Random Game O' the Day: Night Trap

[digitalpress]

Our illustrious DP Random Game Generator has chosen the historical Night Trap on this fine Monday. It had the Sega CD game in its sights but we may as well open this up to the 3DO version as well, throw in the 32X CD for good measure.

Opinions of this game vary greatly, from "worst piece of shite ever" to "significant multimedia experiment". I recently returned to the original Night Trap on Sega CD to see how it stood the test of time and I must say that I enjoyed the game MORE now than I ever did. It's got something to do with the campiness of the footage though, as well as knowing more of the history and behind-the-scenes of this once-controversial game.

So what are your thoughts on the game, then and now?

U.S. Game Releases
Night Trap (3DO, by DigitalPictures) $20/R4
Features the acting talents of "Diff'rent Strokes" actress Dana Plato. Action/Full-Motion Video. LANDMARK: Night Trap was originally developed by Axlon (Nolan Bushnell's company after Atari) for a system called "ControlVision". Some scenes from the planning sessions of the game appear in hidden video on the Sega CD version. PERIODICALS: The UK's "3DO Magazine" gave this game 1 star (out of 5). Released 06/24/94.

Night Trap (original) (Sega CD, by DigitalPictures) $20/R4
Features the acting talents of "Diff'rent Strokes" actress Dana Plato. The original version comes in the old style cardboard box and has an animated woman screaming on the cover. This game was "banned" but later turned up in the re-released version. The game is legendary as one of those government targets that ultimately led to ESRB ratings for video games, but quite frankly it's a poor game whose novelty and shock value wore off many years ago. One of the 21 original releases that were in flimsy cardboard boxes. Action/Full-Motion Video. LANDMARK: This game was a launch title. Night Trap was originally developed by Axlon (Nolan Bushnell's company after Atari) for a system called "ControlVision". Some scenes from the planning sessions of the game appear in hidden video on the Sega CD version. EASTER EGGS: This game has a hidden video of an early demo session for Hasbro executives that took place in 1986! After the end credits roll, while the tribute to Stephen Hasselfield appears on the screen, press Up, then A (x5). Larry Bernstein (then with Milton Bradley) is playing a game called "Scene of the Crime", a prototype of Night Trap.

Night Trap (re-release) (Sega CD, by DigitalPictures) $20/R6
The re-release was one of five Digital Pictures games to be packaged in a blue flip open cardboard box of approximately the same dimensions as the large flip open jewel cases. Action/Full-Motion Video.

CD-ROM Games
Night Trap (32X, by DigitalPictures) $10/R2
Features the acting talents of "Diff'rent Strokes" actress Dana Plato. Port of the controversial Sega CD game of the same name. Action/Full-Motion Video. LANDMARK: Night Trap was originally developed by Axlon (Nolan Bushnell's company after Atari) for a system called "ControlVision". Some scenes from the planning sessions of the game appear in hidden video on the Sega CD version. Released 1995. #T-16202F.

I love her.

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/segacd/nighttrap_3.jpg

[chadtower]

I haven't played it yet but have always wanted to. I have a complete 3d0 version sitting on my desk waiting for a 3d0 to play it on.

[wberdan]

it was a dissapointing game for me.... too many things to remember, and i dont like to remember things.
it didnt get a lot of play here after i got it

willie

[Raccoon Lad]

I remember plaing this over and over untill I beat it, noting times and locations you had to be at to get the baddies. When I finally beat it, the guy says "You missed some of the (forget what they called them), try again"

AAaarrrrgh! :angry:

I was interesting, but you couldn't really watch the story unfold AND catch the invaders at the same time, it was really one or the other, and that took alot away from the experience. Also, going from room to room and seeing nothing happening while KNOWING something was going on else where was a bit annoying. I'd like to have known where the action was happening, maybe have the mini room views actually animate, but of course that'd be too much for the system to handle.

[zmweasel]

"Back in the day," I was greatly impressed by the streaming video (I've since been cured of graphic whoredom), I loved the hammy performances, and I was shocked when the game caused such an uproar. Rumor has it that the entire mess was triggered by Nintendo, which showed out-of-context footage of Night Trap to a Seattle TV reporter who ran with the story.

The erroneous reports that the goal of Night Trap was to kill the girls instilled in me a healthy and continued skepticism of "mainstream media." If TV and print reporters couldn't be bothered to do the most basic research about a cheesy videogame, I surely couldn't trust their claims about issues of genuine cultural and societal importance.

I was hoping beyond hope to see a tenth-anniversary re-release of Night Trap with DVD-quality video, but I haven't a clue who holds the rights to Digital Pictures' properties at this point. I should ask Good Deal Games who they worked with to obtain the rights to Citizen X.

The PC version of Night Trap has an exclusive documentary video clip called "Dangerous Games." The video is in a proprietary format, and I don't know if the ancient video player works with modern PCs, but maybe I'll give it a try later today.

-- Z.

[Dire 51]

I thought Night Trap sucked. I recall playing the Sega CD version when it first came out and thinking to myself "This is it? WHERE'S THE GAMEPLAY?"

Needless to say, it never surfaced.

[AB Positive]

I spent a good two hours with this (with a walkthrough obtained from here) with my fiancee trying to beat it all the way through. Sadly I missed the last capture point and lost. At that point I said 'screw it' and put it back. Neat little time diversion but not a great game on the whole.

-AG

[hu6800]

My thoughts?
it started a whole new era in interactive gaming.
even if it was cheesy....

and i beat that game the first week it came out on the sega cd.
First with the SO SO ending,, then with the good ending.
Dana plato is my favorite ho.

Now what about Double Switch or "it came from the desert" ???

[Sotenga]

I never played Night Trap. I never played any Sega CD or 3D0 games. I'd like to try a few, though. NT isn't one of them. It looks horrifically grainy, and it doesn't seem like you could make much of a game. Also, Seanbaby put it on his bottom 20 games list, so that doesn't help matters a great deal.

[tynstar]

I don't remember playing this game but I am looking for it complete for the 32x.

[Cmosfm]

JUST maybe.... :o