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Dead Space: Extraction
PlayStation Network
Dead Space Makes Rail Shooters Good Again
3.5/5 stars
I have to say up front that this game came packaged with the Dead Space 2 Special Edition and that I didn't seek it out myself. Also, I did not use the Move - just your standard controller.
That being said, I was pleasantly surprised by this game. I haven't played a rail shooter in ages - I think the House of the Dead Wii games were probably the last ones, and Dead Space: Extraction is certainly better not only in terms of game play, but it even has a story that makes sense and characters that, while maybe not completely fleshed out, at least have some sense of development.
This game serves as a prequel to the original Dead Space and has you playing as a few different characters as all hell breaks lose on Aegis VII after a mysterious marker is discovered and people start going crazy and eventually turn into the dangerous necromorphs.
The opening where you play the miner Sam Caldwell is your basic introductory "here's how to shoot - grab things - etc. etc." however, beyond your tutorial, the story is fairly creepy as it becomes apparent that your character is succumbing to the marker and is losing his mind and that the entire time he may or may not have been shooting innocent civilians.
In the second level we get to meet the main cast: Detective Nathan McNeill who is the "main" character and you play as him through most of the levels; his old friend Gabriel Weller, the hard-nosed military man who doesn't have much time for sympathy; Lexine Murdoch, girlfriend of the late Sam Caldwell the damsel in distress for this game; and finally Warren Eckhardt - the pompous director of mining operations who takes a keen interest in Lexine as the game progresses.
Eventually the game takes you to the planet-cracking ship Ishimura, where they meet up with the familiar Nicole Brennan (girlfriend of Isaac - main character of both Dead Space, and its sequel) and find the ship has been infested by necromorphs as well. The few survivors you run into usually don't last too long - although you play one level as Dr. Karen Howell, who introduces the ripper to the mix. Not surprisingly, Eckhardt turns out to be a Unitologist (the ones who love the Marker, even as it transforms people into hideous, flesh-rending monsters) and he thinks Lexine is the key to unlocking the mystery since she's immune to the effects of said Marker. Just like the original Dead Space, the end leaves it a mystery as to whether things turn out well for our survivors or not.
Game play is pretty straight forward. You follow a set path during the level and point and shoot with the remote (whether Move or standard). You do have a variety of weapons to choose from - you start with the slower rivet gun - which also is the only weapon with unlimited ammo - but soon come across a variety of weapons from the way-overpowered Flame Thrower to the classic Plasma Cutter (a personal favorite for chopping off limbs) as well as the quick-firing but weak Pulse Rifle, the slow yet powerful Contact Beam. Despite an abundance of weapons, I mostly stuck to the Rivet Gun/ Plasma Cutter/ Flame Thrower combo and occasionally Pulse Rifle or whatever other weapon happens to be in a given level.
As you go about shooting the various necromorphs that appear - from the lurkers to the pregnant creatures - you can also grab weapon upgrades and various audio and text logs that add flavor to the game (as well as unlocking trophies). Just be warned - if you happen to go after said trophies, but on your toes, because if you miss something, you'll have to start the level over again in order to preserve your rating.
The biggest problem is the game seems too short. If you're just playing it to get through it - you could easily do that over a weekend. Even if you're going for most of the trophies, it would be possible to get through it all in a week. Even though it has a solid story and characters, it feels more like it should be DLC than a stand-alone game (at least for the PS3 release).
All and all a nice rail shooter that even has the option of local coop (something that seems to be missing from so many games) - short, but I'm glad it came bundled with Dead Space 2.
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