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Dementium: The Ward releasing in April ... in poor, forgotten Europe
At last, forgotten souls in Europe will be able to wander Dementium: The Ward's grainy, dimly lit halls. After scaring up modest reviews in the US and sending Japanese hospitals screaming, Southpeak announced that it will publish Renegade Kid's spook-tastic freshman effort in Europe on April 17.The Nintendo DS survival horror title was first released in the US in 2007, and casts players in the role of an amnesiac stuck in a grimy hospital full of puzzles and the occasional not-so-friendly monster. Finally, survival horror fans in Europe will have something to keep them busy on the commuter train besides the latest Jamie Oliver, though honestly both are probably just as frightening.
Renegade Kid calls Moon 'more ambitious' than Dementium
Dementium: The Ward, developer Renegade Kid's debut release for the Nintendo DS, certainly pushed the frontier of what we expect from handheld gaming, but it was far from perfect. Company co-owner Jools Watsham conceded as much to us during a recent interview, but added that Renegade Kid's next project, the recently announced DS title Moon, will be even "more ambitious" than the studio's freshman effort."We're being much more ambitious with the environments, particle effects, enemies and cinematic cut-scenes," commented Watsham. "Even though we pushed the DS with Demenitum, we were still being slightly cautious due to our time frame and growing experience with the platform. This time around with Moon, we are being a little less cautious while still be expressive and ambitious."He also took a moment to reflect back on Dementium, noting that the survival horror title's save system was a particular sticking point among those who played the game. "Most people hated the save system in Dementium... Moon is structured very differently than Dementium. The game is presented in episodes, and within each episode there are checkpoints that save your progress."For more from Renegade Kid's Watsham on Moon, including Moon's possible future for the Wii and why the company's decision to go with publisher Mastiff instead of Dementium pub Gamecock is really much ado about nothing, check out our full interview on Monday and the first screens from the game below.%Gallery-20326%
Metareview: Dementium: The Ward (DS)
Dementium: The Ward surprised the hell out of us at Gamecock's E3 retreat at the Hotel California. The survival-horror game brought the genre to the Nintendo DS in an incredibly smooth package. We actually almost missed our next appointment at E3 because the game just grabbed us with an unexpected level of design, unexpected from a survival-horror FPS on a handheld. But did it hold reviewers' attention beyond that initial shock of Renegade Kid's technical proficiency? GamesRadar (80/100): "The DS isn't supposed to do FPS horror right? Those were our initial thoughts too, as you start out in a dark room with a layer of black fog. But as soon as you snag a flashlight (which is immediately), Dementium proves its worth by displaying vast areas, numerous enemies and lengthy corridors with disturbing zeal and no loss in framerate." IGN (80/100): "It's pretty amazing that, for a system that's been out for three years now, there have been very few first-person shooters made for it. The Nintendo DS is a prime (no pun intended) system for the genre, what with its touch screen that can easily mimic the precise movement of mouse controls. Dementium: The Ward fills that void nicely - it's appropriately gory (it is a shooter, after all) but also adds an element of mystery to the whole thing. Some design issues do get in the way a tiny bit, but not so much that you'll hate on the game...and unless you've got the expectations of a PC shooter fan, it's hard to not be impressed with what Renegade Kid managed to pull off on the Nintendo DS hardware." Game Daily (80/100): "Dementium doesn't do anything we haven't seen before, such as playing a piano to reveal a secret, acquiring special colored keycards to open doors and shot gunning monsters. Yet at the same time, the experience feels new, since there's almost nothing like it on the platform, save for the aged Resident Evil Deadly Silence. So shut off the lights, put on a pair of headphones and get lost in this demented adventure. It's without question one of the DS' most under hyped games, and also one of its best."
