Dead Space Extraction First Look Preview

Until relatively recently it seemed as if the Wii was to remain relatively free of “adult” titles. No More Heroes popped up in March last year, but for a long time that game was the sole occupier of a lonely and bloodstained niche in the market. This year things have changed. Over the last four months we’ve already had the chainsaw-tastic Madworld, a frustrating but passable Tenchu game, and the zombie bonanza that was HOTD: Overkill. Now, in the not-too-distant future, Nintendo’s family-friendly console will be getting Dead Space: Extraction – a prequel to one of the grisliest games of 2008.

Like EA Redwood Shores’ original Dead Space, Extraction is set aboard the USG Ishimura – an enormous spaceship infested with deeply unpleasant aliens, known as Necromorphs. While the first game was a fairly traditional survival horror game (and a darn good one, to boot), this second expedition is an on-rails shooter with support for up to two players. This approach may have come as a slight disappointment to Wii-owners hoping for something a little less simple, but on the bright side it’s allowed the developer to squeeze some pretty decent graphics out of the little white box that could.

From what I’ve seen so far, this appears to be true. Dead Space was one of the most polished-looking games of last year, and while it would be too much to expect this to compete directly, it certainly acquits itself pretty well. The gloomy interiors of the Ishimura and the roasting jets of the flamethrower both boast decent lighting effects, and while there were no shadows in the demo shown last week, the developer has stated that they will be present and correct in the final game. Perhaps most importantly, the Necromorphs should look like their scary razor-tentacled selves. During the demonstration the primary threat came from Slashers – the mutated humans with large mantis-like arms who were a near-constant presence in the first game. Despite the obvious necessity for a lower resolution, the spindly buggers were as creepy as ever.

The Slashers also looked pretty good when they were being cut into little pieces too. As before, the most effective way to take out the Necromorphs is to lop on their arms and legs using your selection of engineering tools. So far both the flamethrower and the line gun have been shown, and there’s also a new weapon called the rivet gun that acts as your default shooter. Since this piece of kit is supposed to be used for putting up shelves on a Sunday morning, don’t expect to survive long if it’s all you have left to use. Assuming that you do have some ammo for whatever your boomstick of choice happens to be, you’ll also be able to use an alternate fire mode by tilting your Wii Remote on its side – this means that you’ll be able to use the line gun’s mine launcher. Hooray! Aside from your weapons, you’ll also be able to use a couple of the same special items that Isaac Clarke wielded on his travels through the Ishimura. The stasis unit can be used to freeze Necromorphs, allowing for risk-free execution, while the kinesis module can be used to pick stuff up – notably the video logs that have been left scattered around the ship. These pop-up recordings will help relay the backstory to the chaos that’s unfolding, so don’t expect to find much in the way of cheerful captain’s logs.

While the full details of Extraction’s plot are still relatively guarded, it’s known that the game takes place just before the events of the tie-in movie Dead Space: Downfall (not to be confused with Downfall – the film about Hitler having a really bad day). This time you’ll spend a greater degree of time on Aegis VII, the planet that was home to the artefact that caused all the mess. While there’s certainly going to be an emphasis on action, last week’s demonstrator was keen to stress the effort that Redwood Shores has made with the game’s narrative – with full facial and body motion-capture being used for every character. They were also curiously keen to show off the fact that you can shift the camera around during cutscenes; when played in co-op, camera control will alternate between players with each subsequent opportunity. A similar approach will be taken to the puzzles that pop-up every once in a while: one player will sit tight while the other is tasked with solving a simple logic challenge (the one I’ve seen partially resembled the hacking mini-game from BioShock), and in some cases you’ll have to defend your chum from attack while he’s working. Expect lively arguments when your friend/housemate/sibling/burglar fluffs the puzzle for a third time in a row.

Such twirls and flurries aside, it’s clear that Extraction will still be very much your common or garden lightgun shooter. You’ll get a choice of paths from time to time, but apart from that you’ll be simply following the thrill ride. However, as Overkill showed, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The real potential with the project lies with the familiar EA slickness. As I’ve said, the game’s looking none-too-shabby on the graphics front, and while we’ve all done the monsters-in-space thing before, there’s no reason why we won’t all enjoy another helping if it’s served up in the right way. For those of you who consider length to be important (ooh, matron), we’re told to expect something that lasts roughly as long as the original Dead Space. There will also be some form of additional mode to play through once you’ve beaten the main game, although details of this have yet to be released. Lightgun games have a deserved reputation for being shallow and insubstantial, but if the core action matches the effort EA has put into presentation, there’s no reason why this shouldn’t be worth a closer investigation.