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Using more of my own reviews from my own site.
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Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (NDS)
"It's not just a poisonous snake... IT'S A MONSTER!"
The original Resident Evil has been remade time and time again, in order to keep up with new trends and technology in the gaming world. First, there was the original game, Resident Evil for the PS1. Then came Resident Evil: Directors Cut for the PS1, which added a few minor upgrades that really didn't warrant buying the game if you had the original. Next, there was the Resident Evil remake for the GCN, which changed all the graphics, added new chunks of story, and was actually pretty cool. Also, keep in mind, somewhere during this time, there was going to be a Gameboy Color version of the game, which was about 50% complete when it got cancelled. Now, Nintendo has once again tried to take the original RE and bring it to their new portable. This time, they have succeeded, and have given us Resident Evil: Deadly Silence for the Nintendo DS. If you're keeping count, this makes this the third time the game has been remade. And you know what? It might be time to STOP REMAKING RE1.
The plot hasn't changed one bit. You have your STARS BRAVO team sent in to investigate a series of bizare murder cases in Raccoon Forest. STARS HQ loses contact with the BRAVO team chopper, and decides to send in STARS ALPHA team. The team consists of Jill Valentine (Hawt babe), Chris Redfield (Tough soldier type), Barry Burton (Fat guy with a magnum), Albert Wesker (Wears sunglasses indoors), Joesph Frost (Gets killed in the first 3 minutes), and Brad Vickers (Grade A p***y in charge of flying the chopper). After discovering the BRAVO chopper abandoned, the ALPHA team is attacked by strange creatures, which turn out to be zombie dogs. So, they take a bite out of Joesph Frost like Scruff Mc. Gruff took a bite out of crime. Brad, being the ******** PANSY he is, flies off and leaves the team to fend for themselves. They run into a mansion, where they think they are safe. Little did they know, zombie dogs weren't the only problem they would have to deal with. And so, the stage is set for the rest of the game. Your objectives are to find whatever's left of the BRAVO team, and get the hell out of the mansion alive.
"That was too close. You were almost a Jill Sandwich!"
You may be wondering why there are quotes scattered about my review. Well, I actually have a reason to do so. If you do recall, the original RE was infamous for it's cheesy voice-acting and cutscenes, which seemed like something out of a student film or crappy B horror movie. Guess what? They're back in all their cheesy glory. Yes, once again, we can enjoy all the cheesy dialouge and bad acting from days long past. We can once again sit down in front of our game, pick up a Jill sandwich, and watch the cutscenes in all their horrible, horrible glory.
The revival of the old voice and cutscenes is the start of a common theme in the game: Out with the new, back in with the old. You see, the voice acting and film clips aren't the only thing they brought back. All the old graphics, level designs, still the same as they were when the game as first released. Well, actually, that's not entirely true. The game has two different gameplay modes. There's the unaltered original game, without a single change in it, but there's also a "rebirth" mode, which changes around some of the levels, adds all new puzzles, more zombies, 3D knife-battles, and a bunch of other goodies. But still, you just won't be able to shake the feeling that you're playing a game from 1997, even with the new gameplay elements.
What is the same, no matter which mode you're playing, is the two different stories you can choose to play through. You can play as Chris Redfield, who sports a larger amount of health, runs really fast, partners up with Rebecca Chambers, but only has 6 inventory slots to store items in. Or, you can play as Jill Valentine, who has lower health, runs at an average speed, but has the ability to lockpick certian doors, partners up with Barry Burton, and has 2 extra inventory slots. It is reccomended for newbies to play as Jill, as her game is said to be easier.
"Give me a chance to play nice guy!"
One thing that caught my attention: The knife. Not only do you get a cool first-person knife-combat mode to play around with, but in the normal mode when your just walking around and stuff, the knife is always at hand. No longer does it waste a spot in your inventory. And now, it's actually useful. That's right, I said it. The knife can actually help you at times. It does some actual damage to your enemies now, and is helpful when you're running low on ammo or want to conserve bullets. Hell, it's actually possible to get through the first half of the game without expending a single clip of ammo. But why do that? You wanna' blast those zombie bastards away with shotguns! Am I right? M I RITE!?
