DS Review: Dementium: The Ward

People have wondered if videogames can really scare you. Not only that, but regarding portable gaming the chances decrease considerably, keeping in mind the structure of play and the limits of the system. On the DS side, Resident Evil DS and Touch the Dead have tried to creep out players, and they succeeded to some degree. If you’re familiar with the PlayStation classic or turned down by Touch the Dead’s low-res graphics, though, something is missing; a game that really feels scary. Enter Dementium: The Ward, Renegade Kid’s entry on DS survival-horror titles. With great 3D visuals and excellent atmospheric sound, Dementium is quite creepy and a great DS experience, although with some flaws here and there.

The game starts you off in an eerie blacked-out hospital. Pouring rain outside and an evacuation radio message is all you hear. Close to you is a notebook with something written on it; “Why did you do it?”. It’s up to you to find out exactly what in the world is going on, as blood trails and destroyed objects signal that something is wrong. Oh, and there’s zombies and monstrous creatures lurking around as well. Dementium does a great job of introducing its core premise right at the start, building tension and familiarizing players with the game’s controls and layout. Stylus controls change your viewing angle while the D pad or face buttons allow you to move; spot-on control system. Soon enough you find a map of the hospital and a trusty flashlight. You can easily change between available items by tapping them, and pressing either shoulder button to use them.

Dementium is your typical survival FPS. You run around the many rooms and floors of the hospital, shooting down zombies and monsters with hopes of staying alive. You can find ammunition for a variety of weapons, including handguns, shotguns, and a sniper rifle. You can also find health to recover damage, but health and ammo cannot be stored, so make sure to grab them when you really need them and keep track of where they are. As the game progresses you will also find some puzzles blocking your way, such as having to find a key or entering a code on a keypad. Gameplay is fun, and the overall dark tone of the environments will keep you guessing what’s ahead. Unfortunately, most of the game is very similar in design, with rooms and corridors all seemingly identical with little variation. Not a huge deal, but after a few hours of play the game feels just a bit repetitive.

Creatures in the game include your typical zombie, frantic for flesh but easy to kill. Roaches and evasive baby wards will crawl at you and attack, and flying screaming heads and crawling half-bodies will make you run for your life. As the game’s chapters move on you will find more heavy-duty weaponry, but at some points it’s best to run and survive. Dementium also includes some interesting boss fights, and overall enemies perform well; just make sure to use your ammo wisely and keep a good amount ready. Trust us; you don’t want to be killed. If you do, you will be forced to start over from the beginning of a chapter. This ‘save’ method could be considered hardcore, but also frustratingly harsh to many. The game should take less than ten hours to complete, but having to restart some chapters will likely expand play time, although in a frustrating way.

Many of the game’s ‘kudos points’ come from its presentation. Gorgeously gory visuals push the DS graphics engine to great extents. No matter how many enemies are on screen, gameplay remains smooth and flawless. Attention to detail and an overall creepy design easily make up for the repetitiveness of the level environments. Dementium’s soundtrack is also good, with great-sounding atmospheric elements such as your enemies’ growls and your own heartbeat. This is all put together with some ‘terroresque’ piano tracks. Dementium is a pleasure to look at and listen to.

A ‘hardcore’ save system that is quite frustrating shouldn’t stop you from giving Dementium a try. With top-of-the-line graphics / audio and a creepy atmosphere, this game ranks up pretty well. Do yourself a favor and play it after dark with headphones; you won’t need a clean pair of underwear handy, but your play experience will be quite memorable.

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