Dementium: The Ward
Released October 31, 2007 · consists of 3 releases.
Dementium: The Ward is a first-person shooter for the DS with elements of survival horror.
Gameplay
Dementium: The Ward uses full 3D environments with touch screen controls much like in Metroid Prime: Hunters. It also borrows some elements from other notable horror games to create it is own creepy concept where the player has to use a flashlight to guide their way out from the darkness and use weapons to fight their way through a horde of hideous creatures. The game also provide users a notepad for jotting down notes to solve puzzles.
Plot
In Dementium, you play as an amnesiac man with no clue of his identity, his whereabouts, or his current situation. He finds himself waking up in a bed in Redmoor Hospital and discovers that the hallways, rooms and wards are swarming with hideous, murderous creatures. The man must search for clues to his identity as well as weapons he can use to defend himself against the abominations roaming the ward while he desperately looks for a way to escape.
Weapons
- Flashlight - While not exactly a weapon, but it's used to light you path from the dark hallways and also to spot hidden enemies.
- Nightstick - A wooden baton used by security guards. Useful at first but useless later on unless you are out of ammo.
- Pistol - A standard 9mm handgun. Not exactly powerful but it's a better substitution to replace the nightstick.
- Shotgun - A more powerful weapon than the pistol.
- Electric Buzz-Saw - A close range weapon to replace the nightstick. Makes a lot of noise.
- Machine gun - An automatic which is useful for killing a horde of enemies. Packs a lot of recoils too.
- Revolver - The magnum is an effective choice of weapon but kind of slow.
- Sniper Rifle - It's equipped with a zooming scope and a night vision scope.
Chapters
- Chapter 1: The Admittance
- Chapter 2: The Rooftop
- Chapter 3: The Infant Ward
- Chapter 4: The Cleaver
- Chapter 5: The Courtyard
- Chapter 6: The Electric Buzz-Saw
- Chapter 7: The Main Security Room
- Chapter 8: The Flashback
- Chapter 9: The Hole In The Wall
- Chapter 10: The Torn Photograph
- Chapter 11: The Guard Tower
- Chapter 12: The Cleaver's Return
- Chapter 13: The Door with No Handle
- Chapter 14: The Wheelchair's Return
- Chapter 15: The First Encounter
- Chapter 16: The Final Encounter
Reception
Dementium received generally favourable reviews for its atmosphere and visuals, but was criticized for its short length and lack of replayability.
Controversy
In September 2008, the Japan Psychiatric Hospital Association (日本精神科病院協会) send a request to Interchannel (the game's publisher in Japan) to close the game's official website and suspend its sales. According to the organization, "Closed Ward" (閉鎖病棟) is a type of ward that actually exists in a psychiatric hospital, and names associated with mental illness such as "schizophrenia" and "antipsychotic" are also used in the game (which treats the mental patients as monsters and blasphemes.).
