''Nightmare Creatures II'' is a

survival horror Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by

Kalisto Entertainment Kalisto Entertainment was a French video game development company founded by Nicolas Gaume at age 19. They are mostly known for developing ''Fury of the Furries'' and the ''Nightmare Creatures'' series. The company began as Atreid Concept in 199 ...

and published by

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

and

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...

. It is the sequel to ''

Nightmare Creatures ''Nightmare Creatures'' is a 1997 survival horror video game developed by Kalisto Entertainment for PlayStation, Microsoft Windows and Nintendo 64. A sequel, ''Nightmare Creatures II'', was released three years later. A mobile phone version of ...

''.

Plot

In 1934, Adam Crowley, an occultist, and antagonist from the previous game has created a vast race of mutant creatures, which he is using to wipe out a group of monster hunters called the Circle. Meanwhile, Herbert Wallace, a patient at Crowley's genetics hospital, escapes from captivity, armed with an

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many for ...

. He arrives in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he discovers evidence of a picture of Ignatius Blackward, who in the previous game with Nadia Franciscus, had defeated Crowley. In a fire, Wallace is rescued from it by Rachel, the only surviving member of the Circle. They head their separate ways, with Wallace venturing to Crowley's castle, only to discover that Crowley himself is not there, but he is in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He then falls down a chute, which leads to a

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

that he flies to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Wallace enters a cinema, where he finds a note from Rachel informing him that she knows of Crowley's plans. He then proceeds onwards to a museum to meet up with Rachel, but unknown to Wallace, Rachel is captured by zombies. Wallace then enters the museum, where he finds a detailed blueprint of the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

, along with some of Crowley's plans. In a crypt that Wallace enters, he is attacked by zombies, escapes in a car, and crashes in an elaborate graveyard after getting assaulted by a zombie that hid in the back, where he finds a part of Rachel's shirt snagged on a tree. Wallace departs from the graveyard and falls into a sewer, which in turn takes him to the Paris underground, where he finds evidence of documents of ancient cults and a passage that leads to the Eiffel Tower. He then climbs to the top of the structure, where he finds a grotesque monstrosity. Using dynamite, he explodes the creature, only for the explosion to throw him off the top of the spire. However, his fall is cushioned, and he is reunited with Rachel, whereupon they walk away together. Whether Crowley is plotting his next scheme or gone forever is completely unknown.

Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to the previous installment, seeing the adrenaline bar abandoned and the addition of fatality moves to execute weakened enemies. Unlike the previous game though, Herbert is the only playable character and the unlockable ability to play as a monster is absent.

Music

The game features licensed music from

Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...

in the

cutscene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...

s while the in-game music was composed by the ''

'' composer, Frédéric Motte.

Reception

The PlayStation version of ''Nightmare Creatures II'' received "mixed" reviews, while the Dreamcast version received "unfavorable" reviews, according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

. Greg Orlando of '' NextGen'' quoted a song by

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

, "

You're So Vain "You're So Vain" is a song written in 1971 by American singer and songwriter Carly Simon and released in November 1972. It is one of the songs with which Simon is most identified, and upon its release, reached No. 1 in the United States, Canada, ...

", in saying of the latter console version, "Konami's 'dream' turns out to be nothing but 'clouds in our coffee.'"

References

External links

Official Website Archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nightmare Creatures Ii 2000 video games Dreamcast games 2000s horror video games Konami games PlayStation (console) games Survival video games Video game sequels Video games developed in France Video games scored by Frédéric Motte Video games set in London Video games set in Paris Video games set in 1934 Single-player video games Kalisto Entertainment games