Well, before you do that, you're going to have to learn how to deal with the excrutiating camera angles! You see, like all the other RE titles that aren't Resident Evil 4 or the God-awful Gun Survivor, the camera doesn't move around with you. Instead, when you walk into a room, you're treated to a still picture to move around in. You move the character around, but the camera doesn't move with you. Whenever you enter a new section or room, the camera chooses another point to camp at. So, you'll be getting such lovely camera angles as "the view from the opposite corner of the room", "looking down at the character from the ceiling", and "looking right into the character's back, blocking where you need to check for monsters". The fans defend the camera angles by saying that it's all part of the horror movie theme, what with all the unpredictable angles and camera locations. But in the end, nothing can justify walking into a room by walking north, then having the camera flip around 180 degrees so you start walking south, right back into where you just came from. It's an acquired taste, I suppose.
"Now it's Wesker's turn to dissapear..."
You'll be facing a wide assortment of enemies. You'll be pitted against slow-moving zombies, rabid zombie dogs on crack, giant spiders... green-ish things... uhm... ... some weird grey thing that hangs from the ceiling... ... giant, poisonous, monster snakes... ... I wanna say "giant greyish tentacle monster" that lives in a tube? I dunno. If I just called them by their official names, I'd be confusing all the newbies. "Hunter? What the ******** is a hunter? Did the zombies get deer rifles and camoflauge?"
Of course, you'll be armed to the teeth to take on these foes! Hahaha, just kidding. No. That would make too much sense. And as we all know, in the world of RE, things NEVER make sense. Why can't you bbreak down or destroy locked doors? How can a lone soldier take on every zombie in an entire city, but the army can't seem to last 5 minutes before they are all eradicated? Why does Albert Wesker wear sunglasses indoors? But alas, I'm off-topic, and I have a lot more review to do.
While your teammates ride off with magnums and custom handguns, you'll either start off with a handgun with the only ammo on hand being the 15 bullets in the chamber (Jill's story), or you'll start off with absolutely nothing, forced to use your knife until you find Jill's handgun sitting on the floor a bit later on (Chris' story). If you look around the grounds a bit, you'll discover the shotgun, the magnum, the flamethrower, and the bazooka. Other than that, you are dead out of luck. Oh, and did I mention that ammo is very hard to come by? Because yeah, ammo is hard to come by in the game. And even if you did manage to pick up every last bullet in the game, there isn't enough ammo to kill every enemy in the game. If you were a real good shot, and didn't waste a single shell, you might be able to take out... 80%, I believe? Also, you really can't afford to carry extra ammo around. It might just be wise to carry around one gun, armed only with whatever ammo is left in it. Carrying around extra bullets wastes precious inventory space, in a game where you're going to have to keep 3 slots empty at all times in case of a puzzle or important item. Yes, this game requires a lot of planning and strategy. If you attempt to clear out every room Rambo style, you'll be in for an unpleasant suprise later in the game when the enemies take much more than 5 handgun shots to the chest. Try something along the lines of "60 handgun bullets", perhaps? And that is why it's better to save the big guns for later, and knife those bastards whenever possible.
"Yes, please do something for me! Temporarily."
One new thing about the game (Well, in "rebirth mode" anyway) are the DS exclusive puzzles. Yes, you'll be using your DS touch-screen and microphone to solve certain puzzles, none of which are particularly difficult to comprehend. You'll find yourself blowing out candles, making all the lights the same color, and fitting pieces together like a puzzle. Oh, and don't forget rotating wheels and rotating records! Oh boy, how complex! I see why the game is rated M: Only real adults could understand and solve THESE brain-teasers. .
You know what I love about the game? Staring at Jill's a**. If you share this interest, you're in luck! You'll have plenty of time to stare at Jill's a**, and contemplate why you can't score a real girlfriend. Seeing as 50% of the game is walking/running/standing around, with the other 50% split between solving puzzles and dealing with zombies, you'll get bored of the whole routine pretty quick. Especially if you've already played/beaten the original RE, and you've gone through this whole song and dance routine before.
There is a multiplayer mode where you can play with nearby players who have the game. In this multiplayer mode, you try to survive as long as possible, and score as many kills as possible. You can unlock extra characters for the MP mode by beating the single player story. So, there's your motivation to play the game 4 times and play the "Master of Knifing" minigame, in case you were wondering.
"It's Forest. Oh, my God..."
Graphics haven't changed since '97, sound is the old school RE sound, replay comes from playing through the other character's story when you finish one character's game, gameplay is the same as always. Try and try it might, RE biggrin S is just a port, with a few unimportant doo-dads added on here and there. I'm sorry, but not even Barry Burton's poor voice acting can save this game from getting 6/10 "Jill sandwiches".
"So much for him. We certainly got to the ROOT, of the problem. Saved again!"
Sound: 8/10 Graphics: 8/10 Replay: 5/10 Gameplay: 8/10 Touch-screen usage: 5/10 Overall: 6/10
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Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (NDS)
"It's not just a poisonous snake... IT'S A MONSTER!"
