The Resident Evil franchise is the granddaddy of survival horror videogames. The series was born on Sony's PlayStation and it became an immediate hit upon release. In the 10 years since Resident Evil's original release, countless sequels, remakes, and copycats have appeared on just about evey gaming platform. While surivivor horror titles haven't translated well to handhelds, Capcom's re-release of the original Resident Evil is aiming to change that trend. Read on for the full review on Resident Evil: Deadly Silence.

Facts and Features

• Re-release of the original Resident Evil with added modes
  
• Multiplayer modes for up to 4 players (no download play)
  
• Map and stats are kept on the top screen, action on the bottom
  
• New touch screen battle and puzzle elements
  
• Improved control scheme
  
• Microphone functionality
  
• Retains all of the original FMVs
  
• Available now

Important Note: Resident Evil: Deadly Silence is an interesting release. The game is meant to appeal to two major groups: those that have played and enjoyed the original, and to those that have been recently introduced to the RE franchise and are interested in experiencing the original. In an attempt to avoid mere comparison with the original PSX version, I'll review the game as if it weren't a port and recap the major differences at the end of each section. This should give newcomers to the game a fair look at the game's individual merits and still provide answers to veterans that are curious about how it compares to the original.

Presentation
Resident Evil: DS is presented in classic B-movie horror fashion. The FMVs that introduce the game and various important moments are coupled with cheesy voice acting and hilariously bad acting. While the quality of the acting and voicework isn't enough to bother you, it certainly won't have you raving about it to your friends anytime soon. The voice acting during realtime cutscenes are equally bad, but at least the sound quality is clear. Even with the poor talent level of the actors, it's still admirable that Capcom managed to squeeze these into a DS cartridge along with a pretty meaty game.

The storyline of the game is pretty intriguing and there are some nice twists to be found in the plot as you progress. While investigating the disappearance of some colleagues, you find yourself stranded in an old mansion full of zombies and deformed creatures in a fight for survival with your fellow S.T.A.R.S. members - a type special police force.

Saving in RE: DS is handled by the use of ink ribbons and typewriters that are found in various rooms of the mansion. Saves are limited to the amount of typewriter ink ribbons you find as you progress, so it's best to be thrifty with saves. A save anywhere feature is something the game severely lacks when you consider that many handheld games are played in short bursts. While Resident Evil purists may find that this helps to maintain the suspense of the game, I find it to be prohibitive for when attempting to take the game on the road.



Writing to roll your eyes to...

The DS/PSX Difference
In terms of presentation, the versions are nearly identical. The DS version uses the same FMVs, voice acting, and cutscenes that were made famous on the PSX version. It might have been an attempt to preserve the original version as much as possible, but I would have preferred that Capcom had used the GameCube remake cutscenes instead. The FMV quality is very high, but there might be a tiny bit of quality loss due to compression, but it's hardly noticeable. The storyline is unaltered and all of the twists in the plot occur at the same moments as they did in the original.