Nightbreed - The Interactive Movie

When they could make great horrors

I remember watching Nightbreed and absolutely loved it. Okay, it was a little cheesy, but I'm a fan of most horror genres, and Clive Barker never disappoints. It had such a different twist to its style and atmosphere, and I loved the idea of Midian with its freaks being the good guys. Something I didn't expect at the time.

Being the weirdo that I am, I would have loved to see Midian for myself one dark night - armed with nothing more than a flashlight!! Alas, it was never meant to be, until now that is!! Thanks to Ocean and their amazing dedication to movie tie-ins, I finally have their Nightbreed, which tries to follow the original plot. This time it's what's called an interactive adventure, umm, with some arcade action thrown in for good measure.

Let's stop the natter and check out some of the screenshots from this scary game...

Don't listen to the bad man...

Hey, check out that 90s hairdo (and Aaron's nipples! lol)

The gameplay area is large and feels a lot bigger thanks to the laborious car journey!

Armed with a torch, we head into the dark woods!

As Aaron Boone, we begin our adventure in the doctor's office, listening to his lies. Yup, he's trying to trick us into a confession for something we haven't done - our world is collapsing in on itself. After this introduction plays through, we're presented with a map of the area. Here you can travel to three possible destinations: the redneck police station, an ever-attractive asylum, and the mysterious Midian Town.

To drive, we use the overhead map by using the mouse and clicking each intersection of a road. Watch out for hidden roadblocks that present a decision: do you smash through like a rebel or turn around to find an alternative route? Keep your eyes on the fuel gauge, I wouldn't like to get stuck on these roads at night...

Deciding where to go is up to you, but look at the map before you start burning fuel. And then think to yourself, what would Aaron Boone do? Everything may look similar, but each action you take (generally) has a different outcome: I made my way to the hospital in my first game, but (ahem) that didn't go very well.

Not well at all, actually! Check out the screenshot I got to see on my first game...

What a nightmare it is to be shackled and caged like a beast!

Arghh!! Caught and locked away in a padded cell for the rest of my days!

Just listen to his howling!! Wow :o

I've been eaten, again!

After many failures, I restarted and headed to Midian. Here, I was given three options: I chose to enter Midian itself, which is something I was really looking forward to. However, I think this was a bad choice because I was instantly torn to pieces by a Berserker without any chance to defend myself. What an ending!!

I tried again with my venture into Midian. This time, I was set upon by something that was extremely vicious. However, this is where I finally got to see Nightbreed's action scenes as I fled like a scared chicken. This part has you banging on the mouse button to separate two sprites at the top of your screen - representing you and the monster. I escaped, but trigger-happy cops were waiting!! I found myself in the morgue. Wow!

As you can see, my fortune in this game is pretty terrible. Let's see some screenshots...

I made a poor decision, and the doctor was waiting for me...

He brought the cops. Who shot me into pieces!

Midian is full of freaks... but I gotta admire the artwork and a dodgy game of chase!!

Horrorscope!

Visually, Nightbreed doesn't fail to impress with loads of gorgeous artwork. I love the eerie tones that make use of great palette choices to honour the movie's atmosphere nicely. Sadly, the animations are pretty lame, and I dare you not to laugh when being chased. However, it's this part where I thought Aaron looked like David Boreanaz [that vamp Angel] as his image wobbles back and forth. Or is it just me?

The audio is excellent. Okay, I'd have liked more background sounds, but what we have is sampled and pretty darn awesome. Easily my favourite sound effect is when we're captured and held captive in the asylum: this is probably one of the scariest samples I've ever heard in any game. It's incredible. Listen to it!!

Remember when I said I found myself in the morgue? Well, that doesn't necessarily mean game over...

Oh no, I'm not doing too well... Well, I did end up in the morgue, so that's never good!

Well, I never expected that... this is turning into an old Hammer House of Horror movie!!

The CryptO'pinion?

I’ve enjoyed Nightbreed’s strange storyline and unsettling visuals, which I’m sure Clive Barker would appreciate. The game offers quite a challenge, but I was left a little disappointed: considering this is an interactive adventure, I imagined a lot more "interaction". I felt forced into following a predetermined and limited plot, so one wrong move, and you're dead. It's supposed to be a free-roaming adventure!

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t another Dragon’s Lair, and I’m sure fans will find something enjoyable in this movie tie-in. I loved the ability to venture into Midian, but I simply feel more could have been done to exploit the storyline, and variety of Midian monsters. It’s not a bad game but not a great one either.

Here are more screenshots to tempt you to downloading Nightbreed for floppy or hard drive!