Nocturne
$24.95		(Win95/98) (Retail) (NOCTURNEPR) For Windows XP see Requirements below.

Publisher: Terminal Reality / Gathering of Developers

Parental Advisory: Contains scenes of animated violence, adult language and some nudity.

Ratings:

A from JustAdventure

from The Adrenaline Vault

It is 1933

And in the shadowed world around you there exists an ungodly evil: werewolves, vampires, ghouls and flesh-eating zombies that wait just outside the light's unlocked door to feed upon innocence. There also exist guardians of the good and just, tireless vigilantes capable of tracking down this evil and turning it upon itself. You are one of them. And you hunt, as your vile quarry does, by night.

As the mysterious Stranger, stalk evil across the globe and attempt to exterminate it with the aid of 13 uniquely talented Spookhouse agents.

Slip lethally through real shadows, accurate, multiple source lighting, and true, volumetric fog, hunting more than 40 savagely cunning monstrosities that want to obliterate you.

Explore the lairs of the damned through intelligent, cinematic cameras or first-person night vision goggles.

Experience four self-contained tales of horrific adventure, each with its own story, locales, objectives, and characters.

Hear true, 3-D environmental sounds, from a gentle breeze rustling through tree leaves to a horde of the undead gnawing on your flesh.

Requirements:

Windows 95/98: Pentium MMX, Celeron, Pentium2, Pentium3, or Athion at 233MHz or higher (400MHz recommended), 64MB RAM (96MB for 3D acceleration - 128MB recommended), 500MB hard disk space (1GB+ recommended), AGP video port recommended, Matrox G200/G400, TnT, TnT2 or Rage 128 recommended, Sound Blaster Live recommended).

Windows XP:This game will run on Windows XP but it does require a patch. We were able to find Nocturne Patch #2 on both FilePlanet.com and GamersHell.com.

Reviews:

JustAdventure - by Randy Sluganski

"Nocturne unfolds in four acts that can, but don't have to, be played in chronological order. Each act is preceded by a cinematic that sets up the story to follow. Before we dissect each act, rest assured that the entire game is visually beautiful. For the first time ever, a game uses dynamic real-time lighting and shadows for more than just eye candy. Sound effects and music often provide aural and directional clues not to be ignored...."

"Based on events that might have (and, who knows, maybe did) occurred, the Spookhouse is a secret US government agency founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1902. Its clandestine role is to protect the nation and the world from supernatural forces. The Stranger, sort of the 007 of the Spookhouse, is its most reliable agent and thus acquires the toughest assignments. Puzzle-solving and bloodshed are soon to follow as you guide the Stranger through four scenarios not for the weak of heart."

"Though Nocturne never literally scares, it does keep you constantly on the edge of your seat. Shadows flitting across rooftops and darting behind trees are briefly glimpsed from the corner of your eye. You know you saw something and that attack is imminent; it is just a matter of what and when. There are no cheap thrills in this game. No massive onslaught by swarms of the undead. No sudden loud explosions of windows crashing or dogs salivating at your heels. Instead, it is a horror that builds slowly and compels you to return to your computer night after night. It is deadly silence accentuated by a musical score that cuts you to the quick as your realize each note signifies the approach of something ... but what?"

The Adrenaline Vault - by David Laprad

"A great deal has been written about the game's elegant technology, and the title does offer an impressive weave of rich graphics, atmospheric lighting and shadows, and hair-raising special effects. These are combined with some of the eeriest sounds I have ever heard to create an experience that transforms immersion. This title demands to be engaged late at night with all the lights out, not just because it is more frightening, but because this closes off all peripheral distractions to achieve maximum effect. It has been ages since a computer game has manifested itself in a heightened pulse and a frosty crop of chill bumps, but there are moments that will do just that. Yet there is more than cutting edge programming at the heart of this title; the designers have laid an intriguing fictional universe as the foundation for these events."

"The gameplay is an effective and almost transparent blend of action and adventure. The Stranger moves through a wonderfully ambient world born from the pulp fiction ethos of the 1940s, battling zombies, werewolves, vampires and other imaginative creatures. To accomplish his objectives, the Stranger must also comb the ominous maps for weapons, ammunition and health, carefully unleashing his armament on the corresponding monsters..."

"The action is viewed from a fixed third-person camera that automatically shifts from angle to angle to provide a cinematic perspective. The designers are often clever in their use of this contraption, building tension with bizarre points of view and brief glimpses of animate terrors scampering through the shadows or across a ledge above the Stranger..."

"...From a technological standpoint, it brings real watershed advancements to gaming, much as id Software once did with the 3D action genre. The real-time lighting and shadows, volumetric fog and cloth simulation are a challenge to other coders to push the boundaries of what can be done on a computer, and are a testament to what can be done with real programming talent. The designers in turn created a beautiful world brimming with atmosphere, and developed an accessible action-oriented approach to adventure, placing a solid game on top of the great graphics. Whether people love Nocturne and sit there glued to the screen with their hearts pounding in their throats until the end or uninstall it in frustration depends on their patience with the troublesome camera angles and subsequent reloads, as well as a smattering of other minor issues. Regardless, action and adventure fans with the machine to power this thing should give it a turn; it offers an experience that is both unique and fun, two words that are not paired all that often in gaming."

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