With Rise of Nightmares, players that are only into the more hardcore game now have a reason to get up off the couch and use their Kinect or purchase one for that matter. You play as an alcoholic husband named Josh who’s traveling through Eastern Europe with his pregnant wife. Josh’s wife Kate, is kidnapped while their train derails outside the medieval castle/sanctuary inhabited by a mad scientist names Victor, along with his horrific creations you will have to fend off. You will need fight off these creatures by any means whether kicking them, slashing them with a crow bar or throwing explosive viles, among many other means of weaponry to save your wife.

There are plenty of Zombie Maids to kill throughout the game.

The mechanics of the game are fairly simple where walking requires you to put your foot forward and lean which can get annoying after a while.  Other than that all the games mechanics are easy, where turning left or right just requires you to slightly turn your body left or right which can also be done while running or walking, so you do not necessarily have to stop to change the direction you are moving it.  You can even move backwards by lean one of your feet back.  Picking up items are easy as you just hold your hand out at the item until the circular bar quickly fills up and you then have it.  There are a range of different weapons you can use, that can be found or dropped off enemies, but all items do not last forever and you can only hold one weapon at a time.  To kick an enemy is quite literal as well as ducking, jumping, dodging and running requires you to run in place, which sound easy but can be hard than you think.

In the game you would expect a real horror fest which unfortunately just is not quite up to par with other survival horror games.  The story of the game also does not exactly go so deep from what story there is in the game, but there are some very cool plot twists that try to make up for it.  When it comes to epic horror moments there are a few in the game but like I said it does not compare to other horror games in today’s age.  You also have to keep in mind that this is almost a test run to see how well a game in this genre can work with 100% Kinect controls.  The controls are pretty easy when you get the hang of them, but can still be slightly awkward at time.  I am afraid the real problem hear is using the control while you are in the heat of battle as this is when those easy controls become difficult while you are trying to survive.  Also certain weapons are more effective against certain types of walking undead monsters, but not do a degree that you really need to worry about… any weapon will efficiently kill an enemy.

One nasty looking creation from the mad Dr. Victor.

There are a few different types of enemies such as Spitting Zombies (covering your screen with puke), Singing Zombies (you have to cover your ears to avoid damage), Exploding Zombies, and a variety of normal zombies that just need to be hacked away at.  Boss fight are a mixture of quicktime events and more hacking, which are not too difficult.  You are also not limited to hack/slash weapons as you you can obtain a chainsaw, a shotgun, electrifying weapons and more.  The being able to go where ever you want whenever you want which can be kind of a pain in ass at times.  Luckily, holding your right hand up will automatically put you on a rail system, walking you to you destination and although very handy, it will have you walking past areas that might have some cool weapons among others areas with things.

Rise of Nightmares is not a bad game, it is just that it can get boring fairly quick, which is a shame considering the plot twists in it later on.  The game is something you would definitely want to try out especially if you are looking for something different in the Kinect, but I have to look at this as a preview of what is to come from mature games in the future.  With some kinks worked out in the game, it could have been an amazing experience.  Unfortunately I feel that SEGA and Rise of Nightmares got the short end of the stick just because of the game being the first of its kind for the Kinect.  The game is hard to say whether it is a bad game or a good step forward in having mature games for the Kinect.  There is only one true way to understand what the game is like and it is to try if for yourself, so if you own a Kinect, I suggest renting the game while taking our score into consideration.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Sega has released a new video for their upcoming game, Rise of the Nightmares. Have a look at it above.

In Rise of Nightmares, payers will assume of the role of an American tourist who must rescue his wife from a deranged scientist. For those who don’t know,it plays as a first person game, and features…. wait for it… zombies and “disfigured monsters”, and has many similarities with Condemned.

Chainsaws and other firearms will play a vital role in the game, obviously.

Rise of Nightmare releases On September 6 (tomorrow) in North America and September 9 in Europe. The game is an Xbox 360m Kinect exclusive. Stay tuned for more on the game.

We have a new gameplay video for Rise of the Nightmares, courtesy of Gamespot. Game is being developed by Sega for Xbox 360 Kinect.

SEGA has announced that its upcoming horror title Rise of Nightmares has been classified MA15+ by the Australian Classification Board, meaing the title will see a general release.

In a statement sent to Australian media, SEGA cites the verdict with “strong horror violence, blood and gore” warnings intact. The title isn’t listed on the classification board’s site yet though, so there isn’t much hard evidence to fully support this.

Still, a scary game that will actually get released on Kinect can only be a good thing.

Thanks to CVG for the info.

Sega have outed a new trailer for their upcoming Kinect horror title Rise of Nightmares.

RoN is the first Kinect game to get an 18 certificate, and it’s pretty obvious why. The above trailer is pretty gory.

The game sounds so far like a motion controlled Condemned style game, but the trailer says more than mere speculation.

Like all games nowadays, Kinect exclusive horror title Rise of Nightmares is being promoted with a live action trailer.

You can see the abstract directorial techniques in all their glory above.

SEGA today announced that Rise of Nightmares will be released globally in 2011 exclusively on Kinect for Xbox 360.

Rise of Nightmares offers a spine-tingling horror experience which uses the innovative new controls of Kinect to give players the ultimate fright. Using their whole body the player will experience fear and tension as never before in this first person horror adventure.

Rise of Nightmares will be available on Kinect for Xbox 360 in 2011. For more information about Rise of Nightmares, please go to www.riseofnightmares.com