Dementium: The Ward

Gamecock Media Group
$29.99

Dementium: The Ward is an unusual game for Nintendo DS, which is mostly dominated by Sudoku and cutesy Mario titles. It’s an unabashedly gruesome “First Person Survival Horror” game – meaning lots of zombies, lots of shocks, and little ammo or help from friends. It’s certainly reminiscent of the Resident Evil and Silent Hill franchises on other platforms.

The game takes good advantage of Nintendo DS’ unique but limited feature set. The dual screens are used effectively, and the stylus serves as an intuitive aiming device. The graphics are impressively complex for Nintendo’s humble little portable, but, unfortunately, the psychiatric ward setting is plain and becomes repetitive. Good use of the stereo speakers helps orient and immerse you in the world, but the overused groans and slurping noises get aggravating after a while.

The game is only a few hours long, but it’s a fun and solid experience. Dementium doesn’t have much replay value and lacks any multiplayer gameplay, but the story is solid enough to pull you along until the end. If you have a long holiday plane ride coming up, Dementium could make a perfect – and perfectly morbid – distraction until you touch down.

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This article appears in December 14 • 2007.

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