Nocturne

Discount Price: $16.09

Accessories:

PC Gamer (1-year)

Customer Reviews:

This game is way under rated! [Posted on 2003-07-31]
I bought this game a few years ago when it first came out. I was and still am amazed at how cool this game is. The graphics are amazing even by todays standards. The game play and story lines are ultra cool. I must agree with most of the other reviewers below that this game is so under rated. I have no idea why it has gotten such a horrible reputation. It rocks! So if anybody who was involved in the development of this game happens to see my review, I just want you to know this game is one of the best.

An unknown little gem [Posted on 2004-03-28]
This game is a little known gem, and I mean that in a relative way. Compared to say some of the other 'survival' games it is indeed a lesser known game. This is one of those cases though where its a pleasant treasure waiting to be discovered. When I bought it in 2000 I just wanted a game for my new PC. I paid out the rear for it b/c it looked cool, and I was not let down. My understanding of what this game truly is/was at the time didn't come until recently.

I played this game for a bit when I first got it 4 years ago, but put it down for other titles within a few months. I then forgot about it although I revisited it now and then. It wasn't until a few months ago though(new year of 2004) that I truly saw the beauty of this game. Even 4 years later the graphics, mood, and lighting all come together for a very impressive atmosphere. Thats just an added bonus though, let me get to the best parts of this game:

-First, its blended well. Like another reviewer stated the puzzles make sense, and aren't ludicrous. Series like say oh, RESIDENT EVIL suffer from a rediculousness factor when it comes to puzzles. Show me one actual police station like one in RE2, its stupid. In Nocturne the puzzles and tasks are not overdone, and make sense in a supernatural sort of way. They are FUN tasks, not laborous back tracking BORING ones like in a certain game I have mentioned a few lines back.

-Switch it onto 'mature' mode and watch the blood fly everywhere. Case in point: Take the shovel at the beginning of the Zombie Town just outside the church and proceed to bash the next 120 zombies upside the head. Heads will roll and hilarity will ensue, especially when you beat the Zombie Cows with that shovel....or the fire axe. Flies gather around corpses, burning bodies smolder, and monsters do a good job in screaming in agony when you dispatch them.

-There is a certain element of dark humor which is nice, which brings me to my next point. The voice acting is some of the best I have EVER witnessed, and I have played some games with great voice acting(IE; The Thing, Metal Gear Solid, Medal of Honor, ect).

-There is something for everyone. Everything from Vampires to imps to reanimated gangsters belonging to Al Capone are in this game. Chances are you will fall in love with one of the acts over the others.

-It runs on a crappy system. I have a moderate system and I can run this game with everything maxed out and in 3d mode with no issues(I have a P3 550, an old one).

About the only bad thing I can say about it, is that sometimes if you get your fingers tied up while you are in a serious fight, Stranger can go bonkers and seem to n00b out on ya. Not so much after you master the controls, but at first. Overall though if you configure the keys to your liking it will be minimal. I have played games with MUCH worse control issues though.

I give this game 10/10 for sure, if not an 11. Get it if you like Horror based games. Don't expect Resident Evil though, instead expect a game that rips Resident evil to shreds. :)

Frustrating camera angles ruined this one [Posted on 2005-04-11]
I looked forward to this game as I have alot of respect for other games Gathering of Developers has put out and many reviews here gave it high scores however after 2 days I stopped playing it. Here's why.

Very, and I mean VERY bad camera angles. As other reviewers have said your point of view changes unexpectedly with sometimes very bad results especially during combat. This means you must quickly compensate for the different directions the controls would now move the character along with reevaluating where your character is in the "new" scene.

I know this game was made along time ago but with this bad a problem I don't think it should have been released like this. Adjusting to a new point of view every few seconds took the fun out of it. For me anyway.

This game came out in 1996 I think and even for today the scenes and graphics are pretty good. Animation is clunky though. The characters turn in 45 degree angles if you know what I mean. Sometimes to save time I would just run for short distances, bump into something, turn 45 or whatever degrees and run again. You can get used to it though.

There are two main characters: The Stranger (that's you) and his girl partner Svetlana. Sort of a skinny Elvira: Mistress of the Dark who's half vampire. She frequently gets in The Stranger's path and then you have to do the 45 or 90 degree turn and step around her to continue.

I may return and finish this game someday but for now there are better, far less frustrating games to play and limited time in which to play them. I'm sorry to say it but I don't recommend this game.

I REALLY want to like this game but... [Posted on 2005-09-21]
-I can't recommend it completely.

The stories (there are 4 seperate stories to play but aren't connected to one another) are interesting. The mood is creepy. It's in the Resident Evil vein of play...

But the negatives ruin the game.

First off, this game (2nd only to the last Tomb Raider game) has the WORST controls. They are clumsy and obtuse. The movement is jerky and inconvenient.

Second, the game itself is WAY TOO DARK. You can barely see anything at times which is frustrating. There are no ways to change the gamma settings.

Third, the angles. Much like all the RE clones, the angles make it difficult to see where you are or where you're going. This is hands down the worst use of angles in a game.

Fourth, the game tends to crash. One minute youre character runs into a corner, literally, disappears and the game reboots to the desktop. I never found any patches for this...

Fifth, the auto-aim is clumsy and slow. Most of the time the baddies are attacking and you can't even get a lock onto them.

Sixth, the voice-overs are awful. Worse than RE because they are so bad that you can't laugh like in RE. All except when "The Stranger" says "[...]!". That was hilarious...

Seventh, this game has the most useless flashlight ever conceived. The battery runs out in mere seconds and take forever to recharge and when it does work you can only use it with a weapon! Also, it doesn't illuminate much of anything... It's just plain stupid.

So trying to play this game is a matter of "I just want to finish this and never see it again!" attitude which should never be the case "playing" any game.

Hard to play [Posted on 2008-05-21]
Although I didn't purchase this game it looked like it would be fun to try.

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