In Dead Space, you experienced a new world of terror as you explored a derelict spacecraft run afoul with alien creatures that made you fear every corner. Now see how it all began, and revisit that exciting and terrifying experience with Dead Space Extraction.

In Dead Space Extraction, you go back to the mining colony of Aegis VII as you see how the Necromorph infection began. In order to save the people of the colony and the mining ship USG Ishimura, one woman has to fight. Explore a new chapter of this fascinating and frightening world, with new heroes, enemies and combat environments.

Available:  Wii

Most people don't expect much from on rail shooter theme games except run and gun action, just enough story and character development to get by, as well as a short running time. Dead Space Extraction defies all of these expectations and is designed to be a full fledged game, complete with a complex story and innovative gameplay, as well as new information about the Dead Space universe. You'll be scared out of your wits as you attempt to stay alive while fighting the Necromorphs, who require strategic dismemberment to die.

If you've played the original game, you'll recognize the story of the Aegis VII colony, who digs up a mysterious alien marker that begins to change people into deformed, grotesque creatures that thirst for blood. The relic coerces people to brutally kill themselves, only to resurrect as Necromorphs; you follow a four-person band of colonists who struggle to escape the madness surrounding them and fight off the creatures that are after them. My advice is to keep your eyes on alert for nasty creatures just as you did in the first game.

In Dead Space Extraction, you'll learn more about the game universe you live in as you roam the corners of Aegis VII in an attempt to escape to the Ishimura, which is in orbit above the planet; the fanatical Church of Unitology, the history of the aliens, and the characters themselves. The game seamlessly blends in game cutscenes and frenetic action to balance gameplay and an engrossing story that invests you in the characters.

Necromorphs are macabre creatures made from deformed dead flesh, and want nothing more than to eat and convert other humans; they're extremely hard to kill as well. You have to utilize strategic dismemberment to disable the creatures, and since traditional weapons don't work, you have to improvise armaments using crude mining and industrial tools to inflict maximum damage.

You'll find a lot of familiar tools from the first Dead Space, like the plasma cutter, but you'll also get rivet guns, an arc welder, the P-SEC pistol and the Ripper, a guidable spinning saw blade. When fighting Necromorphs, mobility is your biggest advantage, as they tend to lumber towards you.  Stay alert and target their arms and legs to slow them down. Ammunition is a commodity, and one that you don't run into often, so you have to make every shot count - only the rivet gun doesn't run out of rounds.

All you have to do is aim the Wiimote at your television, and your reticule will tell you how much ammo you have, as well as where your shot will hit and how far it will spread.

You can even use the motion control feature of the Wii for greater advantage, as the game's developers used it to bring full effect to the game. The only things you'll use the motion control for are to activating your glowstick in order to see in dark places, or shaking off a creature that's latched onto you.

You'll find a lot of great gameplay features from the first game repeated here. The modules, like kinesis and stasis, are back; stasis allows you to stop Necromorphs in their tracks, so you can systematically remove their limbs, or it can be used on environmental obstacles.

With kinesis, you can levitate and throw items that are in front of you to solve puzzles or kill Necromorphs. Kinesis is useful, as knocking things around tends to make you less scared in the environment around you, as you're too busy having fun - you can use it in cutscenes too, which is a bit odd but good.

There are 10 chapters to Dead Space Extraction, and all of them include immersive backstory elements, like audio logs and text logs that you pick up along the way. People who've played the first game might be dismayed to pick up a log only to recognize it from Dead Space, they still help newcomers solve the riddle of what's happening. There are upgrades aplenty in the form of power nodes and new weapons, which you can find and pick up.

You can keep track of your progress at the end of each level, and you can even upgrade your health and receive access to challenge levels - these are just run and gun bonus missions outside of the main story, where you fend of a swarm of creatures.

You can even find a series of motion comics that are unlockable with good gameplay; they tell the story of a few other people who are on the colony as well, and their tribulations. You can even have cooperative play in this game, in both the story and challenge modes.

The graphics capabilities of this game is comparable to the first game, which looked fantastic on the other systems. You'll find very detailed, atmospherically lit settings, and the  characters look so realistic and behave so naturally that, along with the top notch voices, feel real. The game still runs fast, even if a swarm of highly detailed, disgusting Necromorphs are approaching.

Dead Space Extraction, provides a fantastic shooter platform, adding the high points of the first game to a whole new genre of game, succeeding in every respect. If you loved the story in Dead Space, you'll appreciate the level of detail that went into furthering the story arc and making this a complete chapter in the saga. Don't miss out on the frenetic action and terrifying environments of Dead Space Extraction.

I'd like to know your thoughts, so after you check it out, stop by and leave me a comment.

Enjoy!