NightCaster: Defeat the Darkness is a 2002 third-person, single-player, action-adventure game for the Xbox, developed by VR1 Entertainment and published by Microsoft. Players take the role of Arran, a novice wizard whose magical power grows as he ages throughout his quest to collect spells and rid the world of eternal night.
| NightCaster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | VR1 Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Microsoft Game Studios |
| Producer(s) | Brett Close |
| Designer(s) | David Osborne, Adam Maxwell, Chris Holtorf |
| Programmer(s) | John Ramsey |
| Artist(s) | Steven Morrison |
| Writer(s) | Chris Zirpoli |
| Composer(s) | Heather Sowards |
| Platform(s) | Xbox |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
In December 2002, the sequel, NightCaster II: Equinox, was released, with two-player compatibility.
Plot summary
editThe start of the story mode introduces the player to Arran, a young boy living in a small village. One day, Arran creeps into a forest whilst playing hide and seek with his friends, and stumbles upon a glowing floating orb. The orb informs him that he must go on a quest to defeat the evil 'Night Caster'. Arran is then placed in suspended animation (even though he still ages) by the orb, presumably so that he 'will be ready' to fight the Nightcaster.
Arran wakes up, having aged to around the mid-twenties, to find his world devastated by darkness and the legions of monsters under the reign of the Nightcaster spreading terror over the populace. Arran's parents are supposedly dead when Arran finds his home to be a smoldering wreckage, at which point the orb informs him that 'it is the Nightcaster['s doing]'. So he starts his quest facing many creatures and as he ages his spells are stronger, more effective and more expansive.
Gameplay
editThe player directly controls Arran from a third person perspective. Spells are aimed using the orb (who also is the guide character who provides narration and objectives). There are four classes of spells: fire, water, light, and dark. Creatures have varying degrees of vulnerability to each type of spell (a "dark" creature is more vulnerable to light spells). As the player progresses, Arran finds more spells, and can cast them at higher levels by charging them.
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 61/100[2] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |   [3] |
| Edge | 3/10[4] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 4/10[5] |
| Game Informer | 5.5/10[6] |
| GamePro |  [7] |
| GameRevolution | B−[8] |
| GameSpot | 6.8/10[9] |
| GameSpy | 63%[10] |
| GameZone | 7/10[11] |
| IGN | 7.3/10[12] |
| Official Xbox Magazine (US) | 4.9/10[13] |
The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Team Xbox | New Releases | 12/27/2001". 2002-06-14. Archived from the original on 2002-06-14. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b "Nightcaster for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
- ^ Marriott, Scott Alan. "NightCaster: Defeat the Darkness - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ Edge staff (April 2002). "NightCaster: Defeat the Darkness". Edge. No. 109.
- ^ EGM staff (March 2002). "NightCaster". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 152. p. 144.
- ^ Leeper, Justin (February 2002). "NightCaster". Game Informer. No. 106. p. 90. Archived from the original on November 13, 2004. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ Dunjin Master (December 28, 2001). "Nightcaster Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ Sanders, Shawn (February 2002). "Nightcaster: Defeat the Darkness Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on February 11, 2004. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ Tracy, Tim (February 6, 2002). "Nightcaster Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ Chick, Tom (February 24, 2002). "Nightcaster". GameSpy. Archived from the original on June 29, 2004. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ The Badger (February 18, 2002). "Nightcaster Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ Lopez, Vincent (December 14, 2001). "Nightcaster". IGN. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ "NightCaster". Official Xbox Magazine. March 2002. p. 76.