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Touch The Dead (DS)

• Developer:
• Publisher: Eidos Interactive
• Genre: Shooter
• Official Website: http://www.eidosinteractive.com
• Score: 3 of 5: Bargain Bin

Odds are that the visitors of this website are familiar with old light-gun arcade games. Games like House of the Dead, where you stand there and take aim with a friend as you shoot off screen to ‘reload' your gun. It is a beloved genre, and I myself have passed many hours waiting for a movie by taking out some zombies (if the gun is calibrated correctly, that is).

The Nintendo DS is now embarking on a way to get your light gun combat on the go. Using the stylus pen as your "gun", Touch the Dead attempts to bring the same kind of frantic feeling to the touchable small screen, and in some ways it seems to work.

Zombies never get old; when the idea well runs dry, zombie infestation delivers the goods. Just like the zombie premise, Touch the Dead is simple and straightforward. Your only job is to gun down hallways full of undead and stay alive. In order to do this, you have to - just as the title says - touch the dead. With the stylus, it's very easy to place perfect headshots on flesh-dripping bad guys when you need them. I've never been a better shot in my life.

The trouble hits when you have to reload. In an arcade title you simple shoot off the screen, in Touch the Dead you have to drag ammo from the right side of the screen to the left and drop it on your ammo bar. I suppose you could say that you have to be strategic about how to and when to reload, but there are many moments in the game where it impossible to find the time. This will often leading to your health being drained a few notches, and as you progress you start each level with the health you had. Good luck finding boxes with health in them, you will need them.

Navigating is not a problem as the game dictates where you're going. A few times you might have to choose quickly which direction to take, but your pretty much on a preset track, pausing a bit to fight in an area, and at times hauling through waves of baddies. You will level up some weapons and even come across new weapons that help a ton. The shotgun is a zombie's worst nightmare, but limited ammo on the shotgun is your worst nightmare.

We know that zombies are never pretty on the eyes, but the DS's lack of 3D power make it even worse. The game isn't going to wow anybody in the visual/audio department but you can clearly see what you're shooting and I doubt you'll have time to take in the scenery.

Instead of appealing to the senses the game appeals to your frantic nerves. Believe me it can get hairy when the screen fills up and your gun only holds so many bullets before you have to reload. Touch the Dead is a challenge, and fun on the go, which is what the DS is intended for. I suggest you pick it up if you love the zombie or light-gun genres.

Jun 27, 2007 | 0 comments
Mike Carabajal