GENRE
	Shooter
	DEVELOPER
	Visceral Games
	PUBLISHER
	Electronic Arts
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-2
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	No
	DS COMPATIBLE
	No
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Ask the average gamer what an “on-rails shooter” is and the answer is liable to approximate the likes of Virtua Cop or some other arcade light gun game. Ask a Wii gamer what an “on-rails shooter” is and the answer is liable to be a groan, followed by a cynical commentary on Wii getting watered-down spinoffs rather than main entries in a series.

Dead Space Extraction turns all of those assumptions on their head.

Electronic Arts developer Visceral Games calls it a “guided first person experience,” rather than an on-rails shooter, and that is quite true. In fact, to call this game an on-rails shooter misses the mark badly, as the game plays out much more like an interactive movie than some arcade shooter. The shooting is there, to be sure, but Extraction makes its living in the realm of riveting storytelling and genuine character development.

Extraction’s main story mode spans ten chapters of about thirty minutes apiece, adding up to five hours of arguably the best plotline on Wii to date. The first bombshell comes fairly quickly, and the twists continue throughout the game, right up to a finale that -- much like the ending of the original Dead Space -- is sure to polarize players. Along the way, the player meets and gets to know a cast of heroes out to survive a terrible menace, and by turn, grows to love some characters and loathe others. In all cases, though, players develop a real stake in the fate of all involved -- a quality almost never seen on Nintendo’s console. To explain how the game accomplishes this would spoil the experience, but suffice to say that it works exceptionally well.

The story, in general terms, revolves around a strange artifact discovered on a remote colony and the menace that comes from it. The game serves as a prequel to the events in the game Dead Space, and while some familiarity with the original game lends extra punch to a few key characters and events (including part of the endgame), Extraction stands pretty well on its own. The atmosphere is reminiscent of sci-fi thriller classics like Aliens or Predator, combining raw alien terror with the sort of nuanced subplots that more intellectual gamers will find themselves thinking about even when the game isn’t on.

Plot isn’t everything there is to Extraction, though. For one thing, the main storyline offers multiple difficulty levels and plenty of statistics. For another, the game offers a more traditional arcade experience in its challenge mode, which comes complete with points and high scores to appeal to fans looking for more of an action fix. Rounding out the package are some extras, such as voice-acted “comics,” that provide a pretty meaningful side-story to the events in Extraction.

Indispensable in any shooter of this type is multiplayer, and Extraction delivers drop-in offline co-op. In co-op mode, players share a common health meter but have independent ammo quantities and game stats. The multiplayer is pretty simple and seamless, and in play-testing worked very well. A couple of caveats are in order, though. One, the game difficulty does not seem to change with multiple players, so co-op players looking for a larger challenge will want to consider higher difficulty settings. (Conversely, gamers looking for help beating a tough boss or level will appreciate the ability to bring in help.) Two, co-op presents a bit of a plot continuity issue, since the player character is frequently alone during the adventure, but this is a minor quibble over a nice gameplay mechanic.

It’s clear that Visceral Games spared no expense in producing a polished product. The game looks quite good, with a nice sense of style, good-looking character models, and some flashy effects. The framerate does take an occasional hit during a few segments, but most of the game runs pretty cleanly. The graphics engine seems to really try to push Wii’s boundaries, and while it isn’t the best visual effort on Wii, the overall product is not far off the pace of the likes of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and The Conduit.

Audio, too, is a real top-notch job. Good voice acting clearly was a priority, as evidenced by the many convincing performances in the game. The sound effects also deserve special mention, as the game combines them with all sorts of visual effects to create a truly haunting experience. The developer even manages to get the Wii Remote speaker into the action, using it to deliver some cool “audio logs” that are scattered throughout the game.

On the subject of the Wii Remote, Extraction puts both it and the Nunchuck to full use. IR control gets obvious play, both in combat and in game puzzles, but the game also effectively maps out the game's buttons and uses motion control. The Wii Remote, for example, is shaken whenever a player needs to charge a glow worm in dark spaces or to shake off a grappling enemy, while the Nunchuck is shaken to carry out melee attacks. The game even makes use of thrusting and pulling the Wii Remote to manipulate an antigravity saw-style weapon in open space.

In the interest of full disclosure, a final note on the game’s content: namely, this is a pretty hardcore M-rated game. The violence isn’t as gratuitous as, say, MadWorld, but it is very bloody and gory. Some of the weapons are particularly visceral and effect a fair share of bloody dismemberment. The language flows freely, too, and those adult gamers with kids should know that an ample supply of f-bombs and the like flow from the understandably terrified characters on-screen.

Overall, Dead Space Extraction represents Wii doing what it does best. The game sheds the stereotypes surrounding mindless on-rails shooters, instead delivering a veritable interactive movie that packs more suspense, drama, and compelling characters in its five hours than other Wii games do in thirty. The Wii Remote, meanwhile, brings a precision and immersion to the package that could not be found on any other system. Players will likely be compelled to see the story through simply to see what happens, while both story and challenge mode will keep players coming back. Those who view this as an “on-rails” experience and reject it simply on principle are missing out on one of Wii’s better moments.

9.0/10