When games are made from movies and books, just about every gamer out there cringes a little and has a thought that the game won’t be much to squeal about. It is a sad fact of gaming that games created from main stream movies usually aren’t of the highest quality and are usually bug filled rush jobs. So what happens when there is a game created from a movie and series of books that the majority of people have never heard of? Night Watch happens. Night Watch is an RPG game from Nival Interactive and CDV Software that is set in the same universe as the series of books from the Russian author Sergey Lukyanenko. The books as well as the movie, follow two groups, one of Light Others and one of Dark Others; the Night Watch and the Day Watch. The two groups of “others” have constantly been in a shoving match for hundreds of years, one group wanting to rule and the other keeping them in line from achieving their goals, both keeping a close watch on each others activities.

The dark and light side each have their own special classes of characters, the dark being vampires, werewolves, witches and mages, where the light side has only three classes which you choose from at the start of the game. When you first begin, you play the role of Stas, a young man who was hired to kill a woman suspected of being an other. Unbeknownst to you, you are being used by the Dark Others and the Night Watch intervenes to stop you and show you what is going on, as you are apparently an Other as well. As you learn of your Light being, you then choose which class you will play from a shape shifter, enchanter or mage. Shape shifters have the ability to change into animals, mages create powerful spells from magic and enchanters are able to create magical items, crafting them from objects you find through out the game. Once you have set your path, you will then be told the story of the Night and Day Watches and you will more than likely find yourself scratching your head at times. As interesting as the story is, it does get a little confusing.

The visual style of Night Watch may seem a little under whelming to some at first, but as the game progresses, the environments and scenes become better looking as they move along and become more intricate and detailed. It can seem odd however that playing area where the action takes place is set in one small area surrounded by nothing but a black void. Player characters in your party as well as NPC’s are done well enough, although some of the lip synching during cut scenes is off at times. (Note: This can be fixed with the latest patch). The animations of characters and spell effects during game play is spot on and fluid, but during cut scenes at times, it would become jumpy and stuttered when there were quick movements on screen. There are also two sides to the appearance of the game that you will experience when playing.

One of them is the real world where you are most of the time and the other is an alternate reality known as the Gloom. When the player is in the Gloom, the atmosphere becomes grayish and dreary, with bright colors dulled down and a lackluster murkiness cast over everything. Being able to enter the Gloom has its pros and cons but either way, you will need to enter it from time to time. When you are in the Gloom, it will slowly eat away at your energy points and eventually your health. Some enemies can only be attacked within the Gloom but there are ways to make them appear out of it later on in the game. Also there are places where the Gloom will be needed to pass certain points. Doors and objects may be one way in the Gloom but not the same in the real world. The Gloom is also useful for being able to sneak past enemies since you are invisible to the real world while enclosed within it.

The game play of Night Watch is turn based and is driven by each characters AP - action points. Each character will have a number of points per round that can be used to move or attack. As each round of battle begins, enemies will appear and attack either from the Gloom or from previous interaction. You can use whatever weapons you have at your disposal, starting with flashlights and pistols and moving up gradually to diverse magic’s and enchanted items. As each character levels, they are given the option of choosing new skills, some quite useful and some not so much. The more each skill is used in battle, the greater the skill becomes and increases in level. The attack systems does get a little more in depth however then just pointing and clicking. Each attack uses energy points which limits how many times you can use your spells and special attacks unless the points are replenished using various items.

When you aren’t engaged in a battle, you will be either talking to other characters or spending much of your time watching cut scenes. The conversations that take place – and there are plenty of them – allow you to choose what replies you want to give and what questions you want to ask which change the outcome of each interaction. The voice over work in Night Watch is well done and quite humorous a lot of the time with some witty dialogue that will have you laughing out loud. Once you start to get deeper into the story line, there are a few plot twists and changes to keep your interest in the game piqued, but make sure you pay attention as mentioned, it can get confusing at times. At times, it really feels like the battles you fight through are simply fillers between each cut scene since, moving you from one to the next. When you are finished with a cut scene, you are plopped into a small area to explore and wait for enemies to show up. Once they do, you fight and then head for the arrow that indicates the exit to the area and onto the next cut scene.

Night Watch is a rather interesting game with a pretty good ideology behind it and a reasonable amount of gameplay within it. At times the game can be frustrating with some overly difficult battles but over all, it is a rather enjoyable experience and the way the missions are set up, it really is perfect for the casual gamer. The game did have a few issues with crashing here and there and glitches popping up every once in a while, but nothing that made the game unplayable in any way. If you are looking for a turn based RPG with a good strategic element and an interesting storyline Night Watch may be up your alley, however, if you are looking for a seriously involved RPG that has hours upon hours of gameplay, this may be a little too shallow for some hardcore players.