Even though we’re out of the Halloween season by several weeks, there’s really nothing like playing an unsettling survival horror game to test your best nerves. And, to our surprise, one of the better ones came out for the Nintendo DS a couple of years ago – Renegade Kid’s Dementium I. A twisted first-person mystery featuring a picture of a warped human being on the front cover, it followed an unlikely hero suffering as he switched between parallel universes, fighting warped enemies and eventually trying to find a way to survive.
If you somehow missed out on this experience – or just don’t own a DS system to really see what it’s all about – you’ve got a second chance coming, as Memetic Games and Digital Tribe are bringing the sequel to the PC/Mac gaming front early next year. With a larger screen, more detail and a few dangerous surprises lurking in the five-plus hour adventure, Dementium II should make a welcome return in just a few months’ time.
The game puts you in the unfortunate shoes of William Redmoor, an inhabitant at the Bright Dawn Treatment Center, which looks after patients that are deemed criminally insane. According to the memories that are lurking inside your head, you find that your wife and daughter have been murdered, and the evidence points to you at the killer. As a result, you’ve taken part in a strange brain operation, one that was supposed to manipulate your behavior for the better.
Something tells us that the operation didn’t go as planned, because now you’re trapped in the nightmarish side of the facility, running across enemies that want to hurt you something fierce and occasionally forced to solve a diabolical puzzle in order to move forward. On top of that, the Doctor that performed the procedure on you isn’t done yet, so you must stay one step ahead of him, or risk suffering even worse consequences. Not that it can really get any worse than the hell you’re in…or can it?
The original Dementium II set a new benchmark for the Nintendo DS when it came out a couple of years ago, running at a steady 60 frames per second, even when you were swinging around to take out enemies behind you. With the PC version, it’s likely that Memetic Games will be free to add even more detail to the game, including harrowing new enemies that get right up in your face to show just how nasty they really are. Early screenshots have indicated that the game will also have a new lighting system in place, so you can make out smaller details while working your way through each hell-filled hallway. The more light you can find in the game, the better.
Dementium II will also feature a monumental shift between dimensions, and though it’s further explained in the story (we won’t explain it here), it also paves the way for some interesting puzzles that you’ll need to solve. The DS version enabled the use of the touch-screen in order to complete most of them, so with the PC version, you can expect some interaction either with your traditional mouse/keyboard set-up, or with the support of the Xbox 360 Windows controller. (Other controllers should work as well once the game releases.)
While Dementium II appears to be built as a first-person shooter, the fact is that you’ll need to scrounge in order to find every bit of ammunition you can carry. The opening part of the game will arm you with a knife, which you’ll need to make proper use of as you stab and slash creatures that want to finish you off. You’ll also have access to a limited flashlight, letting you see what dangers lie ahead, and also assuring you have some source of light in the otherwise dark surroundings.
As you proceed through Dementium II proceeds, bits and pieces of the story unfold, through full-motion video sequences (which should return for this version, and at higher quality) and letters that are scattered throughout each stage. The more you collect, the more you learn, though with the tone that this game is taking, it might not be a completely comforting truth. Still, beats fumbling around in the dark, searching for answers while you stab everything…right?
Dementium II’s horror-based tone worked really well for the original release, and with all the enhancements Memetic is putting into the PC version, it should fare just as well. Early screens and gameplay details are really making this one stand out from all the usual Doom clones in the pack, and the support for either keyboard/mouse or controller is definitely good to have, even when it comes to the smaller things, like inventory collection. Now all you need to do is get your mood lights ready for a good, dark horror experience…if you’re not too afraid that is…
Dementium II will release in early 2013 for PC and Mac. No word yet on a console release, but fingers crossed. Well, the ones that aren’t snapped off, anyway.
Published: Dec 20, 2012 07:26 pm