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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Piece of history, 26 February 2004
6/10
Author: refinedsugar from Nova Scotia, Canada

I still remember the rage in the early 90's about violence in video games. You couldn't watch CNN for more than an hour without seeing clips of Night Trap and Mortal Kombat spliced in with some mad ramblings from US senators. It was the first of many arguments to come against what belonged in video games and what didn't. It eventually lead to a ratings system and while mature and outright morally bad games have come and went, Night Trap will forever be remembered as a partner in what created it all. Which in hindsight is pretty funny - the news and all. I didn't get to play Night Trap right away. The only things I knew about it is what the biased news told me and some naive misinformed senators spouted off. Needless to say I wrote it off as pure garbage having not even played it.

It wasn't until years later under the ownership of a brand new 3DO system did I get to experience the self-proclaimed redefining moment in video game history. Here we were in a time when FMV-based games were all the rage. Some people were tooting it as the future. Real actors, real sets, an overall sense of "real" and Night Trap had spawned it all. It had spawned an entirely new genre -- the FMV based game. To think if it hadn't been for some senators flapping their gums Night Trap would have failed and the genre would have never been born.

But what about Night Trap itself?

For me it was a fun, cheesy game that one can't look back on without a smile. Gaming wise it wasn't much. The story on display wasn't that great and it didn't carry nary a characteristic of any of the most popular and influential games of all time, but you had fun watching and playing it and most importantly it worked for what it was. It wasn't overly seriously, they played it for camp in parts and unlike what the television told you the "violence" was pretty tame. For it's time and place Night Trap was a ball and for those who experienced it you will never forget that feeling the game gave you.

Now time has moved on, the FMV video game genre is dead and Night Trap is old news, but no one has forgotten it. The world continues to debate what belongs in video games and video game producers continue to push the boundaries, but whatever comes our way in the future Night Trap has paved the way and has been forever immortalized.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
A breakthrough in video games, 1 April 1999
10/10
Author: Brian Mathe (odiegarfield@webtv.net) from East Tennessee

This is the game that introduced the ratings system in video games as we know it today. The depiction of blood sucking vampires chasing girls in skimpy outfits, along with the concept of the game, makes this one of the greatest games of all time. It is a great game even though Sega CD was a bomb as a video game system. Night Trap is a live action video game in which you decide what the outcome of the game. If you are good enough, then you can save the girls, otherwise the girls are a feast for the vampires (called Oggers). Plato's performance is nothing to brag about, but the game is very exciting and fun. A true classic in video game technology that spawned other Sega CD games like Ground Zero Texas, Double Switch, and Mad Dog McCree just to name a few, that uses real actors in the game play.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
I'm commander Simms of the sega control attack team, 15 August 2005
Author: bikerchick298 from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

night trap was one of the key games in the 1994 congressional hearings on the violence of video games alongside mortal kombat. well enough with the history lesson lets review the game. this fmv game puts you in the role of a man with the job of protecting some girls including the late Dana Plato from the augers who are some vampire like creatures. they are all in the martins mansion who have a secret themselves. you have control of the houses traps and your aim is to trap the augers before they overrun the house. the games graphics are good for the sega CD if a little grainy but it doesn't matter too much. the sound is clear and sometimes funny at times. overall it is an addictive game and i rate it 10 out of ten. thats a bikerchick guaranteer.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Excellent video game, 18 December 2002
Author: FrostySnowbro from Lawrenceville, Ga

Despite all the trouble this game caused for the gaming industry, it was still an excellent game, especially for those who appreicate the B-Movie Genre. Dana Plato was great as Kelli and it gives you the feel that you are inside the B-Movie. Most of it you didn't understand but that didn't take away the feel of the game. I hope this gets re-released as a DVD, so we can actually watch the movie inside of playing the video game. If you find it at a used store, buy it. It's worth it just to see the small movie within.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Still a great game., 3 November 2002
Author: Kelly Smith from Aryshire, Scotland

Night Trap is a hell of a game that keeps you in your toes from the start and it is one of the best games that you can get for the Sega CD. With the distinction of being a game that featured a hell of a murder theme and being one of the first games to spark a history making decision in the video game industry, there is plenty here that makes it worth having, simply because of the historical value. The story line, while cheesy with the dialog is still impressive and you can find enough here to keep your interest through all of the different scenes. if you're a collector, then this game is for you and even if you're a 32X/Sega CD owner, then this game is definitely for you.

