When I saw the trailer for the Lost in Nightmares I got really, really excited. It seemed like it would appeal to everyone: the old school fans who loved the emphasis on horror and survival, the post-Resident Evil 4 over-the-shoulder, action shooter fans, and the folks (like myself) who just love killing zombies. Plus, it included a new Mercenaries mode called Mercenaries Reunion. I'd say, for about five bucks, it was definitely worth a shot.

And I think I was right, for the most part. Lost in Nightmares puts two playable characters (super-duo Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine) in an old mansion -- one very reminiscent of the Spencer research facility in RE1. The two of them are on a BSAA mission to investigate the Spencer Estate. Here, they uncover an old experiment lab, hidden under the mansion's foundation. Little ammo, lots of puzzles. It all feels a hell of a lot like the first game in the series, but that is definitely a plus.

I see you brought a huge mace to a gunfight.

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First off, let me say that the production is nearly flawless. Like the full length title, the graphics are great, the sound is terrifically eerie, and the voice-acting is appropriately campy. The creature design for the big bad guys (I've heard them called Guardians of Insanity) is pretty rad and gross. It's all a cool mix of grotesque and beautiful. And once again, if you like the third-person, stop-and-shoot controls, you'll be into the gameplay.

One major disappointment for me was the lack of zombies, though. You encounter two kinds of enemies, not including the final boss, and neither of them quite satisfied my intense head-blowing-up urges. The aforementioned Guardians of Insanity are fun as hell to fight in the beginning, especially with the lack of ammo, but after half a dozen or so, I was ready to bust some brain-eaters.

The first half of the episode is a real blast -- you roll through the old mansion and find puzzle pieces that unlock different rooms. There is some funny banter between the two protagonists about old-mansion deja vu and whatnot, and you get to see some shout-outs to the earlier games.

Once you find the experiment lab, though, it feels like the intensity of the game is going to skyrocket. Well, it never really does. At least not for a while. You'll kill a few baddies and run around, but the lack of variation in enemies and only having to worry about one enemy at a time doesn't really peak the excitement.

The last section before the final boss is pretty neat, though. You will find yourself not able to rely on your weapons and instead you have to outwit your enemies. I found that part to be fun and fresh.

Basically, Lost in Nightmares is a fun, though mildly disappointing, exercise in killing big, bad guys. It has very little substance and doesn't do much to further the story, but you are introduced to a few new mechanics that will surely keep hardcore fans happy. It also feels good to run through the halls of a giant house again. The new Mercenaries mode is fantastic, though. I'd probably pay five bucks just for that. For all the fans that have exhausted the regular mini-game, this is a totally welcome, albeit not that much different, new version of the original. And Barry is a huge hardass. Try his melee attacks, you'll flip.