Reviews Surfing - Dead Space: Extraction (Wii)

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, rail shooters on the Nintendo Wii are here to stay. The initial reaction to Dead Space: Extraction may not be very upbeat, but so far the reviews are mostly positive, save for one particularly low score. If you’ve been curious about what this “guided first-person experience” hubbub, then check out what the critics think—you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

1UP: (83%) “Extraction doesn’t last very long; most gamers will be able to beat the single-player campaign in under six hours. But as an expansion of the Dead Space universe, it provides necessary sustenance for Dead Space fans, and a fun introduction for newcomers. The game avoids treating the Wii as a gimmick, incorporating a minimum amount of waggle — except for when you need to brush off an enemy or activate your Glow Worm (for some reason, in this future nobody has a flashlight, but there are plenty of glow sticks). It may be a strange world, but I look forward to visiting it again, regardless of what platform it’s on.”

Eurogamer: (80%) “Luckily for a game with such unapologetic cinematic pretensions, Dead Space: Extraction does a fine job of weaving an engaging sci-fi narrative into a slick action game. Far from being a stripped-down side-show to the main event, Extraction provides yet another reminder of how brainlessly entertaining the on-rails shooter can be when it’s done properly. With brilliant core combat and an array of heart-pounding set pieces, this provides ample proof that the Wii can service the hardcore when it wants.”

Destructoid: (75%) “Dead Space Extraction tells a good story, but at its heart, it’s still an on-rails shooter, warts and all. Fans of the genre, or of the Dead Space world in general, will definitely want to add this game to their permanent collection, but everybody else may want to go with a rental first. There are quite a few one-of-a-kind, disarming (HA!) horror moments to be found here, but not quite fifty dollars’ worth. If the game cost ten dollars less, or if it had a few more bosses/hours worth of content, it could have surpassed Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles as my favorite on-rails shooter on the Wii.”

Giant Bomb: (60%) “Extraction presents a quandary. It’s a pretty short game, at only five or six hours, and after what looks like a great setup for a big exciting finale, the game just sort of… ends, abruptly and poorly. Since there’s a limited amount of interactivity and it’s more or less the same each time through, you may not want to play it more than once. But if you’re a fan of Dead Space or this sort of, um, “guided experience,” you should definitely play it, even if you grab it as a rental or wait for it to hit the bargain bin. I was tempted to write off Dead Space Extraction purely on the superficial reputation of light-gun games, but I’m glad I didn’t. All other things being equal, it’s really not bad.”

Granted, story-driven games don’t have a lot to offer in terms of replay value, but would you really care to finish a game several times even if it only has one ending? Don’t count lack of replayability against Dead Space: Extraction—it looks like a great romp.

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