Parents' Guide to Dead Space: Extraction

Game Nintendo Wii 2009
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Common Sense Media Review

Marc Saltzman By Marc Saltzman , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 18+

Gory, mature sci-fi shooter for the Wii delivers thrills.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 18+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 16+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 16+

Based on 3 kid reviews

What's It About?

Serving as a prequel to last year's extraordinary Dead Space for the Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, and PC, this new Nintendo Wii exclusive reveals what happened leading up to Isaac Clarke's deadly mission aboard the USG Ishimura mining ship in deep space. DEAD SPACE: EXTRACTION is an atmospheric, horror-filled tale that follows four space colonists who vow to fight a mysterious virus spreading throughout the USG Ishimura and the planet Aegis VII. The game introduces new characters, weapons, and enemies (including tough boss battles) -- and perhaps more importantly introduces join-in-or-drop-out cooperative play to the series, therefore a friend beside you can at any time pick up a controller to help blast away "Necromorph" aliens limb by limb, or quit the game if need be, without disturbing the intense action.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 3 ):
Kids say ( 3 ):

Yes, this "Mature"-rated shooter offers action-heavy, cinematic gameplay that cleverly takes advantage of the Nintendo Wii's motion control -- but players might not be thrilled to learn the game is an "on rails shooter." In other words, to better handle the limited horsepower of the console, you won't be directly controlling your character. Instead, you only have control of your character's weapon rather than their feet -- but that doesn't mean you won't find the game fun or challenging. All in all, with its new story, characters, weapons, enemies, and co-op option, Dead Space: Extraction is a thrilling pick for adult Wii gamers.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether these kinds of adult-only games should be available on the Nintendo Wii. That is, should there be this kind of mature content on a system dominated by kids games or is it better left on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3? Perhaps families feel there should be a variety of game types on the Nintendo Wii -- just as your impartial DVD player can show a Disney film or Tarantino flick.

  • What is the impact on the player of playing violent video games? Why must you be old enough to handle the content?

Game Details

  • Platform : Nintendo Wii
  • Pricing structure :
  • Available online? : Not available online
  • Publisher : Electronic Arts
  • Release date : September 28, 2009
  • Genre : First-Person Shooter
  • ESRB rating : M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
  • Last updated : February 15, 2023

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