In case you haven't noticed lately, the summer doldrums have suddenly transformed into full-on gaming mayhem. After several months of very little interest, as far as new releases are concerned, all of a sudden it seems like every major new game is coming out at the same exact time. During such occasions, it's easy to gravitate toward the big-name games you've been hearing about for years. However, games like Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne are arguably even more deserving of your attention. Actually, to suggest that there are other games out there similar to Atlus' soon-to-be-released PlayStation 2 role-playing game is to sell it short. Yes, it's part of a long-running series that's been popular in Japan for more than a decade. However, Shin Megami Tensei isn't exactly a known quantity on these shores. We hope Nocturne will change all that. We've been putting a reviewable version of this unique, occult-themed RPG through its paces during the past couple of weeks, and it's been a wholly refreshing experience thus far. So, if you rank yourself among the growing number of disenchanted former fans of console RPGs, we think this might be just the game to restore your faith in the genre.

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne is not your average role-playing game.

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne has the trappings of other console RPGs, including turn-based tactical battles, random encounters against groups of foes, and plenty of dialogue with non-player characters. So there's definitely a traditional RPG at its core, but the conventions go no further than the gameplay. Most importantly, Nocturne is not set in your typical high-fantasy-world-gone-awry or your sci-fi-galaxy-in-peril like seemingly every other RPG. It's set in modern Japan. You play as a character that seems like your typical, slightly disillusioned high school student just trying to cope with life in Tokyo. He kind of looks like a guy who's played way too many same-old, same-old RPGs.

That might seem interesting in and of itself, but Nocturne doesn't take long to up the ante on its premise. Basically, early on in the game, a cataclysmic event occurs that literally causes Tokyo (and, indeed, the rest of the world) to turn inside out. Presumably, the population of the world is eradicated--and all that's left are lost souls and a countless number of demons. A painful demonic transmigration and being in the right place at the wrong time is all that allows your character to survive in this harsh, new reality. The plot of the game, initially, is not entirely apparent. As a result, you're just trying to survive and figure out what the hell happened. Then things become complicated, of course. Your character encounters certain other personalities who clearly have a deep connection with the dramatic events that have unfolded. Tracking these characters down becomes an immediate goal. At any rate, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne's storyline is not just unusual, but it's starkly mature in theme (the game itself is M-rated). Put it this way: When's the last time you played a game in which you got to offer a pretty high school girl a copy of an occult magazine to read while she passed the time waiting for her boyfriend to explore a spooky, dilapidated hospital? Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne is that kind of game.

Demonic strength turns your main character into a powerhouse. Using just your fists, you'll be able to ward off the evil spirits that threaten your progress throughout the new Japan. Your first encounter against a boss-type opponent--a huge demon string ray named Forneus--gives you a good sense of the sorts of strange, dangerous encounters for which you'll be in store. However, violence is not necessarily the answer to all your confrontations in Nocturne, because one of the most interesting things about the game is the way in which you're able to coax your enemies into joining you. That's right: Virtually any enemy in the game could just as soon become your ally.

It's not every day that the world ends in a cataclysmic demonic meltdown. Better make the most of it.

This is a pretty crazy concept, but it seems to work great in Nocturne. Basically, in addition to attacking your foes, you can try talking to them and reasoning with them. Demons are fickle creatures, so they might shut you down and fight you...but they might be willing to listen--and might mooch some money and items off of you in exchange for servitude. Some demons will even ask you a philosophical question of some sort, whereby you'll have to guess the right answer. If you do so, the demon will likely be contented and will volunteer to join you. And though demons may be fickle, apparently they're loyal. So once you talk a demon into joining your side, he, she, or it is yours to command. You can always have up to three demons fighting at your side in battle, plus a number of others in reserve. You and your demonic cohorts each gain experience levels and new abilities as you defeat foes successively, and since there are literally dozens of different demons for you to potentially employ, there's really a great deal of strategic possibility here.