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(More customer reviews)Tellurye is going to break it down for you. As owner of Fedora Technologies (www.fedoratech.com) we get access to lots of goodies. I've had the chance to try this bad boy out immediately. What stands our company out is, yes I give you my opinion, but I will also state facts - this helps the user decide on whether they want to buy it. Not just "its good" or "bad". So let me sum up.
STORY: You are John Llyod, part of a Special Forces team set on a rainy night in LA taking out vampires (also called NightWalkers), rescuing a kidnapped professor from their hold, and unraveling the events behind how this Plague came to the city. Just like other folks said, this is Splinter Cell like. Although you CANNOT engage the vampires for the first third of the game. (well, you can...we'll get to that in a minute) They can run FAST, and kill within seconds (and the standard weapons do no good) so don't bother shooting or trying to outrun them and get to a hiding spot to "lose" them. That won't happen here. Think of this as Metal Gear Solid where you had to sneak much of the same amount of the game before you actually acquired a weapon. Same thing here. You are forced to think of alternate routes, watch their patrol pattern, to get to your objective.
GAMEPLAY: Let me also clear up some of myths. Vamps DO show up on radar, but not at first. If moving slowly enough, they eventually show up on radar with their cone of vision as soon as they are on your screen, or if you go into Necro mode (like HeatVision, but vampires stand out differently than humans). and lock on to them. So, you have to engage Necro Vision, or hug a wall and rotate your camera around the corner for it to register. Needless to say you have to proceed carefully. You cannot run or walk fast throughout the level. Don't take for granted that it's a dead end alley and no vampires will be standing there smoking - they will be. This forces you to be 100% stealthy and look at EVERY corner before advancing. Sounds annoying but it really wasn't. Levels went by pretty easy for me. Plus, this was VERY intense and suspenseful. It did not take me forever, but it was realistic. If you were really trying to sneak into a building, you wouldn't walk quickly up to it, you would look at every angle to see the best way in, make sure there weren't patrolling guards, etc. You are given a warning - transparent white overlay of vampire eyes and an awesome sound let you know you are in danger of being seen. The game is somewhat forgiving in even if you are somewhat close to them, it still gives you time to run back to get out of their line of sight. Of course, you only have 5 seconds or so to do this. If not, then it is over for you. So its not like "Ooop, he saw me, I'm dead" unless you ran every where and don't have time to get out of their sight.
You can engage the enemy, but very unwise to do so, unless you have the sniper rifle or shotgun, which usually takes them down in one shot. The other weapons you have, take roughly 15 - 20 bullets (not location specific) to bring them down. This can be easy if they are on the same level as you, you are a good distance enough away from them to get all 15-20 rounds off, as they literally run right towards you - they don't do any defensive maneuvers. However, if you are on a rooftop and they are on the ground (or vice versa) they will jump to get to you and it can be hard to hit them while flying or running left to right / strafing if obstacles are in their way. Hence that's why its best to not engage them at all.
The guns that CAN kill the vampires are pretty cool. However, you lose them by the time you get to the next level. Pretty dumb. I suppose this is a way the developers didn't want you blowing the two-thirds of the game thru in 15 minutes. Games like this have been much criticized. However, they could have done something more realistic, such as make ammo scarce so that you would have to survive on guns AND stealth.
Game does a great job with added suspense by dropping vampires in front of you with their back turned to you on purpose. This scares the crap outta you, but they purposely don't "see you" unless you were running at the time, and they jump away. This gives you that "oh crap" feeling like "Man don't turn around". But they never do - I think the developers just put that in there for fun to remind you, that vamps can travel via the rooftops, not just the streets.
The boss stages are almost too easy. There is a difficulty setting that you can adjust. That really only effects the bosses more so, since even on easy, you cannot engage the enemy in the first third. The bosses are weird in that they take their sweet time reloading their weapon, or standing there. The only challenge really are the regular vampires that you have to sneak by. But, there is a boss or two that are challenging. Almost as if the developers spent time on the nightwalkers, and blew off the boss stages.
