Dead Space Extraction

[Noku]

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/02/26/dead-space-wii-interview/

 

Executive Producer Steve Papoutsis:

 

- Game is "guided FPS"

- Trailer footage is actual gameplay footage

 

Sweet.

 

And cue the random guys saying it doesn't look all that good.

[Gio001]

Just read the interview, very promising. Hope they pull it off.

[Retro_Link]

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/02/26/dead-space-wii-interview/

 

Executive Producer Steve Papoutsis:

 

- Game is "guided FPS"

- Trailer footage is actual gameplay footage

 

Sweet.

 

And cue the random guys saying it doesn't look all that good.

Sounding really great to me!

[Tellyn]

I have a feeling this is going to rock our socks. The developers are going to be extra careful now that you lot of vicious bastards have scared them witless early enough.

[Sméagol]

Atmosphere in the trailer was great. Graphics were good too as far as I could see.

[D_prOdigy]

[Ganepark32]

Looks good in that there screenshot. But then it's to be expected what with they devs from the original working on it.

[david.dakota]

thats looking really nice

[Retro_Link]

New details out of Nintendo Power:

 

http://www.cubed3.com/news/11870

 

The latest issue of Nintendo Power has shed a few new details on the Wii-exclusive Dead Space: Extraction.

 

As revealed in the original announcement, the game will be a spin-off from the Xbox 360/PS3 original as a ground-up prequel developed with Nintendo's console in mind. There was some initial confusion about whether it'd be on rails, EA have described the experience as "guided", and in the magazine itself it's once again confirmed as on rails.

 

- New female lead known as Lexine - won't see much of her due to the on-rails design. Wii remote was the deciding factor to switch to this view/gameplay style.

 

- Nunchuck is used to reload, shake off enemies by waggling both controllers, and use telekinesis with an on-screen pointer. Tilting/motion control for close attacks, precise aiming with the pointer.

 

- Wii-remote speaker used as an audio-log throughout the game.

[Retro_Link]

New IGN Interview

 

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/963/963176p1.html

 

IGN: When you unveiled Dead Space Extraction, you revealed it is an on-rails shooter – a truth that disappointed some fans. What would you say to skeptics fearful that the end experience will be less interactive than Dead Space was on 360?

 

Steve: When we announced the game I was amazed at the passion Dead Space fans had for the franchise. I would tell the Skeptics that our team is passionate about innovation. Extraction is going to include all of the mechanics that made Dead Space a memorable experience: Stasis, Telekinesis, Strategic Dismemberment, and Zero-G . Our game is going to also deliver on some all new features, like Co-op, that really involves both players. Expect cooperative puzzles, brand new weapons, new characters, new enemies, new bosses, new story, and new locations. Our goal is to create an all new experience on the Nintendo Wii that feels custom built for that platform, and I think we are on track to do that.

 

New Screens and Concepts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[darksnowman]

Reading about there being a Wii game with telekinesis makes me hanker a bit for a sequel to (or even enhanced Wiimake of) Second Sight. As for Dead Space, the developers are talking the talk so it doesn't sound like they are just throwing together some cheapo arcade shooter effort. Plus, those flying things actually look scary. Dead Space and Excitebots (the clown!) will provide nightmares aplenty.

[or else you will DIE]

a game i was actually looking forward to. i actually only just read about the on the rains stuff so here is my late "oh i'm so dissapointed" post. shame, cuz that concept art above looks so sweet.

 

lataz

[Zechs Merquise]

The concept art is awesome, this one looks like it could shape up to be something really special.

[Ganepark32]

It's not all on rails apparently. Can't remember what it was that I read and where it was but apparently there'll be parts of the game that aren't on rails.

[Noku]

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/02/26/dead-space-wii-interview/

 

Executive Producer Steve Papoutsis:

 

- Game is "guided FPS"

- Trailer footage is actual gameplay footage

 

Sweet.

 

And cue the random guys saying it doesn't look all that good.

 

Would that have been the above? If not, do dig deep into your mind for the whereabouts of said info!

[D_prOdigy]

 

On-topic: I've never played the original, but been thinking of picking up the animated feature to give me some sort of backstory. Is it worth it?

[Retro_Link]

Looking and sounding really good!

Just hope the on-rails aspect doesn't feel completely guided.

 

I really like the part of the story that's going with this version.

