Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
| Developer: Capcom | Publisher: Capcom |
| Release Date: February 7, 2006 | Also On: None |
We all have moments in everyday life where we do something out of our normal routine where you say to yourself "wait a minute, I've done this or been here before." In video game terms, there's probably no better example (outside of simple games like Tetris or Pac-Man) for deja vu than Resident Evil. For some reason I feel like I've been to this mansion before. Oh yeah, besides being on the Nintendo DS now, this original Resident Evil was also on the original PlayStation and a remake on the Nintendo GameCube.
As most of you remember, Resident Evil on PlayStation wasn't very groundbreaking. It barely caused a ripple when it launched. It wasn't until Resident Evil 2, with its far superior graphics and catchy cut-scenes that the series became prominent. Resident Evil may very well be remembered best for its amateur video opening scene. It screamed low-budget 1980's horror flick That's about the budget Capcom put into Resident Evil DS.
No matter how we may feel about our first encounter with the mansion, Capcom took a keen interest in it, apparently. Launching on the GameCube in May 2002 (just a month before Nintendo's prolific earth-shattering Eternal Darkness), Resident Evil would be the first of six GCN Resident Evils; 2 original, 3 ports and one REmake. The REmake got instant acclaim, including from this site, for its visceral gameplay, heart-stopping spookiness, splendid graphics and sophisticated zombies called "Crimson Heads" that would chase you down.
With that sort of pretext to a game, you would likely think that another REmake would be foolishly unnecessary (you'd be right), and that if they absolutely had to, they'd at least base it off of the GameCube version. Unfortunately for us, they didn't take our advice on either, option to not just remake Resident Evil again, but also to base it off of the PlayStation version. You can see where all of this is leading...
One thing that the GameCube version didn't fix (but did improve) was the controls. Guess what? You're using a d-pad now, so I hope you like robotic movement of the mid-90's kind. Really, I thought we were passed this crap, with Resident Evil 4 setting a precedent for future Resident Evil releases, but Capcom is regressing back to the system that we love to loathe, not to mention the return of an inventory system (remember the magical inventory boxes?) and yes, ink ribbons.
What does the DS version have going for it? Well, not much, but it does use both screens, plus the touch-screen, though it doesn't use either of them particularly well. The map is present on one screen, while gameplay on another. You've got some touch-screen functionality, including slicing zombies, but this acts as a gimmick that reviewers railed the DS for in its infancy. With genuinely useful touch-screen mechanics being displayed in Kirby Canvas Curse and Metroid Prime: Hunters, Resident Evil DS could have made the touch-screen its major distinction, but it's more disappointing than distinguishable.
If you've not yet visited the mansion and do not own a Nintendo
GameCube, this portable offering on the Nintendo DS may be worth your
time. There's such little value here for diehards that this game is
almost an insult, especially in the wake of Resident Evil 4's
greatness. Coming from the Resident Evil fan that I am though, I
wanted out of this mansion faster than Chris and Jill.
| Graphics: | 6 |
| Sound: | 6 |
| Gameplay: | 4 |
| Creativity: | 4 |
| Replay Value/Game Length: | 7 |
| Final: | 5.2 |
| Written by Kyle | Review Guide |
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