Extermination (video game)

Plot

Extermination takes place on December 24, 2005, at a top secret American research facility in Antarctica. His squad receives a distress call from Fort Stewart requesting an immediate air strike, but instead Team Red Light is sent in via C-17 to investigate. The plane malfunctions, scattering the team and crashing into the tundra; all are ordered to regroup at Ground Facility Building B. Dennis and teammate Roger Grigman enter the fort through a ventilation shaft.

After discovering it looks like a battlefield, Roger is attacked by Hydras (called Bugs in the North American release), becomes infected, and mutates. A woman in a contamination suit arrives, fires at Roger, and throws Dennis an extra magazine and an MTS vaccine, ordering him to tell his team to escape. Dennis pursues the woman, who initiates a lock-down protocol. He eventually meets her face-to-face: she is Cindy Chen, girlfriend of Dennis's fallen comrade Andrew, whom he served with in Cambodia.

Cindy tells Dennis the Marines must leave and to tell the government their secret has become a nightmare. Dennis heads to Building B, stopped by journalist Travis Miller, who reveals he has been undercover for five years. At Building B, Major Mike Madigan briefs Dennis that the Pentagon has decided to destroy the facility, requiring three detonators to be manually activated. After witnessing a mutated human drinking from a water tower, Madigan sends Dennis alone to activate the detonators.

Reception

Extermination received mixed or average reviews according to Metacritic. GameSpot and IGN praised its originality and minor improvements over Resident Evil-style gameplay, as well as the soundtrack and graphics, but criticized the awkward gameplay and voice acting, noting it did not top other survival horror releases. Famitsu gave it a score of 31 out of 40. Reviewers noted the storyline and setting resembled John Carpenter's The Thing, with some comparing the music to Ennio Morricone's score for that film, and others drawing comparisons to Carrier, Resident Evil, and the water effects from The Abyss.

Did You Know?

• The development was initially helmed by Tokuro Fujiwara, a general producer of the original Resident Evil, through his company Whoopee Camp prior to its dissolution.
• The beta version used polygonal character models before changes were made to non-polygonal models.
• Former members of the development team later joined Access Games.