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First Look: Dementium: The Ward for Nintendo DS
November 3, 2007
Let me preface this article by letting you know that I’m not really a fan of the survival horror genre of games. I’ve played a bit of Resident Evil 4 on the PS2, and while I enjoyed it, I certainly didn’t see why it was “game of the year” for so many media outlets. Having said that though, I can now say after playing quite a bit of Dementium for the Nintendo DS that the problem for me is not that I simply don’t like horror games, but that until now the right game simply hadn’t come along that could make me truly enjoy the genre.
The story of Dementium so far is relatively simple, and almost cliche in some ways: you wake up in a mental hospital with no memory of why or how I got there. This isn’t a safe and calming place however; an alarm klaxon is blaring, a disembodied voice is telling everyone to evacuate the building, and when I leave my room I find that the corridor has been trashed, with debris everywhere. After a bit of exploration I gather a few tools to help me in my quest both to escape the building and figure out exactly what is going on—a flashlight, a map, and a weapon in the form of a nightstick liberated from a fallen security guard.
No other game has actually scared me until now, and there have already been several moments during my experience with Dementium that I genuinely got chills. Not out and out terror mind you, but a definite creepy feeling that makes me feel that I’m really a part of the game, instead of someone merely mashing buttons without any emotional connection to the gameplay. Some of that is due to the graphics, which perfectly convey the creepy atmosphere. The developers paid a lot of attention to the details, and it shows—especially in the way the flashlight illuminates just enough to let you see where you’re going, but not enough to remove your fear of what may be lurking in the shadows. But most of that immersive feeling can attributed to the amazing sound design for this game. There is background music, but it is very low and definitely part of the background, where it belongs.
The protagonist’s health is measured by a heartbeat; when in good health the rhythm is normal, but when injured or in critical condition the heartbeat gets progressively faster. This simple mechanic helps to increase tension and anxiety, drawing the player further into the game’s atmosphere. As you explore the various floors of the seemingly abandoned hospital, you encounter a variety of enemies, including zombie-like creatures, strange creatures that are apparently the result of experiments gone horribly wrong, and bizarre screaming things that fly at you from nowhere. Each creature has a signature sound effect; when you hear that heavy, breathy groan, you know that a zombie is nearby, and your next few steps become more fearful as you try to determine where it is.
Movement is controlled with the directional buttons, with the stylus determining aim and direction. Your flashlight and weapons are controlled with the shoulder buttons; the left allows you to switch quickly between the last two, and the right button is how you use your weapon or turn the flashlight off and on. The action unfolds on the upper screen of the DS, the bottom screen has the heart monitor, plus buttons to access the map (if you’ve picked one up for the area you’re currently exploring), items (keys, access cards, etc.), the notepad (where you can take notes to help you solve puzzles), and the options screen. You can switch to left-handed controls, allowing lefties (like me) to use the stylus in the left hand and the A/B/X/Y buttons on the right side for movement, left/right strafing, etc. The controls work perfectly, though they took a little getting used to for me, since they seem similar to a first person shooter, a genre that I actively dislike (due to my lack of talent with that type of game!)
My only complaint so far is a very small one, regarding the save system. I can save and quit at any time, but if you do so in the middle of a chapter you will start at the beginning of the chapter if you end up dying in the game. In some ways this makes sense because it helps preserve that all-important creepy atmosphere, instead of merely tossing you right back into the game at the exact spot you left it. So while it can cause a bit of unnecessary backtracking, I understand why the developers made that choice. I also appreciate the fact that there is no real tutorial level here that could take away from the atmosphere of the game. When you first wake up, you are prompted with a few basics about how to move, but otherwise you are left to figure things out entirely for yourself. I’ve only run across a couple of puzzles so far, and they’re both clever without being frustrating.
As you can probably tell, I am truly enjoying this game so far and can definitely recommend this title to anyone, even if they may not consider themselves to be a fan of the survival horror genre. One word of warning—this game is quite gory and is definitely not for kids, though I expect that older teens would enjoy it if their parents find it appropriate for them. I’m very glad to see some more mature content for the Nintendo DS; I love platforming and puzzle games, but the DS does have a (somewhat justified) reputation as a “kiddie” handheld. And I can’t wait to continue exploring this creepy setting and learn exactly what is going on in Redmoor Mental Hospital. Now where did I put that trusty flashlight…
