By Kevin "Berserker" Hall

Player(s): 1-2 (local only)

If you were consumed in the hype for Resident Evil 5 last year and skipped over Dead Space in the process then go get it now. You just skipped over one of the best horror action games of all time. Dead Space used the familiar Resident Evil 4 gameplay engine along with an even creepier atmosphere to make a very memorable action horror that should be played by all horror fans. Dead Space: Extraction is a prequel shooter that plays much like Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles.

Dead Space: Extraction takes place before Isaac's team docks on board the USG Ishimura space vessel in the original Dead Space. Extraction tells the tale of how the necromorph infection spread throughout the colonies and aboard the USG Ishimura. The main story follows a group of four survivors as they escape from the colonies while the infection spreads then continues as they dock aboard the USG Ishimura as the infection spreads on the ship. Any hardcore Dead Space fan will enjoy Extraction mainly for the story alone. The story has a bunch of connections to the original Dead Space and even manages to bring in a few familiar character cameos from the original game. Much like Umbrella Chronicles was to the Resident Evil series, Extraction is pure fan service for any hardcore Dead Space fan.

Extraction is basically a rail shooter just like Umbrella Chronicles except with Dead Space elements and it's very cinematic. The game is mainly linear, but there are a few branching paths that a player can choose from. All of the familiar space mining weapons are at your disposal throughout the course of the game, such as the plasma cutter, line gun, ripper, etc. Like the original Dead Space, a player must tear enemies apart limb by limb by chopping off appendages with a weapon to heavily damage each enemy.

The necromorphs of Extraction get much more aggressive than the slow pace zombies from Umbrella Chronicles and require a player to use the stasis ability to slow enemies down much like the original Dead Space. All of the familiar necromorph types appear in Extraction such as the Slasher and Lurkers. The game has very few boss enemies - there is only about three and one of those is a Brute, which was a normal enemy in the main game.

Players can use telekinesis while the main character looks around an area to pull ammo, health and other collectibles toward them in order to collect the objects. Extraction has many hidden files and weapon upgrades that lie hidden in the environment. Quite a few of the extra items are hidden in destructible vents and some of them lie out in the open in the environment. Just like in Umbrella Chronicles, a player has to quickly collect items while the character turns to look different ways.

There are several soldering puzzles where a player must use the Wii remote to solder a group of wires in place. The puzzles start out simple enough, but then hot metal pieces and electric currents will lie in the path of your soldering. Touch these hazards and you'll have to resolder from the starting point. It basically turns into a game of Milton Bradley's Operation. There are a few points where a player must solder a panel while enemies attack off to the side. Enemies appear non-stop until a player finishes the soldering to raise the tension.

The overall look of the game is rather nice for a Wii game. The environments provide a creepy atmosphere as your controlled character move down dark corridors or hallways covered with fleshy substance. The game uses lighting rather well too. There are many areas where a player must shake the Wii remote to illuminate a glow stick in order to see in the dark. The only real flaw in the graphics is that the character models seem a bit too blocky and not well detailed when they appear up close.

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