Capcom’s “Darkwatch” may be a case of formulaic first-person-shooter gameplay, but it’s a faithful following of the formula, and fun because of it. What’s more, the theme is exceptionally fresh and polished.
It’s a drop-dead gorgeous, gothic-horror-monster-spaghetti-Western-theater of sorts. You play a reluctant vampire (formerly known as a washed-up outlaw who inadvertently unleashes a super-vampire on the world in a botched train robbery) in the Old West, your typical antihero straddling the line between good and evil.
You’re offered a modicum of control over your character’s course of action: righteous, gun-toting, Darkwatch deputy and bane of all things evil and/or undead; maniacal embracer of supernatural vampire magic; or flip-flopping blender of both methodologies.
The more you use your guns (and eventually, your rocket-launcher, of course), the better they get, and the better you get at using them. The more you employ your hands-on feeding-frenzy prowess, the more mojo you develop as a narcissistic vampire.
The game is quite short, ultimately, but ripe for a sequel or three, which can’t come soon enough. Meanwhile, the Xbox version has a few online multiplayer modes for up to 16 players that are as polished (if likewise formulaic) as the single-player game, making it a package worth purchasing.
The PS2 version has no online play but contains some off-line two-player modes and a bit of additional two-player content, like co-op play. But it’s still more of a weekend rental or pre-played purchase than a full meal, buy-it-now deal.
Capcom; PlayStation 2, Xbox; $49.99. Rating: Mature (17+) (blood and gore, intense violence, language, sexual themes) “Nintendogs” is an interactive pet simulator with puppies that manage to come off as unbearably cute as the real things.
Offered in three versions including “Chihuahua & Friends,” “Dachshund & Friends” and “Lab & Friends,” each is identical in content and gameplay save for the initial group of puppies available; the rest are unlockable as you progress.
To “play” “Nintendogs” is a novel affair of first purchasing a puppy, its food and toys; then naming it; then teaching it its name via the Nintendo DS ‘s microphone, followed by any other stupid pet trick you care to teach it.
You can also pet your pup through the device’s touch-sensitive screen, once again proving that Nintendo has a lock on bizarre video game innovations. Be forewarned: Your pet is likely to become bored with you before you with it, tuckering out to the point of distraction (poor cute little pookie-wookie), also like the real thing, so hands-on time is designed to be a series of short, sweet frolics, not a simulated 50-hour dog-a-thon.
Ultimately, you’re trying to bond with your puppy – and you will – while training it to win shows and agility competitions that will earn you “owner points” and money to buy more puppy stuff and, naturally, more puppies. And you will.
Nintendo; Nintendo DS; $29.99. Rating: Everyone (comic mischief)
Shaun Conlin is a freelance games reviewer for Cox News Service. E-mail him at shaunconlin@evergeek.com.
