rmvxace A Nightmare to Remember [Official Review by Dante]

[Radiant Arin 412]

Game Title: A Nightmare to Remember

Developer: @Wendell

Game Engine: RMVXAce

Topic URL: Linky link.

Download Link: Linky Link.

 

POSITIVE POINTS:

 

I would have to say that the mapping in the game is definitely the most redeeming feature. It sets a gorgeous backdrop for the apocalyptic setting, and the use of every graphic detail made every area seem unique and interesting. Also, the use of graphic detail in the title screen and the sound effects used when loading up the game were pretty neat. But, unfortunately, that's pretty much the only thing good I found from the game.

 

NEGATIVE POINTS:

 

Particularly bland and frustrating gameplay, a few noticeable spelling errors, and overall generally poor quality music make this game a bit of a drag.

 

GENERAL COMMENTS:

 

I'm not the biggest fan of the Resident Evil series, which is obviously where this game is coming from. In fact, I don't particularly like the series at all, because inventory management doesn't stick well with me. So first and foremost, I just wanted to get that out of the way.

 

 

STORY:

 

The story is set in your typical post-apocalyptic town where everything has gone to holy hell. Your objective is to seek refuge against a marauding squad of Zombies who will attempt to kill you, eat your flesh, and whatever else Zombies do. The whole execution of the plot, however, kind of fell flat. We're told that the MC's hometown of Riverwood (or Riverood, due to some spelling mistakes) has been plagued by an ominous evil and that the entire town has been deserted.

 

Here's where I kind of lost interest, because for one thing, no span of time is given to us for how long the MC has been away from Riverwood; it is simply said that he was away "for a long time". Given what I understand about Zombies, it would take a long time to completely corrupt even a small town like Riverwood: at least ten or fifteen years worth. However, the Zombies have seen to built up a complete civilization within less than a year, or whatever time-span the developer suggests.

 

And also, the MC is kind of cliche'd as well. I want an MC who DOESN'T know how to use/fire a gun.

 

AUDIO/GRAPHICS:

 

The use of custom graphics for the title screen, as well as the modern city tilesets, combined with the horror-esque style tilesets, really draw attention that something screwed up down the line. There were very few mapping errors, but the one mapping error that you do see is something I generally do as well.

 

I wasn't really scared throughout the whole ordeal, and the music didn't make it any more or less atmospheric. In fact, I felt as if it actually deterred from the experience more than it helped. The only time where I could really say I was "surprised" was just before you enter the woman's bathroom in the subway.

 

P.S., Gore in a game does not make it scary. It makes it more stupid. Case in point, the dogs eating the woman to death.

 

BATTLE SYSTEM:

 

"Battles" in this game revolve around you mashing the A key in order to kill a Zombie. At first, you start out with a knife that does fuck-all damage while the Zombies hit you for at least 1/8 of your health, even on Normal Difficulty. When I wasn't roaming around for five minutes trying to look for save points, I was aimlessly meandering about like a street junkie looking for handgun ammo. You have no idea how ecstatic I was when I found the weapon/ammo dealer and decided to give practically my soul to him for a few handgun clips (which I found to be more effective than the shotgun in many situations, as I assumed the shotgun would have a spread). I found that I had to conserve ammo so much in this game that I just became a pacifist and didn't kill a single Zombie unless it was absolutely necessary (isn't there an achieve on RE named "Pacifist"?). I just wanted to get the demo over with (unless the game really appeases me, and then in which case, I will say otherwise), but during the entire time, it became a grueling trip of frustrating gameplay by loading up my save point every five seconds because I missed one single shot (yeah, I'm that crazy) against a Zombie because of my laggy PC.

 

OVERALL SUMMARY: While the mapping was detailed and significant, it's probably the only memorable factor of this game. I tried keeping my review with as little bias as possible, but the end result is that the game wasn't really that scary, fell flat due to insidious gameplay that forces you to conserve ammo and punishes you for exploration, and had one glitch that forced me to stop playing, or suffer the wrath of a rat eating me to death in a frozen screen.

 

RATING: If I honestly could take away some bias here, it would be a 3/5, simply for the sake of mapping.

Edited October 16, 2013 by amerk