Developed by: Kalisto Published by: Activision Genre: Adventure Number of Players: 1 ESRB: Mature 4 Graphics:....................5/10 Sound:.........................4/10 Gameplay:..................4/10 Value:..........................4/10 The Good Press: An interesting story and some cool characters and monsters do create some atmosphere here; a definite improvement over last year's nightmarish PlayStation release. The Bad Press: Bad control and unpredictable camera angles make this game a frustrating experience at times.

A long, gory, button-mashing, monster mash in a spooky, though monotonous, 19th-century London.

The basic idea behind Nightmare Creatures sounds good: let's make a 3D adventure game involving hand-to-hand combat rather than shooting. Unfortunately, the final product leaves a lot to be desired, amounting to no more than the same shabby, haphazard dungeon crawl we've seen in countless Tomb Raider clones.

The game is set in the streets, structures and sewers of 19th-century London. The evil Brotherhood of Hecate, led by the slimy Adam Crowley, has released a virus that transforms genteel London folk into bloodthirsty monsters. You have a choice between Father Ignatius Blackward (the fighting monk) or Nadia F (fast and deadly fencer). Each has characteristic weapons and a selection of combo attacks, which grows as you advance through the game. Armed with these (and a standard repertoire of power-ups and weapon upgrades), you must fight your way through a foggy London night infested with a small army of classic monsters, ranging from zombies (tons of 'em) to hellhounds and gargoyles. Though you're purportedly "investigating" the whereabouts of Crowley and the Brotherhood, it soon becomes pretty clear that simply smashing everything in sight will move you right along in this largely linear story. To further motivate you toward this strategy, there is a constantly depleting adrenaline bar that you have to keep track of. If your adrenaline level gets too low (i.e., if you stop fighting for too long) then you fall prey to the virus and become that which you sought to destroy. This doesn't give you much time to think or explore, though not much effort is required to navigate your way through these rather bare and simple levels.

The view is from behind the back of your character, so that you can better appreciate the myriad kicks and blows, but the graphics here are a little problematic. The polygonal characters, though blocky, do have some nice colors and a solid feel to their movements. However, they, and the monsters, sometimes contrast too greatly with the rather grainy walls and floors. The end result is that the figures often appearing to be floating in front of the background rather than inside it. In fact, I think the figures overall are a little oversized for their surroundings in this game. This coupled with an annoyingly close camera view much of the time makes Nightmare Creatures less than pleasing eye candy. The blood and gore just don't seem real, the way we hardcore gamers want (need!) it to be. The sound effects also seem to fall short of the mark, often badly sequenced with the action on screen. The shame is that the "fighting" aspect of the game is severely hampered by the weak graphics and sound, though the frame rate is quite fast and smooth. Ultimately, it fails at achieving the solidity and weight of a true fighter, and the range and direction of your attacks is hard to gauge, camera issues aside.

The gameplay itself is childlike in its simplicity. Yep…it's another one of those "find that button to open that door" scenarios, with the scenery dotted with boxes and "hidden" areas. Breaking things is the key; take a swing at everything you see. You will be rewarded with new weapons and a couple of spells to aid you on your journey, if you can deal with the hassle of picking them up, which can often be a chore with these controls. There is no camera-control button, a big no-no with a 3D game, so you have to do a lot of turning in circles to even know what's around you. One nice improvement, in terms of the fighting aspect of the game, is the sidestep, which now actually orients you to your opponent. This was one of the major weaknesses of the PlayStation version that helped to make that game nearly unbearable at times. However, the enemy AI is still woefully lacking. The creatures' attacks are repetitive, so all you have to do is learn their pattern and their timing, then sidestep and counterattack. The action is so fast and frenetic that it doesn't even make sense to try to use any of the more advanced combos. Basically, what you have here is a button-masher's delight.

Though Activision has tried hard to portray this as an interactive action/horror game (a la Resident Evil), the fact is that Nightmare Creatures ends up feeling like a brainless shooter after a while. The problem is that the graphics and action don't do much to make up for the lack of story and pale level design. There are few souls bored enough to make it through all 20 levels of this thing.

Tips:

• Smash all objects in the environment, and save the power-ups and special weapons for when you really need them against the level bosses.
• Learn to time the enemy's attack and use your sidestep to good effect. Some of the later monsters will block everything and the only way you can even land a blow is by countering.
• Keep track of where you're going. Due to the simple level design, it's easy to get turned around and backtrack a long way before you even realize it.
• Remember, you have to keep that adrenaline level up or it's curtains for you.