This review is a bit late coming, since I played the game in October, but after ordering these guys, I felt the need to give the game a quick review.
DSE is a light-gun game done right. Guiding the player through the corridors at a certain pace puts control in the hands of the developer to pace the scares just right for maximum effect. Sadly, just like Dead Space, I didn’t find the game particularly scary beside a few jump-scream moments. I just think the whole fiction of Dead Space is so cool, and that’s what keeps me coming back.
DSE puts you in the shoes of a few survivors of the initial attack on the colony and Ishimura, and acts as sort of a prequel to Dead Space. You witness the moments preceding the mass suicides on the colony before finding a way off the planet. Once you get up to the Ishimura, things become a bit more familiar. You cross a lot of the same floors Isaac did in the original title, though you never run into him.
The game looks great. I don’t even mean for a Wii game. It just looks good. Not as good as Dead Space proper, but still quite good. Some of the strongest texture and lighting I’ve seen on a Wii title, and the atmosphere is as strong as it was in the original. If you’re sore for some strong Wii games, and especially mature titles, this one shouldn’t be missed.
I think there are a lot of unfortunate missteps plaguing not the game itself, but its chance at success. First and foremost, it IS a light-gun game. While the only mature games that have sold well on the Wii are light-gun games, even those haven’t sold terribly well and I think the genre is seen as a bit anachronistic nowadays. Second, it’s a mature title—on Wii—from a third party. Both of those factors doom it to pretty poor sales despite generally positive critical reception. Third, it’s a continuation of a game that appeared on Xbox360 and PS3. Segmenting the game franchise across platforms makes it hard to build a consistent audience. While it may seem like everyone has a Wii, I don’t think that’s nearly the case, and I think a lot of people missed out on the game for just that reason.
The game sold 9000 copies according to the last set of NPD numbers. I think more people than that were already playing Modern Warfare 2 before its midnight release last week. It’s disappointing to see mature titles doing so poorly on Nintendo’s system, but honestly I think the Wii is more intended to be a Nintendo Game Arcade than anything else. Their games are best suited to their controls, and the brand match gives them instant recognition.
Anyway, all Dead Space fans should check this game out, even just a rent or borrow. People unfamiliar with the series are probably better of not bothering until they get to go back and check out the original, which they definitely should. It was one of the best games of 2008!
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