Van Helsing, the latest
game from Vivendi Universal, continues the surprising and very welcome trend of
late, games that are based on movies that aren’t awful. It seems that
developers have finally gotten the message that we as gamers demand just as much
from our licensed games as we do our unlicensed games and that we will not be
pacified by any game whose main draw is the license itself. The game follows
the story line of the movie pretty tightly as you mow through re-imagined
versions of Universal’s classic and greatly beloved monster stable, as you
attempt to thwart Dracula’s plans to hatch his three bride’s “booger babies”
with the use of Frankenstein’s, shall we say, electric personality. If you have
no idea what I’m talking about chances are you haven’t seen the movie, which
while not in the same area code as Oscar worthy, it is a fun and exciting
summertime jaunt at the local multiplex. Whether you’ve seen the movie or not,
it really doesn’t matter here, as the game does a fairly good job of setting up
the story and pulling you into its universe. On the other hand, if you have
seen the movie you get the bonus of little more back story, as well as the
opportunity to battle foes not seen on the big screen.
The simplest way to
describe what kind of game Van Helsing is would be to go straight to the obvious
source of the developer’s inspiration, the Devil May Cry series. The
similarities are striking, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. DMC is a
visceral, exciting series and Van Helsing is no different. The mechanics of DMC
lend itself pretty well to the subject matter of Van Helsing, but the only
problem is that for those who’ve played either or both DMC games, you’ll feel
that you’ve already played this game before. You have melee weapons as well as
firearms that can be used in conjunction with one another to pull off various
combos and a great amount of weight is put on linking combos together as you
fight through the game’s minions. You’ll also find that once the enemies are
vanquished that they’ll leave behind glowing crosses and glowing health, rather
than glowing orbs and, well, glowing health. You’ll also come across more
glowing pickups that extend your health bar just like DMC. The crosses are used
for buying power ups and or new weapons, as well as health items. Anyone notice
a pattern developing here?
Where the main
differences lie from DMC, beyond the story and characters, is that the
environments are much more varied and detailed in Van Helsing, but on the flip
side, dispatching baddies is not nearly as stylish and pleasing to the eye as
DMC. That’s not to say it isn’t any more or less fun, because there is
something strangely fun about mowing through the large groups of enemies in Van
Helsing, it’s just that it’s lacking in the eye candy department.
Graphically, Van Helsing
stands up to DMC pretty well, even surpassing it in some instances. As already
mentioned, the environments are more varied and much more detailed, doing an
admirable job of setting up and maintaining the mood of the story. You’ll fight
through the city of Paris, sleepy mountain villages, caves, and of course spooky
castles. The characters are also well rendered and designed, including both
those in the movie and those not. The lighting and particle effects, while not
nearly as nice as some we’ve seen as of late, they do a worthy job nonetheless,
especially with Van Helsing’s game specific weapon, the electric gun.
The sound is neither bad,
nor good, falling squarely in the middle. Hugh Jackman provides the voice of
Van Helsing, with which he does a pretty good job, but the voice actors for the
rest of the characters do struggle at times. Likely the most responsible
culprit of this is having obviously American speaking actors trying to read
lines with a thick Transylvanian accent. It’s not enough to really detract from
the game, but you will find yourself chuckling from time to time. Beyond the
voice actors, the rest of the game’s sound is about what one would expect. The
score is time period appropriate, as well as creepy, and the non-speaking
monsters grunt and groan, as they should. The weapon fire however does sound a
bit canned or hollow. This may be because they’re trying to recreate the sound
of a weapon being fired in large, expansive stone hallways and rooms, but it
just doesn’t sound quite right.
Like the movie, the game
is not a threat to run away with any “prestigious” awards, but it does do an
admirable job of entertaining the gamer. It would have been nice to see them
try to build on the DMC formula, but what they do have is very playable and
fun. If you’re a fan of the movie or DMC, by all means give Van Helsing a try.
If you’re a fan of darker, fast paced action games, you’ll also likely find
enough here to keep you occupied and happy. But on the other hand, if you have
no interest in the subject matter and or DMC just didn’t do it for you, then Van
Helsing likely won’t change your mind.
Gameplay: 7.7
Run, shoot, hack,
slash, dodge, and repeat. Van Helsing doesn’t break any new ground, but it does
do a good job of keeping you busy with large hordes of bad guys begging to be
mowed down. The action, while a bit repetitive is fast and visceral enough to
keep you interested.
Graphics: 8.0
The graphics as a
whole, are pretty nice. The characters are nicely rendered and animated. The
environments are pretty varied, but they do fall on the dark and drab side,
which fits the subject matter.
Sound: 7.9
Hugh Jackman does
an admirable job of continuing the character on the small screen; however the
rest of the sound is solid, but ultimately forgettable. The only real minus
that sticks out is the few times where the voice actors struggle with the
accent.
Difficulty: Medium
The game features
many different difficulty levels, allowing gamers of all skill levels to find
their comfort zone.
Concept: 7.0
It’s obvious from
the moment you start playing the game that the game was heavily inspired by
Devil May Cry, with no attempt at any innovation. However, the developer does
deserve credit for picking the proper style of gameplay to mimic for the subject
matter, because it likely wouldn’t have worked as well with another style. Like
the movie, the game roars forwards at a hundred miles an hour with little room
for a breath,
Overall: 7.9
The game does a
nice job of doing justice to the license rather than merely just cashing in.
Van Helsing is a solid game that plays things pretty safe. Ultimately it is a
fun game, which should be the most important factor, but for many, you’ll feel
as if you’ve already played this game a couple of times before.
