Dead Space Extraction (Wii) Review

Posted by Ramon Aranda on 10.30.2009

A prequel that feels right at home within the Dead Space universe



Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Visceral Games - Eurocom
Type: Shooter, Action, Horror
Players: 1-2
Rated: M for Mature


Having reviewed the original Dead Space for the Xbox 360 and loving it at that, I was pretty stoked about the prospect of a prequel for the Nintendo Wii. I had some initial concerns however about EA/Visceral Games’ choice to turn this one into an on-rails game. My fears shrunk when I previewed the game at E3 this year but they completely evaporated once I finally took hold of Dead Space Extraction.

The game kicks with the marker being found on the Aegis VII mining colony and as you begin to grasp how the controls will work; the story begins to unfold in what proves to be a terrific narrative leading to the events of Isaac Clark’s mission on the USG Ishimura.

Gameplay

Let me start off by once again stating that although the game is essentially an on-rails, light gun shooter, it doesn’t truly feel like one. What Visceral tries to do here is give you more of a movie-like experience as the camera pans around realistically never taking you away from the action. As you walk into a room and here things or notice things, you’ll make quick turns to capture everything around you in a way that you’d probably do for yourself. You’ll use your telekinesis to pick up items such as weapons, upgrades, health and logs though at times the camera does move a tad too fast to let you pick up everything you want. Many of the weapons you’ve learned to love from Dead Space also make a return including the Ripper which is my personal favorite – considering it works extremely well with the Wii remote. A nice touch is being allowed to use the Z-button for faster reloading such as we’ve seen with other games like Gears of War where hitting the Z-button again at the right time gets you restocked and ready to go with the quickness.

Perhaps the game isn’t quite as freaky as the original one but you still get some decent scares and as you’ve been accustomed to already, you’ll have to dismember those Necromorph bastards once again. Hordes of them will at times come after you and thanks to your Stasis you can once again slow the action down but you’ll be limited to three uses until you slowly gain them again. You’ll know how many are left by the three icons surrounding your aim reticule. Be sure of course to pick up plenty of ammo along the way but if you get caught by surprise, you can swing the nunchuck to do a melee attack. Plus, you don’t want to forget to twist the remote to access your weapon’s alternate fire. Another big of ‘waggle’ control is added in when you want to use a light stick that helps you in extremely dark areas. You simply wave the Wii remote and you’ll eventually get it fully lit which is accompanied by a sound effect coming from the remote’s speaker.

The game itself is broken into chapters and while you have a core of main characters, you’ll also meet new ones and there’s always a sense of insecurity as to whether you’ll be separated at anytime and believe me, there’s plenty of that going on. What’s great is that the chapters don’t really break apart the fluidity of the story and not only is the dialogue spot on but the way in which things unfold make it feel like you’re really taking part in an interactive movie. Even the audio logs which you pick up along the way add to the narration and they can be heard through the Wii remote’s speaker as well – pretty cool.

Graphics

Having been built from the ground up for the Wii (as it’s an exclusive), the development team clearly put in a lot of work for this game. Though not as pretty as Dead Space, this prequel does a pretty good job of keeping with the overall look as the backdrops are quite detailed and the enemies are spot on and freakish. Character models are also pretty impressive with added emphasis on their facial expressions and the game’s lighting adds to the creepy atmosphere. In short, the game looks fantastic on the Wii.

Sound

As was the case with the first game, Dead Space Extraction continues with the tradition of excellent sound. I mentioned this before but I’ll say it again, the voice acting is superb and believable. Everyone really seems to have their own personalities and you never get the sense that the dialogue is being read from a script. It truly blows away anything you’d expect from a light gun title. As you make your way through these dank and eerie corridors, the game’s Pro Logic II really kicks in as you’ll hear drops of water from steam pipes, footsteps from Necromorphs and other nerve-inducing sound effects that put your mind right in the action. Again, the added sound coming from the Wii remote for audio logs and weapon related effects are a nice touch.

Fun Factor

What’s not to like about blowing away some dastardly Necromorphs? Well aside from shooting off limbs, you’ll occasionally get some puzzles and most importantly, a second player can drop in at anytime to join in on the fun. This is especially helpful when trying to plow through the game’s much harder difficulty levels. Even during the puzzles, you will switch off while one takes care of the baddies. The game also features a separate multiplayer challenge mode which offers up about 10 different events to keep things fresh.

Lasting Appeal

The game itself is broken into 10 chapters which is pretty good for this type of game. Alongside the Challenge mode, you’ll get a good 10-12 hours worth of gaming and you can always go back through each of the chapters to try and enhance your score. Since you can’t always react fast enough to what’s going on, it might help to try some chapters over to also find weapon upgrades. After each chapter, you’ll get a score which ends up unlocking upgrades to your suit. There’s four difficulty levels in all so if you think you’ve got things taken care of, you can ramp it up and see how you do in the harder ones.

The 411

EA took a shot at bringing this game to the Wii and I can’t recommend this game enough. It’s an engaging story that sets things up for the original with great narration, excellent graphics and enough of a spook-factor to keep you on your toes. With Halloween upon us, it’s a perfect time to give Dead Space Extraction a go, assuming you haven’t already.

Graphics	8.5	Very good for the Wii and though falling a bit short to the original, still top notch.
Gameplay	9.0	You forget it's on rails and light-gun style which is a good thing. True to the style of the series.
Sound	9.0	Creepy noises make smile and the game has plenty of them. Good use of the Wii remote speaker and excellent dialogue.
Lasting Appeal	7.5	Not exceptionally long in comparison to most games but long enough to enjoy.
Fun Factor	9.0	I had a great time playing it and co-op added to the enjoyment. The added comic is pretty cool too.
Overall	8.6   [ Very Good ]

Screenshots
All 10 Dead Space Extraction Screenshots