There’s no shame it admitting it. The world of Dead Space can be a little scary—if you’d rather not go alone, you can take a friend along for the ride. Extraction allows two players to team up for cooperative multiplayer throughout the entire campaign, and in some cases, the game forces you to work together and form strategies to survive.
After all, zombie-killing friends who slay together stay together.
Multiplayer is also available in the arcade-like challenge modes, an excellent series of straining tests for your trigger finger. The lack of online leaderboards is an unfortunate oversight, but otherwise, this solid package features great gameplay modes and bonus content.
Extraction also delivers some impressive visuals alongside its thrills, chills and multiplayer kills. Fantastic Necromorph models and lighting effects are a few of its bragging points, but even the dismemberment itself is an accomplishment, particularly considering Visceral Games didn’t skimp in other areas to do it. From the dingy, blood-stained hallways to the starry expanses of space, Extraction looks great.
The visuals match the tone of the narrative, as well. Terrifying, bleak and desolate, the art often amplifies the hopelessness of your fate.
And trust me, your fate is precisely that—utterly hopeless.
The decision to place Dead Space on rails was met with instant criticism, and to some degree, those criticisms are still valid. Many argued an automatic camera would put too much distance between player and game, a deficiency inherent to the genre. Visceral Games clearly focused attention on shortening that distance, and although they haven’t eliminated it entirely, they’ve come damned close.
Extraction isn’t the original Dead Space, and although it shares its spirit, the Wii game is its own beast. From the devouring grip of the tragic tale it tells to its smooth controls and savvy visuals, Extraction simply refuses to be constrained by its own perceived limitations.
Rather, it thrives in spite of them.
An on-rails shooter with a chip on its shoulder and something to say, Dead Space: Extraction is a rarity. And it’s one hell of a ride.
Review based on retail copy of the game provided by publisher.
SOunds good, sounds exciting, but just not gonna pay $50 for something that will take a couple of hours to beat. Has to be cheaper, but I’m glad its getting good reviews.
I agree with you. This should be a $39′er. I don’t want to buy any potty mouth games so it’s irrelevant for me.
I rented this over the weekend and have to say that I really enjoy it. Kind of a slow beginning, but picks up pretty quickly and I love it!
Ugh… While this game has high production values, visuals, and story, it just should be a TPS… I’m one of the biggest light-gun/rail-shooter fans on the planet so I can tell when I game is supposed to be a rail shooter and excels in the genre (House of the Dead Overkill) and when the game would be better off in a different genre (DSE, RE:UC).
Not a bad game, but why not put in the effort to make it a 3rd person action experience? This whole “let’s test the Wii waters with a rail shooter” bulls**t is getting on my nerves.
If you want a rail shooter, save your 50 dollars and buy House of the Dead 2&3 or Ghost Squad. You could pick these both up for 15 dollars and they are two of the genre’s best.
Great review , however from what my friends have said about the title, its price tag, and other reviews I have read, I disagree with the score.If I can pick up Batman and Borderlands for under 40 dollars the DAY they first come out, there is no way in hell this title should be 55 dollars. Based on the lack of value alone the title should score much lower IMO.
“Not a bad game, but why not put in the effort to make it a 3rd person action experience? This whole “let’s test the Wii waters with a rail shooter†bulls**t is getting on my nerves.”
I agree 100 % with you, and , apparently with crap sales, so do the consumers! I can tell this review was written with a lot of passion and love. However,4.5 stars seems a little over the top for a rail shooter and such a short game, even for a fanboy site.
This game COULD have been so much more than it was. Maybe if someone gave me a free copy for review, I might give it a higher score than it deserves, or if I was a fanBoy, desperate for a good third party title on the Wii, I would be blind to its very short and restricted on rails gameplay.
Last week for $54.99CND at future shop, Wallmart, or bestbuy I could have picked this game up for my Wii. Why the hell WOULD I when I could buy Boaderlands for $39.99CND on the 360 that same day? Or BatMan for that same low price? Give me a friggen break.
Its not that the Nintendo Wii gamers DONT want to buy third party titles, its that they either lack production value, gameplay/ repaly hours, or are too expensive for what they provide.
If you look at the sales of this title, you will understand why it should have been $39.99 at the get go. Defend it all you want FanBoys, the sales figures don’t lie.
to bad, I hope for something better for my Wii in the future !!!
So, the list price for this game is now $29.99… did it get better for you guys?
Anyway, I’ve been playing this game and I must say it has become one of my favorites on Wii. I enjoyed it so much I decided to get the Xbox 360 version out of curiosity, and while I also enjoyed that one, it wasn’t as much fun and it didn’t draw me in as much as the Wii version (which, as Derek pointed out, is not a different version of the same game but a completely different experience altogether).
The game’s graphics are surprisingly smooth, by the way… not HD, dark-mood lighting quality like in its 360 installment, but you will have no problem identifying the same locations from each game whlie switching back and forth between consoles, and you won’t miss the HD while playing the Wii installment if your TV settings are right. In fact, because I was going back and forth between the two consoles (one night played Extraction on Wii, the next Dead Space on 360), I had difficulty remembering sometimes on which console I had seen this or that part of the ship first!
And Visceral Games sweetened the deal on Wii by adding a narrated version of the comic book tie-in and that “Horde” mode for high replayability.
Highly recommended for those of you that may be a bit dissappointed with third-party game releases for the Wii…
[...] This review was originally published Oct. 26, 2009 on Infendo. [...]
[...] This review was originally published on Infendo. [...]