Nocturne

by Gathering of Developers

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00002CF8V
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: October 25, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,044 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

You are The Stranger, a mysterious detective who wears sunglasses, a trench coat, and a fedora like a uniform. As a member of The Spookhouse, an agency formed by Theodore Roosevelt to investigate the world's supernatural underground, The Stranger travels across the globe to battle gargoyles, vampires, werewolves, zombies, and other horrific beasts.

Nocturne consists of four separate stories, which can be played in any order, each blending adventure and action gaming. At one moment, you may interrogate frightened citizens or use inventory objects to solve puzzles; other times you may need to carefully traverse broken bridges or draw your pistol, Tommy gun, or other weapon to gun down ferocious monsters. You view Nocturne's world from a third-person perspective, leaving you at the mercy of the game's awkward camera system--which is a deadly problem during the hectic combat sequences.

Ample use of gray and brown textures, combined with excellent shadows and ambient sound effects, creates a moody--and quite dark--atmosphere. Nocturne's diverse locations look amazingly realistic, and its character and monster models move with detailed fluidity--but the realism requires a hefty gaming machine. Startling music cues and plentiful dark areas provide genuine scares; Nocturne keeps you up well into the night and looking over your shoulder at every turn. --Doug Radcliffe

Pros:

• Four distinct adventures
• Moody graphics enhance the horror atmosphere
• Generates genuine scares, especially when played at night
• Solid blend of adventure and action

Cons:

• Steep system requirements
• Poor camera system hinders combat sequences

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This game has raised the bar, November 10, 1999

By 

Michael Talley "Hitchhiker" (Carrollton, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nocturne (CD-ROM)

Picture "Film Noir" meets "Night of the Living Dead" and you'll have a pretty good idea about this game. What is the Spookhouse, and who or what is the mysterious Stranger? Not just a "shoot-em-up" although there's plenty of that as well. Kill a wide assortment of evil creatures, undead and otherwise. Graphics and sound are phenomenal but, be warned, it takes a real high-end system to make this game run. Pretty graphic violence. Mildly diabolical voice acting.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slick action/horror game., April 14, 2000

By 

Jason Wilken (Omaha, NE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nocturne (CD-ROM)

Nocturne has recieved some rather harsh criticisms, such as its control interface and screen camera angles. However, I believe that these elements enhance the game significantly. Everyone's already used to the Doom/Quake/Half-Life/Unreal controls. Nocturne uses the same controls, but the perspective is entirely 3rd person, rather than 1st. The "akward" camera shots contributes to the spookiness of the game. I'm a little tired of hearing people complain about the monsters ambushing the hero just as he's leaving screen's field of view. Personally, I thought that was a great idea on the part of the deigners. We're all well versed in dealing with baddies from a certain perspective (again, Doom/Quake/etc.) The difficulty of the controls and the unusual perspectives changes this from another shoot-em-up to something much more eeire and spooky. Wasn't that the point of the game to begin with?

The graphics are phenomenal, the story lines solid, and the voices are okay. My biggest complaint is that the ending for each chapter seemed abridged. There wasn't enough closure (action, dialog, video, whatever). Aside from that, Nocturne is a great game, that definately delivers the chills. And, unlike most 1st person shoot-em-ups, Nocturne takes more than two days to complete.

So if you're looking for the next Quake or Unreal, don't buy this. If you're looking for a game with substance and story (in addition to a belly full of killing), then I highly recommend Nocturne.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unknown little gem, March 28, 2004

By 

"thespookhousestranger" (IL, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nocturne (CD-ROM)

This game is a little known gem, and I mean that in a relative way. Compared to say some of the other 'survival' games it is indeed a lesser known game. This is one of those cases though where its a pleasant treasure waiting to be discovered. When I bought it in 2000 I just wanted a game for my new PC. I paid out the rear for it b/c it looked cool, and I was not let down. My understanding of what this game truly is/was at the time didn't come until recently.

I played this game for a bit when I first got it 4 years ago, but put it down for other titles within a few months. I then forgot about it although I revisited it now and then. It wasn't until a few months ago though(new year of 2004) that I truly saw the beauty of this game. Even 4 years later the graphics, mood, and lighting all come together for a very impressive atmosphere. Thats just an added bonus though, let me get to the best parts of this game:

-First, its blended well. Like another reviewer stated the puzzles make sense, and aren't ludicrous. Series like say oh, RESIDENT EVIL suffer from a rediculousness factor when it comes to puzzles. Show me one actual police station like one in RE2, its stupid. In Nocturne the puzzles and tasks are not overdone, and make sense in a supernatural sort of way. They are FUN tasks, not laborous back tracking BORING ones like in a certain game I have mentioned a few lines back.

-Switch it onto 'mature' mode and watch the blood fly everywhere. Case in point: Take the shovel at the beginning of the Zombie Town just outside the church and proceed to bash the next 120 zombies upside the head. Heads will roll and hilarity will ensue, especially when you beat the Zombie Cows with that shovel....or the fire axe. Flies gather around corpses, burning bodies smolder, and monsters do a good job in screaming in agony when you dispatch them.

-There is a certain element of dark humor which is nice, which brings me to my next point. The voice acting is some of the best I have EVER witnessed, and I have played some games with great voice acting(IE; The Thing, Metal Gear Solid, Medal of Honor, ect).

-There is something for everyone. Everything from Vampires to imps to reanimated gangsters belonging to Al Capone are in this game. Chances are you will fall in love with one of the acts over the others.

-It runs on a crappy system. I have a moderate system and I can run this game with everything maxed out and in 3d mode with no issues(I have a P3 550, an old one).

About the only bad thing I can say about it, is that sometimes if you get your fingers tied up while you are in a serious fight, Stranger can go bonkers and seem to n00b out on ya. Not so much after you master the controls, but at first. Overall though if you configure the keys to your liking it will be minimal. I have played games with MUCH worse control issues though.

I give this game 10/10 for sure, if not an 11. Get it if you like Horror based games. Don't expect Resident Evil though, instead expect a game that rips Resident evil to shreds. :)