The names of genre pioneers are invoked, invariably, whenever new ventures even remotely related to the groundbreaker are released. For a while, any fighting game conjured up comparisons to Street Fighter and any first person shooter brought about visions of Castle Wolfenstein. After a spell, the later games of repute distinguish themselves enough to become the new standard bearers. In the case of fighting games, Virtua Fighter took it one dimension beyond and Quake redefined the FPS. In other parts of the gaming landscape, horror-action moves beyond the first shuffling steps of Bio-Hazard and ramps higher with the likes of Onimusha, Devil May Cry and today's little one.
   Extermination blows past the standards set by Bio-Hazard and plays more like a Tomb Raider although one vexing element from BH remains: Push the main character into a wall or obstruction and he'll keep going, mindless of the fact that walls are impermeable. Extermination is purely action oriented and real time - it won't take your man effort to climb a crate, he'll scoot up there without abandon and shooting is second nature. Firing at targets with pinpoint accuracy is also aided by a gun sight which overwhelms the screen and focuses in on minute details. This scope function gives snipers a bead at hanging pods or other small things that you'd otherwise miss in the general game view. Monster battling commences in arcade fashion with your man running around, gunning, rotating, and aiming at the creature. All the while, the beast will attempt to knock you out, although some are fairly stationary when you're attacking them. They'll flail once in a while to let you know they're still alive and need more hurtin' to succumb. Extermination plays well enough and takes the horror game a step higher; it also serves to placate the pangs for messy, bloody action until Devil May Cry ships.