Topic: Wii Exclusive Dead Space Extraction Goes On Rails

[Kairon]

Unlike the original game, EA's prequel will present its unique style of space horror in a first-person perspective.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=17784

 No one can accuse Electronic Arts of giving Wii gamers a shoddy port of their Dead Space franchise, because Dead Space Extraction is being built from the ground up exclusively for the Wii. And as an all new game, Dead Space Extraction will feature a new perspective on the franchise's space horror tenets: a first-person one.    

EA has revealed that, unlike its predecessor, Dead Space Extraction will be an on-rails shooter. This actually isn't the first time a third-person survival-horror game has transitioned to a first-person perspective for the Wii audience. In 2007, Capcom followed up their immensely successful Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition port with the on-rails shooter Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles.    

But despite the change in genre, the developers have plenty that they want to accomplish. In an interview with IGN, executive producer Steve Papoutsis said that the team was working to retain "the core gameplay mechanics" from the original game, including "strategic dismemberment, weapon upgrades, stasis, telekinesis, alternate-fire modes, and more." Additionally, the game will include a new co-op mode, utilize the Wii's motion controls, and feature what Papoutsis described as a "guided and cinematic camera" that would help them enhance "tension and horror."    

As a prequel, Dead Space Extraction will explore the events leading up to the first game, focusing specifically on a group of desperate space colonists, the freakish "necromorphs" that prey on them, and a mysterious heroine who may hold the key to survival. But despite a new story, new gameplay, and a new system, Dead Space Extraction is striving for the same violence and horror that marked the original. According to Papoutsis, "the team spends a lot of time trying to push the boundaries of what is acceptable in a mature game."    

Dead Space Extraction is currently slated for a fall 2009 release.    

EA ANNOUNCES DEAD SPACE EXTRACTION EXCLUSIVE FOR THE Wii    

All-New Hero, Story and Characters Extend the Dead Space Universe    

Guildford, UK; February 18, 2009 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today revealed Dead Space™ Extraction, an all-new chapter from the studio that delivered the award-winning action-horror Dead Space game. Built from the ground up and developed exclusively for the Wii™, Dead Space Extraction is a prequel that reveals the events leading up to Isaac Clarke's mission on the USG Ishimura in the original Dead Space game released in 2008. Dead Space Extraction will marry the innovative motion controls of the Wii Remote with a frenetic first person perspective to create a new action-packed horror experience.    

Dead Space Extraction tells the story of a handful of space colonists desperately struggling to escape from a horrific infection on the Aegis VII mining colony deep in the furthest regions of space. The game introduces a new heroine to the fiction and as the crew fall victim to a mysterious contagion aboard the ship, it becomes clear that protecting her may be their only hope for survival. Dead Space Extraction introduces all new characters, weapons, enemies, puzzles and co-operative multiplayer gameplay.    

"We could not be more excited to extend Dead Space into an experience exclusive to the Wii. Nintendo has a wonderful history in the horror genre and we are thrilled to build on that tradition with Dead Space Extraction," said Glen Schofield, VP and General Manager of EA Redwood Shores studio. "As we were developing Dead Space, we realized that there was so much of the story going untold. Dead Space Extraction tells that story with all of the intensity, blood and gore that fans would expect."    

Dead Space Extraction is an EA Redwood Shores title and is scheduled to ship in Autumn 2009. This product has not yet rated by ESRB or PEGI.

[Kairon]

For the record: I'm friggin' pumped. Co-op mode + on-rails shooter is heaven for me. I think I'd actually play this more than a straight port.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I like how it is a prequel and that they seem to be trying to retain aspects of Dead Space while utilizing the on rail setting. It has potential to be extremely unique if pulled off right.

[ShyGuy]

I personally think the on rail setting kills important aspects of Dead Space. Walking down a quiet hallway in a third person survival horror game builds tension. floating down a quiet hallway in a light gun game is boring.

[Jonnyboy117]

I didn't want a downgraded port, but I didn't want this, either.  ~sigh~  Well, I hope it turns out well anyway.

[NWR_pap64]

Leaving the "OMG ITS A RAIL SHOOTER MEGA FAIL LET'S KILL THE WORLD" issue aside is the graphics on the trailer in real time? If so, it looks pretty damn good.

[ShyGuy]

Thumbnail of pending box art: http://findgames.ea.com/game/deadspaceextraction

[Rize]

Yet another "real" game gets neutered for the Wii.  On a good note, anyone that wants to play the real deal can always pick up a 360 or PS3 and do so.  On an even better note, perhaps the fact that quality games on real consoles can be neatly translated to cash-ins the Wii will continue to encourage publishers to finance such games in order to drum up publicity for the Wii version.  I'm sure the rails version of Dead Space could be fun on its on terms and I hope it sells well.

[Kairon]

Yet another "real" game gets neutered for the Wii.  On a good note, anyone that wants to play the real deal can always pick up a 360 or PS3 and do so.  On an even better note, perhaps the fact that quality games on real consoles can be neatly translated to cash-ins the Wii will continue to encourage publishers to finance such games in order to drum up publicity for the Wii version.  I'm sure the rails version of Dead Space could be fun on its on terms and I hope it sells well.

