I think I'm going to call Nightmare Reaper my favourite of the current retro FPS games recently added to the digital marketplace. There's DUSK, Ion Fury, AMID EVIL, Project Warlock, as well as Wrath and Prodeus around there corner; but Nightmare Reaper just feels the most well rounded to me so far. The blend of level design, art style, weapon selection, gameplay mechanics and diversity just all come together so well it's hard to describe unless you actually play the game. The graphics might not be to everyones taste, and at first I too was apprehensive until I started to see them more. There's pretty good detail in the enemy sprites and the cardboard cutout way they die is a great little touch! The lighting and textures all look suitably nice yet still retain a retro feel in the way they are put together, and the atmosphere some stages can portray is really quite unexpected from the inital look at the games screenshots. Sound is where I could see some improvement, yet what's there is great as well. The music that kicks in during combat is as good as Andrew's work always is, I just sometimes wished there was more of it. It can sometimes feel a bit stale with the music kicking up again or lingering before going back to silence. It works with the shorter level design, but perhaps a few more triggers could get some music playing (like challenge room music for example). The sound of the weapons is mostly pretty good, with a few maybe being weak... But who am I to judge what a Gem Staff would sound like for real? I can't really sum up the gameplay beyond telling you to play it! It plays wonderfully with an amazing selection of weapons that all feel as they should. The upgrade system is refreshing an unique, and the perks all feel as if they have a use. For me performance was fine albeit one area with the graphics cranked to max; most of the game ran fine with them way up though! Overall I can't recommend Nightmare Reaper enough... It's too unique to be ignored!
