PlayStation 2

Vampire Night

Playing through the same levels and facing the same bosses can be tedious, but a few nice features break up the monotony. There's a "special" mode which lets you buy and equip all sorts of special items, which allow you to power-up weapons, skip stages, adjust the difficulty, or add more credits. As a big House of the Dead fan, it didn't take long for Vampire Night to win me over. It's a good buy for light gun fans.

Auf den ersten Blick kann Vampire Night uneingeschränkt überzeugen: technisch in sich stimmig -wenn auch nicht das Maß aller Dinge- und spielerisch angenehm unkompliziert, macht die Vampirjagd eine Menge Spaß. Zumindest bis man sich das erste Mal durch die mageren sechs Abschnitte gewühlt hat. Denn auch der Special-Modus kann die äußerst kurze Spielzeit nur unwesentlich verlängern. Zwar prinzipiell mit guten Ideen ausgestattet, verleidet die komplizierte Umsetzung des Item-Systems den Spielspaß auf lange Sicht - zumal es auch keine neuen Abschnitte oder gar Gegner zu sehen gibt. Und nur, um sich eine Schrotflinte leisten zu können, werden die wenigsten das Spiel wieder und wieder durchspielen. Trotz allem der bisher beste Lightgun-Shooter für die PS2.

If you're looking for a revolutionary light-gun game, something that tears down all the old conventions and delivers an entirely new and fresh experience, then you'll be sorely disappointed with Vampire Night. But what Vampire Night lacks in innovation, it makes up for with top-of-the-line production value, a challenging level of difficulty, and above and beyond some of the campiest voice acting ever.

As an avid light-gun fan, and not as a big shot Editor-in-Chief who gets his ass spoiled with free videogames, I would've most likely went out and bought Vampire Night. The story mode is short, but I keep on coming back to the action and the ability to use two-guns simultaneously for either co-op play, or just hellish gun-slinging play. Vampire Night is definitely the best looking light-gun title to date, and should prove to be a worthy purchase for casual light-gun gamers. While it is short, and somewhat easy, I enjoyed it. Rent the game if you're a bit skeptical. What else can I tell ya'?

Vampire Night is a game that’s truly define the term ‘mixed bag.’ It’s filled with a lot of good qualities and at the same time bad points. With prominent names like Namco, Sega and Wow, you’d expect and unbelievable and revolutionary title. Though it doesn’t come close enough to hitting that goal, which will let down many fans with high expectations, it turns out to be something more than a solid light gun shooter. If you’re a fan of the genre and tiring of Time Crisis II, then this could be the answer to your next light gun prayer.

So don't forget to purchase an additional Guncon 2 or dig out the original PlayStation Guncon (which is also compatible with Vampire Night). If this solution actually worked and your girlfriend/spouse is now a gamer, color me surprised and CONGRATULATIONS! Now you'll have to deal with the other unexpected conundrum that most male gamers face, "fighting over the control pad with your woman." Solution to that problem is still pending.

Vampire Night wants to be the PlayStation 2's House of the Dead, but it lacks creativity and spooky bite. Granted, gun games don't require a deep narrative, but this shooter doesn't even try; it's strictly by-the-numbers fare: aim, shoot, reload, repeat. Although it tries to mimic House of the Dead, Night comes off more like Crypt Killer. As a monster/vampire killer (armed with a gun go figure), you blast through six bland Chapters loaded with monsters and capped by a boss.

Vampire Night (and all light gun games) probably need to be rated on two scales. One for the genre and one for the game itself. As light gun games go Vampire Night certainly stands out as one of the better titles available. Perhaps not as good as Time Crisis 2 or House of the Dead 2 but still certainly one of the picks of the genre. It takes a gaming staple (blasting the undead!), combines it with balanced gameplay and competent graphics. Unfortunately it doesn't draw on the strength of its developers to deliver something greater than the sum of its parts. Gun game fans buy it now -- you won't be disappointed. The rest of you might need to give it a rent.