Dementium II is, for all intents and purposes, a remake of the original Dementium: The Ward, only with developer Renegade Kid having the advantage of knowing what worked in the original and – more importantly – what didn’t.  Prior knowledge of the first game is irrelevant as the sequel essentially ignores whatever narrative that was established and starts off fresh.  At the center of its rotten core lay a relatively linear first-person experience that establishes its creepy motif by packing as much psychotic imagery and terrifying sounds into a single DS cart as possible.  Think of the original Evil Dead movie and its much-improved sequel and you’ll have a good idea what I’m getting at.  It’s an apt comparison I think Renegade Kid would appreciate, as they've included a compulsively better gameplay experience to match what may prove to be the DS's last technological hurrah.

A brief introduction establishes our hero (William Redmoor) as just having undergone brain surgery by the insidious Doctor, which seems to have manifested the most twisted thoughts from the darkest crevices of his twisted subconscious into the real world.  From here the game begins much like its predecessor – as well as any number of first-person shooters – in that you’ll scramble to snag a melee weapon (prison shank) while chopping through increasingly uglier creatures using increasingly more powerful weapons.  A key difference here are the frequent ‘dimension shifting’ moments (similar to those found in last year’s terrific Silent Hill: Shattered Memories) that have you battling through even darker S&M inspired backdrops that feel like close relatives to those found in the original DOOM games.

The bottom screen now displays the current map and even tracks your location in real-time, a significant improvement over the original’s largely useless mapping system.  The interface itself looks and functions much like Renegade Kid’s other DS FPS, Moon, in that items and weapons are now accessed through an ingenious touch ‘n drag system.  Touching the weapon icon at the bottom opens up the inventory menu, and remains open as long as you keep the stylus pressed down, allowing you to drag and select specific items (i.e. health pills) or equip a different weapon.  The flashlight also returns, and can now be used in tandem with select one-handed weapons, while others will leave you literally shooting in the dark.  A marked improvement over the either/or approach to the original’s flashlight scheme and even spookier this time around.

Speaking of weapons, you’ll have a wide assortment at your disposal to club, shoot, and explode your way through the game’s five chapters.  You’ll start off with a  simple prison shank melee attack, but it won’t be long before you’re filling up oozing slime monsters or leather-zombies with revolver bullets or other delights such as a double-barreled shotgun, automatic rifle, and even a makeshift flamethrower help make the opposition toast, no pun intended.  Some weapons, such as the sledgehammer and flamethrower, have secondary uses to help open up new areas, but you’ll generally be using them to dispatch enemies with extreme prejudice.  Ammo is severely limited, however, and don’t be surprised if you spend much of your attacking time hacking away with your shank or upgraded knife to conserve ammunition for the larger – and fun – boss battles.

Gone is the ability to jot down notes and other clues to help solve puzzles, but this doesn’t feel like much of a loss as the puzzles themselves seem to have been streamlined quite a bit, and are seldom more difficult than simply remembering sequences of digits or arranging objects to unlock doors.  Still, it would have been nice to have been able to mark save-spots and other incidentals on the improved map system.  Postcards help give vital clues and point to the next trigger location, which means you’ll almost never feel lost or confused, even when backtracking through the same areas.

Perhaps the original’s biggest complaint, the lackluster save system, has been nixed for one that just makes sense.  Where the original only allowed for auto-saves at the beginning of each chapter, the sequel features the more familiar save-spot system (via mirrors) that is considerably better.  Not just that, but the spots are logically placed throughout each chapter in places that make sense, such as before giant boss battles, which helps cut down on senselessly replaying the same area over and over.  Saving also refills your life meter, so memorizing where they are is good strategy for staying alive throughout some of the more intense levels.

Another major complaint, respawning enemies, has also been addressed in a way that feels much more natural and adds to the game’s atmosphere.  Having to fight (and refight) through what amounted to unlimited enemies with extremely limited ammo was almost a game-killer for some, and thankfully that’s no longer the case here.  This means once you eliminated a roomful of creatures, they’re usually gone for good, unless the area calls for an extra battle against newer/uglier creatures.  On the other hand, if you decide to side-step the fight (totally possible) and leave a roomful of them alive, they’ll be waiting for you when you return.  It’s a much more intelligent system that works the way it should, and allows for even greater strategy when trying to save on ammunition and health.  True, there still is the occasional enemy respawn, but these only occur in context to specific arenas and usually limited to a set number of repeats.

Those familiar with Renegade Kid’s previous efforts can attest to their prowess with the hardware, and Dementium II only affirms this, with silky-smooth 60 FPS and detailed environments that are simply the best I’ve ever seen on the DS.  True, there’s no escaping the typical muddy textures that all 3D games on the system seem to share, but I’ll be damned if these guys don’t make them sing.  The amount of detail put into the larger rooms and varying locales is really impressive.  Imagine my surprise when the initial claustrophobic hallways and nightmarish hellholes gave way to well-lit snowy open locations, complete with falling snow particle effects.  Or when facing any of the giant bosses, especially the dynamite-eating blob-like thing.  The engine almost never skips a beat, and one can’t help but feel that we’re seeing the DS hardware pushed to its very limits.

The game’s audio is equally impressive, and demands a good pair of headphones to take full advantage of how much work was put into making this a truly disturbing aural experience.  The soundtrack is a mix of familiar tunes from the original and new compositions designed for maximum eeriness.  Soft pianos and chilling techno rifts that sound like they were ripped from a Lucio Fulci zombie film never relent, and cheers for the inventive use of garbled distortion.  Creepy stuff.

As for the sound effects, we’re not talking crystal clear samples here, but what they lack in clarity is more than made up for in sheer perverseness.  Creatures shriek, moan, and occasionally blubber like babies before attacking headfirst – often quite literally.  But sound isn’t just used to establish a mood, as you’ll need to listen closely upon entering new rooms and areas to help determine if you’re safe.  It’s a shame they aren’t dynamic, however, as it would have been truly frightening to have these audio cues change in accordance with their proximity to their growling hosts.

With Dementium II is seems Renegade Kid has pushed the DS hardware further than ever before, with super smooth 60 FPS action and amazingly creepy sound experience that require headphones to take full advantage of.  The game is essentially a superior version of the original, with a better save system, no more unlimited respawning enemies, and a host of other gameplay enhancements that make this the definitive first-person action/shooter on the console.  There’s no multiplayer to speak of, although completing chapters opens up new survival modes that help extend its longevity somewhat. As Nintendo readies its next portable hardware it will be interesting to see where they take things from here.