Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy

Nightlong is another impressive game from my good friends over at Team17. You play Joshua Reev, a former International Control Military lieutenant turned top-tier private detective. Joshua is contacted by his old commander Hugh Martens, who saved his life five years ago and is now mayor of Union City. Hugh tells him the Genesis Corporation, his biggest campaign backer, is under attack from an unknown terrorist group, and calls in the favour: go undercover and shut the threat down. Joshua owes him, so he takes the job, only to discover the terrorists are really victims, and that Hugh himself is behind the bombings and the killing of innocents. You are the only one who can stop him.

From there you are thrown into Nightlong’s impressive world: three CDs of stunning cyberpunk art, over 50 gorgeous locations, fully animated backgrounds, jaw-dropping FMV, thousands of sound effects and voices, and a clean, user-friendly interface. It plays like any other adventure game, only more intriguing than most, easily on the level of Grim Fandang in how it pulls you in. It is also a touch harder, making you investigate every little item and decide whether you need it, something inside it, or it combined with something else for full effect. That depth makes for genuinely satisfying puzzling.

Graphically it does not break new ground, and to be blunt the visuals are not quite on par with Blade Runner or Grim Fandango, though there are some lovely rendered scenes. But graphics are not everything, especially in an adventure game. The sound is where it excels: atmospheric music carries the whole thing, and there is nothing better than a weird ambient track humming away while you wrestle with a puzzle. The dialogue is only okay, but the soundtrack is the king of the audio here.

Add it up and Nightlong has great gameplay, strong sound, graphics that are far from bad, and a genuinely engrossing conspiracy. It is fun and addictive, packed with challenge, and the box promises some 40 hours of an all-encompassing adventure that will keep you immersed for ages. From where I sit, this one is a keeper, even if I am still waiting on Grim Fandango.