Dead Space Extraction Review for Nintendo Wii

System: Wii	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Visceral Games	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Electronic Arts	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Sep. 29, 2009	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-2	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Mature	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

As you work your way through the story, you'll open up new weapons and upgrades and additional game modes and content. Challenge Mode is similar to what you might expect from a standard on-rails shooter such as The House of the Dead. This action-heavy mode will pit you against wave after wave of Necromorphs intent on bringing you down. You'll earn points by slicing through each phase with well-placed, strategic dismemberment. Get through your foes efficiently and you'll accrue point multipliers. Stay alive long enough and you'll set point totals that'll be difficult for your friends to beat.

Dead Space Extraction screenshot

Challenge Mode is a great mode for extending the play value of the game, it also will serve as a story-light, party-favorable gameplay experience. This is especially so when you consider the drop-in co-op aspect. A second player can hop in at any time by grabbing a Wii Remote and blasting away along side you. All chapters and stages feature this cooperative play element, and it even sports separate statistics tracking for each player is available for end of level/game comparisons.

In addition to Challenge Mode levels, players will also unlock extra content in the form of comic-like, cinematically-enhanced stills that further flesh out the story. While I loved this unlockable reward overall, I was a bit dismayed by the quality of the illustrations - they're not bad, but they do appear as if they were hastily drawn on a napkin by a lone diner taking advantage of the lack of conversation by fleshing out a storyboard. Still, the dialogue and voice work presented as well as the zooming and editing breathe life into the drawings, making the overall experience quite appealing.

Graphically, the team at Visceral Games did an amazing job of bringing the outstanding, moody visuals of Dead Space to the less-powerful Wii. Though you'll still find some jaggies and occasionally see creatures through solid walls, the visual experience is riveting - this is definitely in the upper echelon of Wii-specific titles out there. Likewise, the aural presentation that marked Dead Space is nicely captured in Extraction. The "panic-inducing audio" features excellent sound effects, quality voice acting, and eerie musical themes.

Dead Space: Extraction is everything EA promised Wii owners. Rather than getting a dumbed down experience, the developers were able to play to the console's strengths, bringing an electric, scary, and polished mature entry to the platform. While I'm sure some will downplay the game's excellence, it is a worthwhile title that non-Wii-owning fans of the franchise will be loathe to miss.

By Jonathan Marx
CCC Editor / News Director

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

4.3

Graphics
This game is beautiful across the board. The team really took a lot of time to make it shine on Wii. Of course, the hardware is still limiting. I wish the extra content comic was more painstakingly drawn.

4.2

Control
The Wii Remote and Nunchuk configuration is very solid. Too bad the Zapper controls are such a step down!

4.3

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The eerie, terror-laden sound effects and musical themes are wonderful. The voice work is also quite good.

4.3

Play Value
Visceral Games did a great job of bringing the Dead Space franchise to Wii. Fans of the series and mature Wii owners should really give this one a try. There's lots of great gameplay that's further extended by the Challenge Mode.

4.3

Overall Rating - Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

An All-New Prequel Exclusively for the Wii: Follow the lives of several different Aegis VII colony members as they carve a bloody path to survival. Meet a new cast of characters, destroy fearsome new enemies, and wield brutal new weapons.

Real Terror: Stunning graphics, panic-inducing audio, and a frenetic first-person perspective thrust you headlong into the terror. Play through an engrossing, interactive horror movie experience that raises the bar for storytelling in video games.

Intuitive Controls: Strategically dismember your enemies with pinpoint control using the Wii Remote. Wield a powerful arsenal of abilities and weapons to freeze enemies, manipulate gravity with telekinesis, solve puzzles, and fight off attacks from every direction in zero gravity.

Co-Op Gameplay: Team up with a friend to fight off the invasion on the USG Ishimura with jump-in cooperative play. Combine efforts on engineering puzzles or determine specific roles to create a unique experience with each play session.