Windows

Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy

I wasn't expecting too much from this game. Judging by peoples' past postings in newsgroups and forums, some people seem to like it, others not. I'd heard it was short. I expected it to be rather mediocre. Instead it was a delightful surprise. It's a nice old-fashioned point-and-click game with no action sequences.

Det er ikke endnu et Blade Runner, men et meget vellykket adventure-spil, der trods sine småfejl nok skal få en del garve adventure gamefreaks til at hive håret ud af hovedbunden,

No estaría nada mal recuperar esta aventura y no dejarla caer en el olvido, porque una aventura gráfica de tal belleza gráfica, con una jugabilidad endiablada y tan terriblemente divertida no merece un puesto tan indigno en el mundo aventurero como el ocupa ahora, tan cercano al olvido.

Nightlong is a very entertaining traditional graphic adventure. The story is the game's strongest point, and it is very easy to navigate within the environment. Aside from a couple of design flaws, I recommend this game to any fan of the genre. It is as traditional as an adventure gets, so if you enjoy these types of games, chances are you'll appreciate Nightlong. Bottom Line: Excellent graphics, clear sound with poor dubbing and mispronunciations in the otherwise decent voice acting. The game is easy to navigate, and the story is well written. Despite a couple of basic design flaws, I recommend this game to any adventure fan.

Het pointen en klikken kan somswat frustrerend en saai zijn, maar de prachtige, sfeervolle omgevingen en de gevarieerde puzzels maken alles goed.

De verhaalwendingen zijn sterk genoeg om de aandacht te blijven vasthouden en de grafische afwerking mag gezien worden. Voor mij is Nightlong zeker zijn aankoop waard.

In the end, the plot is laid out well despite the storyline getting a bit perplexing here and there, and I would say that more thought was put into the plot than most of the games that I have played. After all of this, I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed, as if the production people were just tired of working on the game and wanted to get it out on the shelves. I was hoping to see a little more of the "Hurrah for the Hero" and maybe a little more closure in the end after all the effort. The game, although not on the top of my Best Games of All Times list, is still more than decent and well worth a try. I might not have gotten the thrill I was meant to get from the game, because I felt that it was slightly more skewed to the male gamer, but in the same breath I think avid gamers will enjoy the challenge whether they are male or female.

Experienced adventurers might move through this game fairly quickly but, whatever your expertise level, try to avoid reaching for a walkthrough because you will be rewarded for your perseverance. At the end of the game the designers invite our comments so here are mine. Nightlong is lots of fun to the point that I found the lack of speech synchronisation quite forgivable. All I'd ask for is that extra 'action' choice so that I could be the one to decide what I want to do -- and for the next game to be another enjoyable inventory-based adventure.

Warum beschweren sich eigentlich so viele Leute, daß es keine Adventures mehr gibt? Allein in diesem Monat kommen drei gute Abenteuerspiele auf dem Markt. Nightlong gehört mit Sicherheit dazu, denn es hat nicht nur eine spannende Story und sorgt für Atmosphäre, sondern bietet auch einiges fürs Auge. Sämtliche Cut-Szenen zeigen filmreife Action, übertreffen grafisch jedoch deutlich das interaktive Spielgeschehen. Neben den originellen Figuren hat es mir besonders die deutsche Synchronisation angetan: Zu welcher Gelegenheit hört man Bruce Willis sonst sagen: "Scheiße! Hoffentlich habe ich den Jungen nicht umgebracht."?

Adventures, in denen der klare Menschenverstand vor wirren Verschiebepuzzles regiert, sind leider ziemlich selten geworden. Durch die logischen Aufgaben hat sich für mich mein Ausflug nach Union City allemal gelohnt. Wenn auch Sie ein Faible für düstere Sciencefiction mit ein wenig Cyberpunk- und Horroreinfluß haben, sollten Sie es mehr als eine Nacht lang im schummrigen Union City aushalten.

Nightlong klaut dreist bei Blade Runner und erinnert an die ewigen Regenschwaden, die über den postindustriellen Stadtvierteln niedergehen. Will sagen, das Spiel tut furchtbar ernst, ist aber eigentlich wieder superspannend noch gähnend langweilig - es plätschert halt so vor sich hin. Wenn wenigstens ein paar ironische Seitenhiebe auf das "böse Zukunft, böse Menschen"-Szenario kommen würden, doch Fehlanzeige. Dafür regiert endlich mal wieder die Logik: Alle Rätsel lassen sich spätestens nach einer nächtlichen Schlafpause knacken - das gibt es heute nicht mehr allzu häufig, und ein ordentliches Point-and-click-Adventure muß man in diesen 3D-Zeiten sowieso mit Freuden aufnehmen.

Nightlong är som ett BladeRunner på lugnande mediciner.

Since those that like this kind of detective work usually don't like a lot of help along the way I will not go any further into this game then I have already. The rest is for you to discover while solving the mysteries of Nightlong, Union City Conspiracy! But this game is a worthwhile addition to any would be sleuth's game collection.

Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy promises a walk on the 'blade-runner' side of the cyber tracks, and it makes good on that promise in almost every respect. You play gruff cyber-PI Joshua Reev, whose character would feel right at home in a William Gibson novel - among the patrons of the Cognitive Dissonance, sipping a futuristic espresso.

In a nutshell, Team 17 seemed to have been going for a Blade Runner style universe with similar gameplay, just a different plot. When judging against those criteria, I would have to say that Nightlong is a success. However, not every gamer may think so. The fact remains that this type of game is suited to a specific type of adventure player and just can't stack up as well against other adventure games with nearly universal appeal. If you have around 30 to 40 hours of spare time, about 20 bucks, and a hankering for some genuinely challenging puzzle elements, this one might be just what you've been looking to pick up. Otherwise, leave it on the shelf.

After reading this review, some of you must surely think that I was extremely harsh on Nightlong, but the truth of the matter is that I actually did like this game. My disappointment lies in how much better it could have been. This game has its flaws--the bad dubbing, weak plot--but none of them are serious enough to warrant not recommending the game. In fact, I would be first in line to purchase a sequel. Nightlong is an adventure game created by adventure gamers for adventure gamers, and if nothing else, this respect and love for the genre always shines though while you are playing the game.