Dementium II – The MMOMFG Review
Dementium II
Dementium II, a game billed as being so horrifying you might actually crap, or wee, your pants. Think I’m exaggerating? Please! I never exaggerate, and DII is definitely not a game for you if you find you are unable to pucker up in those tense, fright filled moments when the worst nightmares of the criminally insane (William Redmoor) come knocking at your screen. Luckily for me, an adult sized dipey arrived with our review copy, you know, just in case. Would said embarrassing turd catching device prove useful? Read on to find out…If you dare.
What’s Good
Gory Pixels - DII easily showcases some of the best graphics, and attention to detail, I think I have ever seen on a DS title. Walls splattered with blood, etchings in inmate cell blocks, and carefully constructed shadows and lighting features all lend themselves to creating a horrifying and beautifully destroyed environment. Every detail implemented, whether in real world or in the images that escape from Redmoor’s mind, serves to create an atmosphere, tone, and intensity matching that of the best in the horror/thriller gaming genre.
Smooth as a demon’s butt - I couldn’t get over the simplicity and comfort of the controls. Aside from the occasional miscue of jumping randomly (double tap feature), the controls and button scheme were extremely smooth and as a result, virtually had no learning curve. The incorporation of inventory in the touch screen allowed for practically no control layout memorization and as a result its players can jump right into to the hellish nightmare of Bright Dawn and the mind of Redmoor. While the melee mechanics were hit and miss (no pun intended) most of the time, and could stand to use some work, the FPS controls and mechanics were also among some of the best in my experience with the DS.
Scary Demons, and Weapons to Boot - It is always nice to see the imaginations of developers at work, no matter how disturbing they may be. This horror FPS won’t feature your run of the mill zombies or demons, but some of the most nasty and disturbing SOB’s I’ve encountered. Point in case, flesh rotting corpse strewn across a table with a chain-link running continuously through its torso with fun wisps of blood spurting out. Also, creepy flesh rotting dude with some kind of farked up mouth where the rib cage should be. The flesh-eating slugs trying to bite your toesies off aren’t all that cute or cuddly either. Two thumbs up for giving me the heebie-jeebies Renegade Kid. Luckily, the developers were also kind enough to give you a plentiful armory to blast those biddies in their ugly mugs with all kinds of weapons, ranging from an ever trusty shank to a fun little uzi.
What’s Bad
Where have I heard that song before? - Oh, that’s right, I’ve heard it for the past four hours of my romp through this hell hole. The music in DII quickly becomes a point of annoyance to the end where you might consider checking yourself in to Bright Dawn on your own bill. I am not aurally toned enough to tell whether or not the music is in fact repeating itself throughout the whole game, but I can hear well enough to know that the same high-intensity tones repeated themselves far too often. So much so, that I literally had to play in intervals, or turn music completely off, to keep my ears from bleeding.
We want ammo! - Another drawback to DII is the extremely limited supply of ammo that can be found around Bright Dawn. I suppose it makes sense though, as this is after all a mental facility for the criminally insane and leaving boxes of shotgun shells lying around probably isn’t the best of ideas, but this is a horror FPS damnit! Show me some lead! This was especially disappointing considering how solid the FPS mechanics were. But as a result of limited ammo supplies, I found I had to revert to meleeing my way through more of the game than I would have preferred.
Worth Remembering:
The bloodshed. Horror titles are always remembered by the amount of blood spilled and body parts dismembered. Dementium II again ranks among the best with its display of bloodshed so plentiful that it literally spills onto the pages of the included manual.
Worth Forgetting:
Puzzles and riddles that are almost as horrifying as the hellish beasts roaming the halls of Bright Dawn. Not all, but a couple of the puzzle/riddle “sections” have you backtracking and circling like it’s your job. Maybe I am not as competent in my puzzle solving abilities as much as I’d like to think, but there were a couple of occasions where I had to quite literally walk away for fear of hurling my DS; particularly when I realized I had to retrace my steps one too many times, something I am no huge fan of.
Renegade Kid absolutely showed its guts (to us) in this action packed and often times adrenaline filled horror FPS. The shortcomings mentioned herein are easily dismissible and don’t necessarily take away from the overall experience so don’t let blood curdling music keep you from missing out on a rather enjoyable DS game. While this eerie title wasn’t crazy scary to the point where I wee’d or crapped myself, at least that’s the story I’m sticking with, it did have me muttering WTF on several occasions. If you are a fan of the first Dementium title, you will absolutely love this follow up. If you haven’t had the pleasure of playing the first, you will still probably love this follow up. If you don’t like it you are most likely certifiably insane. Just remember, “about 5/6th of the world’s population knowingly suffers from some form of psychosis. The other 1/6th suffer as well, but just don’t know it” (Dementium II manual).
*MMOMFG was provided a review copy of Dementium II for the DS from the developer
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Nice one.