Well excuuuuse me princess, but on-rail shooters are "real" games. The same goes for point and click adventures, another long-estabished gaming genre that Nintendo's platforms are saving from oblivion. The moment Area 51 and Monkey Island aren't considered "real" games, I'm ditching "gaming" for whatever does. The "real deal" always comes down to one thing, as any Nintendo fan knows: fun, in whatever form it takes.

[Enner]

Heh, maybe there'll be a tier list and arguments about how certain games are lesser or higher.

I was wondering why the graphics in the teaser looked as good as they did. The short glimpses were too ugly to be prerendered yet a shade too pretty to what I thought a Wii game would look light. Eager to see more screens and footage.

As for the game being on-rails, I am a bit disappointed as the style is certainly simpler than in the first game. However, considering that some of the knocks on Dead Space were repetition and padding, maybe the on-rails gameplay would be a good fit for the Dead Space series.

[KDR_11k]

Well, the original XBox ran Doom 3 and the Wii is better than that.

[NovaQ]

Leaving the "OMG ITS A RAIL SHOOTER MEGA FAIL LET'S KILL THE WORLD" issue aside is the graphics on the trailer in real time? If so, it looks pretty damn good.

I was a little suspicious of that, too. My guess is that the opening parts without any enemies are pre-rendered, but then when the trailer gets all choppy and you see actual gameplay, it's, well, actual gameplay. If you watch it again, see if you can notice a difference.

[mac<censored>]

An evil and horrid decision -- on-rails shooter == yucky cheezoid cop-out

Being on rails makes development much cheaper, and I guess EA's looking for a quick buck these days, with the recession and all, but it's very disappointing.

[GK]

When I saw the headline I was shaking my head & rolling my eyes but by the time I finished & thought about it...it may work out pretty well. I don't mind it being a rail shooter just as long it turns out to be a -good- rail shooter.

If anything it'll help Wii Zapper & Perfect Shot owners keep the illusion that we made a sound investment going.

[broodwars]

"meh."  That pretty much sums up my reaction to this news when it was released.  I don't want yet another wacky spin-off game in an established property from other consoles, and I especially don't want an on-rails shooter.  I have nothing against an original made-for-Wii-from-the-ground-up Dead Space game, but this?  Meh, no thanks.  It just reeks of the developer shirking the challenge of developing a unique 3D horror exploration/shooter game that plays to the Wii's strengths in favor of something easier and cheaper-to-produce that they won't have to try as hard on.  To be fair, if that trailer is actual in-game footage (and I'm somewhat skeptical of that), the game at least looks excellent (graphically) for a Wii game.

[ShyGuy]

Well excuuuuse me princess, but on-rail shooters are "real" games. The same goes for point and click adventures, another long-estabished gaming genre that Nintendo's platforms are saving from oblivion. The moment Area 51 and Monkey Island aren't considered "real" games, I'm ditching "gaming" for whatever does. The "real deal" always comes down to one thing, as any Nintendo fan knows: fun, in whatever form it takes.

Sure they are real games but to a lot of gamers on rail shooters are lesser games. I don't think you should lump them in with point and click adventures, which are great.

I was thinking and a good parallel to how I feel about this game was the reaction to Deus Ex Invisible War. Ion Storm took out many of the great elements of the original Deus Ex and dumbed the series down by moving it from the PC to the Xbox.

[Morari]

Yet another "real" game gets neutered for the Wii.  On a good note, anyone that wants to play the real deal can always pick up a 360 or PS3 and do so.

Pick up a 360 or PS3? Pfff! See signature.

Seriously though; I think that this sounds pretty neat. On-rail shooters are great fun, but only Umbrella Chronicles has really brought any kind of depth to the genre thus far. Besides, Dead Space really wasn't that good of a game to begin with. You're really not missing much by only having a Wii, I assure you.

[Ian Sane]

They're going on the rails with a lazy game!  (We need a little musical note emoticon)

On-rail shooter is just such a cliche for Wii spin-offs.  I know some people are interested in this but to me it's just the lazy route.  You can like the genre but EA's goal isn't to push the limitations of the genre or anything bold or creative like that.  It's just for an easy buck and they picked on rails shooter as the genre because others have already done it on the Wii.  If I want a game from this genre I'll get House of the Dead since it normally is an on rails shooter and thus the Wii is getting the real thing.

I find it very odd that being able to buy a 360 or PS3 to play the real Dead Space is "on a good note".  Being forced to buy another console when you already own the MARKET LEADER is okay?  We used to get pissed off that the last place Cube was missing out on multiplatform releases and yet the market leading Wii gets the same treatment and buying another console is considerably a perfect reasonable requirement?

[decoyman]

Ian:   (that is, : music ; ... but take out the spaces around "music")

But yeah, I'm a bit disappointed. We have enough on-rail shooters, I've grown weary of them.

[ReverendNoahWhateley]

Like a lot of people, this news leaves me rather deflated.  It's like an EA executive passed along a hastily-scrawled memo that read, "Make it like that one Resident Evil game for the Wii that sold a bazillion copies!"  But the developers got confused and modeled it after the wrong Resident Evil. 

