Tedious 'Nightmare Creature'; Vandalizing 'Grind Session'

By AARON CURTISS

July 20, 2000 12 AM PT

Sometimes, once is plenty. That’s the feeling that comes with playing “Nightmare Creatures II,” a thoroughly unnecessary sequel to one of the groundbreaking titles in third-person action-adventure games.

For Sega Dreamcast and Sony PlayStation, “Nightmare Creatures II” drops players into the body of a human lab rat--a soul so tortured that he cowers in a dank cell most of the time--who has decided that enough is enough.

So our hero, Herbert Wallace, grabs a handy ax and sets out on a mission to find and destroy the evil sorcerer Adam Crowley, whose quest for immortality has spanned four centuries. Through the sewers and creepy streets of 1930s London, Wallace tracks his target.

Sounds a whole lot better than it is.

Players generally do little more than walk the lanky, bandaged Wallace from room to room and then help him slash, hack and chop his way through a never-ending stream of monsters and zombies. The action has its moments. For instance, power-ups include a jar of flies that makes enemies’ heads explode or an icy spirit that turns the undead into frozen zombiesicles.

For the most part, though, success depends on madly punching the same three buttons over and over and over. Once an enemy is weak enough, Wallace can perform a fatality move in which he lops off the bad guy’s head and then hacks the headless corpse into ground chuck.

Needless to say, red is the most common color in the “Nightmare Creatures” pallet. Blood explodes rather than squirts from wounds. It would be comical were it not so disgusting. Gore is fine here and there, now and then. But “Nightmare Creatures” slathers it across the screen so excessively that it really is a turn-off.

One of the elements that made the original such a wonder was the creepy sense of place. That installment took place in 1830s London and the game created a dark atmosphere as players crept through the Victorian night. Much of that feel remains in the sequel--even though it’s set a century later. The rotting underbelly of London is still the game’s biggest star.

But it’s not enough to carry the game. Nor is the heavy guitar soundtrack by Rob Zombie.

The action is repetitive and gets tedious fast. Add to that a set of controls that don’t offer the kind of refined movement one finds in a top-notch third-person series such as “Resident Evil.”

And then there are pieces that just seem slapped together. For instance, when fighting monsters, they sometimes seem to levitate a few feet off the ground for no reason other than there is an object in the way. So instead of climbing over it, they just levitate. It looks sloppy.

Yes, sometimes once is plenty.

‘Grind Session’

“Grind Session” for Sony PlayStation starts with a video sure to make any city official grind his or her teeth. There, in scene after scene, are countless skateboarders gleefully defacing public property as they slide down stair railings, jump across picnic tables and use the courthouse steps to grab some air.

It’s a pretty good precursor to the game itself, in which players guide their own little skateboarders through cityscapes teeming with nasty obstacles--from subway tracks to drainage pipes. The goal: Earn respect from your peers by nailing tricks such as the Disco Flip and Frontfoot Impossible and by smashing stuff that doesn’t belong to you.

That’s right, “Grind Session” awards so-called vandal points to players who ruin the possessions of others. “Hey, neat boom box; I’ll kick it across the room so my friends think I’m cool.”

Now, I’m not so old that I forgot skating games are supposed to have attitude. There’s a reason Mr. Rogers has never pulled a Heelflip Late Shoveit for his viewers. But I guess the designers of “Grind Session” figured that scarring up public property just wasn’t enough. And this is in a game rated “Everyone” by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.

That aside, “Grind Session” offers some pretty challenging play. Players pick from a stable of six professional skaters and compete for points in large environments. Pulling off some of the more complicated tricks require patience and timing and “Grind Session” never gets boring.

Players who do find their attention wandering can always just smash up some stuff.

‘Indy Racing 2000’

“Indy Racing 2000” is not the sort of racer one expects on Nintendo 64, a platform that has traditionally catered to younger players. That means racing games on N64 tend to have exotic locales with interesting tracks and not too many technical details.

“Indy Racing 2000” caters to those junior racers’ dads. The Formula 1 cars race around oval tracks lined with bleachers and it’s tough to tell one course from the next. Players can tinker with their cars to customize the gear ratio, tire pressure and the angles on the front and rear wings. The race itself demands subtlety and fluid driving at 225 mph.

It’s probably a little dry for most people’s tastes. But “Indy Racing 2000” also includes a fantasy league that lets players race midget cars through some tricky courses.

Aaron Curtiss is participating in a management training program, where he currently serves as assistant to the senior vice president of advertising. He has no financial dealings with the companies he covers. To comment on a column or to suggest games for review, send e-mail to aaron.curtiss@latimes.com.

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Essentials

Nightmare Creatures II

* Platform: Sega Dreamcast

* Publisher: Konami

* ESRB* rating: Mature

* Price: $40

* Bottom line: Unnecessary

Grind Session

* Platform: Sony PlayStation

* Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

* ESRB rating: Everyone