The game received mixed reviews. Critics praised the game's B movie-esque quality, warped humor, and smooth video animation, but criticized the shallow gameplay. The title is particularly notable for being one of the principal subjects of a 1993 United States Senate committee hearing on violent video games, along with Mortal Kombat. Night Trap was cited during the hearing as promoting gratuitous violence and sexual aggression against women, prompting toy retailers to pull the game from shelves that December, and Sega to cease its production entirely the following month. The Senate hearing eventually led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), the North American video game ratings board still used today. After the controversy subsided, Night Trap was re-released and ported to other consoles. These later ports received more harsh reviews due to the aging appeal of full motion video as a game medium. Night Trap was re-released in 2017; commemorating its 25th anniversary.
Gameplay
Night Trap is an interactive movie video game that uses full motion video (FMV) to present the story and gameplay. The player is instructed by the in-game police squad to watch live surveillance footage of the Martin household and trigger traps to capture anyone that is seen endangering the house guests. Cameras are situated in eight locations in and around the house: the entryway, living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, driveway, and two hallways. A map is available as well so the player can see how the rooms are connected. The player can freely switch between viewing the different cameras to keep up with house activities and pick up clues from conversations. Kelli, an undercover agent, will also provide clues to the player. The player must avoid trapping her, any other agent, or the house guests.
When someone is within range of a trap, a sensor bar will move into a red zone. Activating the trap at this moment will capture them. If the trap is activated when the bar is not in the red zone, the trap will not work and will become disabled for a short period of time. The traps will also only work if the access code is correct. There are six possible access codes, and the player must eavesdrop into the conversations to find out when the Martins change the code. When a new code is learned, the player must wait until the speaker leaves the room before changing the access code to the correct color to maintain control of the traps. Counters on the screen indicate how many perpetrators have entered the house and how many have been captured.
Plot
The exposition to Night Trap is presented to the player by Lt. Simms of the Sega Control Attack Team (or Special Control Attack Team in other versions) (S.C.A.T.)a at the start of the game. He explains that the team was alerted to the disappearance of five teenage girls who were last seen at the Martin winery estate. The Martin family consists of Victor Martin, his wife Sheila, their children Jeff and Sarah, and cousin Tony. The missing girls were reportedly invited to stay for the night. Police questioned the Martin family, but they claimed the girls had left safely, and they refused to let the police search the property. The police then handed over the case to S.C.A.T., which investigated the house and discovered a series of traps, security cameras, and an operational unit in the basement to control the apparatus. The S.C.A.T. agents spliced an override cable onto the control system and connected it to a control panel in the back hallway of the house. The player is given the role of an internal S.C.A.T. operative charged with controlling the traps and cameras from this back hallway.
Five more teenage girls head towards the estate, Kelli, Ashley, Lisa, Cindy, and Megan. S.C.A.T. was able to place agent Kelli Medd (Dana Plato)b within the group as an undercover agent. The girls are not aware of her true identity. Also with the girls is Danny, Lisa's younger brother. What the gang does not know is the house is infested with Augers, vampiric beings that need blood to survive. The Martin family themselves are in the process of becoming vampires. The following events that take place and the ending vary widely depending on which characters the player is able to save from the Augers.