The original Resident Evil has been remade time and time again, in order to keep up with new trends and technology in the gaming world. First, there was the original game, Resident Evil for the PS1. Then came Resident Evil: Directors Cut for the PS1, which added a few minor upgrades that really didn't warrant buying the game if you had the original. Next, there was the Resident Evil remake for the GCN, which changed all the graphics, added new chunks of story, and was actually pretty cool. Also, keep in mind, somewhere during this time, there was going to be a Gameboy Color version of the game, which was about 50% complete when it got cancelled. Now, Nintendo has once again tried to take the original RE and bring it to their new portable. This time, they have succeeded, and have given us Resident Evil: Deadly Silence for the Nintendo DS. If you're keeping count, this makes this the third time the game has been remade. And you know what? It might be time to STOP REMAKING RE1.
The plot hasn't changed one bit. You have your STARS BRAVO team sent in to investigate a series of bizare murder cases in Raccoon Forest. STARS HQ loses contact with the BRAVO team chopper, and decides to send in STARS ALPHA team. The team consists of Jill Valentine (Hawt babe), Chris Redfield (Tough soldier type), Barry Burton (Fat guy with a magnum), Albert Wesker (Wears sunglasses indoors), Joesph Frost (Gets killed in the first 3 minutes), and Brad Vickers (Grade A p***y in charge of flying the chopper). After discovering the BRAVO chopper abandoned, the ALPHA team is attacked by strange creatures, which turn out to be zombie dogs. So, they take a bite out of Joesph Frost like Scruff Mc. Gruff took a bite out of crime. Brad, being the ******** PANSY he is, flies off and leaves the team to fend for themselves. They run into a mansion, where they think they are safe. Little did they know, zombie dogs weren't the only problem they would have to deal with. And so, the stage is set for the rest of the game. Your objectives are to find whatever's left of the BRAVO team, and get the hell out of the mansion alive.
"That was too close. You were almost a Jill Sandwich!"
You may be wondering why there are quotes scattered about my review. Well, I actually have a reason to do so. If you do recall, the original RE was infamous for it's cheesy voice-acting and cutscenes, which seemed like something out of a student film or crappy B horror movie. Guess what? They're back in all their cheesy glory. Yes, once again, we can enjoy all the cheesy dialouge and bad acting from days long past. We can once again sit down in front of our game, pick up a Jill sandwich, and watch the cutscenes in all their horrible, horrible glory.
The revival of the old voice and cutscenes is the start of a common theme in the game: Out with the new, back in with the old. You see, the voice acting and film clips aren't the only thing they brought back. All the old graphics, level designs, still the same as they were when the game as first released. Well, actually, that's not entirely true. The game has two different gameplay modes. There's the unaltered original game, without a single change in it, but there's also a "rebirth" mode, which changes around some of the levels, adds all new puzzles, more zombies, 3D knife-battles, and a bunch of other goodies. But still, you just won't be able to shake the feeling that you're playing a game from 1997, even with the new gameplay elements.
What is the same, no matter which mode you're playing, is the two different stories you can choose to play through. You can play as Chris Redfield, who sports a larger amount of health, runs really fast, partners up with Rebecca Chambers, but only has 6 inventory slots to store items in. Or, you can play as Jill Valentine, who has lower health, runs at an average speed, but has the ability to lockpick certian doors, partners up with Barry Burton, and has 2 extra inventory slots. It is reccomended for newbies to play as Jill, as her game is said to be easier.
"Give me a chance to play nice guy!"
One thing that caught my attention: The knife. Not only do you get a cool first-person knife-combat mode to play around with, but in the normal mode when your just walking around and stuff, the knife is always at hand. No longer does it waste a spot in your inventory. And now, it's actually useful. That's right, I said it. The knife can actually help you at times. It does some actual damage to your enemies now, and is helpful when you're running low on ammo or want to conserve bullets. Hell, it's actually possible to get through the first half of the game without expending a single clip of ammo. But why do that? You wanna' blast those zombie bastards away with shotguns! Am I right? M I RITE!?