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Indeed so.  Confidence in "important" third party publishers has officially gone flaccid.

[GoldenPhoenix]

quality games on real consoles

Isn't this considered trolling?

You guys really disappoint me. I expected better. Childish is the only way I can describe it, not to mention a blatant closed minded focus on ONE GAME while ignoring the great support big publishers like Sega, Capcom and yes Square Enix are doing with the Wii. We are getting some TREMENDOUSLY promising titles in the next year or so from third parties. We are getting Capcom's biggest franchise in japan and Square-Enixes biggest RPG next to FF. Yet it is now doomsday because of ONE FREAKEN GAME. A game we still know very little about, nor really even the reasoning behind it (Maybe they decided to do on rails in order to keep the atmosphere because of the Wii's hardware limitations) It is funny if EA didn't even announce that Dead Space was coming to Wii no one would really care.

Being forced to buy another console when you already own the MARKET LEADER is okay?  We used to get pissed off that the last place Cube was missing out on multiplatform releases and yet the market leading Wii gets the same treatment and buying another console is considerably a perfect reasonable requirement?

What if you owned a PS2 and wanted to play exclusive games on GC? Buying another console has ALWAYS been a reasonable option if you can afford it, it has been that way since, well gaming consoles came into existance. Pathetic argument.

I am GLAD that the game is different because I can play it on my PC already. I don't need a gimped port, I want a new take on it. Not to mention it is coming out this year so it would be unrealistic to get a full blown sequel in that time no matter what console it was on.

[Ian Sane]

What if you owned a PS2 and wanted to play exclusive games on GC? Buying another console has ALWAYS been a reasonable option if you can afford it, it has been that way since, well gaming consoles came into existance. Pathetic argument.

A PS2 owner would buy a Gamecube for Nintendo first party games and the occasional exclusive.  But NEVER did a PS2 owner feel the need to buy another console for third party games that were being released for every console but the market leading PS2!  In the past owning a second console when you owned the market leader was something you did if you really needed a handful of exclusives.  But it was not at all considered a requirement to get access to the bulk of major games.  If you had the market leader you didn't have everything but you had close to it.

With the Wii it is pretty much considered a requirement, not a neat bonus if you want more options, but a REQUIREMENT or you miss out on tons of significant releases.  That's completely ridiculous.  And yet this gets passed off like it's no big deal.  The market leading console should have at least 80% of the major games playable on it.  The Wii should be the default and the others the exceptions, not the other way around.  Owning a second console should be considered a rare expense that the vast majority of gamers shouldn't feel the need to bother with it, if they own the market leading console.

[NovaQ]

PS2 and GC were fairly similar consoles (GC's graphics were better, but not unbelievably so, and player-input was only a little different). But Wii and PS3/360 are very dissimilar. Most game makers are decades into the traditional model of game making, a model that PS3 and 360 are more in tune with. I'm not trying to make excuses for these game makers (I'm also not trying to tell you that you can't complain), but this isn't the same situation as in the past. It's going to take these game makers some serious time to adjust to the new market leader's gameplay priorities - if they ever adjust, that is.

Anyway, I'm interested in how this game turns out. I'm not super excited for it, as HOtD's recent release will likely satisfy my light gun needs for a while, but I'll be keeping my on on this regardless (a good game is a good game, after all - especially if it has good co-op).

[GoldenPhoenix]

PS2 and GC were fairly similar consoles (GC's graphics were better, but not unbelievably so, and player-input was only a little different). But Wii and PS3/360 are very dissimilar. Most game makers are decades into the traditional model of game making, a model that PS3 and 360 are more in tune with. I'm not trying to make excuses for these game makers (I'm also not trying to tell you that you can't complain), but this isn't the same situation as in the past. It's going to take these game makers some serious time to adjust to the new market leader's gameplay priorities - if they ever adjust, that is.

Anyway, I'm interested in how this game turns out. I'm not super excited for it, as HOtD's recent release will likely satisfy my light gun needs for a while, but I'll be keeping my on on this regardless (a good game is a good game, after all - especially if it has good co-op).

What Nova said, but honestly it was similar with the Genesis/SNES where Sega had some exclusive third parties Nintendo didn't and vice versa, though that was more to do with money bags. Still any gamer that likes variety will always get more then one console because there has always been great games that do not see the light of day on another system. That is compounded by the fact that the Wi is not nearly as powerful as the competition so it is expected that not many games will be multiplatform. Heck I knew this from the start, that the companies were going to be forced to create different content for the Wii and utilize the motion controls. It isn't a surprise and anyone with any common sense would have realized that regardless of whether or not Wii was the market leader.

The Wii will get exclusive 3rd party games that cannot be done on the other consoles and vice versa, that is how it is going to be. You can whine about it all the time like Ian, or do the smart thing and invest in a second console to get an even greater amount of diversity. There are gaming experiences that you can get no where else on Wii, but there are also experiences on PS3, or 360 you can get no where else either. On the Wii we are getting a resurgence of a once important arcade genre, the light gun shooter, that was withering away and dieing along with the point n click adventures. That is EXCITING to see as a gamer.