Do you have what it takes to get a review published right here on Kotaku? Michael does, as he tears aliens limb from limb.
Yes, that’s right, we’re now publishing reader reviews here on Kotaku. This is your chance to deliver sensible game purchasing advice to the rest of the Kotaku community.
And thanks to the very kind chaps at Madman Entertainment, purveyor of all kinds of cool, indie and esoteric film, the best reader review we publish each month will win a prize pack containing ten of the latest Madman DVD releases.
This review was submitted by the elusive Michael H. If you’ve played Dead Space: Extraction, or just want to ask Michael more about it, leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Dead Space Extraction (Wii)
Dead Space Extraction is a prequel to the original Dead Space. Unlike the original game, it is exclusive to the Wii, and features multiple playable characters throughout the game. It’s also an “on-rails” FPS, unlike the original which was a third-person game. Without spoiling anything (since I assume you know this already), the game begins when the marker is first extracted from the planet, and things go pear-shaped from there.
Loved
Fan service: This is a true fan’s game. It’s quite cool when events unfold and you realise that’s how things got into that state you found them in when you first arrived in those areas in the first game. Characters from the first game’s backstory also make appearances, and the cool unlockables (basically an audio comic) add even more to the fan service and explain more of the lore. While trying to remain spoiler-free, it wasn’t the ending I was expecting, either. One needs to wonder though whether someone would get the full intended experience without having played the original game (either before or after Extraction) – I suspect not, which makes the decision to make it Wii exclusive a bit puzzling.
Tech: This is honestly one of the best looking Wii games out there, with many areas of the Ishimura having been faithfully recreated using completely new tech on a graphically inferior system. You’ll instantly recognise them if you played the original. All of the enemies and weapons are also intact, along with elements from the first game including stasis, kinesis, zero-g and dismemberment. Plenty of action can be happening on screen with no slowdown either. Cool use of the WiiMote speaker too.
Hated
Pickups: There’s plenty of pickups in the game (some of them pretty cleverly hidden), but many of them are only seen for a split second, and you often do not get a second chance at grabbing them. This resulted in me mashing the A button (for kinesis) constantly while my character was moving in an attempt not to miss anything, which broke the immersion somewhat.
Wii Zapper: Even though there’s a control configuration for using the Wii Zapper, it’s not very practical. You’re better off without it, which is a shame – as being able to use it would have really added to the whole arcade-style experience.
Length: I wish there was more of it, though the levels do have decent replay value as you strive to earn more stars or attempt them on a harder difficulty. Having said that, at about 5 hours, the game is still longer than your average rail-shooter.
Bug: I ran into a game-breaking bug that I’m honestly amazed the developers missed, forcing a restart of a pretty long level when I was near the end of it.
If you played the original Dead Space, you should find Dead Space Extraction a short but entertaining experience that fills in some plot holes and pays great fan service along the way.
Reviewed by: Michael H
You can have your Reader Review published on Kotaku. Send your review to us at the usual address. Make sure it’s written in the same format as above and in under 500 words – yes, we’ve upped the word limit. We’ll publish the best ones we get and the best of the month will win a Madman DVD prize pack.
Leave a Reply