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Historical Gaming Landmark, 26 November 2006
10/10
Author: John Sullivan from Roseville, CA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This was definitely one of my all-time favorite video games - well produced, innovative and a piece of history that should definitely be archived! I had the original, and I found nothing objectionable about it. That was back when special interests were competing to become founders on the regulation bandwagon - funny how as soon as an ESRB was established, games were allowed to be excessively grotesque for the sake of being the bloodiest thing out there (so long as it had the 'M' rating on it) and the film industry silently followed in their footsteps shortly thereafter - no longer must art work to build suspense and fear, now it's a matter of who can simulate the goriest in-your-face image. Spooky, huh? What was the big controversy really all about? It wasn't violence nor nudity...it was the suggestion of violence. The "augers" (henchmen of the family that needed blood to survive) had these devices that they would hook around their victim's neck (somewhat like the canes that would pull old vaudeville actors off stage) and a pointy little bit would spin as it began to (suggestively) drill in. That is what the big controversy was about...well that and the fact that the victims were your typical scantily clad young ladies (in nightgowns and other slumber party type attire). There was no meat, limbs, blood, torture or other imagery that we would typically see bypass sensors for today's network television.

What was the game like? The best! You were in control of all of the traps throughout the house, which you were monitoring through video surveillance - you would switch cameras to see what's going on...you'd notice a couple of augers going towards an entryway from outside, but you'd have to switch to the living room to gather critical information before switching back to the entry where you would open the trap door to drop the augers in - pretty much that's the gist of it.

What was the best part of the game? The creepy look of the compressed video gave it an authentic surveillance feel. Also, when nothing was happening outside, the chirping of the crickets was absolutely the best - you definitely wanted to play this game at night after hours to add to the ambiance. Trying to keep up between the family, the girls and the augers always kept the action moving. I still remember Dana Plato's character saying "Megan! No!!!" as Megan struggled with an auger at each of her arms...that was one of the trickiest traps to pull - I would hit it either too early or too late, then that's probably one of the reasons I remember it so well. There was one trap the was a bed that flipped the augers out the window. I think there was one at the bottom of the stairs. There were all kinds of fun traps. You didn't really catch on to the family's creepy secret until towards the end, but that's just good composition.

What a game! To win it was to get rid of the bad guys with no harm done to the girls. Lose a girl - lose the game, plain and simple. Played to completion it was a 'G' rated game all the way. Without completing your mission it was what we'd probably consider a 'PG-13' at worst.

Very clean fun. Very classic...and one more snapshot in the tragically short life of actress Dana Plato. Every member of the "Night Trap" cast played their role with incredible results, creating an experience that although shared with only a small portion of the population, not only deserves to be looked back upon as both an historical document but as a legacy in home entertainment as well!

