Vampire Rain
| Vampire Rain | |
|---|---|
 NA Boxart of Vampire Rain | |
| Developer(s) | Artoon |
| Publisher(s) | AQ Interactive (Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan) Microsoft Game Studios (Canada, United States, PAL Territories, Singapore) |
| Platform(s) | Xbox 360 (Current) PlayStation 3 (TBA) |
| Release |  January 25, 2007    June 21, 2007  June 29, 2007   July 3, 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Action Survival Horror Stealth |
| Mode(s) | Singe Player Multiplayer |
Vampire Rain, known as Vampire's Rain in Japan, is a video game for the Xbox 360 and in development for the PS3. It was released in Japan on January 25, 2007 and released in North America on July 3, 2007.
The Story
Vampires, known as Nightwalkers, were found to be responsible for the disappearances of civilians in the United States. The American Information Bureau raises a black ops special forces unit and are deployed to the streets of Los Angeles, California, where it was raining. The rain was said to hamper the Nightwalker's vampiric abilities.
Gameplay
Vampire Rain is a stealth-action game similar in nature to the Splinter Cell or Metal Gear Solid series. Players are tasked with navigating their character through city streets, while avoiding the vampire enemies that patrol the streets disguised as ordinary human citizens. Players will often have to take alternate routes, such as climbing onto rooftops or through alleys, to avoid enemy encounters.
Unlike most stealth-action games, Vampire Rain places heavy emphasis on pure stealth. Enemies are extremely fast and can kill the player in 1 or 2 hits. Additionally, for the first 1/3rd of the game, players lack any weaponry that can kill vampires effectively. Any attempt to initiate combat generally results in the player's death. Also, unlike most stealth games, there is no effective means to hide or escape once an enemy has spotted the player, which usually results in the player dying soon after being spotted. Successful completion of many missions generally requires total avoidance of enemies by figuring out the correct route to pass through the mission area without being detected.
Later in the game, players are given high-powered weapons which prove more effective against the game's vampire enemies. Also, there are a few pre-scripted action sequences that involve fighting against multiple enemies, generally with the assistance of teammates or special environmental hazards.
Foes
Feeding on human blood, Nightwalkers multiply by transforming their victims into creatures of the night. A Nightwalker's heightened senses and superhuman strength make it a formidable opponent that even a well-trained member of the Special Forces would think twice before engaging it in combat. An entire group of Nightwalkers can be destroyed by taking out the leader that spawned them. Known as a Prime Walker, this leader is exceptionally intelligent. In the city designated as Point E9, there's a Prime Walker that is about to hatch a diabolical plan...
The Vampires, or Nightwalkers, are your only enemy for most of the game, and come in numerous appearances like teenage boys or girls, large and built men, or girls that resemble prostitutes. Upon sighting you, they will turn into somewhat of a zombie-like creature and attack at extremely high speeds dealing very high damage, normally killing in 2 hits. They can normally be killed before one clip of ammo is used, if all of the shots fired hit. Basically, any and all contact should be avoided at all costs, and the game normally provides cover and alternate routes so that this is possible.
Characters
John Lloyd: The only member of the team who has actually faced the Nightwalkers before in combat, Lloyd knows what the creatures are capable of. Armed with experience and knowledge gained from the field of battle, he's cool under pressure, and extremely lethal. He's a man of few words.
Hank Harrison: A reliable leader. He's a demolitions specialist with an extensive knowledge of explosives. This is his first Nightwalker mission.
Claire Kelly: An expert sniper. Though prone to sarcasm, Kelly is level-headed and highly capable.
Duane Hanson: He's been scared of Nightwalkers ever since he learned of their existence.
Eric Russell: Harrison's closest friend and comrade-at-arms. Leading an advance recon team, he infiltrated Point E9 prior to the insertion of Harrison and his men to provide mission support.
Colonel Dixon: Dispassionate and cold, he will sacrifice anything (or anyone) to eliminate the Nightwalker threat once and for all.
Dixon's Aide: A captain currently serving as Dixon's aide-de-camp, who has serious doubts concerning the colonel's motivations.
Charles: The final of the elite walkers the player must defeat. Possesses the ability to fly.
Margret: An elite walker that uses a sniper rifle
James: The walker who had killed the members of Lloyd's team prior to the game.
Edward: Edward is the first elite walker that the player encounters in battle. Using a shotgun as a weapon the player can defeat Edward by making him step upon the UV mines.
Monique: Lord Hessler's right hand woman. Monique confronts the player once Charles is defeated. A natural vampire.
Lord Hessler: A natural vampire who stumbles upon a young Monique in his journey to find "a place just over the ridge".
Reception
The game received overwhelmingly negative reviews [1] [2], with IGN referring to the game as an "abomination."[3] One review stated, "Vampire Rain fails at almost everything it tries. Despite the undeniably appealing setting, there's nothing here that justifies even a reserved recommendation." [4] The reviews criticized Vampire Rain's enemy AI, controls, health meters for both the protagonist and enemies, and multiplayer modes. The game was also criticized for having elements derived from Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell but with much less appeal.[5] The Something Awful forums declared the game "perhaps the worst thing to ever be given existence as a three-dimensional object" and that "It is the holocaust of games." [6] Not all of Vampire Rain's reviews were scathing, however. Press Start Online said "it’s not a great game, or even a very good one on the whole, but those looking for a change of pace could do far worse than this".[7]</ref> Not all reviews were negative, however. NZGamer stated: "Vampire Rain might be far from perfect, or even great, but it’s hardly an abysmal game." The reviewer also hinted that perhaps other reviewers had not spent sufficient time with the game: "[I]t would be easy to spend half an hour with it, reassure yourself that you’ve seen all the game has to see, and slap a 2.9 on it and call it a day."[8]