[Zechs Merquise]

It looks really good. I'm also tempted by the the animated film, I read saw some of the animated comics on Youtube and they were great, check the links if you're interested:

 

PART 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8Ig438LpBE&feature=PlayList&p=C2B01362F2487570&index=0

 

PART 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99yHtqqT0Gs&feature=PlayList&p=C2B01362F2487570&index=1

 

PART 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2_mVw7Oidc&feature=PlayList&p=C2B01362F2487570&index=2

 

PART 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD8bIk-2HJk&feature=PlayList&p=C2B01362F2487570&index=3

 

PART 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmJmaZZQ-g8&feature=PlayList&p=C2B01362F2487570&index=4

 

PART 6:

[Retro_Link]

IGN Preview

 

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/970/970968p2.html

 

Dead Space Extraction Impressions

It may be an on-rails shooter, but man, does it look good.

 

US, April 8, 2009 - It's been nearly two months since Electronic Arts let slip that its Dead Space franchise would be continuing on the Wii in an original title designed for the strengths of the platform. Early last week Electronic Arts invited me down to its studio to check out a work-in-progress version of Dead Space Extraction in action. And I've walked away from this short demonstration incredibly impressed with what the team has done on the Nintendo console. The game looks stunning.

 

For those who haven't been following the development, Dead Space Extraction is actually a precursor to last year's Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 original. The events that happen within the Wii title lead up to the horrors that occur on the space ship Ishimura. The game is being built as a self-contained, standalone experience, so if you haven't ever booted up the first Dead Space you won't be lost. But even though Dead Space Extraction features a completely different cast of characters, those who have blasted their way through the original game will definitely see plenty of connections between the two designs from start to finish.

 

Dead Space Extraction, however, isn't a free-roaming third-person action adventure game like the original title. For the Wii prequel, core members of the Dead Space team at Electronic Arts as well as external development studio Eurocom are working together to produce a first-person on-rails shooter that feels somewhat inspired by SEGA's The House of the Dead series. But the design and development teams are putting as much effort into this Wii shooter to make it stand apart from the obvious comparisons.

 

My first experience with the game was, unfortunately, an eyes-on affair with a paltry five minutes of gameplay shown deep in the fourth chapter. Five minutes isn't a whole lot to go on, but honestly, that five minutes was enough to show just how awesome the final product could become.

 

In this early look, the main character has just reached the inside of the Ishimura – from the perspective of the characters, no one knows what's going on, so it all unfolds in a state of exploration. Everything that happens around the lead character fills the player into the storyline. Just like in the original Dead Space, you'll stumble upon video logs that hover in front of your face like a hologram, but you'll also find written journals that document what went wrong on the station. Of course, the conversations that you hold with the characters along for the ride will also fill in the gaps needed to understand the situation. In the demo, there were scripting events where characters will have conversations around you, and in one moment you'll even see one of your teammates get mysteriously (and violently) abducted into the vents.

 

 

This game has some of the best fire effects, like, ever.

 

The gameplay is pure shooting action that puts the Wii Remote'spointer to great use, with the nunchuk playing supporting role for additional control elements. Players point and shoot using the Wii Remote: there are many weapons to pick up and use in the game, each with a primary and secondary function. To fire off the alternate function of a selected weapon, you twist the remote 90 degrees; the on-screen reticule will show that the weapon has been switched with a bar that moves from horizontal orientation to vertical. For example, if you're using the flamethrower (a weapon that has one of the best fire effects I've seen on Wii) you can switch to a burst "fireball" shot on the fly by rotating your wrist and firing. Every weapon has its own secondary shot, and in many cases you'll want to switch back and forth to take out the enemies with a bit more strategy than mindlessly lighting them up.

 

Though the final product will feature a huge assortment of enemies, the demo only showed "leaper" enemies attacking. Just like in the original Dead Space you'll be able to target specific parts of the enemy's body, shooting off limbs to inhibit their movement. The designers are clearly not scaling back the violence for Wii audiences, as shots would send out buckets of gore in satisfying attacks. If a leaper gets a little too close, you have the ability to pull off a melee attack with a quick motion of the nunchuk, pulling out your rocksaw weapon to get rid of the threat.

