Yes, Dementium: The Ward is shipping for the Nintendo DS on October 31. If you haven’t been paying attention, Dementium is this seemingly very gory, very fluid, and very nice survival horror/FPS where you must escape a decrepit hospital while solving puzzles and shooting zombies.

Escaping decrepit hospitals has always been one of my life goals.

To many, the impending release date may be good news. After all, it’s always nice to hear when a game is shipping, and said date is reasonably close. But when release dates coincide, things start to get a little nasty.

Days ago, I posted news of Hellgate: London hitting store shelves on October 31. I happen to like Hellgate: London and Bill Roper, so a personal copy on launch day is very likely.

This means that my expense this Halloween won’t be limited to candy, a few sacrificial bats, and a nice new costume.

Yes, I know that this year’s Holiday Rush™ is going to be crazier than usual, but due to budget restraints than anything else, I’ve always considered myself not part of the bigger herd that jumps at the next overhyped game.

Two games in one day. It’s not even Christmas yet.

Post from: EveryJoe

Dementium to scare pants off this Halloween

Capcom has again reinvented survival horror. Forget about Resident Evil 4—they’re coming up with something even bigger and scarier. The adult diapers industry must love them for it.

It’s Resident Evil 5 folks, and the new screenshots alone is enough to make you see the entire genre differently. Consider the old survival-horror conventions that we’re all used to: creepy haunted houses, moaning zombies, tank controls, and dark places, among others.

In Resident Evil 4, Capcom made the tank controls obsolete and put in a new scheme that propelled the game to overnight immortality. This may be a tough act to follow, but the Japanese developer/publisher just might pull it off.

Have you seen a survival horror game set in a clear day?

I haven’t. Sure, Silent Hill may have parts that involved daytime, but the fog sure didn’t make it feel like the sun was shining.

Based on what we’ve seen in the screenies, we can make the following observations:

• Like Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield has bangs. Bangs are a must in male Resident Evil protagonists.
• Los Ganados have been replaced by dark-skinned natives.
• The screenies seem to be rendered in-game.
• Not all places in RE5 are in broad daylight—some parts are dark, and this is where the vision adjustment comes into play.
• The red laser-light reticule makes a comeback, and the camera seems to be placed a bit higher on the protagonist’s shoulder this time.
• Shedding tears of blood are both cool and creepy.
• Chris Redfield has an even bigger knife slung on his shoulder. I can’t say I recall the machine gun he’s using, but here’s to even better rifles in part five.

Post from: EveryJoe

New Resident Evil 5 screenies shed some light

But wait, let’s not get too eager, folks. According to Jun Takeuchi, the game’s producer, this installment might come out as late as 2009.

The magazine revealed that Resident Evil 5 will be using a perspective similar to that of Resident Evil 4. Why change a good thing? The third-person shooter-esque model used by RE4 changed the franchise’s direction for the better.

You’ll also be happy to know that the main protagonist will be Chris Redfield, formerly of S.T.A.R.S. Redfield now works for an organization named BSAA, and is tasked to investigate a strange incident in the desert. It’s good to see that Capcom is bringing familiar characters to the series.

Takeuchi revealed that RE5 will provide some answers to the mysteries in RE4, which no one probably paid that much attention to anyways. What I couldn’t forget about RE4 was the chills and the gameplay, but the story escapes me, so I can’t say I care about the revelations in part 5.

Aside from the familiar gameplay, we should expect new elements to make part 5 more interesting, particularly the interplay between light and dark. Chris would have to adapt his sight when he moves from light to dark and vice versa. If you move from the shadows into a bright area, expect the glare to hamper your vision.

Your enemies would also make life more difficult because Chris won’t be shooting shambling zombies and brainless Los Ganados. Takeuchi said enemies are semi-human in appearance, and has better intelligence compared to previous RE gun fodder.

Unlike other upcoming shooters we’ve previously featured, I’m actually looking forward to RE5. The E3 trailer alone is enough to give me the heebie-jeebies. I can only imagine how it plays. And rocks.

Post from: EveryJoe

More Resident Evil 5 details revealed in Famitsu

I don’t know about you, but seeing this trailer convinces me that I should buy this game.

Post from: EveryJoe

See Dementium: The Ward in action

They had me at FPS action. W00t! No really, no sarcasm there. Surprised?

A lot of things are going for the new game. For one, Dementium isn’t going to be on rails. The last time I played anything of the sort, I’ve had nightmares for a month. Ever heard of Touch the Dead? If you haven’t, good for you. Keep it that way.

I just hope that Dementium won’t bomb like GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, the only other FPS for the DS aside from Metroid.

Dementium is being developed by Renegade Kid and will be published by Gamecock. Both companies are newcomers to the industry.

The story behind Dementium starts with a guy who wakes up in a strange hospital full of monstrous surgical experiments that walk the dark halls. Of course, a survival horror game won’t be complete without odd puzzles, disturbing characters, and liters of blood covering the walls and floor.

Watch out for updates on Dementium: The Ward as they come. Enjoy the screenshots.

Post from: EveryJoe

New horror FPS coming to the DS