Operation Darkness

Did You Know?

• The Japanese version names include Cordelia Break, Jude Lancerot, Keith Mirror, Frank Andrea, and Herbert West.
• Herbert East is inspired by the Lovecraft character Herbert West.
• Famitsu gave the game a score of 23 out of 40.

Synopsis

The game follows a squad of British SAS soldiers fighting the Nazis across the European Theater, covering real battles in North Africa and the liberation of mainland Europe. French resistance fighters and American soldiers appear as non-player characters. The story diverges from history with zombie Nazi soldiers, werewolf player characters, vampires, dragons, and magic spells.

Gameplay

Gameplay consists of tactical battles with turn order based on speed statistics. Characters can move, attack, use items, pick up items from dead soldiers, and cast spells. The system includes cover and accuracy penalties from movement. Long-range attacks are far more frequent than close-range attacks, and many characters can hit targets with high accuracy from over half the battlefield. Characters killed in battle remain dead permanently unless revived by playable character Herbert East before the stage ends; generic soldiers can replace fallen ones. Characters have attributes: HP, MS (martial spirit), Attack, Defense, Speed, Hit, Luck, Weight, and Move. Each character has weapon-related abilities and skills, and can carry up to five weapons and five items. Overburdened characters receive movement penalties. Two player characters can transform into werewolves, massively increasing speed and attack, but maintaining the form costs MS every turn. The game supports cooperative online multiplayer for up to four players; completing missions in multiplayer unlocks new items in the single-player item shop.

Characters

Edward Kyle seeks revenge after his family and fiancée Alicia were killed in a German air-raid; he enlisted in the army and was assigned to the Wolf Pack after being saved by James Gallant. Cordelia Blake, who has served in the British Army since age 13, fights with fire-starting abilities. James Gallant, leader of the Wolf Pack, is a seasoned veteran against the supernatural and de facto leader of the Fang Clan, a tribe of werewolves in conflict with the Blood Clan vampires. Jude Lancelot, Edward's best friend and brother to his fiancée, fights alongside Edward but later gets captured by the Blood Clan and turned into a vampire. Keith Miller, Gallant's nephew and the squad's point man, is a lycanthrope. Frank Gaunt, Gallant's second-in-command, specializes in close combat and is revealed to be Dr. Victor Frankenstein's creation. Cynthia Rivele is a top-heavy Irish sniper with supernatural marksmanship. Herbert East, the American-born medic, is versed in necromancy. Lewis Canton serves as a spy, gathering intelligence and occasionally joining battles. Jack the Ripper, rehabilitated by the Wolf Pack, is most proficient with knives. Elisa Van Helsing, a professor at King's College, takes up her grandfather's work as a member of the Wolf Pack. Adolf Hitler leads Nazi Germany. Heinrich Himmler is the distrustful head of the SS. Alexander Vlado, an SS Sturmbannfuhrer, is from the ancient vampire Blood Clan.