Preview
Platform:
WiiDeveloper:
TBAPublisher:
Sega of America, Inc.Previewed by
Justin Fassino on 2007-07-16
"We wanted to prove at E3 that NiGHTS was in development," said
Sega this past week. The fans believe you, Sega; they want to know when they can play the game on their Wii. The answer, of course, is this holiday season. But that didn't stop the company from walking us through one of the early levels of the game and giving us an idea of just how exactly the game will play.
By all accounts,
NiGHTS fans should be relatively satisfied with
Journey of Dreams if the game is remotely similar to the demo build. The graphics are the same colorful, vibrant style that made the original so appealing, except this time around the Wii's horsepower makes for a much smoother and rich experience. Anyone who has played
NiGHTS will immediately recognize the rings, pick-ups, and maneuvers of the game. Unfortunately, the only people Sega let play the game were Sega employees, so we don't have a great feel for how the Wiimote will work, but that didn't dampen us from feeling the spirit of the
NiGHTS of old.
The final game will have seven different worlds; the one on display in the demo was filled with lush greenery and blue beaches that instilled a sense of peace. The goal of the demo level was to obtain three keys which were being held by large flying birds. By guiding Helen, the female protagonist, to a floating chamber, the character NiGHTS came alive and took flight. Just as in the original, the flying is still on rails, but you'll be able to loop, spin, and speed burst as you travel around the track through rings. After catching one of the birds, the track changed and expanded, allowing NiGHTS access to the other birds. Once the second key was obtained, the game switched focus: now the game was a behind-the-back on-rails flying game, similar to
Starfox or
Panzer Dragoon (only without the shooting). NiGHTS had to dodge objects in his way and speed up to catch the last bird. Once the last key was acquired, the game moved on to a boss battle.
The boss was a large, multi-armed enemy floating in a corridor-like space. The goal was to fly up to him, grab him, and toss him into the green goal area at the end while avoiding his attacks.
The demo was short but sweet, and it left me not only wanting to play the game, but to see what other kinds of mechanics the game will offer. Sega says that another element of the gameplay will come by way of main characters Helen and Will, who will be able to freely explore the environments in non-linear fashion before becoming NiGHTS (and in fact will have to do so in some stages to complete the level).
Sega has been somewhat tight-lipped about
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams so far, but as the year moves along, you can expect a lot of new information and coverage of the game right up until it releases.