The biggest problem with this game, is where there is a positive, there is almost a matching negative. Almost a 1:1 ratio. The game is pretty forgiving. Even though these Vamps are super human, they can't see you thru fog or walls. They explain the dense rain weakens their otherwise super human senses. And when you get killed, you spawn near the checkpoint or when the last cutscene played, but NOT near the vamp or his/her line of sight. So you don't respawn right in front of danger or in an impossible spot, nor do you have to spend another 10 - 15 minutes getting back to where you were. Although, you may decide you do need to backtrack if you think "hey, too many vampires, let's backtrack to that ladder and try taking the roof". The checkpoints did take a while to get to, but like I stated, the fact that you can "continue" makes it go by fast. Although, this does subtract from your score. But then again, so does selecting "restart", so there you have it. Some sequences are scripted no matter what - A nightwalker will "hear" you even though you haven't moved a muscle and will begin to search for you. Kind of sucks, but again, good cause then you only have about 30 seconds to find a hiding spot. This does add to the suspense, but again, its forced. This is extremely rare in the game, but does happen. This unnecessarily adds to a painful trial-and-error game.
Along those lines, not much replay value, except online. It is easy to memorize a level, if you wanted to do it again. You can then run everywhere since you know where all the baddies are. However, there are multiple paths to get to your objective in the single-player game, and I enjoyed finding quicker rooftop paths, or longer but more visually appealing choices. But, with no different unlockables due to a great score, there is little reason to do so.
Multiplayer is fun with Deathmatch, Death or Nightwalker, destroy or capture the flag. However, there is no co-op mode for the mission. Nothing really to shout about here.
GRAPHICS: The graphics here are nothing to brag about. The environments were very detailed and nice, but not as good lookin as Gears of War or Splinter Cell, but I thought definitely better than PS2 quality. They look believable and are detailed environments. Not just similar empty rooms. However, the rain (which persists throughout the entire game) IS PHENOMENAL! The way it glistens and stands on the rooftops, streets, cars, and even the characters are incredible - really pushed the 360 to its max in this area. The intro and cutscenes are awesomely done - very movie-like. The plot seems a little weird. And the voice acting - even worse. Questions are answered but may not tie all the action together (why did I have to travel rooftops and climb fences to go to that building again...if you have a VAN?. And why backtrack through an early level - shouldn't you have ordered me to do that BEFORE we took the house?)
SOUND: The music that accompanies the game, while I usually turn this off, does a good job to let you know when danger is approaching, or as you dive deeper into surreal, seedy environments. The "woosh" sound and music that is played, as your controller vibrates when an enemy spots you really sends chills up your spine. Even if you don't swear when you are scared, you will playing this game, and not just out of frustration either.
I would recommend, based on polls from folks and reading their posts, that you download the demo (not in US yet, but you can easily make a Japanese or UK account on XBL in minutes - that's what I did, and download from there), rent it, or borrow from a friend and see for yourself. I LOVE games like this, but even I wouldn't pay $60 for it. I'd wait till it drops to about $40. It has its ups and downs - you die fast, yet respawn in a great spot; regular vamps are tough, bosses are laughably easy; finally get a weapon, only to lose it on the next level.
I think you see where I'm going with this. This game showed great promise, but feels rushed out the door. If you like a little faster paced like Splinter Cell or MGS, then I'd stay away from this one for a while. However, if you like taking your time, really looking at the level and absorbing all the environments, and proceed methodically, then this may be up your alley. Either way, I would rent or demo it before shelling out the 60 Washington's.
Please rate and let me know what else I can comment on!
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Vampire RainAs a member of a black ops unit, your mission in Vampire Rain is to secretly eliminate a growing population of deadly vampires known as Nightwalkers. Your hands will sweat and your heart will pound as you use stealth, strategic thinking, and specialized weapons to face your supernatural foes. Be careful out there—because if you make one mistake, you're history.
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