“Dead Space Extraction’s focus on its great storyline and atmospheric visuals is almost enough to forgive the poor choice of game mechanic.”
By: Dalibor Dimovski, Managing Editor
Vitals
Game: Dead Space Extraction
Developer/Publisher: Visceral Games / Electronic Arts
Released: September 2009
Platforms: Wii
When Dead Space: Extraction was announced as a “guided” shooter for the Wii, I thought, “Another rails shooter. Well, if it’s anything like Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles then it should be a ton of fun.” Looking back on that thought I realize that it was a loaded wish statement. While Dead Space is in the same genre as Resident Evil, it certainly differs in some key ways. While knowing what to expect from Resident Evil — a mish-mash summary of previous games in the storied franchise — Dead Space is an all new prequel to the relatively new series.
In other words it plays fan service to those who have a hard-on for the Dead Space mythos, but not so much to newcomers.
The developers use the term “guided experience” to explain Extraction‘s play mechanic. The phrase fits like a Snuggie on a cold December day. While definitely an on-rails FPS, there is a surprisingly minimal amount of battles to endure and enemies to de-limb. “Guided” must mean an extensive amount of quick-time events and cut-scenes strung together with scattered battles along the way. In other words, this is more of a guided cinematic experience than an on-rails shooter. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing (depending on how you’re viewing it).
The mechanic is as you’d expect: point the WiiMote at the screen and line up the cross-hairs with space zombies, blowing off their limbs one-by-one. Twist the WiiMote sideways and the weapon fires in an alternative method (charged shots, wider cutters, grenade launching). Slow an enemy down or pick up objects via a few telekinesis tools. And of course, solve several puzzles by steady-handing some wire soldering. There are a few occasions where the characters can look around freely, but for most instances the view adheres to a single path.
By deliberately forcing the player to have little impact on the camera movement, the producers are able to manage what the player sees, hears, and interacts with. The reasoning? A tightly integrated story that feeds off of the interaction between the four main characters as their colony falls apart. Extraction feels like watching a really great sci-fi horror movie where at times I’m able to interact with the on-screen action. This causes the game to feel extremely linear because my actions have little effect as to how the story unfolds. I would have loved to go off exploring on my own (even on-rails) if just to give me more reason to immerse myself in the chaos.
But for a game with such a limited mobile experience, it certainly succeeds in telling a story. The guided experience is designed to pace the adventure extremely well. The game is a complete thrill ride from beginning to end, filled with moments that are frightening and moments that are “edge of your seat” action. In fact, the Extraction story may be one of the best of the year, trumped only by the likes of Uncharted 2. I never once felt like I was in a lull. And for the 6 hours that the game takes to complete, I was wrapped around the writers’ collective finger. The story couldn’t have been told the same way if the game was more traditional in design.
Perhaps this should have been called Left 4 Dead Space instead. Much like Left 4 Dead, I found myself wanting all four main characters to survive, especially the pivotal Lexine and the rough-around-the-edges commander Weller. I especially liked that the events unfolding in the game relate directly to those in the original Dead Space, even overlapping some important characters and scenes.
The visuals are terrific, with the developers using the game mechanic to focus on specific aspects like lighting and enemy details. The floating HUD from Dead Space is here as are the fun weapons, but what really excited me was the re-use of the original’s locations. Walking around on the exterior of the ship in zero-G and exploring the lobby and tram stations really did a good job of bringing back the memories of the original game that I loved. I was compelled to advance the story further and see what other places were being revisited.
At several times, I found the scenery to be stunning, creating an atmosphere of paranoia and awe at the same time (the battle with the giant space octopus comes to mind). For just a visual trip the game is well worth a play-through.
The game also has a ton of extras to unlock, most notably the Challenge Modes and the motion comics. The comic is great, telling the story from the perspective of other characters in the colony and aboard the Ishimura. The Challenge Modes, hectic timed sections of the map with hordes of enemies to kill, offer no real replay value. With only in-console score tracking (no online leaderboards!), there isn’t much reason to best one’s own run-through if there is no one to show it off to.
All this is great if you’re a fan of the Dead Space series. The Resident Evil rail shooters do well because they are set in an established series. Dead Space is brand new to the gaming scene. Trying to force-feed a deep storyline for a relatively new series onto a console that really only caters to the mass populace is a tough sell. However, settling for a mediocre story with slower pacing by getting rid of the guided experience would not do well to the series either. It’s with that said that Extraction may only appeal to the gamers who already have played through the original Dead Space, look to continue the story, and own a Wii.
I’m one of those players, and I truly love this game. In fact, it’s one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had this year. For those of us who are suckers for the mysteries behind the Necromorphs, this will be enough to keep us salivating for Dead Space 2, and enough to keep it in our collections next to other Marker paraphernalia. But for those without much knowledge Dead Space lore, I doubt they will feel the same. The game is probably best rented and played through in a weekend.
Likes
– Incredible, well-paced storyline withing the Dead Space mythos.
– Often-stunning visuals.
– Gigantic boss fights.
– Extras.
Dislikes
– Too guided, too linear.
– Inability to look around while walking along a path.
– No real replay value.
All images courtesy Electronic Arts/Visceral Games. The game was purchased by the writer as a personal copy.
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