Omikron: The Nomad Soul Review

Welcome to Omikron; a whole new civilization to exploreâ¦in a g

What were in the minds of the developers at Quantic Dream, when they were developing this game! This is amazing. I am literally immersed in a whole new life when playing Omikron. Omikron: The Nomad Soul, you play asâ¦yourself. How imaginative, Omikron is a twist on the gaming scene. As the story begins, your soul is put in the body of a police detective. Your role in this game, is simple yet very complex. You go about possessing different bodies, and unlocking the mystery of the demons of Omikron. However, the tricky part is, you canât give away to anyone that you are occupying another body. You have to decide how to act and what to say to convince the civilization that you are still the character you have possessed.

It must have been a delight for the developers to create such a vast world to explore. The different parts of the city that you travel across are literally endless. I found my self wandering, trying to get a layout of the map in my head, and I just ended up getting lost and having to call my slider, a futuristic hover car, to transport me to my next destination. Though, I canât say that I didnât enjoy getting lost in the vastness of Omikron.

Another intuitive idea âQDâ has implemented into The Nomad Soul has the variance of the popular gameplay genres. Letâs count here: We have Adventure style like that of Lara Croft and Prince of Persia 3D. Next we have the 3D FPS perspective of the all too popular genres of Quake III, Half Life, and Unreal. Finally we have the 3D fighting gameplay in the familiar style of Tekken. The Nomad Soul is a very diverse game, and in a sense overwhelming to comprehend all the styles of play. To become familiar with the different modes of play there are convenient âtrainingâ simulations, all of which I found to be more then helpful.

Graphics â“
The graphics of Omikron: The Nomad Soul, are unbelievable. The detail is engulfing. As far as detail goes, there is nothing left out here. When first playing Omikron, I noticed the huge buildings and the logical flow of traffic on the streets and sidewalk. It was like watching a movie, with real life surroundings and interactions. There was so much detail in every aspect of the game. Inside buildings, nothing is left out, not even the kitchen sink. In an apartment building, there is a bathroom, shower, kitchen, bedroom, living room, and entertainment room. Then to go into detail, there are drawers, cabinets, closets, refrigerator, fish tank, lights, couches, and a bed. Although everything appeared in order, it would have been even better if there were windowsâ¦what a dreary cell to live in otherwise. Out on the streets, people are everywhere. They are moving about, living their own lives. There are different wardrobes, faces have different expressions, and there is detail everywhere! I must say that I was very impressed with the graphic capabilities and details that Quantic Dream has put forth in Omikron: The Nomad Soul.

Sound â“
One man can explain it all. David Bowie. The music through out the game is a played and performed by the artist David Bowie. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how well you like David Bowie. I enjoyed the music through out the game. Not only is David Bowieâs music present in the game, he is actually alive in the game as well. He puts on quite a show. As for detail, you actually get to sit in on an in game concert by David Bowie, very impressive. There wasnât anything too notable for sound effects and nothing to complain about either.

Gameplay â“
With 3 different modes of gameplay, it become really difficult to refine each one to get the exact feel you are looking for. The main mode of play, in a 3D person perspective is the best form of play. The addition of FPS, and fighting modes, only distracts from the main form of play. If QD had refined the other forms of play I would have enjoyed them more. It was an exciting variety to have the different modes, but I felt they were incomplete.
In the FPS mode, control was awkward, and very un-manageable. Movement was slow and lead feet came to mind. Play Half Life or Quake III. Notice the speed of the action. What is the point of having a strafe movement, if your movements are too slow to strafe out of the line of fire.

The 3D Fighting arena mode wasnât that much better than the FPS mode. The controls were not as sensitive as an experienced fighter would want them to be. However, the combos, and throws make up for the somewhat poor responsiveness. It is exciting to pull of moves against an opponent that seems to always be on the defense or offense.

Overall â“
What can I say? To me this game never misses a beat. This has everything for every fan of games; batteries includedâ¦J There are three exciting and different modes of play to keep the action constant and to keep you on your toes. You have a solid story that keeps the mood of the game through out your adventures. And most of all, this game has depth. This is not your typical stay-up-late-and-beat-over-night kind of game. Those can be fun but tend to die out quickly. The length of Omikron will keep players coming back hours at a time to explore the cities of this civilization.

One downside to this game is the lack of any multiplayer capabilities. The key factor that keeps FPS and fighting games so strong are the multiplayer capabilities. This is one item that is lacking in Omikron. But do not let that keep you from playing such a deep game.

*A word of caution to younger gamers, Omikron has a very mature theme and is geared more to a mature audience. Younger gamers may get lost in the dialogue and or mature graphic scenes.

Reviewer's Machine:
PIII 500MHz
288MB SD-RAM
Viper770 Ultra 32MB
Resolution: 800x600x16bit

John Meyer III