Nocturne

The Good
Graphically, Nocturne is a beautiful game. The engine works great with lighting and shadows. Generally has good voice acting. Interesting premise and fairly good level design too.

The Bad
1. Nocturne really isn't that scary. Why? Because the main character doesn't give a damn. He doesn't react to the monsters, he just shoots them. So if he isn't concerned why should we be? Also, the only scares Nocturne can establish are the surprise scares- monsters jumping through windows, etc. No real sense of dread here.

1. Controls suck. The Nocturne engine looks great, but there are some serious clipping problems. Shooting works fine, and the character models sustain localized damage (ie, you can shoot someone's arm off,) but hand to hand combat is terrible. Running, walking, jumping are all way too challenging and inaccurate.

2. Bad camera. There are terrible camera angles in this game. Alone in the Dark, Resident Evil style camera angles work well within buildings, but sections of Nocturne involve running through the woods. This is horrible. Many times I fell to my death, only because the camera angle did not show how close I was to a cliff. The combination of poor camera angles and poor controls killed me more than any monster.

The Bottom Line
Poorly designed "survival horror" game focuses too much on graphics not enough on gameplay.

The Good
Yes this game is definitely more of an action title than a horror. Nocturne packs thrills and firefights around just about every corner. If only Terminal Reality would have made some sequels, then I think this series could have really shone.

In Nocturne you are thrust into the role of The Stranger, the mysterious and gravelly voiced bad-ass, with a skill for killing the things that most men fear. An agent of The Spookhouse, an agency funded by the government to fight the things that go bump in the night. Nocturne features are great back story and plot in general. Nocturne also does a good job of mixing history with the supernatural. And it pays homage to all the horror gods. Stoker, Poe, Shelly, and Lovecraft. Among others. The game unfolds over several years as the story comes full circle. It is a shame we never got to see more Nocturne games. Nocturne would also make an interesting movie, or graphic novel.

The Graphics are incredible. Even today, years after the games initial release it still looks great, either using software rendering, or if it is supported your 3D card. Lighting effects and shadows are all realistic looking and nice to look at. The characters are all well designed and unique. The Stranger is such a cool character! The monsters are appropriately creepy. The back rounds are pre-rendered, and are all sharp, and clean. Be warned this game is very dark. You will either have to play in the dark or turn up your monitors brightness. Playing in the dark is more fun however.

All is well in the sound department. The voices are all appropriate to the character that they belong to. The sound effects are a little loud but convincing. And the music what little there is all good, particularly the ending theme, the only one that has lyrics.

The Gameplay is where the game drops the ball. The missions are all well designed and can be great fun, but the execution is where the game falters.

The Bad
The imprecise controls make jumping and dodging harder than they need to be. Further frustrating is the fact that there are some parts of the game where you have to make a jump or die. And you probably will die many times at these parts. You can save your game at any point so be sure to do so at these points. Also The Stranger’s greatest enemy is not a werewolf or vampire, but the games camera. Which cannot not be manually controlled. And the game almost always picks the worst camera angle possible. Making this game to much like the horrid Resident Evil series.

The Bottom Line
Fans of horror will find a lot to like here. But this one is far from perfect. Also be warned that this game carries a M rating for a reason. The is graphic violence. Like limbs being blown and ripped off. Gratuitous language, and nudity.

The Good
This game had several strong points going for it. The characters are interesting, complete with personalities and unique abilities. The game has a lot of cool dialogue and interaction. All four episodes had a good story involved. No illogical puzzles or busywork.

The graphics are amazing. Background scenes looked really good. The rendered shadows were very cool. However, on a current p4 computer, the Strangers coat looking like it was pulsing instead of being thrashed by the wind. Very effective job with light and shadows.

The sound was great. The voice actors did a good job. The recordings were top notch. Unlike some games, you don't need to adjust the volume every so often. Music was influenced by 60's style horror movie scores like "Psycho."

The Bad
The actual gameplay. More than once I've had a character stuck in place with no way to get out. I had to save my game every 3 screens and hope for the best.The controls are very sluggish and unresponsive. A very limited interaction with the environment. Weird sound and graphic bugs crop up frequently, destroying any immersive mood. An unusually high disgust factor after trying to overcome all the above listed flaws.

The Bottom Line
Turn on the god mode and play it like a movie. You'll enjoy it more.