Review by Lewis B Dead Space: Extraction Developer: Visceral Games Publisher: Electronic Arts Released: EU October 1st 2009 Available for: Nintendo Wii Time Played: Finished Verdict: 4/5 Thumbs Up A competent rail shooter, that thanks to Visceral Games’ strong IP, is arguably the best light-gun experience on the Wii . Although there are some issues and poor acting issues aside, the game is highly enjoyable. Unlike other rail shooters however, I must stress it isn’t …
So I feel badly about implying this, and am fully cognizant of (and in agreement with) our Meho’s postulations regarding this sequel. In fact, years ago a friend of mine ruined the original Mass Effect for me – I’d been absolutely loving it until he deconstructed the entire game before my eyes, embarking on a litany of completely valid complaints ranging from the miniscule to the monumental. I still blame him for shattering my illusions. …
SEGA’s complexly-named studio director Constantine Hantzopoulos indicated to GamaSutra and 1UP that the Wii rail shooter Dead Space: Extraction’s unbelievably poor sales since launch (fewer than 10,000 units in a month) served as a “litmus test” for whether or not SEGA – which has nothing to do with EA and had nothing to do with Dead Space: Extraction – would produce Mature-rated titles for the Nintendo Wii platform.
Given that the SEGA-published Madworld and House of the Dead: Overkill, also for the Wii platform, underperformed, and the fact that Dead Space: Extraction got its ass handed to it, Hantzopolous indicated that future Mature-rated titles for the Wii will not be forthcoming from SEGA.
A sad update to a story from the other day: contrary to early rumors that owner EA was simply going to slash staff at Pandemic Studios, news comes in now that the ten year old studio will be shut down entirely and all 200 staff laid off. This is the first of what’s sure to be many casualties, as EA has committed to reducing its workforce by 1,100 people in order to offset a nearly …
Poor EA. Just as the publisher, long-reviled as a frumious monsterporation of creativity-gobbling soul-holery, was beginning to recover its tarnished rep among gamers and industry, it gets walloped by losses for its trouble. $391 million in losses last quarter, plans to slash another 1,500 employees – this time from Pandemic, Maxis (!), Tiburon, Mythic, Black Box, and the internal Command & Conquer team – along with about a dozen titles on the current slate. All …
Sometimes the deepest ideas come from the shallowest places.
Has it really been nine years? My, we’ve missed you, Alice. One of my favorite games after the turn of this new century was American McGee’s Alice. His bizzare interpretation of the classic tale was colorful, inventive and frightening! I still have a little Alice doll, with cat “friend,” sometimes used to scare the grandkids. One of the key lines from McGee’s Alice: “How do you know I’m mad?,” was felt by some to be …
Review by Steerpike Developer DICE Publisher EA Released November 12, 2008 (Console); Jan 14, 2009 (Windows) Available for Windows XP/Vista, Xbox 360 (version reviewed), PS3 Verdict: 3/5 Middlin’ “While it is innovative, and very courageous, it doesn’t hold that much needed glass up to the rest of videogaming and say ‘see? This is what you look like. Aren’t you ashamed?’ It could have, but it didn’t.”
I took some time out of my extraordinarily busy Fallout 3 schedule to download the Mirror’s Edge demo on XBLA. This is a game I’ve been watching for some time: the austere art direction really touched a chord in me, and I was intrigued by DICE’s commitment to producing a momentum-based first-person platformer… essentially, a game that plays like Prince of Persia, but feels like Quake, since you’re in the first person driver’s seat.
So EA’s internally-developed Dead Space comes out Wednesday, and reviews have been a mixture of pretty positive and very positive. This is one I’ve got on my GameFly list rather than down as a purchase. Why? Because scary games make me tremble, and because I’m witholding judgment on the game’s overall quality until I hear a little more about it. EA is not, after all, really what one thinks of when one thinks of innovative …