It was near the end of the show when I finally made my way over to the EA booth at E3. I had seen a few games on display earlier, like Brütal Legend, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and Dragon Age, but made sure to stop by for some Wii waggling action with Extraction before the trip was over. In case you didn't read my glowing review, I loved Dead Space, and thought it was one of the best original games of 2008. Obviously, I was instantly interested in a Wii based spin-off, especially considering the sudden resurgence of good on-rails shooters on the system. I grabbed the remote, gripped the nunchuk, and prepared for another trip to the USG Ishimura.

Set before the first game's events, Extraction has players controlling colonists who make a mad dash for the Ishimura when the Necromorphs begin decimating the planet's surface. After a brief segment defending their escape pod from missiles fired by the Ishimura (after having denied them access to land), the gameplay begins with the player inside of the ship, realizing that the infestation has already spread from the planet to the halls of the mining vessel. For as different as the genre might be, going from survival-horror to on-rails, Extraction plays very much like Dead Space. It's still about scares, it's still about gore, and it's still about strategic dismemberment.


From the demo I played, it appeared that the same weapons and enemies from the original return almost unchanged, with a few new items thrown into the mix. The basic weapon still fires powerful blasts, and can have the attack turned vertically by twisting the remote. That goes for every weapon, which has had its alternative fire mode mapped to a rotated Wii-mote. Telekinesis is also available, as is Stasis, both of which have the same approximate function as they did in the original. The main difference really is the camera, and the claims that the game is a "first-person guided experience" isn't entirely untrue. I mean, sure, it's still kind of a PR term, but the game does feel more cinematic and "guided" than a traditional light gun game.

The developers have been able to capture the atmosphere of Dead Space perfectly. In fact, the game might have the potential to be even scarier than Dead Space, all within the Wii's limitations. Rooms are oftentimes pitch black, requiring the player to shake the remote to activate a faint, but helpful green glow. Even with the temporary light on, it's still extremely dark, and enemies continue to harass until they've all been dispatched. This means there's no running and no retreating to a safe spot. The game's in control, and there's no way out. Luckily, a friend can jump in at any time thanks to drop-in/drop-out cooperative play, which made the frightening experience a bit less scary, and a bit more enjoyable.

The only reason I resist using the word "shocked" to describe my impression of Dead Space: Extraction is because I wasn't at all surprised by the game's high quality. Visceral Studies did a fantastic job with Dead Space, and it wasn't a question of if they would do a good job with Extraction, it was how good of a job would they do. Well, if the game's eight hour campaign ends up being as entertaining as the few minutes I played it's safe to say they did a damn fine job.

It's due out this fall, and we'll be able to find out how well they did.