| Nightmare Creatures II | |
| Developer: | Kalisto Entertainment |
| Publisher: | Konami |
| Programmer: | Stéphane Le Dorze |
| Artist: | Pascal Barret |
| Composer: | Frédéric Motte |
| Platforms: | PlayStation, Dreamcast |
| Genre: | Survival horror |
| Modes: | Single-player |
Nightmare Creatures II is a survival horror video game developed by Kalisto Entertainment and published by Konami for the PlayStation and Dreamcast. It is the sequel to Nightmare Creatures.
In 1934, exactly one century after the previous game, Adam Crowley, an occultist and antagonist from the previous game, has created a vast race of mutant creatures, which he is using to wipe out a group of monster hunters called the Circle. Meanwhile, Herbert Wallace, a patient at Crowley's genetics hospital, escapes from captivity, armed with an axe. He arrives in London, where he discovers evidence of a picture of Ignatius Blackward who, with Nadia Franciscus, had defeated Crowley in the previous game. Wallace is rescued from a fire it by Rachel, the only surviving member of the Circle. They head their separate ways, with Wallace venturing to Crowley's castle, only to discover that Crowley himself is not there, but in Paris.
He then falls down a chute, which leads to a biplane that he flies to France. Wallace enters a cinema, where he finds a note from Rachel informing him that she knows of Crowley's plans. He then proceeds onwards to a museum to meet up with Rachel, but unknown to Wallace, she has been captured by zombies. Wallace then enters the museum, where he finds a detailed blueprint of the Eiffel Tower, along with some of Crowley's plans. Wallace enters a crypt, is attacked by zombies, escapes in a car, and after getting assaulted by a zombie that hid in the back, crashes in an elaborate graveyard, where he finds a part of Rachel's shirt snagged on a tree.
Wallace departs from the graveyard and falls into a sewer, which in turn takes him to the Paris underground, where he finds evidence of documents of ancient cults and a passage that leads to the Eiffel Tower. He then climbs to the top of the structure, where he finds a grotesque monstrosity. Using dynamite, he explodes the creature, only for the explosion to throw him off the top of the spire. However, his fall is cushioned, and he is reunited with Rachel, whereupon they walk away together. Whether Crowley is plotting his next scheme or gone forever remains completely unknown.
The gameplay is similar to the previous installment, seeing the adrenaline bar abandoned and the addition of fatality moves to execute weakened enemies. Unlike the previous game though, Herbert is the only playable character and the unlockable ability to play as a monster is absent.
The game features licensed music from Rob Zombie in the cutscenes while the in-game music was composed by the Nightmare Creatures composer, Frédéric Motte.
The PlayStation version of Nightmare Creatures II received "mixed" reviews, while the Dreamcast version received "unfavorable" reviews, according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. Greg Orlando of NextGen quoted a song by Carly Simon, "You're So Vain", in saying of the latter console version, "Konami's 'dream' turns out to be nothing but 'clouds in our coffee.'"
Uncle Dust of GamePro said that the PlayStation version "certainly earns its 'Mature' rating with plenty of blood and severed body parts, so it may not be for everyone. PlayStation horror fans, though, will find it a terrific, sharp-looking and -sounding action/adventure game."[1] He also said, "While the visuals are certainly more impressive than the PlayStation version's, the Dreamcast version of Nightmare Creatures II remains otherwise almost identical—which is a good thing, because the PlayStation Nightmare Creatures II is a great game."[2] However, 2 Barrel Fugue said of the Dreamcast version in another GamePro review, "If you're the type of person who gets a kick out of exercises in futility, then Nightmare Creatures II is for you. If not, back away slowly and, when it's not looking, run like hell."[3] The Electric Playground gave the PlayStation version a favorable review while it was still in development.