Aug 09
19
A Wii Spin on EA’s Headliners: Dead Space: Extraction
Last week I was lucky enough to be invited by EA to visit their Guildford studio and have a look at some of their upcoming Fall titles. All three represent exclusive-to-Wii debuts for three big EA franchises in Dead Space: Extraction, Spore Hero and Need for Speed: Nitro. But will this specialized development of existing properties produce the goods in an uncertain market?
This post discusses Dead Space: Extraction, the prequel to last year’s survival horror hit Dead Space, and its seventh chapter, “Life and Death”, that EA was demonstrating in Europe for the first time.
It’s easy to be cynical about Dead Space: Extraction. The original game was one of last year’s top titles for the powerhouse PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, but this forthcoming prequel is coming out exclusively on Nintendo’s technologically humbler Wii. Normally I wouldn’t beat the ruh-roh-it’s coming-out-on-Wii drum, but this is Dead Space we’re talking about, one of the most visually and aurally stunning games ever made. Can it really be translated acceptably to a less powerful system? Then there’s the decision to make Extraction an on-rails shooter rather than a third-person shooter like the original. Not forgetting, of course, that Dead Space was a particularly gruesome survival horror, and we’ve already seen similarly mature titles like MadWorld and No More Heroes stumble at retail. Even if Extraction turns out to be worthy of the Dead Space name, will it actually sell?
So, you should be able to understand why my cynicism rose when I heard EA’s representative describe Extraction as a “guided first-person experience”. That’s just marketing talk for an on-rails shooter, right? The more I saw of Extraction, however, the more I understood where he was coming from.
The mention of on-rails shooters should immediately stir memories of cheesy arcade experiences like House of the Dead, Ghost Squad and Virtua Cop. That should flow straight into Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Capcom’s arcade-esque translation of the Resident Evil series for Wii. Allow me make it clear: Extraction is not Dead Space’s version of Umbrella Chronicles. Rather than create an arcade experience, developer Visceral Games are trying to make something that mirrors Dead Space, but from a new perspective. It’s looking to take advantage of that approach rather than settle for something simpler, or indeed something lesser. It’s a bold aim, but how is it achieved in practice?
Based on what I saw and played, the answer is through Extraction’s camera and its narrative, and how the two are intertwined. The game’s camera is something of a beast. Thanks to some nifty handheld motion-cam technology, Visceral has been able to implement convincing movement in its impressively-detailed characters, including the array of disgusting enemies. This has allowed the developer to create technically impressive set-pieces that involve wild swings of the camera and dramatic movement, reminiscent of classic horror flick The Blair Witch Project. Extraction’s camera is not constantly wild like that film’s camera was, so the easily nauseous shouldn’t have too much to fear. And it should be underlined that there certainly are static moments when it’s just the player versus a surge of nasties coming towards them. Nonetheless, it went some way to raising the same level of tension the original game did during my playthrough, especially during the chapter’s finale when my character desperately tried to skirt round a huge, lumbering beastie that was all legs and teeth and intent on squishing me into something indistinguishable – creepy stuff.
Bring it, you gawky, gangly... thing!
The narrative element comes from the team’s willingness to further explore the more psychological, Silent Hill-esque aspects of the Dead Space saga. This is done through, as the representative called it, Extraction’s “dementia moments”. One such moment occurred during the chapter I played through, when the walls of a corridor were suddenly covered in indecipherable, blood red lettering, while images and shadows of Dead Space’s weirdly-jointed enemies flickered in and out ominously. The prequel will obviously expand upon the events of the original game, but a more psychological bent on the saga could give Extraction its own edge and appeal. Dead Space had a reasonable story, but it lacked any real depth. Extraction appears to be one of the many peripheral parts of the burgeoning franchise to provide some in addendum.
The choice to make events center around Lexine, a character who the player is trying to protect throughout the game, is also interesting. Lexine’s survival is key to the events in Extraction, yet we know what happens in the prequel ends in disaster because, well, we’ve played Dead Space, right? It will be intriguing to see how Visceral twists and turns her journey to keep things interesting. The inevitability of a prequel will be forgiven, however, if the promise shown in the narrative concept takes full advantage of the guided first-person perspective throughout the game.
Whether EA’s decision to make Extraction an on-rails shooter (or guided first-person experience or whatever you want to call it) was based on budget or the Wii’s functionality, the design choice to pursue something deeper and more cinematic with the story and presentation is fascinating. We’ve heard many developers bemoan giving the player too much control over proceedings, aligning with the thinking that in the wrong hands a masterpiece can become a disaster. In turn we’ve seen critics underlining the importance of a free camera, praising games that don’t force the eye but nudge it in the right direction like the Half-Life series. But what of an on-rails shooter that wants to be taken seriously? Extraction’s fixed camera, barring the ability to move it slightly, or to go down one path or another at certain points, produces a totally guided experience. It reduces the game’s interactivity to combat and picking up items along the way. Yet Extraction isn’t just about the shooting, like a simplistic arcade game. It wants players to take notice of its story and its tense atmosphere. Is this design choice just a cheap way of crafting the player’s experience at the cost of interactivity, or does it amplify Extraction’s cinematic aspirations?
That will remain to be seen until the game comes out, but the best argument for the design choice surely lies within the choice of genre. Horror games have always been about careful scripting and cultivating. Visceral’s aim is to “really set up our scare moments”, and as long as Extraction sticks to that principle, it will at its least be tense, if not actually scary – similar to Dead Space itself.
And that’s not the only way Extraction is familiar. From its look to its item containers, from its enemies to its haunting background sounds, Dead Space: Extraction is very reminiscent of its predecessor. The visuals have obviously taken a hit, but to use a tired cliché that’s unfortunately once again appropriate, they do look fantastic for the Wii – Extraction is clearly not a budget spin-off. The emphasis on dismemberment returns, but with it comes new enemies and new weapons, including the breath-taking arc welder that shoots out powerful bolts of lightning. Touches from the original game, like the inability to pause the game to change weapons, and the audio logs that now play through the Wiimote, seem to have transferred over effectively.
And, if you’re anything like me, after reading through that your cynicism should’ve been partly assuaged. There’s still the question of whether it will find its audience in the Wii market that still baffles the analysts, and whether the rest of the game can match the promise shown in this chapter. From my own perspective, as someone who loved Dead Space but doubted Extraction, I’m all but converted. There remain many hurdles for Visceral and EA to negotiate between now and its release on September 29 in North America and October 3 in Europe. I’m undoubtedly keeping my fingers crossed for its success; if there’s something the industry needs, then it’s a successful mature title on the Wii.
