By Billy Teo, a freelance writer

DEAD Space Extraction plays like an enjoyable Hollywood blockbuster sci-fi horror movie - think Die Hard meets Aliens.

Unlike its predecessor, Dead Space, which was set in a gigantic spaceship, this prequel is set in a mining colony in space infested with flesh-eating zombies called Necromorphs.

Expect the game to be one big scary thrill ride.

Spoiler alert: the thrill ride starts right from the prologue-cum-tutorial mission.

You fight valiantly only to die needlessly and resume play as another poor soul left for dead on that infested space colony, firing at the Necromorphs with a slew of guns - including one that shoots rivets - and a flame thrower.

All this while helping a motley bunch of survivors to escape becoming the next item on the menu.

The game is essentially a first-person shooter, you have no control over where to go or explore.

One tiny problem with this guided-tour approach is that you have no choice but to fight in places - such as dark air vents and ominous rooms filled with dead bodies - that any intelligent horror buff knows to avoid.

However, once the shooting gets going, you will be having too much fun to care about being trapped with the zombies.

There is more to the game than just firing at monsters though.

You often have to rely on steady nerves and wit - like using the Wiimote as a laser pointer to 'trace' a pattern on the screen to activate electronic doors - while zombies are making a meal out of you.

Playing well will unlock bonuses including weapon upgrades and new playable Challenges, which means shooting hordes of Necromorphs that are scarier than the rush hour MRT crowd.

The motion controls help to sell this game: as a shooting weapon, the Wiimote works like a charm and aiming accurately is never a problem.

An excellent game that rises above the muddy, last-generation graphics of its predecessor, Dead Space Extraction proves that doubters of the Wii's longevity, like me, might just be dead wrong.