14 DAY TRIAL // The first Dead Space was a very solid over-the-shoulder shooter that introduced some interesting mechanics to the ordinary horror survival genre, with the most important one being dismemberment. The is why a lot of people believed that the great experience was only suited to high-end platforms like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles and the PC.
That is why, as soon as Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello announced Dead Space: Extraction for the Nintendo Wii, a lot of people began to say that it would be just another on-rails shooter made for the less powerful console in order to squeeze an extra profit from the franchise, which, due to the poorly chosen release date, hasn't experienced quite big sales.
But Electronic Arts representative Steve Papoutsis insists that Dead Space: Extraction won't be another on-rails shooter, in which the player will navigate endless corridors and won't have any choice in which paths he takes or what areas he explores. Papoutsis also insists that the future Wii exclusive will deliver a “guided first person experience” making its presence felt only in certain moments of the story.
Asked by Eurogame about what he made of House of the Dead: Overkill, a successful on-rails shooter for the Wii, Papoutsis replied, “Dead Space: Extraction is a guided first person experience - we have branching paths, areas of player controlled camera, zero-g, dismemberment, stasis, an array of unique weapons, TK, and a few other surprises that evolve the genre in many ways. Overkill was fun and, yes, it was a pure rail shooter. We have added so much to Extraction that comparisons to it should quickly fade away.”
Whether or not Dead Space: Extraction will be considered an on-rails experience can only be decided by the player when the game will officially be released at the end of this year. Hopefully until then we will find out some more details on it and be able to paint a pretty big picture about it before it will be on store shelves.