Touch the Dead

"A Great Filler"

Official Plot Summary:
Imagine waking up in the middle of the night, your cell door wide open, good luck or bad luck? Where are the guards? Why is it so silent? Is fate on your side? You stand on the cold damp floor, your nightmare about to begin. A gun lays beside you. One thing is certain, you're gonna need that weapon! You take your first steps then…you pull the trigger! You are faced by an army of zombies, baying for your blood! Lets face it. You don't want to end up like them do you? There's only one solution, keep pulling that trigger!… Find the truth to this nightmare. Where are the clues? Are there others like you? A survivor perhaps?

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Dead 'n' Furious is a survival shooter-on-rails. You control only your weapons as the game moves your character through the dark jail. The game is well-made with great sound effects and gameplay, but a somewhat un-original story and boring graphics.

[Gameplay: 8]
Dead 'n' Furious plays just like your favorite rails shooter at the arcade. Use the stylus to get shoot zombies, get headshots and open doors (by shooting control buttons). Weapons are changed by using the D-pad (one weapon is assigned to each direction). Reloading your weapon involves dragging an on-screen clip onto your gun, which while initially fun, quickly becomes tedious as you start dropping the ammo accidentally while you're in a hurry. While the game is a little difficult, you'll quickly become addicted and find yourself playing for hours.

[Sound: 8]
The sound effects and music make good use of the Nintendo DS' speakers. The music is particularly brilliant, but the sound effects could have been better. It's not exactly Doom 3.

[Graphics: 7]
The graphics are boring and dull, but not too bad. Just could have been improved a lot. The texture of the walls and floor, etc are quite well done, but lack the lighting effects that made the original Doom series looks so good. The character textures are quite disappointingly pixelated, but still turned out okay.

[Story: 7]
The story to Dead 'n' Furious isn't particularly awesome and feels like a half-assed attempt to combine Wolfenstein 3D and Dawn of the Dead. In summary, it involves you waking up in jail to find your cell door open. Upon leaving your cell and finding a gun you end up facing hoardes of zombies. The story could have been a lot better.

[Lastability: 8]
Dead 'n' Furious is a game you'll want to keep playing. It's perfect at parties and you can just pick it up and play. The game is also great for filling in between the huge releases like Final Fantasy III and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.

[Overall: 8]
Dead 'n' Furious is an excellent attempt to bring back on-rail shooters. The game is so perfect for the DS it puts Point Blank DS to shame. The only real downside is the graphics, which could easily have been improved. Better lighting effects would also make the game so much more enjoyable.

I'd recommend Dead 'n' Furious to just about anyone who likes shooting games. The way the game moves for you makes it perfect for younger players, although the game is somewhat violent.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/11/07