Game: Dead Space: Extraction
Publisher/Developer: Electronic Arts / Visceral Games
Genre: On-Rails Shooter
Verdict: An outstanding showcase of what the Nintendo Wii is truly capable of
Pros: Awesome environments, compelling story, and brilliant HUD design
Cons: Lack of character personality and puzzles seem tacked on.
Developer Acquired

A new Dead Space game? Already? After a year that saw the publication of such outstanding original IPs as Spore, Mirrors Edge, and Dead Space, Electronic Arts looked to be moving in a positive direction towards new content, the polar opposite of rival publisher, Activision. Just when we thought the days of squatting out yearly sequels were behind them, EA showed their true colors once again. Upon the announcement of Dead Space making its way to the Nintendo Wii, fans became frothy with glee, envisioning a Wii port of what was easily the biggest surprise of last year. Resident Evil 4 fueled antics and a unique Wii control scheme were dancing through the heads of reviewers, like sugar plumbs through the dreams of kindergartners on Christmas Eve. Much to the dismay of the excited masses, the game was revealed to forgo the port treatment, instead favoring an on-rails shooter, acting as a prequel to the events that haunted the slumber of every man, woman, and child that played the original. The real question is: did EA’s risk pay off, or are we looking at another mature Wii title that is dead on arrival?

The first mission aboard the USG Ishimura left us wondering what it would take for such a colossal structure to become devoid of virtually all human life. In the story of Dead Space: Extraction, players get to live out all of the destruction, pain, and horror that set the stage for the events of the original game.

Like most pieces of literature, feature films, and games that revolve around the dismantling of the entire human species, there is one thing that is always a safe bet: humans did something stupid to unleash their ultimate demise. This has been a story mechanic that dates all the way back to the Titans of Greek mythology being imprisoned by Zeus in Tartarus, later escaping and wreaking havoc. So why mess with a good thing, right? In the case of Extraction, the main enemies, the Necromorphs, are released during the attempted mining of a religious marker of some sort on the planet Aegis VII. As one would assume, once a possessed entity that is comprised entirely of deceased human tissue is released on your planet, you have only one option: run like the devil is in your back pocket holding a lighter to the underside of your nut-sack (or equivalent female bits — Ed).

Featuring traditional mechanics that have been found in every on-rails shooter since House of the Dead defined the whole genre, there is really nothing present that is cause for alarm. The “stand in one place while randomly generated zombie sprites hobble, stumble, and outright sprint directly into the sights of your crosshairs” mechanic remains unchanged. That is not to say that there are not new tricks thrown in here and there to enhance the combat, but it seems like a very safe take on something that could have redefined what a next-generation shooter experience could be on the Wii.

As funny as it may sound to hear the words “next-generation” and “Wii” in a sentence other than, “Dear lord, when is Nintendo planning to rob our pocketbooks and steal our wives, with the release of the next generation Wii,” the visuals tend to argue otherwise. In short, this is the single most detailed and aesthetically pleasing game available on the console to date. It is nothing short of staggering what the developers over at Visceral Games have been able to produce with such drastically underpowered hardware. In an age where studios have used the limitations of the Wii as an excuse for delivering piss poor environmental assets and muddy animations, it is nice to see someone legitimately push the machine to its limits.

Sticking with the theme of stellar design, the HUD and visors used to progress the plot of the game are spot on. They are located in areas of the screen where key information can be conveyed quickly, without interrupting or distracting from the action at hand, while still seeming to not be outside of what one would expect. Another particularly well crafted piece of the puzzle is the engrossing narrative. Throughout the events of the game, the player will take control of a great number of different characters. This significantly enhances the overall perspective of the player, allowing a greater sense of the story than if limited to on point of view. The game is set across a great number of different environments, helping to portray a feeling of satisfaction through the relentless forward progression.

Veterans of the past Dead Space installment will remember the game’s upgradeable weapon system. Fortunately those helming the prequel decided to bring this across the console chasm, recreating what may be the single most gratifying mechanic of the entire game. Having the ability to choose up to four weapons of your choice and upgrading them as you see fit helps to both engross and reinforce the life-or-death scenarios that take place. Just make sure to shoose upgrade your weapons wisely: they will be critical to your survival in later stages.

If there are two areas where the game falls tragically short, they would have to be the puzzles and personality. First off, there are a number of different points where environmental puzzles are employed to increase the tension of a scene and provide a necessary break from the gunplay. While  succeed in breaking up the monotony of the action, the actual puzzles themselves leave something to be desired. Normally taking the form of having to hack a locked door or re-activate a dead elevator, this element just seemed like a tacked on mini-game that would be better suited to a precision-based multiplayer mode.

The  area where the game lacks the most is the personality. Sure, the game has solid voice acting and decent character development, but there is nothing that drew me into caring about any one specific character. It doesn’t help matters much that the game is a non-stop, high-intensity experience. Reflections back to games like House of the Dead: Overkill come to mind, except for one key factor: Overkill injected humor at regular intervals in order to break the tension. Having a bit more humor, as dark as it would need to be, might have helped all of the characters feel more authentic, rather than skittish and abused puppies in pasty human form.

Games like Dead Space: Extraction do not come along very often and especially not on the Nintendo Wii. It successfully manages to combine lush visuals, satisfying gunplay, and top tier storytelling into a title that has raised the bar for what to expect from a Wii game. This is a must own for any Wii owner with a bent towards the mature and gratuitous violence that only the threat of an alien genocide can provide.