Dead Space: Extraction

Gameplay

Extraction is a first-person rail shooter introducing new enemies, characters, weapons and environments to the Dead Space series. Players also have some degree of control over the camera. The game uses the pointer function of the Wii Remote for aiming at enemies and can also be controlled through the Wii Zapper. Twisting the Wii Remote or Wii Zapper activates a weapon's secondary firing mode, and swinging the Nunchuck (or shaking the zapper) can perform a melee attack or shake off enemies that have grabbed onto the player. Players can use a kinesis option at any time to make objects float, draw closer, or throw them at enemies. Kinesis can also be used to grab flying projectiles and fire them back.

Plot

A small crew of miners, among them Sam Caldwell, are helping extract the Red Marker from Aegis VII. The crew begins to suffer hallucinations, including Sam, who begins killing his crewmates in possible self-defense. Before he can escape, a P-Sec squad, including Detective Nathan McNeill, arrives, killing him.

One week later, McNeill, working on the case file of the incidents, meets an old friend, Sgt. Gabriel Weller, now serving on the Ishimura. Upon arrival, the two discover the entire colony is infected and are attacked, first by psychotic colonists, then by Necromorphs. They make it to the P-Sec Headquarters, where they discover Lexine Murdoch, Caldwell's girlfriend and agree to take her to safety. The group races to find a shuttle and eventually find one in the Megavents, thanks to mining company executive Warren Eckhardt. They fly to the Ishimura for help, but are warned to return; they are shot down, causing the shuttle to crash on the Ishimura and forcing them to spacewalk to a nearby airlock.

Inside, they discover the ship is also infested. Heading to the safety of the bridge, they encounter Nicole Brennan in the medical bay; she stays in case other survivors arrive. The group fall into the sewage system, where Lexine is attacked by Swarmers and pulled into a water tank; the group assumes she has died. Dr. Karen Howell discovers Lexine, who has somehow survived, and the two find McNeill, Eckhardt, and Weller. McNeill, Weller, and Lexine continue on while Howell attempts to shut down the sewerage system, guarded by Eckhardt. While Howell berates Eckhardt for replacing staff with fanatical Unitologists, she is attacked by a Necromorph tentacle. Eckhardt flees and locks the door behind him. When he finds the others, Eckhardt lies, saying Howell locked the door in order to sacrifice her life for the group.

McNeill and Lexine split up from Weller and Eckhardt to search for a usable shuttle to flee in. Weller and Eckhardt find a shuttle but Weller catches Eckhardt finishing a recording of a message to a member of the Church of Unitology. Weller watches the message; Eckhardt says he was sent to find a person who was immune to the effects of the Marker, and who could protect others from its effects as well, and he believes Lexine is that person. He also explains that he arranged Howell's death because she was beginning to suspect his intentions. When Weller is done watching the message, Eckhardt shoots Weller and tells him of his plans, only to be killed by a Necromorph himself. McNeill and Lexine find Weller and escape on the shuttle right after McNeill shuts down the power to the cannons on the Ishimura that were preventing them from leaving, although he had to cut off his arm in the process. As they escape, they hear a transmission from the USG Kellion. Lexine tries to warn them away but they do not receive the message.

In an epilogue, Lexine is attacked from behind by a Necromorph. The scene gives the impression that McNeill (who had been seeing things and hearing voices, just as all infected do) has transformed into the Necromorph and is attacking Lexine. One can see that the ship on which she is being attacked is the shuttlecraft the three protagonists had boarded. At the last moment, she grabs a pistol and aims it at the Necromorph. The scene ends with the muzzle of the gun flashing. Lexine and Weller's story is continued in Dead Space 2: Severed, which occurs three years later, between the events of Dead Space and Dead Space 2.

Development

Extraction was developed by Visceral Games (formerly EA Redwood Shores) with assistance from Eurocom. It had been in development for at least a year before it was formally announced on February 18, 2009.

The game was designed specifically for the Wii console. Development time was around 14 months, less than was the case for the first Dead Space title as aspects of art design, weapons and locations were inherited from the original game.

The game's bonus material primarily consists of the motion comic version of the Dead Space comic miniseries published by Image Comics which are unlocked as the player progresses through the game.

Reception

Dead Space: Extraction received very favorable reviews, with an average rating of 82/100 on review aggregator Metacritic. Official Nintendo Magazine awarded the game 84% and called it "A first rate introduction to one of the finest survival horror franchises of recent years." Eurogamer awarded the game 8 out of 10, while Computer and Video Games awarded it 7.0/10. IGN gave the game a score of 8.5/10 along with an Editor's Choice award. The Guilty Geek said it "isn't just another typical rail-shooter" and that it "is a real game that stays true to the franchise." Giant Bomb was less enthusiastic, awarding the game three out of five stars, criticizing the game's abrupt ending and short play time, although recommending Dead Space fans check it out. Edge Magazine praised the game's efforts to expand the possibilities of the rail-shooter genre, dubbing it the "Citizen Kane of on-rails gun games, or at the very least the Towering Inferno".[1] Despite receiving favorable reviews, the title sold only 9,200 units in its first five days at retail in the U.S.

In their Best and Worst of 2009 awards, GameSpot awarded Extraction 'Best Game no one Played' and 'Best Wii Game'. IGN awarded it Best Shooter on the Wii. Extraction scriptwriter, Antony Johnston, stated that due to the game having an M rating, being released on Wii, being a rail-shooter, and lacking publicity, it received minimal attention. Johnston also mentions these are the same reasons the game was praised.

PlayStation 3 version

The game was released for the PlayStation 3 both as a standalone purchase on the PlayStation Network and with the limited edition of Dead Space 2. The port of Extraction is compatible with the DualShock 3 and Sixaxis controllers, as well as PlayStation Move. Graphical enhancements have been added to increase the polygon count and make models smoother for the move to HD. For the most part, the port is identical to its Wii counterpart, except that it does not contain the bonus materials included in the original release.