Rise of Nightmares homemade videos

Driftwood
Monday, September 12, 2011 | 2:10 PM
4 comments

First 10 minutes Xbox 360

Rise of Nightmares was released last week and it is time for you to see the game in action with a few of our videos. For the same price, you also get my impressions about the controls inside.

It is a difficult thing to talk about Rise of Nightmares. Firstly because it is hard to recommend as it will clearly not be everyone's cup of tea. Secondly because I have a lot of mixed feelings about the game. One thing should be said first, though the controls are a bit clumsy and require some getting used to, Kinect's potential shows a bit here.

Moving around might be a bit tricky at first, but there's not visible latency and there's even an auto walk mode for those who are having a hard time. It's not available all the time, but it allows to lead the character directly to the next door. Items can also be selected from a distance so the player doesn't have to get close to them to pick them up. All in all, such controls work ok but there is still room for improvement. I think they would even do great in a first person adventure game, which Rise of Nightmares is not really.

Indeed, SEGA's new Kinect title is also about fighting one's way through dangerous corridors. The combat system is pretty basic, as raising one's arms will lock the hero onto the nearest target. Keeping one's arms raised without moving serves as a blocking system, while moving them in the air allows the player to hit his enemies. Once again, a bit of practice is necessary to be efficient, but it is fun nonetheless. It does not mean it always works perfectly, but by giving the player full freedom of movement, it was bound to happen.

Rise of Nightmares will not draw people's attention because of its looks. The graphics are clearly outdated - though character models look ok -, which even the grainy filter can't do much to hide. The game is exaggeratedly gore and the atmosphere it conveys feels closer to a Z movie made in Poland than anything else. Had it been released on Xbox Live Arcade at a cheap price, Rise of Nightmares could have appealed to more people but at $40/50, I doubt many will be ready to give it a try. Don't get me wrong, I had fun with the game, but I believe that's typically the kind of title you need to try for yourself before you decide to give it a shot. Unfortunately, there are no plans for a demo for now.