|
NIGHTMARE
CREATURES
Take a liberal dose of Doom,
gently stir in a few cups of Tomb
Raider,
add a splash of horror/zombie movie in an 1800's London setting, shake
vigourously and hey presto(!), you've got a rich cocktail better known
as Nightmare
Creatures
! This truly cool, atmospheric play draws upon the best elements of
these games and still throws in a lot of originality and addictive gameplay,
all in the shape of a traditional tale of good & evil and the graphic
ways & means of fighting it. But here the bad guys are ultra wicked
and you're their mean, blessed competition. Doctor Crowley is the twisted
maniac behind the whole plot and you can play either the devoted Ignatius
Blackwood or the curvy Nadia, who are out to stop Crowley from overrunning
London with his zombie/monster creations. My favourite character is
Nadia as she is quicker & better looking - I think Miss Croft has some
competition in this lass, clad in tight riding pants, suede knee-high
boots & long gloves, string-tied top and black pony tail - yummy. She
wields her sword with gusto and kicks high, low and hard. The Blackwood
character wields a spiked & bladed stick, which will get you through
certain stages much easier than our sexy counterpart whose power runs
out quicker. You'll go up against no less than 24 creatures which, to
name but a few, include moaning zombies, giant growling beasts and multi-headed
or tentacled water monsters & batfreaks. You'll have your hands full
dismembering, slashing and shooting these braindead freaks of the undead,
who try their utmost to prevent you from catching up to their evil master,
Doctor Crowley. With not an overwhelming amount of horror themed games
available, Nightmare Creatures will satisfy many a happy gamer. The
dark, tense music matches the dingy, damp, misty settings which lead
you through old London streets, churches, dungeons, cemeteries, the
London Zoo, the harbour and other eerie locations. Collecting life-force
and special weapons like single shot guns, dynamite, spells, potions
etc. will prove essential as these fuckers will beat you to a pulp without
even so much as a blink or a "please, sir". Blood flies when you whack
these grisly ghouls through the many grueling levels which (thank god)
has a password to launch you into your last accomplished stage - a function
which will make the memory card deprived smile. Skipping to a later
level will, regrettably lead to sacrificing a life or two for this privilege.
Some of the extra details include rats which squeak when you step on
them, spooky mist effects, rain & snow, ambient soundFX and a super
smoothe, almost immaculate opening animation sequence of Crowley hacking
away at one of his undead creature creations. A map is also at your
disposal if you get a little lost. The camera swoops along cinematically,
adding to the atmospheric feeling. Loading time doesn't take too long
and the levels continue for as long as you can stand up - that is if
your life clock doesn't run out; this is overcome when you encounter
a beasty and dispatch him before you're his breakfast. While the faint
of heart will scream with delight, gore-hounds will revel in this great
visually interactive experience. With not an overwhelming amount of
horror themed games available, Nightmare Creatures will satisfy many
a happy gamer with its great new angle on an old recipe.
4 / B
- PB
...the 2nd Opinion...
NIGHTMARE CREATURES
In stead of being taken on a racy, spacey futuristic trip, the creators
of Nightmare
Creatures
decided to fling us a couple of centuries into the past to battle the
evil Dr Crowley and his monsters in the damp, misty streets of London.
You don't have a wide choice of characters, though, the pick limited
to Ignatius the righteous fighter of all evil or his sexy sidekick,
the curvaceous Nadia. Obviously the two have different weapons, abilities
and strength, but most of you perverts will more than likely pick Nadia
to see her butt wiggle when she runs down the cobblestone, rat infested
streets or hear her sighing as she expends energy beating up, decapitating
and annihilating zombies and beasts. That's why I picked her! Each stage
takes you through a different part of old London, hot on the elusive
Crowley's trail who wants to take over the city with his mutated freaky
creatures. The superb soundtrack sets the mood while the variety of
monsters seems to be inexhaustible. A bunch of hidden goodies all over
the show will assist you in dispatching the adamant undead. Your weapon
(sword for Nadia, double bladed stick for Ignatius) can be upgraded
to dismember the toughest beast with one swish. You can collect a snowflake,
which freezes your opponents, and have you shatter them to bits. There's
fire, extra energy, dynamite, single firing pistols and extra lives
to name but a few. Hidden passages can be accessed by means of levers
and a map of the area can be checked out if you're stuck (something
that will happen more than once). Your time does run out so you have
to move your ass. What makes this game stand out is its mood and originality.
Sure, each level boils down to the same thing, but there's no way in
hell they'll let you catch up to Crowley without putting you through
your paces, proving your worth. Buckets of blood and tubs of gore. You'll
love it.
5 / B
- PP
|
|
NIGHTMARE
CREATURES II
Remember the original with the evil Crowley and his monstrous experiments?
Well, the bugger's back and this time round you're one of his experiments:
a cowering, tattered trench coat wearing freaked out, pale and bandaged
padded room mental patient with patchy streaky black hair. Marilyn
Manson
fans will love him. His favourite friend is an axe and along the way
there are many ghouls and zombies to hack to gory bits. The atmosphere
is amazing, the mood music like a horror soundtrack and the blood-o-meter
clocking in many pints per level. Besides climbing up ladders and kicking
in doors throughout the dungeon-like, damp and eerie areas, you can
also swim through flooded areas. You can collect power-ups, special
weapons and abilities along the way as your psychotic instinct leads
you to your destiny. I witnessed some visual glitches, but it's nothing
too serious.
4 / B
- PB
|
|
NO
FEAR DOWNHILL MOUNTAIN BIKING
The only
other mountain biking game I've experienced was part of Rushdown. This
game is quite an improvement (but without added kayak & snowboarding
like the aforementioned). There are six characters to choose from (equal
gender split), the ladies' warm-up routines while you decide to pick
them, far more sexy than the males'. But, it all depends on whether
you want to pick someone with more stamina, but less, power, equal parts
or more recovery attributes than stability. You progress through Amateur,
Pro and Elite leagues, the courses including everything from town &
country tracks in Yorkshire, UK, a dry river valley in Morocco and San
Francisco hills to New Zealand riversides and German & Canadian tracks.
The bikes handle well and the character response is realistic (especially
when you go flying over the handlebars when slamming full speed into
a barrier! Quite a laugh). You replays of your races where a study can
be made of your mistakes. Besides the intro, you can also access clips
of the developers showreel of other games and a Giant bicycle promo
- they're not forced on you, so you can check 'em out without it being
shoved in your face. Single races, Time Trials & Championships can be
had. Dual and Tournament need to be unlocked first. Maps of the courses
are shown while your bike configuration is given while the game loads.
The game comes complete with whirring sprockets & spokes and the cyclist
grunting as pedalling gets tough. The soundtrack is also lively, like
any extreme sorts game should.
4
/ B
- PB
|