Nightshade
SCORE: 65
Nightshade was originally released back in 1992 on the 8-bit NES. I
remember this video game from back in the day. I can tell you those are
not fond memories either. I played Nightshade on the Piko Interactive
Collection 1 on the Evercade recently. I was able to have some
unpleasant flashbacks thanks to this video game. We are sort of a hero
going after these different crime bosses in a city in Nightshade. We are
start out being tied to a chair and having to find a way out.
When you think about the technology of the 8-bit NES Nightshade looks
decent. There are some violent portions in this video game. The music is
nice in Nightshade. At times the music could get a little bit annoying.
I think they were going for the creepy feel in those areas in
Nightshade. There are strange false god like characters in Nightshade to
deal with as well. As we help out the city we gain a reputation which
allows us to access new and different areas in Nightshade.
The biggest problem and issue with Nightshade is the controls. We press
a button to bring up a menu, and move a cursor around the screen to
interact with items in different ways. I got so sick and tired of
reading: “Nightshade Can’t Do That.” I am trying to pick up a crowbar
that is just sitting on the ground. How am I supposed to interact with
it to pick it up? The poor controls and poor design is what ultimately
really hurts Nightshade at the end of the day.
There were supposed to be more video games in this franchise after
Nightshade, but the poor controls led to poor sales and that led to no
more games in the franchise. I think there are some interesting ideas in
Nightshade that could have been expounded upon. Nightshade should be a
lesson to any modern video game developer - make your game easy enough
to play that we want to spend more time with it.
- Paul
Graphics: 65%
Sound: 75%
Replay/Extras: 70%
Gameplay: 55%
Family Friendly Factor: 60%
System: Evercade/NES
Publisher: Blaze Entertainment/Ultra Games
Developer: Beam Software
Rating: ‘NR’ - Not Rated
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