Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (Nintendo DS, 2006)

The Resident Evil series has taken many different forms over the last several years. Some have made drastic changes to the set up, with varying degrees of success. In Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (RE:DS), we're taken back to the series' roots. And by taken back to the roots, I mean way back.

RE:DS is a simple remake of the very very original PS1 title (not the stellar GameCube remake titled, uhm, Resident Evil). Everything you love (and hate) about the classic PS1 frightener is kept very much intact for the DS outing, from the devious puzzles, the scary dogs jumping through the windows, and the even scarier FMV sequences and horrific voice acting. The Master of Unlocking? Yeah, it's still in there in all of it's B-Movie cheese glory.

A few new things have been added. A new mode has been added which keeps the same basic gameplay intact, but beefing up the ammo and health scattered throughout the game, plus a sexy new combat knife activated with the L trigger. It makes it feel somewhat more akin to Resident Evil 4 than the slower paced, puzzlier versions of the series. Also new to this version is the "Master of Knifing" mode, a first person knifing mini-game in which you... well, stand in one place and knife things, which basically consists of you tapping the DS touch screen as fast as humanly possible with out punching a hole through the screen.

All of these new features are definitely a welcome addition to the original, but, do they bring the game up to date with current gen titles? No, not by a long shot. As I mentioned earlier, the shoddy presentation is still perfectly intact from years ago. The crappy controls are still here, as well as the muddy graphics, and the aforementioned horrible acting (which I actually kind of enjoy in that Ed Wood kind of way). The Master of Knifing mode is mostly just annoying, as in some sequences you'll have to replay it any time you exit or enter the area in which it's triggered, which'll cost you some valuable health late in the game.

If you've played through the original many times, and the thought of slogging through it again with a slightly tinged RE4 feel makes you giddy, pick it up. If you're a fan of the series but never made it through (or played) the original, it's worth a look. If you simply want a portable version of RE to take along with you on the subway, it's a good choice. And, even if you're a casual observer (and pretty forgiving when it comes to production values) you'll find something to like here. No matter which category you fall under, don't go into it with any great expectations or you'll be disappointed. This is a 10 year old game with only minor changes, but it's still a fun game to run through after all these years. 3 out of 5.

This title is Excellent. Whether you are a fan of the series or not the controls and button selections along with innovative use of the stylus all help to make this game very enjoyable.

The music and sound effects enhance rather than distract from the action going on. There are good moments of surprise, fear and some humor scattered through out the game which help give it a real replay value. The graphics translate well and the puzzles range from being simple to challenging and at no point does the player ever get tired or frustrated of playing the game.

The story line is engaging and draws you in from the start to finish. It offers characters drawn from the Resident Evil universe from Kenneth, Richard, Wesker, and the indominatable Barry and many others which connects it for fans of the series to other titles in the series.

It takes place at the same time/mansion from the first game in the series, as you again play Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, but the game play and options are different, yet comfortable enough to returning players. I think this game really brings out the best in the DS and offers a strong enough value to justify purchasing it and playing it as a portable experience of the main console games. For the price, graphics, and the enjoyment of the game it all adds up to a real treat.

I was very happy when I first herd that a Resident evil was comingout for the DS. Well at first I will cover what is good about the game first of all the graphics are slightly better not much but a bit there are now to modes classic which is just like the orignal and rebirth which has the items moved around and also lets you use the DS's features by fighting in first person knife fights and solving puzzels. Also in rebirth there are less hunters and more chimeras. There is also 2 mini games knife battle where you must face monsters from the game and survive all 5 stages with only the knife and a wireless play mode where you pick an area from resident evil eithier the Masion,Courtyard or Lab. In this battle mode you can play as many of the S.T.A.R.S Team you unlock them,ve by completeing the main game. However the main downside is that it dose no take very long to complete and some people might get bord by it very quickly. The over extras are a new costumes for Jill and Chris and in rebirth mode an extra boss. I hope you find this review helpful thankyou for taking the time to read it DAVID

In 1996, Resident Evil was a Very Big Deal. Its laughably acted introduction and dialogue, as well as its rigid structure and limited third-person perspective could be overlooked in favor of its focus towards creeping the bejeezus out of the gamer. Any designer following the classic Resident Evil formula for a game nowadays would be strung up by the critics, but since Capcom's series was pioneering a genre at the time, the now flawed gameplay is strong enough to retain its classic status ten years later even when Capcom's improved and perfected its series for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 in Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil: Deadly Silence is a total throwback to the original game in the series.
When I say original, I don't mean the reworked edition developed for the GameCube. I mean, original as in, PlayStation. The Nintendo DS game takes the original PSX rendition as a foundation and hammers on a few elements to take advantage of the dual-screen platform's unique functions. But ultimately what you're getting is the original Resident Evil, warts and all. And while I'm certainly a fan of revisiting truly classic games, it's hard to overlook the elements that were conveniently overlooked by the gaming public the first time around. DS owners are still getting a good solid adventure with some surprises around a few familiar corridors, but let's be fair: any other game from any other company would be slammed if they did what the original Resident Evil does in this day and age.
What can be said about Resident Evil that isn't known? We've got two members of the elite military team S.T.A.R.S. lost in a mysterious mansion infested with flesh-hungry zombies, ravenous ravens, and undead hounds looking for a few bones to gnaw on. While searching through the rooms of this massive house, you'll hopefully unravel a mystery involving the Umbrella Corporation, all the while using found weaponry to poke a few holes and pop a few heads of their creations.
As a conversion, the Nintendo DS edition of Resident Evil is an admirable production. Everything that was in the PlayStation game, from the rendered and filmed cutscenes to the horrendous voice acting is jammed into an itty-bitty Nintendo DS cartridge. The game's still in its pseudo 3D engine: real-time 3D characters and objects manipulated on prerendered backgrounds; the character models are bumped up in detail for the Nintendo DS game, but the assets used for the mansion rooms are still pulled from the original PSX edition. Accommodating the action is some rather appropriate audio effects to provide a spooky atmosphere, from the haunting low-bass cello score to the wind swooping through the outdoor environments. Even with the game shrunk down to two small displays, at the very least, in the right surroundings, the experience can still be considered suitably creepy.
So, for the most part, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence is a great conversion of Resident Evil that tweaks a bit here and tightens a bit there. What was good about the PlayStation version is still good here on a smaller scale, and the added elements do a decent job enhancing the experience and shaking things up for those who've experienced the game a hundred times before. But, honestly, it's hard to ignore all the little quirks in gameplay and presentation that were a bit easier to disregard in the earlier days of 3D adventuring.

I bought this because I really love the Resident evil franchise, my experience when playing this new resident evil failed to fully satisfy me 100%. First of all, I would like to say that this game is really entertaining with its 16 bit graphics and 8 bit mono sound quality. RE has still kept me in the game from beginning to end, from its sheer game play to its great story. However, One of resident evil DS's downfalls is that Capcom virtually did little to nothing to revamp the original classic; for example, the sound, graphics, maps, and zombies are pretty much the same from the original. Capcom did throw in some tweaks to fit this generation that include, rebirth mode; which is an enhanced version of the original and classic mode; which is a direct port of the original. This game includes the use of the touchscreen; in addition to that, there is also the ability to view the map simultaneous when playing the game. As I said before I enjoyed playing this game, it is really fun and I would recommend this game to any one who wants a cinematic thriller in the palm of their hand.