Dead Space: Extraction

Speaking of fast ones, here's another game completed in a night. Not only that, but a game that really didn't feel like it took up my whole night. Dead Space: Extraction is a short rails shooter that Sheridan and I started at around 8 tonight, and even with a lengthy break in the action, here we are done at 2:30. But I'm complaining too much. Extraction was a fantastic game worthy of the Dead Space series and much better than the often compared game Umbrella Chronicles. Extraction is a prequel that does everything a prequel should do and more- it ties together many of the questions left unanswered in the first game, and often went above and beyond in terms of plot. While Dead Space sees a lone engineer trekking across a ravaged ship, Extraction lets you see the spread of the disease first hand. The "extraction" in the game's title refers to the actual extraction of a giant stone with supernatural properties by a crew of engineers, which sets up one of the most memorable introductions I can remember. Your character, Sam, is desperately trying to figure out why everyone around him is going insane and trying to kill him. He eventually begins to kill them off, until he is finally shot down and it is revealed that no one was attacking him at all; he was the one going crazy, flipping out and killing people. A nice twist that might end a game, and it's revealed in the first 20 minutes! I found the rest of the plot excellent for a video game- it works well as it's own story, and yet many of the choices made in Extraction have lasting effects in the original Dead Space. The game is a rails shooter, sure, but it really didn't feel limited at all- usually the direction the game took me in was the direction I would have gone in anyway. The combat retains that fresh feel that Dead Space had. The scares here were of a different, and in my opinion much better sort. While Dead Space often relied on jump scares and being severely outnumbered by powerful aliens with limited supplies, Extraction really has characters delve deep into madness. Hallucinations, voices, and general craziness added plenty to the element of fear. While I was stoic and heroic in the face of danger, Sheridan was definitely scared. Overall I'd say this is a must-play for anyone who has played Dead Space, and a should-play for those with a Wii, as it seems like the best rails shooter out there. But minor spoilers for the first game are revealed in Extraction, so play them in order of release. And of course, wait until you can find it cheap, I wouldn't drop 50 bucks for such a short campaign.