"Exactly what the DS needed"

Okay gamers, imagine this: You wake up in a hospital. There is blood everywhere. Why are you here? Is anyone else here? what's going on? It's pitch black and you can't see a thing, you find a flashlight and turn it on and the first thing you see is a grotesque creature at the end of the hallway that is running straight towards you! Enter Dementium: The Ward.

Gameplay: In this game the gameplay is fairly repetitive: walk around, kill stuff, puzzle, boss, next chapter, repeat. But I actually make it sound worse than it is. While you do all the walking around and killing things you're constantly being scared by long dark corridors, blood stained walls, and yes, even the occasional eerie bathroom. The game will keep you guessing what will happen next at the end of each chapter. The real thing I want to get to, however, is the horrible, horrible save system, one of this game's few flaws. You'll get to the end of a chapter. be steps away from the boss, and BOOM! A zombie come's out and kills you! Now I know what you're thinking "psh, who cares? I mean there are checkpoints after all." Ha ha! No. You're goin' right back to the beginning of that chapter. Have fun.

Controls: Nice controls in this game. I say this because you only use two buttons: D-pad and R button, and the DS stylus. You'll use the stylus to look around/ aim, and the D-pad to move. R button shoots your weapons. Leftys will use the buttons on the right of the DS to move and the L button to shoot. Not to shabby.

Graphics: This game is probobaly the best looking game I have seen for the DS. From the blood stained walls to the scary creatures that lurk in the darkness I was never disappointed. The DS has never been scarier.

Sound: The music in this game plays a big part of why it is so genuinaly frightening. The music in this game is very "silent Hill esque". As for the ambience sounds they're just "okay" the gun shots are a little fuzzy sounding and the buzz saw is just annoying. Minor flaws though.

The game overall is very good despite what a lot of people say. The graphics are stunning for DS, and after all the kiddie games on DS I think that a nice M-rated survival horror is just what the DS needed. I give Dementium: The Ward a 7/10.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/30/08

Game Release: Dementium: The Ward (US, 10/26/07)