Touch the Dead (DS) Review
Posted by Cory Moore on 05.29.2007
The on-rails shooting genre makes a rare appearance on the DS. Is 'touching' the dead better than shooting them, or does the concept lose its luster with the new control scheme? Find out inside!
Title: Touch the Dead
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Type: On-Rails Shooter
Players: 1-2
In 1996, House of the Dead was one of the best shooters to grace the arcades. Along with home console franchises like Resident Evil, it was one of the catalysts for bringing the horror genre to the forefront of gaming. Now, developer Secret Stash Games has paid homage to Sega’s light gun franchise, replicating many of the same elements made popular by the arcade coin-op and translating them for a portable audience. How does the fright fest – now armed with touch screen controls – fare on the Nintendo DS? Read on to find out…
Graphics: Touch the Dead runs on a solid graphics engine, reminiscent of any Nintendo 64 title. The zombies look particularly impressive in medium and close views, though they tend to lose some detail when they’re approaching from far away (due to the DS’s relatively small screen). The animations when the zombies take a hit are spot-on, too: if you nail their legs, they crumble to the ground; if you aim at their head, it splatters off in a nasty explosion. It’s probably the best-looking 3-D DS game yet.
Gameplay: Touch the Dead revolves around your protagonist, Rob Steiner, who has been sentenced to jail after being wrongly convicted for murder. While in prison, tragedy strikes and the jail’s citizens turn into zombies. After a short, comic book-like introduction, your mission is to escape the prison while blasting through armies of inmates-turned-undead. It’s not going to win any awards for storytelling, but the objective of the game is to kill as many zombies as possible, so all is forgiven.
Touch the Dead is an on-rails shooter, which means your character follows a predetermined route and moves about the levels accordingly. You are in control of shooting and reloading your gun. The arcade and console versions made this possible through a replica light gun, with a trigger for shooting and reloading your ammo by shooting off-screen. On the DS, you tap the screen with your stylus to shoot your weapon. To reload, you simply drag ammo to the clip located on the lower left-hand part of your screen. Along with shooting zombies, you will encounter icons that allow for changes in weaponry (a shotgun, submachine gun and a crowbar), as well as elements that boost the effectiveness of your weapons and replenish your expended life. All in all, it’s a solid system that works very well with practice.
The zombies are coming! The zombies are coming!
Touch the Dead is not without its faults, however. The game includes four chapters with three stages each (12 stages in all), and the game saves after you have completed each stage. While the life power-ups are nice, it’s still a shame that there was no proper checkpoint feature included for individual stages. If you die, you have to start the stage from the beginning. This can get quite repetitive, seeing as how the stages take an average of 10-12 minutes to complete. Another problem you’ll encounter is the reloading of your weaponry. Between dragging your ammo to reload your clip and the animation that follows, nearly two and a half seconds elapse before you get back to zombie slaying. That is not a major concern in the slower-paced early levels, but can lead to losing precious life bars during intense moments later in the game. It’s not impossible to master, but quick reflexes are a necessity for this title.
Sound:
Besides the furious rock energy found in boss battles, there’s no music to speak of in Touch the Dead. Thankfully, the silence adds to the tense atmosphere of the game, as you can hear shrieks of people being taken by the zombies from down the hall and the vicious groaning of the zombies when you encounter them up close. There isn’t much substance here, but the sound effects accomplish what they need to in a conservative and convincing fashion.
Lasting Appeal:
The lasting appeal for Touch the Dead hinges on your thirst for zombie slaying. Are you one of those people who can go on undead killing sprees for hours and hours? This is probably the title for you. Be warned, though: this game is TOUGH. Now, the zombies don’t move at a 28 Days Later pace (i.e. really fast), but they don’t exactly saunter your way, either. They’re out for blood and you know it as soon as you enter this game. Prepare to die on your first go-around within the first two levels, too, because the zombies don’t show mercy while you get your timing down. It takes a lot of work to balance shooting and reloading. If you have patience and can master the system, though, you’ll have a blast.
When you reach this point on your ammo clip, you’re bound to become frantic while hoping those zombies don’t lunge for you.
The alternative paths activated by shooting signs, control panels and locks adds some spice to levels, but you’ll need a keen and calm sense to be able to recall which path you chose the last time around. Some gamers will tire of the repetitive nature of the game after the first few levels, especially considering the difficult learning curve. The unlockable modes are a plus, but do little to progress the experience besides making the zombies even faster than before. The nature of Touch the Dead is fun, but like other on-rails shooters, it has its limitations.
Fun Factor:
Again, Touch the Dead’s main appeal lies in gamers’ soft spot for pumping rounds into the undead. The touch screen tapping isn’t the same as pulling the trigger of a light gun, but it’s a lot better than mashing buttons on a controller. Multiplayer cooperative mode is probably the most fun in the game, provided you can find a partner. The only downside is that the atmosphere of the horror genre is pretty much non-existent in Touch the Dead. There’s a big difference between sitting at home, in the dark, clutching a light gun while zombies pop out of nowhere on your 32-inch screen (House of the Dead) and tapping a 3-inch display featuring hardly-intimidating portable counterparts (Touch the Dead). It’s still very sharply designed, though, and developer Secret Stash Games did the best job possible with what they were given in terms of hardware.
The 411:
In some ways, it’s unfair to compare Touch the Dead to the arcade classic, House of the Dead. But when you pay homage to a great franchise, you’re bound to get comparisons, and Touch the Dead does fall a little short in those lofty expectations. Putting comparisons aside, Touch the Dead is a rare shooter for the Nintendo DS, and does a nice job in delivering a fine experience of the on-rails shooting genre to a portable system. The average gamer may want to give it a rental first, but it’s a must for any on-rails shooting fan.
Graphics
7.0
The prison-inspired levels are bare bones, but the zombies’ reactions to gunshots are well designed and responsive. 3-D elements take full advantage of the DS’s capabilities.
Gameplay
7.0
Shooting is very accurate with the touch screen, but reloading can be troublesome in the heat of battle. Long levels are a plus, but lack of checkpoints can get frustrating.
Sound
6.0
Music during boss battles is a limited treat, while shrieks and groans provide a creepy atmosphere for the rest of the levels.
Lasting Appeal
7.5
Not an easy game by any means, and true to the arcade vein, mastering it will require working on your skills extensively. Any zombie-shooting enthusiast with quick reflexes and patience will get the most out of it.
Fun Factor
7.0
Tapping a touch screen is sufficient, but doesn’t provide the same thrill of triggering a light gun. Multiplayer co-op will be appreciated by longtime fans of the arcade games.
