Resident Evil Deadly Silence brings the age old classic Playstation game to the DS along with some cool extras.
In this game, you either play as Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine, two members of Raccoon City's special STARS units. Lately, there have been strange incidences in Racoon City involving "Cannibal" attacks. STARS has been sent into the mountians to investigate, but things go wrong and you end up trapped in a mansion. From the point you enter the mansion, the mission is to find a way out...alive.
The graphics are a mixed bag. It's cool to see that a CD based game has been transferred over to the DS cart and look so well, but some videos look a bit washed out. It's nothing serious, but still noticable. Other than the difference with the video, the graphics are pretty much the same as the original version. The character's aren't all that well detailed, and neither is the envirnment. The characters look more like a bunch of blocks slapped together up close, but you forget about it once you start into the game. The envirnment varies between looking really good, and dull as dirt. In some areas you'll see some really nice lighting and detail in the walls and floor, and in others it looks more like a rushed art project. Basically the graphics aren't extremely good nor bad.
Gameplay is sort of the same as the original, but adds several new elements that are DS specific. You control your characters like tanks. You push up on the controller pad to make the character go forward and left and right to turn. This works well with the prerendered envirnment, but definately takes getting used to if you haven't played any of the previous Resident Evil games. Aiming and shooting are made far easier than the Playstation version, thanks to a quick lock on system to spot enemies in bad camera angles and those off in the unseen distance. The controls can take some getting used to, but it doesn't take very long to get them down. The only thing that's really odd about the controls is the wierd placement of "ok" and "cancel" buttons.
Overall, gameplay is done nicely, but the question remains; Is Resident Evil Deadly Silence scary? Suprisingly, the answer is yes. Even veteran RE players will get a jump here and there.
There are two different gameplay modes, Rebirth and Classic. Rebirth is mainly action and involves the DS features and Classic is the original game that was on the Playstation and involves more puzzle solving than action. Rebirth mode throws in a few interesting features, such as knifing and touch screen puzzle solving. Knifing is a minigame that'll come at you suddenly in certain areas and allows you to use the touch screen to direct your slashes on the zombie or other monster.
The game even has a multiplayer feature. You can either play Co-operatively or against each other. However, you really don't see your opponent or teammate at all in either mode. They're simply represented by stars on your map. Seems a bit odd since you cannot see your ally or opponent, but once you get used to it you won't notice too much.
The sound is ok when it comes to moans, music, and guns, but the voice acting is terrible. It's so bad to the point that it'll make you laugh. It's not half bad in some parts, but that's about as good as it gets. Once you get passed the crappy voice acting, you'll find that the rest of the in-game music and effects help to pull the scary atmosphere together.
Deadly Silence has enough value to keep you coming back even after you've completed the game. With the two modes, alternate stories for each, and a decent multiplayer, you'll come back to play even after you've beaten it.
Resident Evil: Deadly Silence manages to capture the feel and look of the Playstation version nicely, and throws a few extras in. This is a game for those that never got to enjoy the original, but people that have already played it will find something new and challenging with the Rebirth mode.