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Oh What a Partnership! Oh What a Game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 40 / 44
Date: November 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Sega no longer making consoles? Sega developing games for other companies? If you'd have told me this last year, I'd have said you were crazy. Well, it would seem I'm not crazy, as Sega is busy cranking out titles for just about everybody. Now, Sega has teamed with longtime arcade rival Namco to bring us one of the first PlayStation 2 light-gun shooting games, based on a little-seen arcade title. After playing the game, it really distresses me that quality this high didn't make it to more arcades.

The story and gameplay are relatively straightforward to fans of Sega's "House of the Dead" series (which has no connection to this game). Shoot anything undead that moves and rescue bystanders in distress. While that is the basic premise of "Vampire Night," the exact method to this madness is totally revamped (no pun intended).

You still have to take out the evil minions bent on your destruction, but now you are blessed with a life meter that appears if your first shot does not instantly dispatch your attacker. You still have to rescue other citizens, but the rescue is now much harder ... victims have been attacked by a "parasite" of sorts that controls them and compels them to attack you. Shoot the parasite and you rescue the victim. Hit the victim, and the parasite consumes the victim and transforms it into a monster, which of course will head straight for you. At this point, it's up to you to put the poor blokes out of their misery (and keep them from putting you out of yours). Like its predecessors, success or failure here will send you on different paths through the stage.

The game's creatures feature quite evasive attack patterns, making them harder to hit; they sometimes only stand still long enough to launch a projectile at you that you must shoot away to keep from losing a life point. The bosses, which are introduced to you one by one in the game's cutscenes, are well-designed and feature unbelievably detailed animations and deadly (albeit still pattern-based) attacks. But the big difference from earlier titles is how mobile the bosses are now. They duck behind obstacles so you can't hit them, they transform ... anything and everything to squash you flat.

Graphically, the game is beautiful. Stages are dank and dark, with subtle details throughout. Character animations are fluid, and don't spew blood everywhere (which would explain the game's T rating instead of "House of the Dead"'s M). Musically, "Vampire Night" sounds like a cross between Castlevania and obscure (but excellent) PSOne light-gun game Elemental Gearbolt.

Some of the bosses and victims require spot-on accuracy. Lucky for you, the game supports the industry standard for light-guns, Namco's Guncon 2, as well as its PSOne sibling, the original Guncon. Guncon 2 users can take advantage of the many accessory buttons on the gun to reload as needed (the old reliable shoot-off-the-screen reload works too).

Fortunately, there's not just the arcade game. "Vampire Night" combines the best of both manufacturers (Namco and Sega) to put together a very replayable game. It has Namco's totally-new Original mode, combined with Sega's training modes, which help you learn all the new tricks of the game.

Right now, Namco is 2-for-2 in releasing exceptional light-gun games for the PlayStation 2. First, their own "Time Crisis 2." Now, they present one of the best joint venture games to come along in ages.

Do not buy this game unless packaged with the GunCon2

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 26 / 28
Date: January 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Avoid the mistake i made by buying this game from Amazon. They don't sell it pacakged with the Guncon2 and thus you're hosed! Buy if from your local store and make sure its packaged with the gun. Its insulting that the guncon2 hasn't been available seperately (it was also packaged with "time crisis2", forcing you to buy both games just to get 2 lightguns).

Great graphics/gameplay, but is a bit on the short side

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 22 / 24
Date: December 29, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Vampire Night for Playstation 2 is a perfect translation of it's arcade counterpart. For those who have not played it, it's a first person, guided path shooting game very similar to The House Of The Dead. Unfortunately, Vampire Night also shares The House Of The Dead series' bad dialogue and story. However, one must remember that Vampire Night was an arcade game. That means it is meant to emphasize on quick, flashy gameplay and amazing graphics...and it is in that area that Vampire Night excels. The simple gameplay allows anyone to jump into the game, so it's great if you don't want to spend alot of time mastering complex controls. Although it will only take you about 20 to 30 minutes to plow through the game, it's still fun to play the 2 player mode over and over. In addition, the Special and Training modes that were added to this home version help provide more replay value also. The D-pad and the analog stick work surprisingly well with Vampire Night, so there's no need to blow money on a light gun unless you insist on fully recreating the arcade experience. Those who crave fast arcade shooting action will love Vampire Night. If you are looking for something deeper with an involving story, I suggest you get Red Faction or Metal Gear Solid 2 instead.

