Developer: Visceral Studios

Publisher: EA

Platforms: Nintendo Wii

Played on: Nintendo Wii

Rating: 8.0 out of 10

Rated: M (Mature)

The Deal:

The original Dead Space was probably one of the most terrifying games released in recent memory, with its ability to throw gamers into dark, creepy environments along with its spooky use of sound. With its success, a follow-up was definitely in order, but to everyone's surprise it came on the family-friendly Wii.

As a prequel, Dead Space: Extraction tells the story of a handful of space colonists struggling to escape a mysterious infection on the Aegis VII mining colony. Players follow the events that lead them to the infamous USG Ishimura from the original. Of course, the ship isn't the safe haven they thought it would be. Rather, it has been taken over by the unfriendly neighbourhood parasitic Necromorphs and it's up to you to survive.

For hardcore Wii gamers - who have been dying to play something a little more mature - Extraction is a welcome relief. But how would a scaled back follow-up translate on the Wii?

The Good:

- Like the original, the movie-worthy story is what drives you to play this game further. You control multiple characters in an engrossing story that has a cinematic feel. It's well executed and there are narrative overlaps that explain a lot of missing details from the first game.

- You can't have a space horror without quality sound design. From the voice acting to the frightful sounds to the ongoing narrative, everything is well crafted. Our favourite is when you pick up various audio logs scattered throughout which get sent to the Wii-mote for playback.

- Congrats to Visceral Studios for making innovative use of the nunchuk and Wii-mote controls. Cool motion controls like hacking a circuit board or picking up and shaking a glow stick to illuminate dark corridors are just a few of the fun uses of the Wii-mote.

- For a Nintendo Wii game, the graphics in Extraction are visually stunning. The game was built from the ground up and there are several impressive visual moments. This isn't the ported-over crud we usually see on the Wii.

The Bad:

- Our biggest problem with Extraction is the choice of making it an on-rails shooter. Sure, these play well on the Nintendo Wii, but the replay value on these type of games is pretty low. Once you clear the game, there's little reason to go back.

- Disappointingly, there aren't as many trademark scares in this version. We kept waiting for that big freaky moment, but you don't always feel that intense sense of fear like you did with the original (although there's still enough here to scare the pants off your jumpy girlfriend).

Final Word:

Extraction is a must-play game for fans of the original, while those new to the franchise should get a kick out of it, despite its low replay value.

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