn’t as creepy and unsettling as the original Dead Space, but instead goes for a much more action-packed and tense experience that works well for what the game is.
Dead Space translates successfully as a rail-shooter, one of the most innovate things about Dead Space was the tactical element of shooting. Instead of having to go for head-shots constantly you had to cut off limbs, and hack monsters up, and this works amazingly well in Dead Space: Extraction. With a wide variety of fun and cool weapons you’ll be messing up Necromorphs well. Also an odd but useful feature is that each gun has a special alternate-fire mode that can be activated just by twisting the Wiimote gangsta’ style which works well.
Throughout the experience you’ll be collecting a bunch of stuff, from health upgrades and weapon upgrades, to the familiar text and audio logs. It feels like most of the text logs were recycled from the first Dead Space, but the audio logs are cool as when you picked them up they actually play in the Wiimote’s speaker which adds a great deal of immersion. Another unlockable is the motion and voiced comics from the first game, which are cool and fun to watch and a great little thing for Dead Space fans.
The biggest fault of Dead Space: Extraction is that it’s short and there’s not much replay value. There are unlockable challenge rooms which offers some fast-paced action, but with no online leaderboards the only reason for you to really get hooked on this mode is if you have a bunch of friends over.
Overall Dead Space: Extraction is an amazing experience for all Dead Space fans, and a breakout title for Wii fans who’ve been waiting for a mature experience. With a rich and memorable story, tons of fun and unique weapons, and tense fast-paced action with killer graphics for the Wii this is a game all Dead Space and Wii fans should experience. Just don’t expect it to last that long unfortunately.
Player One Only 