Dementium: The Ward

Dementium: The Ward is a First Person Shooter made exclusively for the Nintendo DS. It's a survival horror game that has a blend of such popular titles like Doom 3 and Silent Hill, just like what the front cover says. While it contains such creepy elements as the mentioned games but it somehow lacks certain aspects that make it worth playing.  

The game lets you begin as a nameless male individual who has no clue of his identity, his whereabouts and his current situation. You wake up from the bed only to find yourself in a dark room with lightning storm cracking at your window. The first item you find is a notepad lying on the floor which a message written on it that reads "why did you do it?" Inside the notepad is a small key which unlocks the door leading out of this room. As you leave, you realize that you're in a hospital that appears to be abandoned...and haunted. The dark hallways and rooms are filled with hideous creatures and other revolting experiments gone wrong...or right, depending on how you look at it. One life. One chance. You must uncover the secret the hospital embraces and hopefully find your way out of Redmoor Hospital. 

As described before, Dementium borrows some elements from other notable survival horror games but it manages to utilize them properly turning it into an original title. You have the dark and creepy atmosphere for the levels with some grainy noise filter which adds some spice to your first person perspective. The flashlight is the next item you'll find and this helps to penetrate the darkness. While this may not be used as a weapon, but it gives such realistic and amusing clicking sound when you turn it on or off. Speaking of weapons, you'll find many weapons at your disposal despite being in a hospital of all places. You have the Nightstick which is basically a wooden baton. Next you have the standard pistol, a shotgun, an electric buzzsaw and more. All standard issue of course. Choosing the right weapon in each encounter is important as certain enemies come in groups or need more damage to be inflicted. 

Navigation is another of importance as the hospital is huge and it's easy to get lost. Make sure you find maps for each floors you enter for the convenience of your safety. Other obstacles to pass through are the puzzles. There are not that difficult but it may require some memorizing for each attempt. That's when your notepad comes in handy as you can jot down anything you want to help you remember. In terms of audio, I give it two thumbs up. The music is definitely creepy but it's got some charm to it which I think is the star of the show. The sound effects is also something to praise for especially the clicking sound of your flashlight. I just love it! It's just so nice to play with it. The enemies are pretty cool too in its own right but some can be quite a nuisance to dispose of especially some of the boss battles. 

Dementium: The Ward is a very cliche game but overall, Renegade Kid manages to turn this game into an original title, making it extremely enjoyable and also pretty scary. However, the game does have its flaws. The first problem is its length. Dementium is an incredibly short game and rewards you with nothing but a bad ending. Obviously, I'm not gonna spoil it to you if you haven't played it yet but for one thing, the ending doesn't explain anything. It's really a shame because it leaves you disappointed after all the build up it had from the beginning of the game. The second problem is its replay value. After finishing the game with a questionable ending you think you'd unlock new features like unlimited ammo or hard mode or even something but no. After the credits roll down, the game takes you back to them main menu without any score results or any unlockable features whatsoever. Damn rewarding huh, after the trouble you had to go through? All the hard work for nothing.  

The third problem is the difficulty. Dementium isn't a hard game but what's really annoying is that once you die in a certain part of the game, you don't start back where you left off. Instead, you start back at the beginning of the chapter. Some checkpoints would've helped and if that's not enough, the enemies respawn back in rooms that you've already been in so what's the point of killing them in the first place? If the game rewards you with something after each kill then it's ok but here it's like what the hell? And lastly is the stage layout. You start off at the top floor of the hospital and the goal is to descend down to the main exit but all the rooms, hallways and wards look exactly the same. Sure, one floor is the nursery department and the other is a cafeteria but for the most part, they look identical to one another. Now that's just being lazy. 

Bottom line, Dementium: The Ward isn't a bad game but it's these flaws that may not appeal to everyone. Personally, I think it's a great game for being ambitious and awesome. The flaws may be noticeable but the intense atmosphere and hauntingly soothing audio will help you to forgive them as you play. Just the idea of having an FPS game like this seems impossible for the Nintendo DS but the developers manage to squeeze it in and I applaud them for that. Sure, Metroid has already done it but this one's different. The controls in Dementium is tightly responsive and spot on. It really feels natural moving around with the stylus but your fingers may feel numb after using the L/R buttons to shoot or switch weapons. 

This game deserves to be in your gaming collection or your survival horror library. If you haven't had the chance to play Dementium: The Ward yet I'd say, "what are you waiting for?" Go and get it now.