There’s no shame it admitting it. The world of Dead Space can be a little scary’if you’d rather not go alone, you can take a friend along for the ride. Extraction allows two players to team up for cooperative multiplayer throughout the entire campaign, and in some cases, the game forces you to work together and form strategies to survive.
After all, zombie-killing friends who slay together stay together.
Multiplayer is also available in the arcade-like challenge modes, an excellent series of straining tests for your trigger finger. The lack of online leaderboards is an unfortunate oversight, but otherwise, this solid package features great gameplay modes and bonus content.
Extraction also delivers some impressive visuals alongside its thrills, chills and multiplayer kills. Fantastic Necromorph models and lighting effects are a few of its bragging points, but even the dismemberment itself is an accomplishment, particularly considering Visceral Games didn’t skimp in other areas to do it. From the dingy, blood-stained hallways to the starry expanses of space, Extraction looks great.
The visuals match the tone of the narrative, as well. Terrifying, bleak and desolate, the art often amplifies the hopelessness of your fate.
And trust me, your fate is precisely that’utterly hopeless.
The decision to place Dead Space on rails was met with instant criticism, and to some degree, those criticisms are still valid. Many argued an automatic camera would put too much distance between player and game, a deficiency inherent to the genre. Visceral Games clearly focused attention on shortening that distance, and although they haven’t eliminated it entirely, they’ve come damned close.
Extraction isn’t the original Dead Space, and although it shares its spirit, the Wii game is its own beast. From the devouring grip of the tragic tale it tells to its smooth controls and savvy visuals, Extraction simply refuses to be constrained by its own perceived limitations.
Rather, it thrives in spite of them.
An on-rails shooter with a chip on its shoulder and something to say, Dead Space: Extraction is a rarity. And it’s one hell of a ride.
Review based on retail copy of the game provided by publisher.