Resident Evil DS brings us an almost exact port of the 1996 classic Resident Evil, bringing everything from the FMV cutscenes to the overly B-grade acting skills of the voice talent. While classic lines like "Don't, open, that, door!" and "Well, you are the master of unlocking" were sadly pulled from the script of REmake on GameCube, they attack you full force on the DS. Some will smile, thankful that Capcom stayed true to the original, where the rest of us are sitting wondering why Capcom didn't use the much-improved vocal talent and script from the Cube rendition.

For those who have either steered away from gaming or were too young to remember, the story follows a bunch of bizarre murders where the victims are killed and then eaten. The Bravo team of the STARS unit were sent in, but shortly after they go missing and it's up to the Alpha team to find out exactly what's going on.

On arrival, the team is attacked by some crazed dogs and chased into what seems an abandoned mansion. After entering and deciding that the best way to find their now missing member of their team would be to split up and investigate the mansion.

Within minutes you stumble across a zombie deposessing Kenneth -- a member you only hear about until now - of his bodily organs. This is where the fun starts and you are on your way through an ever-twisting story of zombies, typewriters and boxes that mysteriously teleport your items from room to room.

There are two ways to play through the DS version of Resident Evil. Firstly there is the standard way that we've all played through before. From start to end, it is step by step what you will remember from the PSX/PC original, except that the character models have slightly more polygons than before. Secondly, there is the only way to play through the game: Rebirth mode. This mode feels just like the other mode except that it utilises the DS capabilities a lot more.

In certain rooms, as you enter them, the game jumps to a first person POV and you are required to fend off the oncoming zombies/dogs/crows. With a slide of your finger over the touch screen you will swipe out with your knife; with a jab of your finger you stab - and if you time it right you will get them with a power move that takes off more of their damage. While this is fun once you understand the timing, it can get a bit frustrating as you wildly slide your finger around and realising your next swipe won't register until the first one is completely finished.

Capcom have also added some new puzzles that require sliding things around the screen, dropping weights into a set of scales, or rotating puzzle pieces to unlock certain boxes. Not even the microphone is ignored in this title, as you will end up using it to save someone's life through CPR.

Probably the best addition to this version of RE is that the map is visible at all times in the top screen along with what gun you have equipped and how many rounds are remaining. While your health is also kind of shown - the background behind the map flashes if you're low on health - it seems pointless that they did not simply add the health gauge to the leftover space.

Graphics are exactly what you would expect from a decade-old game, and it seems a shame that they didn't model this entire game from the 2004 remake. It would have been great to have had the newer backgrounds - even if they weren't animated - considering they are pre-rendered images and not dynamic environments.

It also would have been nice to have been spared the appalling live action intro and given the much healthier CG version. All in all the graphics work for what they are trying to achieve, and in the right conditions still come off creepy. And for those that are unaware of what is around some corners, you may find a scare or two hidden in this title.

The multiplayer mode seems tacked on and comes off rather disjointed. With the option of either competing against others to get the fastest time through a specific area of the game or teaming up to battle the zombie horde, you will find yourself a little confused as to why the game works the way it does. Other opponents show up on your screen as a floating star in what seems to be their own version of the mansion. There is no interaction between you and the zombies that they are seeing on their screen. While there is a certain number of zombies for each room, you may see them drop dead and you'll just have to presume that the floating star that just went around the corner took them out, when your opponent did in fact take out a zombie, but it wasn't placed in that position in his game. Interesting but wonky design.