It's commonplace to make older games available on new portable systems. It even seems like come companies build entire business plans around the idea. But the games involved usually represent a simpler time; when side-scrolling, shooting and platforming were considered the whole universe. It's completely different to stare at a game like Resident Evil on a small cartridge for a machine like the DS. In spite of the enormous, obvious advances of technology since 1996, it just doesn't seem possible.

But the minute the game starts, it all makes sense. The screen isn't nearly as detailed and moody as the original. Instead, nearly all areas of the game have a grainy, diluted appearance. The colors don't stand out the way they should, and the detail to the view simply isn't there. It doesn't look nearly as good as it did on a TV, but it's reproduced well enough to be recognizable and enjoyable. This may be because of the size of the screen on the DS, or the original programming involved, but it's likely a combination of both.

Most of the game is the same as it was years ago. The events in Resident Evil mark the earliest exposure of the Umbrella corporation. Raccoon City is home to a quiet mansion where experiments have resulted in the disappearance of a few too many scientists. You'll play as one of two officers of the Special Tactics and Rescue Squad (S.T.A.R.S.) as you explore the area and try to figure out the sudden appearance of zombies.

The second screen on the DS is used to display the area map, health and ammo – which is nice. And a mode called Rebirth helps keep the game from feeling like a direct port. It involves more integrated use of the DS features. The stylus can be used during combat to shake off pesky zombies, for example. If you have one latched on, you can move the stylus back and forth quickly, in a shaking motion, to shrug them off.

There are also a few battles that throw you into a first person mode with the knife. You'll have to use the stylus to mimic slashing and stabbing motions to keep the baddies at bay. For another new challenge, the microphone is your only way to resuscitate a fallen friend – you'll have to blow into it to emulate CPR. And you'll have to use the touch screen as your window into the RE world to manipulate other items, like a clock or a valve.

But the biggest difference in the game is, without question, the multiplayer potential. Unfortunately, even if you can gather up two, three or four total players with their own copy of the game, you won't be able to see them while playing cooperatively or against them. They appear as big stars instead of people within the game, and you can't interact with them directly. These two drawbacks nearly kill the mood, and the point, of multiplayer completely.

There are three maps for multiplayer: the mansion, lab and guardhouse. They're a lot like the areas from the original game. Each has a starting point and an exit, and your task is to get out as fast as possible. If you're playing against others, you obviously don't care if they make it. But you also can't stop them directly, so you might decide to shoot as few bad guys as possible and make their escape that much more difficult. If you're playing together, you share a health bar, so you have to take down the enemies as a team.

Even without extra features like use of the stylus and multiplayer, Resident Evil holds up to the test of time relatively well. Capcom is also to be commended for dreaming up improvements inspired by new hardware. But the multiplayer modes suffer from severely limited interaction and only three maps for play. The most promising new feature becomes routine very quickly, so before you know it the latest experiment in Raccoon city is over.