More Gothic Gun horror

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: September 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Vampire Night seems like the PS2 owner's consolation prize for not being able to play "House Of The Dead 2", but don't worry it's just as good as that masterpiece...well almost.
First of all, the graphics are fantastic, better than arcade contemporaries "Ninja Assault" and "Confidential Mission", which also have console conversions. The style is best showcased in the first chapter with some superb depictions of winter sunlight on a frozen lake. Luckily, even players who [stink] at the game can get to see this! But the impressive visual style carries on all the way to the end, which is refreshing, as in some gun games, the levels seem to get less interesting. Maybe the designers feel that most players will never get any further than the first stage when playing in the arcade, so they don't feel it's worth the extra effort!! The enemies and townsfolk are also realistic and well animated, and the design of the Vampire's castle is fantastic, full of grandiose chambers, giant towers and lofty walkways, all depicted in elaborate detail.
So, what about gameplay? Well, its all pretty standard, and if anything, its an easier game than HOTD2, so you could be facing the final showdown after not too many attempts. But the boss battles are better, because they display an "attack bar" as well as a life bar for the boss, so you can see how close you are to being lamped, and can blast accordingly. Some of the bosses, especially the first, come in more than one stage, often morphing into a different shape during the fight. The first boss is a particulary impressive encounter, with three entirely seperate phases to play through - a great idea. On the downside, there are fewer alternate routes through the game, which is a pity. Of course, the extra modes are usually what makes a lightgun game live or die in the console market, and I quite enjoyed those on offer here. The training sesion is, as seems to be the standard now, horrendously difficult, much harder than the game itself, so plenty of challenge there. And the Mission mode gives you a special objective to look out for each time you play through the story, such as finding lost treaure, or opening secret doors that do not appear in Arcade mode, so that can be fun too, as there are around 20 different missions to complete. Plus,you trade the special items forund in this mode at a shop, and can buy power ups and attachments with money earned. There's even a gallery of artwork and character biographies to browse through.
To sum up, "Vampire Night" is a slick and polished lightgun game that lives up to it's expectations, and a good alterantive to "House of the Dead 2", so fans of the genre will be very happy with it. It's just a shame that only Dreamcast owners can enjoy the very best of the lot

Love this game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: November 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Although short(is there really a "long" Guncom game?),this game is loads of fun and beautifully done.Worth every penny.

REVIEWED BY THE GAMING LEGEND OWNER OF OVER 250 VIDEO GAMES

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 13
Date: June 27, 2002
Author: Amazon User

THOSE LOOKING FOR ACTION AS INTENSE AS THAT FOUND IN TIME CRISIS II WON'T FIND IT HERE. YOU WOULD HAVE EXPECTED MORE FROM THE TWO RIVAL COMPANIES NAMCO/SEGA WHO HAVE JOINED TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS TITLE. First let me say don't touch this game, that is unless you are already a owner of the Guncon 2 (The most accurate light-gun available). This copy that Amazon.com sells does not come packaged with one. Playing this game with a standard controller is a absolute no-no. But if you own one already then no problem.

Namco known for its Time Crisis & Point Blank series joins
Sega, known for its Virtua Cop & House of the Dead series. What happens when these two rival giants merge? You get this game, what I consider a tone-down House of the Dead game. A little bit more of an effort should have been put into it, but it is decent. It's just a average light-gun shoot em' up game with nothing out of the ordinary in it. Playing this game with two people is funner than one. It has a little bit of extra modes featured in it to increase replay value, I can't say whether or not I'd add an extra star to my review score for them though.

Overall the game is more of a satifying experience then a disapointing one. Even though I gave it 3 stars, err...I would say it is a buy. There are not many Guncon 2 games out there, so to extend the longativity of the Guncon 2 it is worth purchase. If you don't own Time Crisis II yet, I recommend you check that title out first and then get back to this one.

Also, before I close, be looking for my reviews for two other Guncon 2 titles here at Amazon. The games being Time Crisis II and the just released Endgame. They might help you make up your mind about this game quicker if it's hard for you to decide.

Eyes

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 20
Date: November 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Where's the gun?? Don't buy it unless it says gun is included.

im impressed

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: June 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I loved this game. It was fun and cool. the story line was stupid, it was just some goth people talking about vampires and stuff. but hey, if you bought this game for the story line, you are the dumbest person i know. but it had alot more in it than i thought it would. the bosses were hard and you can do training unlock the all powerfuf shot gun and do a whole lotta fun stuff. i recommend you play 2 player because its more fun with a friend. unless your a pathetic game freak who has no friends. :)

finally, a good game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Well, whadya know? I finally like a game and now, suddenly, everyone else hates it. SIGH!

This is a really fun game. The boss fights are awesome. You have to avoid spells and other things while shooting them in unusual places, like shooting their face. If that doesn't sound fun, well, this game is not for you. Shooting the boss bat is a lot of fun because you have to keep shooting it. The way the bat swoops down and tries to seriously hurt you is a lot of fun avoiding.

But don't avoid this game. Just avoid the danger that one bat possesses.

Don't waste your time or money

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 10
Date: November 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Boy am I glad that this was only a hire! When you've cracked a game after playing it for less than three hours you really would have to be pi$$ed off if you paid full price for it. Okay it may look pretty and it may be a decent replication of games like House of the Dead and Time Crisis but really once you've gone through and beaten the big boss what else is there to do.

Apart from the lack of longevity I have a few other complaints about the game. Firstly the shop systems, basically the point is to collect ingots of silver hidden in boxes and crates throughout the game and use them to by things like weapon upgrades extra credits and stuff. My friend finished the game and still didn't manage to collect enough silver to buy a single item! What's the point of having these things here if you don't need them or never use them?

Secondly I was a little disappointed with the graphic quality. The colours and polygons don't really seem to make use of the PS2s enhanced capability when compared to games like Smackdown of FFX. The final story sequence after you have clocked the game is particularly poor.

Overall definitely not a game you should go and buy. Your thumbs will probably never forgive you for the endless, frantic, button tapping firing off endless rounds of ammunition. Really if you want to play a game like this go to your local arcade and drop a few bucks in House of the Dead.

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