Well, before you do that, you're going to have to learn how to deal with the excrutiating camera angles! You see, like all the other RE titles that aren't Resident Evil 4 or the God-awful Gun Survivor, the camera doesn't move around with you. Instead, when you walk into a room, you're treated to a still picture to move around in. You move the character around, but the camera doesn't move with you. Whenever you enter a new section or room, the camera chooses another point to camp at. So, you'll be getting such lovely camera angles as "the view from the opposite corner of the room", "looking down at the character from the ceiling", and "looking right into the character's back, blocking where you need to check for monsters". The fans defend the camera angles by saying that it's all part of the horror movie theme, what with all the unpredictable angles and camera locations. But in the end, nothing can justify walking into a room by walking north, then having the camera flip around 180 degrees so you start walking south, right back into where you just came from. It's an acquired taste, I suppose.
"Now it's Wesker's turn to dissapear..."
You'll be facing a wide assortment of enemies. You'll be pitted against slow-moving zombies, rabid zombie dogs on crack, giant spiders... green-ish things... uhm... ... some weird grey thing that hangs from the ceiling... ... giant, poisonous, monster snakes... ... I wanna say "giant greyish tentacle monster" that lives in a tube? I dunno. If I just called them by their official names, I'd be confusing all the newbies. "Hunter? What the ******** is a hunter? Did the zombies get deer rifles and camoflauge?"
Of course, you'll be armed to the teeth to take on these foes! Hahaha, just kidding. No. That would make too much sense. And as we all know, in the world of RE, things NEVER make sense. Why can't you bbreak down or destroy locked doors? How can a lone soldier take on every zombie in an entire city, but the army can't seem to last 5 minutes before they are all eradicated? Why does Albert Wesker wear sunglasses indoors? But alas, I'm off-topic, and I have a lot more review to do.
While your teammates ride off with magnums and custom handguns, you'll either start off with a handgun with the only ammo on hand being the 15 bullets in the chamber (Jill's story), or you'll start off with absolutely nothing, forced to use your knife until you find Jill's handgun sitting on the floor a bit later on (Chris' story). If you look around the grounds a bit, you'll discover the shotgun, the magnum, the flamethrower, and the bazooka. Other than that, you are dead out of luck. Oh, and did I mention that ammo is very hard to come by? Because yeah, ammo is hard to come by in the game. And even if you did manage to pick up every last bullet in the game, there isn't enough ammo to kill every enemy in the game. If you were a real good shot, and didn't waste a single shell, you might be able to take out... 80%, I believe? Also, you really can't afford to carry extra ammo around. It might just be wise to carry around one gun, armed only with whatever ammo is left in it. Carrying around extra bullets wastes precious inventory space, in a game where you're going to have to keep 3 slots empty at all times in case of a puzzle or important item. Yes, this game requires a lot of planning and strategy. If you attempt to clear out every room Rambo style, you'll be in for an unpleasant suprise later in the game when the enemies take much more than 5 handgun shots to the chest. Try something along the lines of "60 handgun bullets", perhaps? And that is why it's better to save the big guns for later, and knife those bastards whenever possible.
"Yes, please do something for me! Temporarily."
One new thing about the game (Well, in "rebirth mode" anyway) are the DS exclusive puzzles. Yes, you'll be using your DS touch-screen and microphone to solve certain puzzles, none of which are particularly difficult to comprehend. You'll find yourself blowing out candles, making all the lights the same color, and fitting pieces together like a puzzle. Oh, and don't forget rotating wheels and rotating records! Oh boy, how complex! I see why the game is rated M: Only real adults could understand and solve THESE brain-teasers. .
You know what I love about the game? Staring at Jill's a**. If you share this interest, you're in luck! You'll have plenty of time to stare at Jill's a**, and contemplate why you can't score a real girlfriend. Seeing as 50% of the game is walking/running/standing around, with the other 50% split between solving puzzles and dealing with zombies, you'll get bored of the whole routine pretty quick. Especially if you've already played/beaten the original RE, and you've gone through this whole song and dance routine before.
There is a multiplayer mode where you can play with nearby players who have the game. In this multiplayer mode, you try to survive as long as possible, and score as many kills as possible. You can unlock extra characters for the MP mode by beating the single player story. So, there's your motivation to play the game 4 times and play the "Master of Knifing" minigame, in case you were wondering.
"It's Forest. Oh, my God..."
Graphics haven't changed since '97, sound is the old school RE sound, replay comes from playing through the other character's story when you finish one character's game, gameplay is the same as always. Try and try it might, RE biggrin S is just a port, with a few unimportant doo-dads added on here and there. I'm sorry, but not even Barry Burton's poor voice acting can save this game from getting 6/10 "Jill sandwiches".
"So much for him. We certainly got to the ROOT, of the problem. Saved again!"
Sound: 8/10 Graphics: 8/10 Replay: 5/10 Gameplay: 8/10 Touch-screen usage: 5/10 Overall: 6/10
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