“Working on the Nintendo Wii was a pretty exciting thing for us. We were excited about the unique controls and what they brought to the gamer,” explains Steve Papoutsis in this new dev diary. Extraction, the Wii-exclusive prequel to Dead Space, as with many Wii games, takes advantage of multiple control modes, depending on whether you use the Wii Remote or Zapper. Either way, the game utilizes some clever Wii-specific tricks, like switching to alt-fire by simply turning the controller on its side.
The footage showcased in the latest dev diary highlights some of the best visuals we’ve seen on Wii so far. One of the co-op segments highlighted in the video combines puzzle-solving and monster-blasting in a rather smartly designed (and terrifying) way. Even worse, the two players will have to switch off during the puzzle as enemies continue to jump in. With so many clever ideas being thrown about, Extraction may have a shot at making us all scream in terror.
Asked how he felt given the large portion of Nintendo’s userbase seemingly disinterested in mature games, Schofield remarked, “I’m confident — it is an experiment, but there’s going to be 50 million Wiis out there by the time the game comes out, so if you only hit 2 per cent of the installed base and you’ve got a huge number.”
Schofield also pointed to other publishers’ attempts at tapping this market, no matter how small it may be, while managing to work in a dig on the low overall scores of most Wii titles. “There have been some [mature games] already, Resident Evil and House of the Dead, that have done really well,” he said. “So we’re pushing for that 80-plus-rated game, and that’ll put you in the top 5 per cent of all Wii games… because most do not have a great score.”
Ammunition is not the only scarcity in Dead Space Extraction. In fact, flashlights seem even more difficult to come by, as miners on Aegis 7 are left to keep their wits about them basked in the comforting greenish hue of a “glow worm.” The game’s equivalent of glow sticks, glow worms offer an unlimited source of light that must be recharged by shaking the Wii remote.
As mentioned following our recent time with the game, the mechanic, which is described in greater detail on EA’s Dead Space blog, certainly ups the scare factor. Still, we can’t help but wonder if — after 10 or so hours of vigorous shaking — these glow worms will leave us clutching our arms, reeling from a wholly different kind of strategic dismemberment.
In a recent interview with Official Nintendo Magazine, Electronic Arts’ Steve Papoutsis explained that he’s hoping Dead Space: Extraction will “push the boundaries of what a mature game on the Wii means.”
Visceral explains the controls of Dead Space Extraction originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
