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Product: Dementium: The Ward
Company: Gamecock Media
Date: 07/19/2007
Avaliable On:

Dementium: The Ward, being developed by newcomers Renegade Kid and published by Gamecock Media, aims to hit a niche on the Nintendo DS not really being tapped right now – FPS/survival horror mature rated games. Imagine awakening in a hospital, not knowing how you got there. Now, imagine that you aren’t alone, but instead, the halls and rooms are populated with revolting creatures, victims of twisted experiments that have taken place in said hospital. And they aren't happy about it, not one bit. Can you escape with your life? That, my friend, is the question.

In Dementium, you’ll use the touch screen to make your way through the environments, solving puzzles and fighting the many abominations who seek to rid you of your pesky little life. You’ll find weapons such as a pistol, shotgun and bone-saw and you’ll also have a flashlight to help you navigate, but you can’t use the flashlight at the same time that you have the weapon equipped, so it ups the ante a bit.

You’ll find health packs scattered around - after all, you are in a hospital. You’ll have a Notepad for keeping track of important info you come across. You’ll pick up different items as you progress and if course, there’s a handy map. In the area I was testing out, I came to a locked and coded door and was able to find the key code in a different area of the hospital and this was the perfect spot to jot down the info in your Notepad. Of course, I am hardcore, so I just memorized the code. :P

Although the way you need to grip the DS did not come second nature to me – it was sort of a “Vulcan Death Grip” if you will – this game has definite possibilities for those of us who love a good FPS and/or survival horror. We really haven’t seen much in the way of mature horror on the little DS and this just might be the kick in the pants it needs.

Psibabe aka Ashley Perkins

GameVortex PSIllustrated