Resident Evil: Deadly Silence

"The DS brings what old school Resident Evil fans needed: A great port of a great game."

When the original Resident Evil first dropped into our PlayStations in 1996, the experience was unforgettable. There was nothing like making your way through a haunted mansion, blasting off zombie heads with your pump-action shotgun, and looking for that elusive key with a helmet engraved on it. The RE franchise went on to spawn a countless number of sequels. Resident Evil 2 put the franchise's name in lights. Resident Evil 3 had you yelling your head off as you were chased down by the Nemesis. And Resident Evil 4 won countless "Game of the Year" awards and turned on millions to the series. But ten years after the original was released in 1996, a DS Resident Evil was announced. Would the small system be able to capture the magic of the horror-inducing console lineup?

It ends up this way: If you played the original Resident Evil, you've (mostly) played Resident Evil: Deadly Silence. Because that's exactly what it is. A handheld port of the original game. But how well did the port go?

Flawlessly.

I can't find any glitches or problems with the engine that the original didn't have. It is, essentially, a perfect port of Resident Evil with a load of new features and touch screen capabilities. Therefore, I will review the game from the main menu to the game itself, explaining both the game and the new features. I won't spoil anything major, as I am assuming you have never played this game before. (If you have, just check the BONUS FEATURES section.)

Ready? Go!

ENTER THE HORROR

The game starts out with an FMV movie of Chris walking down a hallway with some creepy ambience in your ears. (Assuming your wearing headphones, which I strongly suggest.) He then turns around to see something approaching and lets out a blood curdling yell, the screen goes black and we see a large blood splash, and the camera zooms in on poor Chris' eye, only to have RESIDENT EVIL get slammed onto it. This sets the mood well for the game to come.

You then have your choice of New Game, Load Game, Multi-Card Play (New feature.), and Options. The options menu lets you choose your style of controls, the blood color (Green or red.), and the DS mic sensitivity, which will be needed for certain puzzles. Selecting New Game presents an ominous "RESIDENT EVIL. DS." in your ears, and lets you select your character. This port left nothing out, seeing as you can choose between Jill and Chris.

Pick your character and check out the opening FMV sequence, which, unlike the console version, is now presented in Grayscale. This may be due to a memory shortage or censorship, but it is actually a lot scarier when presented this way rather than in full color. I won't spoil the video for you, but I will tell you that it is the exact same one from the original Resident Evil, in all its glory.

You then watch the in-game dialogue scenes and finally get to play.

THE RUNDOWN

The graphics in the handheld port look just as they were, and for 1996 (and even today!), they were amazing. The mansion looks almost like a series of photographs, and the characters are rendered nicely, even nicer than the console version. The FMV sequences look nice on the DS, and even though they may seem slightly pixelated or fuzzy, they were just like that on the PlayStation. That being said, the slight quality fuzziness almost makes the atmosphere even more frightening. Seeing a first-person FMV of a zombie walk down photo-realistic steps doesn't seem very frightening to me. Animations are fluid, zombie still shuffle slowly and ominously, spiders still have the jerky, alert motion of real spiders, and in-game cut scenes look nice. The DS doesn't subtract at all from the RE image.

Graphics: 10/10

The musical score is amazing. Once again, still as crisp as the PlayStation. The music ranges from the unnerving ambience of the mansion, to the cold, spine-tingling tunes heard when something really bad is about to happen (or is happening). Boss music almost seems to pump adrenaline into your fingers, making you afraid and determined at the same time, just the bosses probably would in real life. Nothing like a killer plant to start your day, huh?

The zombie moans and groans have you trigger happy, looking for them around every corner, listening for their shuffling footsteps. Gun sounds are realistic cracks from your barrel, from the slight PANG of your handgun, to the deep BOOSH of your shotgun. As zombies trek further left of your player, their moans will be heard in the left speaker, which is definitely a nice touch. The voice acting, however, is hilariously bad; just as it was ten years ago. But it still has the nostalgic B-Movie feel. The voice acting can be considered comic relief from the tension of the mansion, because you were almost a "Jill sandwich".

