The Wii finally gets the light gun game it deserves, and takes a giant crap on the Resident Evil equivalents!
Being a prequel, the story begins on Aegis 7, the mining colony where the so-called Red Marker was unearthed. This weird helix-shaped rock has the unpleasant side effect of turning those near it insane, and eventually into homicidal alien mutations (not unlike the customers in your local supermarket) called Necromorphs. These can only be killed by strategic dismemberment, that is, shooting off their arms, legs, and heads - body shots won't work.
You play as Nathan McNeil, a security officer from the colony who along with fellow survivors Lexine Murdoch, Warren Eckhardt and Gabriel Weller, attempts to escape Aegis 7 and reach the orbiting spaceship USG Ishimura. He is armed with a mix of mining tools and guns and can also hack security panels, a neat touch where you have to steadily guide the Wii remote past electric shock circuits. Hit them, and you lose health. This sounds simple, but it isn't when dozens of necromorphs are trying to tear you apart.
Despite the on-rails experience the action sequences are impressive, and the introduction of new weapons such as the rivet gun, which you can also use to construct barricades for vents and doors, adds variety to the gameplay, especially when these sequences require quick reflexes and a steady hand to get through alive.
Tilting the Wii Remote on its side enables the alternate firing mode of each weapon, although this can often be awkward to pull off. That said, the Wii Remote and Nunchuck are easy to use, with each button designated a specific action that is well balanced and makes gameplay uncomplicated. Live action sequences allow you to choose which path to take, and although using glow sticks to illuminate dark areas and an axe to cut through desris blocking you way will quickly give you RSI, this is a minor quibble.
The game introduces a number of characters early on and the voice acting and script is superb. NPC's are believable despite the Wii's hardware and more basic animation because they swear and curse and panic at the pandemonium unfolding around them. The dialogue is excellent too, unlike the embarrassing dross spouted by the likes of Jill Valentine as she wonders aloud what all the spider webs are about as a giant tarantula lunges toward her.
The camera moves around in a tense but natural way, and allows you a degree of freedom to look around at certain points to obtain item pickups and so on, again contrasting the shaky, now you see it, now you don't shock tactics of other games. If anything, it behaves as McNeil probably would: back to the wall, weapon in hand, taking aim, rather than lurching around the screen like a floundering walrus.
If there is a complaint about Dead Space Extraction it's that it's too short, and the game can be completed in a couple of hours. However, there are a number of suicidal difficulty modes on offer, and a variety of secrets and unlockables add replay value. A special comic unlocks chapter by chapter as you progress which gives even more insight to the events prior to Dead Space.
Dead Space Extraction shows that an on-rails shooter can work, which is all the more impressive given the inherently limited and anachronistic style of the genre. Whilst Capcom relied on the Resident Evil name to sell their product, Dead Space opted for an involving and tense experience that proved that when it comes down to it, quality always wins out over quantity.