Game Review 12: Resident Evil Deadly Silence

The original Resident Evil 1 from the PlayStation 1 makes its arrival to the DS system, but before jumping into this game, just ask yourself, how many time have you played it before? Sure, Resident Evil DS has both the unchanged version of RE 1 and a slightly modified version that utilises the touch screen. There is also multiplayer, but are all these little things worth every of your penny? Before picking up my copy of RE DS, I was a stranger to the RE franchise. I have never played a single RE game before, so I pounced on RE DS immediately after it was released, thinking that it was another RE 4 but to my ultimate horror, this game is a failure in almost every aspect, especially the controls. Instead of using the analogue stick to control movement and aiming, which you will be familiar with nowadays, I found myself pressing angrily at the D-pad, which is what you press for movement and aiming. Can you imagine aiming with a stupid D-pad? It is so slow and fustrating. To make matters worse, while you are aiming, your chracter cannot move a single inch, making it very vulnerable to fast enemies like the crows and hounds, which you will find very difficult killing, thanks to the D-pad! RE DS eventually becomes inplayable in the later stages because the opposition gets stronger and more in numbers. That is when the D-pad cannot handle it anymore. Please do not be alarmed if your character has to die endless times. Just be careful not to throw your DS on the floor and pull your hair in fustration. In both the classics mode (RE 1) and the rebirth mode (slightly modified), the very dated graphics remain unchanged, which is a total let down. The inventory menu also has an antique feel, so old, that you will start feeling nostalgic. The only good one is the audio, which has an eerie feeling so that the game does not feel so boring and meaningless. The touch screen puzzles are quite simple and no credits for it. The puzzles are just a minor part of the game, although it decides the difference between being stuck in a level and progressing at times. The opposition is few in variety, and so do the weapons, making the game worse! You will also find yourself running out of ammo quite often. Overall, RE DS is bad, very badly done, I mean. It needs change! For gamers wanting to seek thrill and fun out of RE DS, fat hope! Stay away from this nonsense -- unless you are a true RE fan and you want to break the records for playing the most RE games, of course. I want my money back for this haphazard-quality game!

Overall score: 6.7/10
Platform available: Nintendo DS
Games with lower (passing) scores: Burnout Revenge (6.5/10), WWE WrestleMania 21 (5.5/10)