Even though nightwalkers are usually feared throughout the beginning of the
game, you do get weapons to fight back a bit in some of the later stages. There
is a UV knife that allows you to perform stealth kills and you'll get better
firepower later that will allow you to eat away at the life gauges of
approaching nightwalkers through gunfire. Sometimes you simply have to shoot a
nightwalker that is in your way instead of sneaking by him or sneak up behind
him and stealth kill him. There are also a few shootouts where nightwalkers come
barreling down the corridor after you (and sometimes your squad) and there are
some stages where you have to take out several nightwalkers quietly with a
sniper (headshot).
One disappointing factor in the stealth element of the game is that there are
usually not multiple ways to get through a certain area. Most of the plans for
getting through an area are already preplanned and you simply have to perform it
the way the developers intended or simply die - in this area we kill the
nightwalkers, in this area we sneak past them or else, etc. There are a few
secret medals spread throughout each stage that provide some breakup from the
path but they are usually in plain view are nearby along the linear path.
Collecting medals along with obtaining a good rank on each mission helps to
unlock some of the bonus materials. The bonus materials range from side stories
(text stories), images and in-game movies to extra trial missions. Trial
missions are basically short mini-missions that allow you to play with some of
the side characters.
The overall story of the game isn't that engaging. Cutscenes mainly
concentrate on the situation at hand and the next stage mission rather than
advancing the plot but the overall does pick up slightly later in the game
beyond the main mission objectives. Characters are portrayed weakly as far as
any development and their voices during cutscenes are not well acted enough to
help you really have any feelings for any of them.
Environmental rain effects look realistic on the city background with the
shimmering wet effect that they provide but the overall background setup is
rather boring for a horror title. City streets don't provide much of a scary
atmosphere or feeling of dread. The overall game has a really dark appearance
that can cause you to easily walk past a ladder or pipe that is used to advance
further in a stage. Thankfully, your character has nightvision, which can easily
remedy the dark areas however. Character models are no better than later Xbox
titles (not 360). Character movement for the main character is smoothly animated
but the movement for nonplayable characters and nightwalkers doesn't look
natural as they run. It's almost like someone hit the fast forward button
whenever they start to pick up pace since they run extremely quick to their
destination.
The soundtrack is pretty quiet while sneaking through a stage and ramps up as
certain events happen, much like you would expect from a stealth title.
Nightwalkers are usually silent and very rarely engage in conversation or say
any type of phrase. The rare conversation is usually short such as a complaint
about the weather (the rain). Other than this, nightwalkers simply stand in
place and serve as lookouts until they spot you, then all hell breaks loose once
they do.
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