Review: Dead Space Extraction

We loved Dead Space for the Xbox 360. It was a breath of fresh air in the survival horror genre. So it was exciting to hear that EA was looking at developing a game for the Wii. Then we found out it wasn’t going to be a survival horror game at all, rather a prequel in the form of an “on rails” shooter. Ugh. Would the franchise get watered down as it made its way over to the graphically stunted console? Could a light gun game do justice to the Dead Space name?  Take a sigh of relief folks, Dead Space Extraction could very well be one of the best Wii titles we’ve seen in months. But that’s not to say it doesn’t have a few flaws.

The Story

Dead Space Extraction takes place before the disastrous story which unfolded on the Xbox 360. Remember when you finally see the alien marker at the end of the original game? That’s exactly where this story begins, only years earlier. The marker has just been discovered, and a team has been sent to secure it and bring it back to earth. Of course not everything goes according to plan. All hell breaks loose and we find out what happened to the folks aboard the ill fated USG Ishimura.

Those who played through Dead Space for the 360, will recognize many of the levels, rooms and passageways. It almost feels like a home coming of sorts for those who played through the original. Yet the title and story acts as a standalone for those who did not have the privilege of playing Dead Space.

It’s important to note, this is a mature game. Yes the Wii has been marred with a reputation of having plenty of kid games, but this is not a title to let the little ones play. Unless of course you want to introduce them to copious amounts of blood and foul language. In fact I think there’s more swearing in this game than there was in the original for the 360. This is a mature game with mature themes. Parents, you’ve been warned!

The Gameplay

Dead Space Extraction is an “on rails” first person shooter. The story unfolds before your eyes, all you have to do is wait for the action to begin and get your finger ready on the trigger. There’s no jumping, no dodging, no puzzles to solve. Just sit back, aim and fire.

The levels are long, the enemies plentiful, and the weapons, well they kick some serious ass. All of the original weapons make a comeback in this title. As you progress through the game you’ll acquire weapons upgrades which will be needed in some of the later levels.

Besides weapon upgrades, there are plenty of other goodies to collect. As you unravel the story, you will encounter logs from crew members, depicting the events that occurred before you got to the ship. These logs come in many forms, written, video, and audio. Developer Visceral Games added a sweet touch by allowing the audio logs to play through the Wiimote speaker. The sound quality isn’t great, but it kind of adds to the whole handheld tape recorder feel. Well executed.

Shake that Wiimote to light up dark areas with your Glow Worm

Visceral Games takes full advantage of the Wiimote speaker. Many sound effects are played through the speaker. In dark areas of the game you’ll have to use what is referred to as a glow worm. This glow stick must be shaken to keep the chemical reaction going which gives you light. You’ll swear there are small metal ball bearings in your Wiimote as you shake the glow worm as the sound effects are so realistic. This really adds to the games realism.

The Controls

The focus on this game is shooting. You aim with the Wiimote, while the analog stick on the nunchuk is used to select your weapon. Each weapon has two fire modes, primary and secondary. You can switch back and forth by simply turning your wrist 90 degrees. Some weapons will send out a horizontal blast used to cut off legs, but when you turn your wrist to access the secondary fire mode, the beam turns vertical so you can slice off arms as well. This is key when fighting certain enemies.

The game may be a light gun title, but let’s not forget, this is the Wii. The Wiimote forced the developer to come up with some different uses of the motion controller. There are areas of the game where you will need put your weapons down and weld shut a door to prevent creatures from gaining access. Sometimes you will have to weld and shoot at the same time! Other times you will be asked to hack into security systems to open locked doors. This is done by tracing lines on the screen. Sounds kinda lame, but it is actually quite fun.

Your weapon changes depending on the angle you hold the Wiimote

For an on rails shooter, players are given quite a bit of control. Visceral Games has incorporated a branching path mechanic. Every once in a while you get to choose the path you take through the ship. Often you will reach a fork in the corridors and it is up to you to decide which way you will go. Sometimes the corridor will lead to weapon upgrades and health supplies. Other times it will lead you to different areas of the ship. Giving you that option makes you feel like you have a bit more control than typical “on rail” shooters.

Overall, the controls work fairly well on the Wii. In fact there were times when I was playing this game when I thought this easily could have been an “off the rails” first person shooter.

The Graphics

I was actually pleasantly surprised by the graphics in Dead Space Extraction. Sure it’s the Wii, but Visceral managed to squeeze some decent graphics out of it. Yes you will notice some of the edges are a little jagged, maybe objects that should be circular are not as round as they should be, but a decent job has been done. Let’s be honest, you’ll be so busy shooting and scrambling for items you don’t have time to admire pretty graphics. It’s no Dead Space on the 360, but you still feel like you’re crawling through the same ship and some of the same levels as you did on Microsoft’s big bad machine.

You'll notice some rough edges, but overall the graphics in Dead Space Extraction for the Wii are pretty good

The Bottom Line

Dead Space Extraction is a pleasant surprise. It’s clear EA took extra measures to make sure the franchise would not get watered down for the Wii. The action is fast and furious, with plenty of new gameplay dynamics thrown really raising the bar for “on rails” shooter title.

The game does a have a few weaknesses. It isn’t as scary as the original and some of the voice acting is a bit weak. There are a few lines which stand out as laughable in their delivery. That being said, it’s still a solid title.

Fans of the Dead Space franchise may be disappointed it’s not a full fledged survival horror game but EA never had the vision for that on the Wii. It is Dead Space, it’s just different. Unless you absolutely hate “on rail” light gun games there’s a good chance you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Dust off your Wii, you have another great title to play.

The Good

Great controls
Cool weapons
Great use of Wiimote Speaker
Expands on Dead Space story

The Bad

Graphics slightly watered down for the Wii
Some weak voice acting
Not as scary as original
Makes waiting for Dead Space sequel even more painful