freaky, freak, game. nice graphics, awesome sound, but thats doesnt dictate a game unfortunately
graphically speaking this game whoops some serious @55. no matter how heavy the action is on the top screen the game never lags or suffers any type of sulleness!! the game just clocks along fluidly as if its being powered by TWO ds's. and not only does the game flow smoothly it also looks amazing. alot of detail went into making this game visually appealing. theres a flashlight that you will need to weild throughtout the entire span of the game. and its not just there b/c its a horror game...but damn, you really need it. the flashlight actually produces true lighting effects so if you turn this object off, your gonna be smothered in thick darkness. its wonderful to see these "advanced" features take effect on the ds console b/c it makes it see waaaay more capable of just silly pOkemon graphics. but a flashlight is just a flashlight right...the artwork of the monsters and zombies is the real icing. they truly look like they feel out of some resident evil experiment gone even more array!!! flying medusa heads, cleaver weilding behemoths, chestless zombies, are all but a few of what you will encounter within the dark corridors of the derelict redmoor hospital. A+ from a graphical standpoint, but is that all of what a game is about!?!? nope!!
plug in your headphoes and experience some of the most atmospheric and blood curlding music ever produced out of a nintendo ds. this stuff will have you freakin' out at every corner. not only is the music ominous and errie it also sets the correct tone for the game. you wont hear any cheerful mario completion markers in this game...only a dark and slow soundtrack thats truly apt. the game doesnt stop there though..it would be a safe assumption to say that they gamecock wanted the game to sound as good as it looks. with that said you really have to listen. there are clues laid all around the unknown protagonist. you will never know what truly inside a doorway unless you wanna poke a head in and risk getting is clawed off by a ravenous demon zombie! but by listening you can set a better strategy to overcome the tyrannical monster, providing that there was a monster there in the first place O_O!! sound get a superb rank for unbelieveable execution on the portable.
gameplay is probably where hiccups are gonna occur. the movement is done with the d-pad ofcourse, and the aming is done on the bottom screen. all these are executed succesfully. but the one true pain of dementium is the level design. its painful to navigave and its somewhat repetitive. the map sux but it does mark room that are locked by either a code , or key, or other apparatus. and the save system!!! THE WORST THING I HAVE EVER WITNESSED IN A GAME PERIOD!! the game saves each time you enter a room. so automatically you think safe right....wrong....is you just so happened to get killed by one of the beautifully ugly monster, you have to start the ENTIRE chapter over. thats right, from the beginning. skipping all those senseless saves the game hit for and just teleports you back to grid one. a pain indeed. this feature actually made me put the game down for some time b/c i couldnt stand getting to the boss, dying, and starting from the beginning, without a fu**** map...totally sux!!! this one feature can easily lose value for players who dont have a patiencefor such idiocracy. i dont know what the hell development was thinking when they created this abyssmal save system...just as ugly as the demented creatures that lurk the hallways
all in all, its a pretty cool game. offering something more oriented torwards older ds players which is cool b/c i dont do pokemon. the sound and graphics are top notch, but a few short-comings with the save system and level design kinda retract from what could have been an awesome ds title. the game has no replay value or multiplater functions...so when your done, your done...until a continuation comes out. and if that happens maybe the wrinkles can iron out for what i believe will be the best horror game on the ds...final words...great game, terrible save, BUY IT, then sell it back!!! lol
Red Sovereign