This game surprised me... I'm not big on survival horror or FPS shooter games, but enjoyed Silent Hill on the PS1 and was intrigued to see how that format was translated to the small format of the DS, and how the touchscreen functionality would be utilised. I was impressed. The game offers the usual cliche for the genre: wake up in a hospital with no recollection of why you there, and everything is in darkness, blood splatters and hand prints all over the walls, screams in the night, and nobody else around (at least at first! If only it would stay that way!). And so you head out to make sense of your predicament... did you kill your wife? Are you halucinating? Are you a magnet for all that is evil? The graphics are smooth and clear, given that the majority of the game is played in the semi darkness, and this gloom is conveyed very effectively without simply turning off the backlight and making the player squint at the screen. Things in your immediate field of vision are clear enough that the DS can be held at a suitable playing distance, while things in the distance are shrouded in gloom and shadow and set the tone for this creepy game. Having said that, objects that you are unable to interact with, such as signs on the walls that are not meant to be read (ie: are not important to the plot and are so just background colour), door knobs, etc do become pixelated when looked at close up, but to be honest the average player will be so immersed in the experience that they will hardly be noticed. The one criticism I have about the graphics is that with the level of detail given to things like furniture, keys, telephones and beds, why did the (few) people (who are still alive that you come across) in the game have to look so artifial? Seeing a woman being dragged off down the hall by a massive monster with a meat cleaver for a hand means nothing if she is screaming out of the face of a shop window mannequin... The background music is annoying at the best of time, and should be turned down, because the atmospheric noises are more than enough to provide the last drop of creepy atmosphere necessary to make the hair stand up on the back of the average player's neck. All in all, this is a good title for those wanting a bit of a fright while on the go.
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Dementium: The Ward