High: The story and voice acting

Low: The graphics



Well the internet goes out at the worst times, but alas I was reviewing a non-multiplayer game so there is always a bright side. Ok I guess you want some background information on this little Tactical RPG title called Night Watch. In the Night Watch universe, there are people among us who appear ordinary, but they are different; they call themselves "Others." These "Others" have magical powers and they have to choice too support the forces of light which are known as Night Watch, or the side of darkness which are known as Day Watch. These two sides have been locked in an epic battle with the common hope of one ultimately claiming a decisive victory and a right to rule the world.

Some 500 years ago (from modern times) there was a great battle between the Light and the Dark, this battle was so evenly matched that the world would have ended the world, since neither side wanted that they entered into a treaty or truce. This truce basically says when others find out they are others they have to let the person choice which side they are on there own. The Night Watch makes sure the Dark side follows the truce and the Day Watch makes sure the Light side follows the truce.

What do you learn from this information? You learn that this RPG has one of the most basic and standard storylines, good verses evil. But it's not that simple, in the fight both sides use evil tactics to keep the truce in check. We learn that this could be one kick butt game. It really is in its own right but it has some inherit flaws that really detract from the over all feel of the game.

Night Watch will start you out as a recently initiated Other as he strives to comprehend the mystical powers he has recently discovered, and to make sense of the role he plays in this epic struggle. As to not give away the game I will leave it at that. As you play the game there will be two sides of the world your in, the normal world as you know it and the gloom. The Gloom is a magical mirror dimension of our own but the others magical power is stronger.

Since your magical powers are more powerful in the gloom you will spend most of your time playing in the gloom. Which in the best of situations would not be a "bad" thing but the developers interpretation of the gloom was not as inspiring as in the movie or in the book, and is rather washed out looking and unimaginative. This hinders game play from time to time as things blend together and sometimes make it hard to move around or attack your enemy. This can be over come somewhat with the changing of game settings and monitor settings mostly the later which unless you have a save settings setting on your monitor can be a pain to say the least as you go between the worlds (The normal and the gloom) in the game. Now there are some minor translation issues that come up as you play but they will not hurt the story or the game play.

The battle system is a nice turned based system very accessible to players. You can learn some very complex magical moves, but you will find yourself using about 5-6 different moves/spells as your main stay. Which could get boring but the story will keep you moving along nicely. Over all the accessibility of the battle system and ease of learning make it the savior of the game. Well that and its interesting story.

Graphics don't normally put me off of a game, but after watching the movie, I was expecting something.. Well something more engaging. Now the real world is bright, and colorful, though some of the objects seem to be a bit on the undefined and flat. The real issue with the graphics comes in the gloom, everything is washed out, which in of itself is not inaccurate but more should be going on in the gloom. The characters of the game look pretty good but the in game cut screens could use some work. The lip sinking is off, which isn't a horrible thing BUT can be distracting. Now I will give the game this with its mid rang requirements it has a large reach.* Now the effects are pretty good, maybe not as exciting as hoped but they are very well implemented.

The game does sport a nice sound track, though the dark rock music cuts out in the gloom leaving you in relative silence. Now the real winner of the game is the great voice acting, it really sets the tone of the game and the story. Sometimes overacted and maybe a bit on the funny side, the voice acting is well above par. The sound effects are nice and well implemented and even seem to be well thought out.

If you're a casual gamer the enthralling story, the accessible battle system will make this RPG a must have. If you're an enthusiast and can get past the graphics you will fall in love with the deep strategies within the game. I could recommend this game to anyone that has an interest in the Night Watch book/movie it expands on the story a bit which is welcome. But I have to warn you there is little replay value in this title.

*Please note that there was talk of a patch at the writing of this review that might help some of the patching and other graphical issues. Due to time constraints I was unable to test the game with the patch I will issue an update within 30 days of this publish date about any changes to the game play of the game with patches.

Personal Notes from the editor: I see lots of potential for this game and I think with some patches most if not all of the graphical issues could be resolved in a reasonable manner and I could even see some official add-on content as a welcome addition to the game to help with replay value.


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Reviewed By:EG Admin Reviewed On: Fri, 28 July 2006 00:44:26 Read:

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