Night Breed: The Interactive Movie is the second, and actually final, installment in what was intended to be the Night Breed trilogy. The first game in the series was an arcade based game; whereas, this installment is more of a work of interactive fiction. The third title, which was completed but never released, was a role playing game influenced seriously by the Ultima saga. All of the games are fully licensed titles that rely on Clive Barker’s movie of the same name for inspiration.
The movie itself is based on Barker’s novella called “Cabal.” With the full licensure, Barker’s vivid but creepy characters come to life, here on the computer screen instead of on the film screen. Sadly, this game was not well received by the public, since most players were expecting more action sequences, similar to the original installment. Fans of the movie, however, will be most likely to appreciate its uniqueness and will be much more entertained by participating in the events of the movie first hand.
Since this is a work of interactive fiction, but is based entirely on the movie, there is not a lot of game play involved in this selection. There will be some rudimentary
choices to make, such as which direction to move and what items to gather. The game is actually very inventory based, and the user will spend the majority of his time moving from screen to screen to gather items. While it is considered an action and adventure hybrid, it focuses much more on the adventure portion, hence the inventory emphasis. The gamer will play Aaron Boone who is attempting to reach the peaceful planet of Midian. His plans go awry when he is bitten by a cursed cannibal and Earth’s police decide, after a series of bizarre sequences, that the planet Midian must be located and destroyed.
The controls for Night Breed: The Interactive Movie are very simple to master and are not at all clunky or unnatural. The interface is very user-friendly and straightforward, offering a help area for those who are unfamiliar with this genre. (Although, this game is not especially recommended for players with no experience in the adventure gaming genre.) The graphics are adequate and are reflective of the movie settings and the sound effects are also good additions to the overall feel of the game.
Night Breed: The Interactive Movie is not an adventure game for everyone, but it does have a lot to offer in the form of a unique game based on a popular author’s work. Fans of this work will be most likely to appreciate this game, though others will surely see it as stimulating, as well.