Dementium 'Rx' video censored and uncensored version
IGN has been running a series of "Director's Diary" regarding the DS' survival-horror game Dementium: The Ward. We're still confused by what's really going on in the series, but the main point is the latest entry is about the video "Rx," a promo for Dementium that allegedly got into trouble with the ESRB. There's a series of email exchanges between the mysterious "Director X" and Mike Wilson of Dementium's publisher Gamecock. Beyond the ESRB issues, apparently Nintendo sent over an email asking, "Well....This one's a little over the top. Can you take out the loss of bodily functions (bladder, bowel and stomach); or, remove the Nintendo DS hardware?"The edited version can be found above. The link for the unedited version can be found after the break along with the rest of the promo videos in the series, which mix in-game footage with live-action. Oh, and before the freakin' Spielbergs get all uppity, the reason it looks "cheap" is because it was apparently done on "3k for 11 movies in 8 weeks or whatever the hell it is" according to "Director X." Beyond these marketing videos, we're keeping an eye on Dementium which releases Halloween because it could do well based on our time with it.
Latest Dementium trailer is kind of disgusting (in a good way)
We're dying to give Dementium: The Ward a proper playthrough. We want to feel the jagged edges of the game cart in our hand and slowly, lovingly place it into the slot of our DS Lite. We want to brave the dark and vanquish the evil within. We want to feel alive.You can check out the NSFW version (see: uncensored) of the trailer here.
Fresh hot craziness in latest Dementium trailer
Mixing in gameplay segments with live-action footage (you know, like they've already been doing), this latest trailer for Dementium: The Ward is a tad bit unsettling. There's lots of blood and creepy women covered in it, shouting and popping up in random places frame after frame. The gameplay, though, looks as good as ever. Seriously, this is one of our most-anticipated titles for the DS to date.How awesome is that whole wheelchair sequence?%Gallery-4929%See also: PAX07 hands-on: Dementium: The Ward
Gamecock's E3 video roundup
Most people who spent time at the Hotel California with independent publisher Gamecock walked away with two major realizations. Gamecock actually figured out how to do this newly formatted E3 absolutely right, even though they technically weren't part of it. The Hotel California was an open door oasis with developers showing their games in casual living rooms as a breeze from the Pacific kept things cool -- the smell of BBQ also helped (which we didn't actually get to eat in all the running around). The other realization, the more important one, is that the games didn't look half bad -- actually, in many cases, they impressed us more than non-indie games we saw. Yes, the Gamecock name still confuses people and the two pseudo-NSFW videos we have after the break add to the things that turn some people off to the company's marketing -- but once those people understand Gamecock doesn't care, it'll start to roll off their backs and make more sense. As long as their games featured in the video above are fun and sell well, that's probably the only thing Gamecock really does care about. We're definitely curious to see how their first published titles like Dementium: The Ward and Fury, which goes into beta very soon, do at retail. And we really want more info on Pandora Legendary: The Box as soon as possible.
Gamecock announces DS survival horror, Dementium: The Ward
The first title to escape from the confines of developer Renegade Kids will be Dementium: The Ward, a first-person survival horror game for the Nintendo DS. Published by Gamecock Media Group, the game promises to "set the bar for mature handheld games" by combining first-person shooter and adventure mechanics into "one nightmarish experience". Presumably, that means the game will be scary and not, you know, Trespasser. The press release notes that Dementium: The Ward concerns an unfortunate protagonist waking up in a desolate hospital, one frozen in time and overrun by gruesome creatures and worse yet, "challenging puzzles." The initial batch of screenshots also indicates that you'll be shining a flashlight on strange lumps of meat, an activity which we honestly can't attribute to any existing DS game. "Dementium showcases what a powerful piece of hardware the DS is, while drawing in a mature crowd that's looking for a title they can really sink their teeth into," says Renegade Kid's owner and creative director, Jools Watsham.Targeting the DS for an original survival horror title certainly seems noteworthy, especially when the platform's current "mature crowd" is either sinking its teeth into Brain Age or a glass of water next to the bed. Renegade Kid's real challenge likely won't be finding an audience, but conveying an unnerving atmosphere on a portable device. (Don't read the concluding sentence, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!)%Gallery-3636%