 

In the demo there were opportunities to go different routes – at specific points in the action a glowing line on the ground would branch off into two directions. To choose a path, you simply aim at the glowing line and click on it. According to the developers, there will be plenty of forks in the pathing to change direction and experience different parts of the level. There are also several puzzle elements that will stop your progress – in the demo, the player needed to complete a circuit board connection by dragging the on-screen reticule along an electronic path in a quick motion, without touching the red surface.

 

During some parts of the game you'll wander into areas that aren't well lit, and that's where the game's newest addition comes into play. The "Glow Worm" is an accessory that's essentially a tube of phosphorescent chemical that will illuminate the area in a shade of green. The effect is temporary, so you'll have to keep shaking the tube by – how else – shaking the Wii remote to keep everything lit up. Keep in mind that while you're shaking the remote, you can't shoot your gun, so there's a bit of strategy involved: is it worth putting yourself at risk by lighting up the area?

 

 

Telekinesis will also come into play in Dead Space Extraction: you'll have the ability to pick up and throw objects with real world physics – during the demo the developer showed off a very "Elebits" like motion of aiming at a crate, picking it up with the power of telekinesis, and giving it a throw with a hearty lob on the Wii remote and having it bounce around with realtime physics. And even though the demo didn't feature any sort of "Zero G" effects, the developer assured us to expect it. It is a Dead Space game, after all.

 

In the original Dead Space, the player's camera was over their character's shoulder. In Dead Space Extraction, the character's eyes are the game camera, and in our early look the developer's done a fantastic job to give players the impression of a "you are there" feel. As the game takes you through the hallways, there's a very natural bounce to the motion as the character walks. Though the game is entirely on rails it's absolutely clear that it's all happening in a realtime engine because at certain, predetermined areas you'll have full control of the camera to look around and keep track of your party members using the nunchuk's analog stick.

 

To think this is all prerendered is understandable: the game looks absolutely fantastic on Wii. The environmental visuals feature excellent detail in texture work, and the engine allows for incredibly slick lighting effects. All of this runs at a steady 30 frames per second that never seemed to hitch in the demonstration, even when the screen fills with several attacking enemies. According to the team, some levels can have as many as nine enemies on-screen at once without hurting the framerate. Non-player characters are professionally animated and accurately lip-sync to the spoken dialogue, ensuring that the story's drama isn't lost to rushed, awkward body language. The team stressed many times during the demo that, while Dead Space Extraction is an on-rails shooter, the visuals are being generated by the Wii hardware in realtime.

 

I did get an off-the-record look at a part of the game I wasn't really supposed to see, and I promised EA I wouldn't say anything about it. But I will say that what I wasn't supposed to see features the same incredible visual quality of the parts I was allowed to witness and talk about. At the very least, this unofficial peek confirmed that the team wasn't simply allowing me to see stuff because they were the the best looking parts of the game; the team's just pacing itself.

 

Dead Space Extraction lifts a bit of influence from Super Mario Galaxy by allowing for a second player to join in on the action. At any time a second remote can be activated and used as an alternate weapon. In context this will be handled as the main character's alternate weapon, and having a second player along won't change the script…but it might adjust the difficulty to balance for that extra firepower.

 

The early demonstration only scratched the surface of what's expected out of the final product. The team wasn't ready to talk specifics about the scoring system, though it was mentioned that precision shooting will be rewarded in some fashion. The company also wasn't ready to reveal specific story elements beyond what was happening in our five minute demo. There will be plenty more to unveil on this incredibly promising Wii-exclusive shooter in the coming months.

[Helmsly]

Gaintbomb have an video interview with the producer:

 

http://www.giantbomb.com/dead-space-extraction-interview/17-410/

[Retro_Link]

 

 

 

[Diageo]

WOW, those monster things are weird looking. What are they? I never played Dead Space...

[Noku]

Necromorph. Dead things in space with an aching for your blood.

[Strange Cookie]

This game has some of the best fire effects, like, ever.

 

Is that meant to be ironic, is it an overstatement or am I missing something here? The fire effects during the interview are nice, but... not that good, right?

 

On-topic: I've never played the original, but been thinking of picking up the animated feature to give me some sort of backstory. Is it worth it?

 

From what I've heard and read: not really. But I have yet to see it myself, so can't make any personal comment. I only know what people told me.

Edited April 15, 2009 by Strange Cookie

[Mundi]

The animated is alright but is on a couple of points contradicts the main game.

It´s not a necessary watch, just something to check out if you wanna watch an hour of blood and gore.