Countdown: Vampires

Countdown: Vampires
Platform:	Playstation
# of Players:	1
Developer:	Bandai
Publisher:	Bandai
Features:	Analog and Vibration Function
Ratings:	Early Childhood
Memory Req.:	3 Blocks
Info:	http://www.Bandai.com

There has been a wide array of survival horror games that has either
survived or failed the gaming industry. Many popular names like Silent
Hill,
Parasite Eve, and the ever so popular Resident Evil series, but they're also
some unfortunate failures. Some that I would rather not mention just so I
wouldn't embarrass them, but you know who you are. Anyway Bandai decided to
release its own version of a survival horror game simply called Countdown
Vampires. You play the role of a VIP security guard, Keith J. Snyder, a
young detective bearing a huge tattoo bearing from his neck to his arm, and
were called on for a job. You decided to take the position of security of a
huge gathering in the casino called the Desert Moon Hotel. You take guard
during its huge gala celebrating the new millennium. During the event, a
fire
breaks out, as if you wouldn't be surprised, the sprinklers go on and
everyone starts panicking. You however notice that spurting out of the
sprinkler heads is this weird nasty black liquid. After seeing what had
happened, you then notice that everybody attending there was all of a sudden
turning into vampires. You, on the other hand, have a duty to save
everybody
from bitter disaster and that's when the game begins.

This has a great storyline and it's very original, but it's nothing new
to this type of game genre. This is your typical save the innocent; kill
the
bad guys before bitter destruction comes and so on and so forth. Most of the
game play and the style for the game are almost exactly borrowed from
Resident Evil, so therefore it doesn't have something unique to show. The
controls also deem a resemblance for the Capcom game where you would use R1
to point and X to shoot. The setup for the controls is easily made comfort
for all you gamers. Its sets you up with three different types of controls
for you to decide. The game play for Countdown Vampires is unique in its
own way.

Instead of you blowing up these zombies, you would use a tranquilizer
gun
to knock them out and cure them using a white water serum(you would learn
about this in the beginning of the game). This also comes with its own line
of puzzles for you to solve and the nifty feature is that this game has slot
machines for you to play with. In a way that's cool because you can win
money and use it for to buy maps and food and drinks from vending machines
you find throughout the game. A new feature used for this game is that
whether you heal the vampires or kill them, it develops a whole new
storyline
depending on how you do in the game. It all can end up having a variety of
endings, all depending on you and how well you succeed or fail in the game.
The cinemas throughout the game is very well made and which kind of makes
this look more like you're watching a movie rather than you playing the
actual game itself.

Overall, this is a pretty good game. I will give Bandai some respect for
at least trying to get in the horror gaming market. In a way it has
something new to a lot of gamers and you would have a bit of struggle of
actually keeping some of these vampires alive. Unless you're a diehard
survivor gamer, you'll have a lot of fun with this unique style of game
play.
If you were just a typical gamer trying something new, I wouldn't recommend
it. If you want to give it ago for yourself, I would recommend renting it
first, rather than buying it. So give it a try if you like.

Jesse Labrocca