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> Results: Night Watch
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The ESRB Says
Blood: GamerDad watched blood spatter on the ground as he dispatched enemies.. Mild Language: There were mild words such as 'damn' but little else and not frequently. Tobacco Reference: Much less frequent than in the book of movie, but plenty of smoking nonetheless - all by adults. Violence: At least 95% of the game is spent in combat situations. A game based on a movie based on a best selling book. No, I'm not talking about a Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings game, but a popular Russian novel by Sergey Lukyanenko called Night Watch. Based on the Silent Storm engine (which also powered 2005's Hammer & Sickle), the game mixes cut-scene based storytelling with frequent turn-based tactical battles and a deceptively simple character development system. The results are mixed, with some excellent combat but very disjointed storytelling. Night Watch has an interesting story - good enough that while playing the game I also rented the 2004 film and read the book. There are some significant differences between the film and book, and the developers borrowed liberally from both in formulating their realization of the Night Watch world. This is a very good thing, and in terms of the combat system it is especially nice - the best of both play into making combat very satisfying. But this game forces me to believe that no Silent Storm based game will ever be able to support a good story - the juxtaposition of story and combat is entirely too disjointed and cumbersome to be compelling. For some the excellent combat will be enough - it certainly outshines Hammer & Sickle in terms of being much more playable and polished. But there is just enough of the story there to make you want more - but the only 'more' you get is combat. And that isn't enough to take a 'pretty good' experience any further.  
Perhaps it is from reading the book, but I had assumed that this game would be rated M. The themes of vampire sexuality, drug and alcohol abuse, and the moral issues of having supernatural powers all play in a very mature way throughout the book. But in the game it is all much simpler. There are occasional small cutscenes that only have occasional mild language and references to tobacco use which are surrounded by massive stretches of isometric turn-based combat with minor amounts of blood and plenty of direct and indirect violence. But many of the themes of protecting or betraying innocents remain, and the overall feeling is dark and bleak enough that I feel the game warrants the full T rating and 14+ GamerDad seal.
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