Operation Darkness
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''Operation Darkness'' is a
tactical role-playing game Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-bas ...
for the
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
developed and published by Japanese studio
Success Success is the state or condition of meeting a defined range of expectations. It may be viewed as the opposite of failure. The criteria for success depend on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One person mig ...
on October 11, 2007 in Japan. A North American version was released on June 24, 2008 by
Atlus is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona'', ''Etrian Odyssey'' and ''Trau ...
. The game is a
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
conception of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, featuring weaponry and events from that time period, but with fantasy elements such as
dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
s and
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
s mixed in.


Synopsis

''Operation Darkness'' follows a squad of British
SAS SAS or Sas may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers * ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series * Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...
soldiers fighting the Nazis across the European Theater. The story covers much of the real history of the European war, including the battles for
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
and the liberation of mainland Europe. French resistance fighters, American soldiers, and others appear as
non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
s. The game diverges significantly from real history in that
zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
s of deceased Nazi soldiers appear as adversaries, and two of the player characters can transform into
werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...
. Other fantasy elements include the appearance of supernatural foes such as vampires, as well as allowing the use of magic spells.


Gameplay

Gameplay consists of a series of tactical battles; between battles, the player may resupply the characters, purchase new items, and select which characters will participate in the following mission. Battles play out in standard tactical role-playing game (RPG) fashion, with turn order based on characters' speed statistics. During a turn, characters can move, attack, use items, pick up items from dead soldiers, and cast spells. The battle system also includes factors like cover and decreased accuracy from movement. Differing from the great majority of games of this genre, long-range attacks tend to be far more frequent than close-range attacks, and many characters can hit targets with high accuracy from a distance of more than half of the battlefield. Much like games such as '' Fire Emblem'', characters killed in battle remain dead permanently (unless revived by one specific player character before the end of the stage). Generic soldiers can be recruited to replace fallen ones; however, the death of a story character results in a game over. Characters possess the following attributes: HP, MS (martial spirit), Attack, Defense, Speed, Hit, Luck, Weight, and Move. Each character also has specific weapon-related abilities and other skills, predisposing them to particular weapon types. In addition, characters can carry up to five weapons and five items. Each weapon and item has a weight value as well, and characters who are overburdened receive penalties to movement. Two player characters can transform into werewolves, which massively increases their speed and attack. However, maintaining the werewolf form costs MS every turn, limiting its use to short durations.


Characters

''Operation Darkness'' contains several story-essential playable characters, who participate in battles as well as in event scenes between battles. The official website for the title lists the following:


Wolf Pack members

* Edward Kyle: A young man seeking revenge after his family and fiancée Alicia were killed in a German air-raid. He enlisted in the army to avenge his family, but was assigned to the Wolf Pack after being saved on the battlefields of North Africa by James Gallant. * Cordelia Blake (Cordelia Break in the Japanese version): A mysterious young woman who has served in the British Army since the age of 13. While other troops in the Wolf Pack use guns she fights with her fire-starting abilities. * James Gallant: The leader of the Wolf Pack, James Gallant is a seasoned veteran, especially when fighting the supernatural. He acts as the de facto leader of the Fang Clan, a tribe of werewolves in Scotland who has been in a bloody conflict with the vampires of the Blood Clan for centuries. * Jude Lancelot (Jude Lancerot in the Japanese version): Edward Kyle's best friend and brother to his fiancée, Jude fought alongside Edward for the same reasons, but later gets captured by the Blood Clan and turned into a vampire. * Keith Miller (Keith Mirror in the Japanese version): The squad's fearlessly loyal point man, He is Gallant's Nephew. Like his uncle, he is a lycanthrope. * Frank Gaunt (Frank Andrea in the Japanese version): Gallant's second-in-command, Gaunt cuts an imposing figure, specializing in close combat. Despite his gruff appearance and brute strength, he is actually very intelligent and chooses his words carefully. It turns out that he is also Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s creation. * Cynthia Rivele: A top-heavy Irish sniper with supernatural marksmanship. * Herbert East (Herbert West in the Japanese version): The team's American-born 'medic', Herbert is versed in necromancy. Inspired by the Lovecraft character
Herbert West Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, ...
. * Lewis Canton: A reserve, Lewis puts his talents as a spy to use for the unit, gathering intelligence on the Germans and occasionally joining in the fracas. * Jack the Ripper: Though he once misused his powers to terrorize the East End of London, he was rehabilitated by the Wolf Pack, who yet regard him with an uneasy acceptance. Jack can use firearms, but is most proficient with knives. * Elisa Van Helsing (Eliza Van Helsing in the Japanese version): A professor at
King's College King's College or The King's College refers to two higher education institutions in the United Kingdom: *King's College, Cambridge, a constituent of the University of Cambridge *King's College London, a constituent of the University of London It ca ...
, Elisa dusts off her Killer Sword and takes up her grandfather's work as a member of the Wolf Pack, when times are dire.


Villains

*
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
: The leader of Nazi Germany. * Heinrich Himmler: The distrustful head of the SS. * Alexander Vlado: An SS Sturmbannfuhrer (equivalent to major) from a race of ancient vampires called the Blood Clan. Appears pale and ghoulish. *
Carmilla ''Carmilla'' is an 1872 Gothic fiction, Gothic novella by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu and one of the early works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's ''Dracula'' (1897) by 26 years. First published as a Serial (literature), serial in ' ...
: One of Vlado's officers, and of his same vampire race. Has little regard for human life.


Others

* Max Neuman: The Wolf Pack accommodates their former enemy, a Panzer Daemon, when a malfunction leads him to defect to the Allies. * Leona: A 17-year-old girl belonging to the French Resistance who is serving as a liaison.


Reception

''Operation Darkness'' received "generally 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
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' said, "Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong." In Japan, ''
Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'' gave it a score of three sixes and one five for a total of 23 out of 40.


References


External links


Official Website
* {{moby game, id=/xbox360/operation-darkness 2007 video games Alternate history video games Atlus games Dark fantasy video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Success (company) games Tactical role-playing video games Video games about the Special Air Service Video games about vampires Video games developed in Japan World War II video games Xbox 360 games Xbox 360-only games Video games about zombies