Even though it won't be out for another year or so, the anticipation is building for Nightmare Creatures 3: Angel of Darkness. The title is set to appear on all the current consoles thanks to publisher Ubi Soft. Developer Kalisto is promising to rejuvenate its long-running action/horror series with a sexy new heroine who can transform herself into different forms. The Laser looks a first look at this upcoming installment and finds out what you can expect.

French development house Kalisto's popular Nightmare Creatures series has been quite successful over the years, appearing on a variety of platforms including the N64, Dreamcast and PC platforms and selling in decent numbers to horror-loving gamers everywhere. The previous Nightmare Creatures titles were notable for their impressive character designs and dark environments, with impressive undead creatures jumping from out of the shadows. The older games' intricate plots added tension and gave the NC series some of the most terrifying horror experiences in gaming history. Things are looking a bit brighter now that Ubi Soft has entered the breach. This is good news for gamers because the impressive legacy is about to come back to life. After an extended hibernation, the series is about to enter the current generation of systems. The much-anticipated third installment, Nightmare Creatures 3: Angel of Darkness is set to arrive early next year on the big three platforms: Xbox, Gamecube and PS2.

The new game takes players back in time to 19the century Europe. The twist this time is that players will play as a heroine who is about to face her deepest fears and solve the mystery behind a terrifying event. However, she's not alone in her quest, and is accompanied by a mysterious raven who guides her during the quest. NC3 features both day and night environments, which is going to be a significant aspect of the gameplay. During daylight, she can explore the worlds and find puzzles. However, once the sun goes down, things get interesting as her body merges with the raven. She can then transform herself into a powerful fighting beast. The new game is set in central Europe and players will have to explore Prague in order to fight the beast and eventually, the powerful end-boss. Once again, the force behind the evil goings on is the evil scientist Adam Crowley, who has seemingly escaped his fate this time. One big change this time around is that Kalisto is promising to tone down the gore of the previous titles and will focus on building tension through more subtle methods. However, there will still be plenty of action and battles, so fans of the series shouldn't worry about Nightmare Creatures 3 losing it's edge.

Nightmare Creatures 3's graphics engine is looking impressive, with intricately detailed renders, special effects, and animation that should create a dark, gothic feel. Players will traverse massive fully 3D environments with trees, dilapidated buildings building an ominous foreboding to the game. Kalisto is promising to implement a variety of weather effects such as rain and snow that will definitely add to the atmosphere. Obviously, the biggest change in the game is the addition of the currently unnamed brunette protagonist who will have an array of moves and abilities. She will have three different real-time transformation animations, which probably means she'll have several different forms, not just the raven mode. To date, little information on the creature designs has been released publicly. However, it is a safe assumption that players will face an army of terrifying monsters. The current design and screen-shots sound enormously promising, and fans of the series will be happy to know that Nightmare Creatures 3 seems to be keeping very much in the spirit of the previous games.

While many details about NC3 remain shrouded in secrecy, the information we have currently is definitely promising. The heroine's transformation abilities are a unique twist that should give Nightmare Creatures 3 a unique and innovative feel. It's been a long wait but Nightmare Creatures looks like it's coming back in a big way early next year and should hopefully build on the legacy of the previous games and add a few twists of its own. This is looking like a very high quality title and one gamers should definitely keep an eye out for. More information is bound to come out soon, but what's been released already sounds quite exciting.