Sound: 10/10

Gameplay is where this game really shines. Your assigned action button lets you pick up and use items, and choose commands in your inventory screen. But, holding 'R' gives your action button a whole different job. Shooting. Yes, getting to blow these monsters back into a wall until they either moan and die or yell in agony. A new feature in the DS edition is your knife. Of course, the knife was in the original version as well, but it had to be equipped in place of your gun and took up space in your inventory. In Deadly Silence, however, the knife is always equipped to your 'L' trigger, and is used just like your gun. A very nice touch. The isometric camera angles may confuse you when it comes to walking with the D-pad, but walking in relation to your character and forgetting the camera becomes second nature after a while. The run button is still there, and is surely handy when trying to save ammo. Save states are placed in 'save rooms', where typewriters are your key to saving. In order to use the typewriter, however, you must have an ink ribbon, which can sometimes be found next to the typewriter or in various places in the game. This makes you think through your saves and plan them out, so you don't get caught without a ribbon. Save rooms also include 'item boxes'. Seeing as your inventory is small, you can put down items you don't need or can't carry in an item box. What ever you put in the box gets transferred to all other item boxes in the game. Unrealistic, but thankfully forgiving.
Gameplay is fun, easy, and easy to learn.

Gameplay: 10/10

The game is an unforgettable experience, from the mansion, to the guardhouse, to the underground tunnels, and the final climax when all the clues come together and the boss fight is endured, you will surely feel the need to run through again and again, trying to master the puzzles and what to pick up and put down. This goes for both scenarios, which both include alternate paths and decisions that must be made. Play through again and you may experience totally different cutscenes, and your choices affect whether everyone dies or everyone lives. You may spend a good deal of time just trying to get the best ending. Beating the game also rewards you with things, such as a key which opens a room in the mansion that you couldn't open before, and a mini game which I will cover in the next section. I love running through the game, just because of the rush it gives you as you run from monsters and battle bosses. You'll be playing this one more than once.

Replay Value: 10/10

BONUS FEATURES

The DS adds some great new features to the already great game. The knife, as I mentioned, is now much more efficient and easy to use seeing as it is always equipped to the 'L' trigger and takes up no space in the inventory. The game also uses an auto target system, which automatically points you at the nearest enemy when you activate a weapon with either 'L' or 'R'. A big feature I haven't mentioned is that there are actually two different modes to choose from: Classic and Rebirth. Classic is a perfect port of the original game, while Rebirth adds in DS capabilities. Rebirth has you solving new puzzles with the touch screen and DS microphone, while Classic keeps the puzzles as they were. Rebirth also randomly throws in knife fights with the touch screen, which has you slashing away at zombies with your stylus. This adds a new experience to the game, but can also be omitted if old-school gamers don't like it. Beating the game on Rebirth mode unlocks a mini game called 'Master of Knifing', which is an almost arcade-type game which pits you in extended and difficult knife fights, unlike the small ones in the actual game. The DS version also adds a multi-card style multiplayer mode, which can be either Co-op or Versus. This is great fun when you can round a bunch of friends together for a zombie slugfest. Clearing certain conditions also unlocks a plethora of characters in the multiplayer mode, with people in the storyline who were never playable before.

Overall, the bonus features make the game fresh and even more exciting, but can easily be omitted with Classic mode, or simply not played.

Bonus Features: 10/10

BUY? RENT? STAY AWAY?

Resident Evil DS is an outstanding port of the original Resident Evil, with a truckload of new features that can be used or omitted. For those looking for Resident Evil on the go, you have found it. This is a must-buy for fans of the original, or even those who haven't played it.

Final Score: 10/10

"What?! What is this...?"

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/11/08

Game Release: Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (US, 02/07/06)