Joining the early ranks of fantasy based titles released on the Xbox is Nightcaster, developed by VR 1 and published by Microsoft. VR 1, who has published a variety of different genres for different platforms. As a fan of fantasy based titles, as well as anxiously awaiting to add to my collection of Xbox games, I was intrigued by Nightcaster when it was first announced.  All I could do was hope that I would not be disappointed as I had been during my early fantasy exploits on new consoles. Nightcaster managed to be a worthy first excursion into the Xbox fantasy world, as well as gaming proof that you can't always determine a game genre by it's cover.

You are Arran, a young provincial who is endowed with the power of magic. As the story opens, you get an storybook-like opening (in the tradition of some classic Disney movie openings) with some clever little prose. The opening isn't overly long, and it doesn't demand a lot of your attention as you will quickly begin playing. It seems an evil wizard with a penchant for a world with as little light as possible has decided he's going to wreak havoc on your world. Are you going to stand for that? No way! So you're offered a choice: You can save the world using magic, but in doing so you must sacrifice years of your life, aging prematurely as you grow in strength. Wow... I wish my premature graying had such nice side effects! So, you set off, with the help of your trusty talking magic orb, and the wide open, but beleaguered, world ahead of you. 

Inarguably, one of the most essential elements to the enjoyment of gameplay is the control system, and when you're breaking in a game on the new multi-buttoned Xbox system, this can feels doubly important. Fortunately, despite the fact that you do use all the buttons in Nightcaster (including clicking the control sticks), the control scheme still manages to feel natural. While you do have a default physical attack (swinging your staff), you'll never use it and you'll quickly learn to manipulate your four schools of magic. The control scheme does an excellent job in allowing you to keep several spells quickly and easily accessible, and it's this quick access treatment for magic that allows you to get a somewhat untraditional feel of rapid-fire spell action. It's definitely different, and it's definitely why this game's genre is action-adventure, and not RPG like you might expect. Just use your control stick to determine your target with your magic orb, and fire. It works out well since you can move independently of your orb, and I can honestly say this is probably this first time I've felt a title came close to falling into the button mashing category with a strictly magical attack scheme. 

While you are able to change your view from a first person view, to a third person view, any time you make an attack (or move your orb which will launch those attacks), you will default to the third person view. Given the fact that you will want to remain ready for any attacks, you probably won't see much of the world from the first person view. Probably the only place you'll use the first person view is talking to the people you encounter. The good thing is, all the camera angle changing stays pretty stable - and it doesn't give you the dreaded gaming motion sickness. 

Speaking of attacks and magic, as I mentioned a little earlier, Arran has access to four schools of magic: fire, water, light, and darkness. Each of these schools can then be strengthened as you progress and collect the appropriate orbs. You can also gain some advantages by some portals which allow you to change the element you are most "aligned" with, so to speak. For instance, if you run across an area where there are predominantly fire creatures, you may want to find a portal that can transform you into a water mage. Gradually, you will be able to acquire more powerful spells in each category, and you do have a choice on where to place your emphasis here as well. You'll quickly grow familiar with which attacks are a little more forgiving on your aim, and this will become exceedingly important when you're surrounded. 

Adding to the ease of learning the game is a feature I've come to recognize as a staple amongst Microsoft titles: An in-game tutorial. Your first chunk of gameplay will be filled with floating tomes, books that have instructions on the game's controls and gameplay scheme. It's a refreshing alternative to reading the manual before playing, and I think game companies caught on to that a while back. So rather than letting those non-reading gamers get frustrated, why not make the learning interactive? It's a good idea, and it works well in Nightcaster. 

Nightcaster's graphics are pretty standard and given that you see most of the world from an above view, nothing really stands out. Your monsters, being color schemed according to their magic class, don't really have a great amount of detail, and it's almost like being attacked by a bunch of Sculpey figures. This is not in any way to say the graphics are bad, because they're not. It also makes the game much easier to play in the sense that you don't have a whole lot of time or any real indication of what class those characters are. It's just that nothing really stands out, and there's the overwhelming feeling that this title doesn't come close to kicking in the horsepower of the system. Graphics aren't everything though, and to be fair, the game does flow smoothly and the load times aren't hard to bear. 

Voice acting, including your orb, has a distinctly Gaelic feel to it. Scriptwriting also takes on a very fantasy, poetic tinge. One of the things I really like about the scripting is the authentic language used for spell names and invocations. It really contributed to the feeling that the developers wanted to make a story that was a little deeper than the traditional. One of the problems I did notice with the plot/voice acting is the fact that if you trigger the action button on a fellow human while in the middle of a mob of monsters, they will start a normal dialogue, like "Greetings traveler..." while they are also in the midst of yelling 'Ouch! Help.' It will keep doing this too throughout the battle, and you wonder if you missed any valuable information while fighting.

Overall, I would have to recommend renting this game first, just to make sure it's answering your gaming needs. If you're looking for some fast paced magic battling, or a game you can just kind of go numb with for a while - this is the game for you. Graphically the game doesn't disappoint, and the research into the Gaelic culture really adds some flair to what could have been another boy vs. omnipotent evil wizard plotline. I found Nightcaster to be a great first venture into it's genre for a brand new console system, and it's definitely a bit of a change from the usual. 

Graphics: 7.5
Graphically, Nightcaster is neither disappointing, not is it phenomenal. Understandably, the game starts out a bit darker, due to the curse of the Nightcaster, but the environments seem standard RPG fare. The only weird thing is the fact that when you get close up on some of the rocks, objects, etc..., they will seemingly disappear. It does help in some cases, but you wonder if it really adds or detracts from your experience. 

Sound: 7
The real highlight of Nightcaster's sound is the distinctly Gaelic feel to the spell casting and the voice of Arran's Orb. It's a lovely departure from the traditional English accent, and it shows some research on the part of the team. The music itself, while done well, doesn't really become more than some background music that fills the silence, rather than motivating. 

Concept: 7.5
Nightcaster avoiding "typecasting" itself into a corner with some cultural research and a seriously action based variation on the RPG dominated fantasy setting. It's a great game for slipping into on those days when you need just some chaotic monster killing to numb your mind. 

Overall: 7
I don't know if Nightcaster is for everyone, but I do think that with certain niche gamers it will be a great success. I would highly recommend a rental if you even think you have a smidge of interest in action-adventure, no matter what the setting, since this game brings a different twist to the genre. It's audio/visual facets are pleasant and the controls are amazingly easy to get used to. It might become a bit repetitive or bland to some who aren't big fans of fast-paced action alone though, so go into this one with an open mind.