Vampire Night

Not to be confused with Vampire Knight.
Vampire Night

Console version cover art
Developer(s) Wow Entertainment
Publisher(s) Namco
Platform(s) Arcade, PlayStation 2
Release date(s) 2000 (Arcade)
2001 (PlayStation 2)
Genre(s) Rail shooter
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer
Distribution DVD-ROM
Cabinet 4:3 27" Upright
Arcade system Namco System 246
Display Raster, medium resolution
horizontal orientation

Vampire Night is a light gun game produced by Sega's Wow Entertainment, distributed through Namco and released in 2000 for video game arcades. It was later ported to PlayStation 2 in November 2001.

Plot

A struggle between light and dark, from 300 years back, is about to ensue. The parties involved are Michel and Albert, the two vampire hunters representing light, and the vampires representing dark. The story takes place in an alternate version of the year 2006 in France, when progress looks stuck in the late 19th century.

Michel and Albert rescue a 12-year old girl named Caroline who witnessed a couple of villagers held hostage by the vampire sarcoma. After rescuing the villagers and Caroline, the vampire hunters proceed into the castle to destroy the remaining forces of dark.

Although the forces of evil reveal that they created Michel and Albert to kill themselves, they became afraid of death and tried to stop them. It is important to note the Hunters are in fact Dhampyrs (half-vampires), foreshadowed by their glowing eyes and sunglasses. The outcome is a pyrrhic victory for the forces of good; as the forces of evil are stopped, the Vampire Hunters decide to let the rising sun end their own lives as well.

The game ends with Caroline paying her respects to the Vampire Hunters at their graves.

Characters

Vampire Hunters

No one knows the background or age of the two player characters, although the people entrust themselves to the pledge of Albert's and Michel's determination of wiping out the vampires for good. While Albert is capable of socializing and Michel is fueled by his hatred for vampires, both share the commitment to destroy the forces of dark once and for all. They are half-vampires created by Count Auguste, evident by their superhuman strength, leaping ability and vampiric traits such as golden-glowing eyes.

The survivor

The vampire hunters meet Caroline, a young pre-teen whose traumatic experiences of her childhood "ages" her before her years. Appearing to be the only survivor of the vampire onslaught, she is protected by the vampire hunters allowing her to face the perils that lie ahead.

Vampires

Count Auguste or Sir Vampire, leads the army of vampires in the battle between light and dark and serves as the game's main antagonist and final boss. He is based on Count Dracula. He sits on his throne while his accomplices carry out footwork for him and spread the evil across the land. He created Albert and Michel to destroy him when he could no longer bear immortality but became afraid of dying and tried to stop them. During the final battle, he becomes a demonic bat-like vampire with clouds of bats flying around him to both protect him and attack his enemies, later evolving to gain two extra pairs of wings powered by the moonlight while copying the abilities of his accomplices in battle. He also gains the power to become invisible in the final portion of the boss fight, allowing him to bite the vampire hunters should he re-emerge when in melee range.

His accomplices are as follows:

There are also normal enemy vampires who attack the players and even villagers who are in the mercy of the vampiric sarcoma, which must be shot carefully or the human will turn into a vampire if another part of their body is shot.

Reception

On release, Famitsu magazine scored the PlayStation 2 version of the game a 32 out of 40.[1] IGN gave Vampire Night a 7.3, stating that the game was "good".[2]

References

  1. ↑ プレイステーション2 - ヴァンパイアナイト. Weekly Famitsu. No.915 Pt.2. Pg.68. 30 June 2006.
  2. ↑ http://ps2.ign.com/articles/166/166040p1.html

External links