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A Mere Family Game to Todays Standards, 27 July 2005
Author: tragickingdom-1 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I bought this game after the controversy that spilled over it that casted those nasty video game ratings. I purchased this for the Sega CD 32X (combine them together), unknowingly at the time when I bought this game I didn't realize at the time that this was the game that had got so much talk along with MK and caused it to be pulled from the retail shelves years earlier. Well now for my review I want to set the record straight, this game in no way contains sex, profanity, or extreme violence, despite the naysayer that love spreading those rumors and lies about this game, if you actually played this game you would realize this game is far from what it was black marked as. The other commenter here that reviewed this game mentioned it had blood. Now, I'm not sure what that reviewer meant by that, I assure you there's no animated blood in this game, there's no one getting shot, stabbed or mangled and blood comes squirting out everywhere on scream. This game is a live action movie. But there are scenes where one of the house guest in the game finds blood zipped lock in a storage bag in a refrigerator, and scenes if you screw up and fail to protect some of the house guest in the game you might find some of the guest that getting they're blood drained from them with strange syringe tools used by the enemies in the game, its all acted out as a movie as what this game is slightly is and there's a bit of some bad acting at times, but again this video game is a live action interactive movie. The one noticeable actor in this game is child hood star, Dana Plato, if you remember her as Kimberly from Different Strokes she stars in this game. She's one of the undercover cops that's on your team and is your primary focus on protecting in the game. You are the Controller; you have access to hidden surveillance cameras in the house. Each surveillance camera in the house is in each room. Each room contains traps hidden on the wall and in the floor and you have control of them. Your purpose is to use the traps wisely and trap the augers. Basically, you're a security guard in game, I know pretty lame. The house is owned by the Victors and their two kids Sarah and Jeff, the family are actually vampires, and the daughter invites her unsuspecting normal friends over. You'll get the rest of the story when you play the game. Honestly this game IMO is a mere family game than the overrated controversy that people in the early 90s dogged this game to be. I wonder sometimes if part of the controversy stemmed from people being use to seeing a video game like Super Mario Bros. and not expect a game to be so real like this one was. But whatever the case it is, the hysteria that surrounds this game is nothing but political hype. This game was rated M when I got in 1995, and come to think of it I was still a kid then, LOL. Oh the irony. This is a good game to own, especially if you are a fan of Digital Pictures (company that made this game) and their live action video games they made. BTW, this game had a clone rip off of it too, called Double Switch and this game starred child famed actor Corey Haim. I have that game as well and the storyline thankfully isn't vampires like Night Trap, but more of a unique matrix style of baddies.

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Hehe , this game sure brings a lot of memories. ahhh, 25 June 2001
Author: alexneo1 from Israel

I loved this game so much + it was one of the first FMV games. it's a shame that they don't make this stuff anymore, i mean games like Dragon Lair,MadDog Mcgree,Double Switch,Ground Zero. I know this games had a very litle gameplay compare to games this days but it was fun to play them. Does anyone remember Capcom's Fox Hunt for PSX :) , one of the last FMV games , that game was cool.

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3 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the coolest games ever!!, 11 June 2002
Author: dvdmrp from Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

The first time that I had ever played this game was back in May of 1992. I had received this game and my Sega Cd as a First Communion present. I thought that this game was the greatest game ever. I have always been a movie freak, and this was like a dream come true. I felt like I was playing in the movie. That was really cool. Just be warned. The original Sega CD version is not rated and it has some blood. Now I am not some complainer that complains that kids get corrupted by video game violence. But I am just telling you in case you are! No offense. I mean I played this game when I was 9 and I turned out just fine. My parents told me about violence and how it is wrong. In the games and movies, it is all staged and fake. I knew that it was wrong. Some kids just flip out over this stuff I guess. Anyway, The game is very cool. If you like FMV games, then this is a must buy! If you aren't really a fan, check it out anyway, but if you hate FMV then don't get it. I'd say that this game is a 10/10. Sure, when compared to todays graphical standards it isn't that good, but remember that the game is 10 years old. Wow, has time flown by. The game is still fun today. How many times can you say that about old games? 10/10 Highly recommended.

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3 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Brilliant B-Movie video game, 14 July 2001
10/10
Author: dogcow from United States

This was the first video game that actually gave the player a feeling of really being "inside" a movie. It was modeled after b-movies of the 1970s and 1980s so it has everything you can ask for in a cheeseball film. Vampires, scantily clad women, and gallons of blood and gore! All this in a video game FOR KIDS! Yeah they dont make 'em like they used to. This game caused a scandal when people realised just how sleazy it was. The fact it had a woman showing her breasts didnt really help things either. Sega eventually pulled the game after a bunch of toy store chains refused to carry it. Cool game, hope it gets re-released sometime.

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