Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Extermination

Written by Adam Woolcott on August 17, 2001

Full Review: Seems the Orkin Man won't help this time.

Sony Computer Entertainment has been on quite the roll this summer with their PlayStation 2 offerings. First, Twisted Metal Black lives up to the hype and sells extremely well. Second, Gran Turismo 3 becomes one of the hottest selling games ever (as well as the best racing simulator ever). That's 2 home runs for SCEA within a month's time. And now, here we are with their 3rd major title of the summer Ц Deep Space's Extermination. Borrowing heavily from both Resident Evil (as a matter of fact one of the main men for the RE series was a producer for this game) as well as Metal Gear Solid, Extermination can boast being built upon the success of those 2 classic games. But does it equal a 3rd straight smash success for Sony?

Not quite. While Extermination is a good game, it's not a AAA masterpiece. There's really nothing totally wrong with the game; the problem is there isn't a lot that's really good or stands out. It's enjoyable, but it doesn't have too much in the way of replayability or innovation. Yes, there are couple creative traits, but it doesn't really change the typical gameplay. Normally that can be excused if the game is really good Ц but in a lot of ways Extermination is painfully bland. What results is a game that fans of MGS or RE will enjoy, but the rest probably won't get much out of it.

The story of Extermination takes you to the base of Fort Stewart, in the freezing cold of Antarctica. The US Marine RECON unit has been sent to do some sort of mission, and right from the start things go wrong. The game focuses on Dennis Riley, one of the members of the Marine troops sent to Fort Stewart. Your job is to find your way to a particular building and meet up with the rest of your comrades and get out of Dodge. Problem is there's some sort of crazy virus outbreak being passed around by some sort of bug that's infecting people and other creatures; making things just a tad more difficult than it appears to be.

If the story sounds kind of familiar, you're probably right. Truly, there's not a lot here that hasn't been tried before in a game. A lot of the plot lines are very predictable and reminders of other games. The closest similarity would probably be Metal Gear Solid.

Since the story most likely won't drag you into the game, the gameplay has to be good enough to make up for it. However, the gameplay is still rather dull and similar to RE games. A neat twist is your main weapon Ц instead of picking up more powerful guns as you go along, you pick up parts to enhance the gun you get from the beginning. From there you can mix and match your parts to change your weapon to benefit whatever situation you need it for. You can equip a zooming scope (for getting a closer shot), a flamethrower, a shotgun, along with some sort of УultimateФ weapon that you must collect parts for to complete fully. Oh yeah, Dennis can also use a knife to kill some enemies if that's what is required. The knife helps you get past some obstacles as well.

The other interesting gameplay element is the УinfectionФ part. Basically, you have 2 different health meters; one for regular attacks, and one for infections. Obviously if your main health meter goes to zero your game is over, but the infection you have a chance to stop if you're lucky. When you're infected, a green..something will pop out of your back, and slowly beat down on your regular health. If you have a vaccine, you'll have a little bit of time to head to a station and fully heal yourself. Or if you have a booster shot, you can get rid of the infection before it gets to a full 100 percent. This mixes up the game a bit Ц not only do you have to be careful to not take damage from enemies, you have to avoid getting infected as well. Of course, this increases the difficulty of the game, as well as increased possibility of lots of backtracking.

The final creative thing is the usage of the Battery Pack. The pack is used not only to save your game, but it's also used for powering particular objects throughout the game. Once you run out, you can recharge the pack at charging stations throughout the game; essentially giving you unlimited saves. But it's a neat idea, unlike the strange typewriter and ink ribbon format of Resident Evil.

Dennis also has some cool moves Ц in some places he can jump from platform to platform, he can swing from monkey bars (or whatever they're called), and even do a little rolling around. These moves give the game somewhat of a Tomb Raider feeling, just minus Lara Croft. As I said, the pedigree from which this game was born, and the games УmimickedФ are high-class efforts.

However, after those little differences, there's nothing new here. The basic gist is here Ц go from room to room, shooting baddies and collecting files, items, and solving Уpuzzles.Ф The puzzles aren't as puzzling (or as weird) as Resident Evil puzzles Ц because the emphasis is on action, most of them are straightforward and require going around looking for a switch or a computer to input a passcode, reading a series of files, or finding a keycard. This keeps the game going at a fast pace; or at least as fast paced as the game lets you. Truly, the pace is rather slow and plodding, with a lot of dead areas filled with nothing but lots of doors and files. And since a lot of the enemies are avoidable (and should be avoided to prevent infection), there's little mandatory action. The story develops smoothly, but the action is kind of lumpy and jumpy. Actually, this is where the MGS similarities come into play. In most cases, avoiding a fight and saving ammunition is much more beneficial than coming out guns blazing. But you just can't avoid that feeling of dщjр vu throughout; that feeling you've played this game before. And the replay is very shallow Ц there isn't any multiple paths or characters, and zero battle modes or other unlockables. You beat the game, and you're done, unless you want to play it again.

I must admit though, the game still can be quite interesting. When things do heat up, there's a lot of action and the plot twists are fun, if predictable. Playing with the new weapons and mixing up your weapon is cool. And when you're in a dead spell with action, you can't help but wonder just what's around the corner. The game IS supposed to be scary, and while I don't think it's too scary, some moments are genuinely surprising and not predictable. However some are telegraphed really badly and surprise no one. The experience is pretty neat when things get rolling. Too bad it takes so long to get it rolling..

Extermination visually is kind of lacking. It looks decidedly 1st generation, and can't boast the same visual punch as the latest crop of PS2 games. However, it's still not too bad. The whole game is rather dark and colorless, with lots of grey and tan-ish colors. However, the outside area is the strong point. The effects of the lighting, as well as the snow that rains down on you (that changes force depending on where you are at) is highly impressive. The inside buildings are somewhat similar all over and get repetitive, however. The graphics are smooth though, with only a jaggie or 2 out there. Some of the explosion and weapon effects are cool, as well as the details on some of the larger enemies.

The game is fully 3D, even moreso than RE: Code Veronica. However despite that, the camera can still be a serious pain to align right. Most of the time you'll be forced to manually play with the angle to make it easier to see what's going on, and that can leave you wide open to attack in a small area. This happens way too often and is a serious hindrance a lot of the time. For a fully 3D game, it sure has camera angles like a pre-rendered game like past RE games, as well as Onimusha. What's also funny is the bad lip-synching to the voices Ц though it's about par considering how bad the voices are in the game.

When it comes to sound, Extermination is a mixed bag. The music is pretty cool, if way too dramatic. Though it does do a good job of giving a tense atmosphere to the whole experience. Best part is, it doesn't get drowned out by the other effects, like the gunfire and the weird noises the enemies make. And a lot of them do make some weird noises.

However, the voice acting is..umm..yeah. It's not too good. Obviously these guys studied acting at the Resident Evil School Of Lockpicking. A lot of it is extremely corny and senseless, and really lame. Too bad Deep Space didn't copy the voices off of Metal Gear Solid, along with the other stuff.