Nitemare 3D (Game)

Nitemare 3D

GAME » on May 17, 1994

A re-imagining of the early '90s graphic adventure game Hugo's House of Horrors as a first-person shooter similar to Wolfenstein 3-D.

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Overview

Nitemare-3D, also known as Nitemare 3-D, is a shareware horror-fantasy first-person shooter developed and published by Gray Design Associates (Company) for DOS PCs on May 17, 1994 and Windows PCs on December 1, 1994. A re-imagining of the 1990 graphic adventure game Hugo's House of Horrors as a first-person shooter similar to Wolfenstein 3-D, Nitemare-3D has the eponymous Hugo venturing inside a haunted house to rescue his girlfriend Penelope from the evil Dr. Hamerstein. As he ventures deeper into the labyrinthian house full of the mad scientist's horrifying creatures (most of which are based on classic horror tropes), Hugo ends up in an alternate dimension full of robotic minions and forces both demonic and ghastly. It is notable for being one of the few first-person shooters to be released for the Windows 3.1 operating system, and one of the earliest to use the WinG interface. As such, it was known for being included in various shareware CD-ROMs throughout the mid-to-late 1990's.

Gameplay

Much of the game plays similarly to Wolfenstein 3-D, with players collecting weapons, ammo, and keys/keycards and finding the exit while eliminating enemies guarding the area. There are some gameplay mechanics unique to the game at the time, such as panels that can be used to go up/down floors (such as elevators, stairs, and dumbwaiters), panels that can be destroyed by shooting them, and combination safes (which require players to find a scroll containing the code).

Episodes

The game has three episodes:

A House of Horrors - In the game's shareware episode, Hugo infiltrates the labyrinthian house of the evil Dr. Hamerstein and must survive his minions, culminating with a battle against Count Dracula.
The Plasma Core - After defeating the evil vampire and entering the magic mirror portal into another dimension, Hugo barely survives an encounter with Dr. Hamerstein and must now work his way through his underground prison complex to locate and destroy the plasma core powering the madman's experiments.
Death or Glory - After destroying the plasma core, Hugo must now venture deep beneath the bowels of a demonic alternate earth and fend off the mad scientist's failed experiments in order to return to the House of Horrors and challenge Dr. Hamerstein once and for all.

Auto Map

While the game is not the earliest first-person shooter to include an automap, it is one of the first to have it on the HUD itself and is unique for requiring a power source to use (which requires players to collect "magic eye" pickups). Players can also toggle the ability to detect all enemies on the automap, which requires a much more draining resource (which require players to collect "crystal ball" pickups). In addition, the "eye" above the Magic Eye gauge lights up when a secret panel is nearby.

Weapons

Throughout the game, players can find four separate weapons (one of which is an upgrade version of another) to use against enemies. Unique to the game at the time is that each of the three weapon types are intristically more effective against certain types of enemies than other types of enemies.

Plasma Gun (Object) - The first weapon found in every episode, this handgun shoots bolts of pure energy that is generally effective against most enemies. Replenished by collecting Plasma Charges. In later episodes, players can find an upgraded Plasma Gun with fully-automatic rate-of-fire.
Magic Wand - Although the sparkles it sends out may not look very dangerous, it causes excessive damage to magically-themed creatures like witches. Replenished by collecting Spell Books.
Pistol (Object) - As the game's only hitscanweapon, this handgun is very effective at longer ranges. Additionally, its uses of silver bullets makes it particularly effective against certain supernatural enemies, like vampires and werewolves. However, its bullets cannot destroy destructible panels. Replenished by collecting Silver Bullets.

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