Overall 8.6 Graphics 8.5 Sound 6 Addictive 8 Story 5 Depth 6 Difficulty 7
7.5
Nightmare Creatures Sowong
Nightmare Creatures was a
game developed by the French company Kalisto Entertainment, who also created other titles such as the Fifth Element (Which I recommend if you enjoy this game). The game Nightmare Creatures was published by Activision which should be more of an attention grabber than you might realize, because back before the PlayStation spawned a series of children Activision was known for developing a wide and varied range of games including the best versions of Spiderman you're ever likely to find... with the exception of Spiderman 2 for the PS2 of course.
The Story: If you've ever
played Medieval this story should come as no great surprise. Evil scientist dabbles in the occult and brings forth the spirits of the damned. Okay, the tale isn't quite so simple as all that, but that is the gist. Evil Scientist turned Pagan Adam Crowley, you know he's evil because he has 'crow' in his name, has joined with the Cult of Hecate (The Greek Goddess of the moon, poison, witchcraft and things that go bump in the night) who had once tried in the year 1666 (The year of the devil) to great an elixir which would grant them super-human abilities. The unfortunate side-effect of following an evil Goddess was that they were instead transmuted into horrific monstrous monstrosities. Now, in the year 1834 there is something foul in the streets of Chelsea, creatures mutating from people and corpses rising from the grave. Seeking to defeat Mr Crowley are one Ignatius Blackward (a well-travelled and disciplined monk) and one Nadia Franciscus (The daughter of a murdered Professor whom knew too much about Adam Crowley) they receive a mysterious letter, a summons from a man who may help in their mission.
Story Quality: The introduction to the game is given in a downward scrolling text which most people will assume is outdated, and they are correct, it does not deliver the actual story in an energetic way, and little development happens outside of text. Yet while most people will probably skip pass this introduction and ignore the words bubbling from the top of the screen, those that do follow the text will gain some insight and enough of a bump to want to learn more, and hopefully defeat Adam Crowley and his army of mutants.
Design: Essentially the game is set in and around Chelsea and London and has a typical Gothic/Victorian design set. The tall buildings and tight passages help to create the illusion of oppression and suffocation at times, while the wider areas allow for an occasional reprieve from the claustrophobic streets and underground. The game's urban areas are rather detailed considered this games age, and the characters and monsters, while limited in the graphical sense, have well-crafted detailing which gives you the sense that you are fighting unholy monsters and not just pixels. People accustomed to playing World of Warcraft and Minecraft will have no problems adjusting to this retro style.
Gameplay: Nightmare Creatures is essentially an action/survival game which has that basic element down to a fine point. The game literary feels like a fight for survival against a brood of monsters which come at you from various angles and by unexpected leaps, be it morosely wandering Zombie or Vicious Troll you will find yourself instinctively tense up from the experience. Fighting is intense at times, especially if your opponent is open to the use of tactics. The AI is capable and challenging enough to anticipate attacks, attempt to flank and even dodge
or run from your attacks. More often than not you will find yourself screaming at the corpses to stop dodging! I would describe the difficulty slope as bumpy, slow incline with satisfying rewards at different intervals. This game does have everything you could possibly want, things which are only just appearing in Xbox 360 and PS3 games are right here. Have you ever wanted to kick a zombie in half? It's here. Shoot a flintlock at a werewolf? Here. Cut a troll into pieces? Here. Use a bow staff like a pro, kick a zombie's head off or transform into a monster? All here. (Might have to use a cheat for that last one.) The controls are fairly easy to get the hang of, two for attack, one for secondary weapon, pause, directions and strafing.
Ambiance: The music is shadowy and depressing, but not so much that you get sick of hearing it after a while, it changes with slow periods and faster periods. The sound of an organ really helps one acclimatize to the gothic environment. However the noises made by the creatures themselves can be disappointing at times. Kicking a corpse in half does not result in a cry of horror, but a quiet grunt that could have been given by an average man. The same can be said for other monsters who have unsettling, but not frightening voices. The sounds created by weapons are dull, fit for purpose yet do not pack a satisfying punch.
Camera: The camera is not annoying as it sometimes can be in third person games. It sits directly behind the character in wide areas, but changes to cinematic view when one is close to a building. This is not a hindrance, but may get some people confused. I have not felt at any time that the camera is a serious problem to gameplay, just a minor one and only when you're trying to line up a shot.
Conclusion: I would say you're depriving yourself on a unique experience if you avoid this game. The joy one can have with hours of zombie-kicking-in-half action is one of the most satisfying experiences this game has to offer, never mind a decent story and various other creatures you can attempt to kick in half. The moody atmosphere, the occasional puzzles and the satisfactory challenge enemies put up is enough to make this game last for hours. However if you're looking for an in-depth and puzzling story to sink your teeth into, look somewhere else.
Graphics 8 Sound 6 Addictive 8 Story 5 Depth 6 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 4/5
Submitted: 12-22-12
Updated: 05-13-13
Review Replies: 1
9.3
Nightmare Creatures hydra_huntersLOL
Before this review, I'd like to thank Caddicarus for introducing this to everyone (He's on youtube, not this site). Without him, I would have never played this.
Nightmare creatures is a action hack/slash/shoot on the N64 and the Playstaion and boy, is it underrated.
The thing is, this was made by Kalisto Entertainment. The same guys who made the game based on The Fifth Element which was a HORRIBLE mess. Which is a bad sign.
GRAPHICS-9
For the N64 and the PlayStation, this looks great! The landscape sticks to the Gothic horror theme, the violence looks, well, violent and
the only problem is, the PlayStation port has everybody's favorite thing about the PlayStation: FMV. But the FMV can't look too bad, right?
Compared to something like the first Tekken? But we're talking about the N64 port. And also, I haven't encountered moments where textures got mixed with other things.
SOUND-8
The monsters sounds and looks, big or small, make them more of a threat and even the monster itself. Guns sound powerful and the sound effects get you blown away (especially gun sounds.)!
ADDICTIVENESS-10
I come back playing a lot of times, you can't deny that! The game puts you as either Ignatius Backward (possibly the best name of all time) or Nadius Franciscus against Adam Crowley, an alchemist and leader of the Brotherhood of Hectate.
This game is loads of fun to play, Ignatius cuts zombies in half WITH A STICK! You have some of the best uses of the guns, the combat is just perfect (starts off clunky but GET USED TO IT YOU TWAT!).
STORY:7
This game is set in the year, 1834, where monster sightings occur all over the place, but please, blame that on Adam Crowley.
Ignatius receives a letter which turns out to be the lost diary from Samuel Pepys, containing research from the Brotherhood.
It turns out it's been renowned by Dr. Jean Franciscus who shows up with his daughter Nadius. Jean gets murdered and well, Adam must be stopped, I guess. Pretty good story, but most of the time, I'm not about that.
DEPTH-9
This game gives you so much! The combat consists of triple kicks, Spreading bullets from two triple-barrelled revolver's all over the place, knocking a zombie's head off with a Bo staff and having some of the most badass equipment!
DIFFICULTY-7
This game's bets pretty hard at times. Especially when some giant......blue....thing comes in and they just have a contest on who blocks the most (no need to worry, it happens in fighting games as well) so yeah.....it's pretty hard.
Overall, this gets my score 9.3 out of 10
Oh, and it doesn't work well on this sight so I recommend getting on Project 64 or something.
But it'd seem like a very bad sign seeming it was made by the same people that made The Fifth Element on the PlayStation, one of the worst games of all time.
Graphics 9
Review Rating: 1/5
Submitted: 11-02-13
Review Replies: 1
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