Van Helsing

Found on the steps of the Vatican, a man absolved of sins, bereft of memory but on a crusade to confront the most loathsome evil creatures the world has ever known.

Hyde calls him a puppet of the church, but then what would he know? He has killed men, women, children and even chickens, and is, even by lax standards, a most disreputable sort. On the other hand, Van Helsing is a complex man; blessed with the skill to confront and emerge victorious over some of the more vile monsters mankind has ever conjured up.

The mystery of his past may haunt him, but the immediate concerns of the world are that which concern him most. Vivendi Universal and Saffire are teaming up for this title, available on the Xbox console system.

GameZone.com was invited to preview this title, and although the game did have a few glitches in terms of gameplay (likely attributable to a flaw in the pressing), there was enough here to get a terrific feel for the game.

This is an action-adventure title that is based on the movie, and so it closely follows the plot of that feature. In some ways the game is a simplistic maze through 13 missions. Each mission has some arcade-like features, which include finding a path through to the level boss, grappling and swinging through the higher reaches of the graphically rich environments, and health bars when you encounter the monsters. Should you survive the level, powerups you find can be converted into items sold at the armory at the end of the levels.

Some of the items include health bar increases, ammo increases, attack speed boosts, and weapons. Of course, each benefit has a cost and you must accrue the ‘currency’ during the course of the level.

The game begins with a tutorial area within a church in Paris. Van Helsing enters and hears a deep, mocking voice from the upper reaches. It is Hyde, the counterpart of Dr. Jeckyll. After an exchange of verbal pleasantries, the battle begins. This is merely a matter of using the environment to advantage while using your beginning weapons (dual pistols for range, and dual rotating blade wheels called Tojo for melee) to whittle down your opponent. If you get Hyde down to nothing, you are treated to a cutscene that plays out the ending of the fight. This is overlong, but very well done, employing some wonderful visual effects as Hyde eventually falls to his death.

The game contains approximately 25 “villainous” creatures, including Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and the Wolf Man.

After the encounter with Hyde, the game moves quickly into the story. Next up are Dracula, and the Princess Anna. Anna must not die, but the village of Vaseria in Transylvania is a place where death waits virtually everywhere. Van Helsing will be confronted with a steady barrage of enemies and with challenges in the form of finding weapons to enter special areas.

In all, the game will have eight weapons available – six projectile (shotgun, crossbow, electric gun, gatling gun, elephant gun) and two melee weapons (tojo blades and scimitars). In addition to being able to grapple from point-to-point in the game, Van Helsing will also be able to fight while grappling.

To give fans an added treat, Saffire has loaded a host of Easter eggs throughout the game.

Graphically this game is very well done. While perhaps not as lush as its PS2 counterpart, the Xbox version boasts terrific texturing. Van Helsing bears a likeness to Hugh Jackman (the star of the film) and Jackman’s voice is also in the game as well. The environments are lush and very well done, and the special effects are terrific. The soundtrack of the game is also extremely well done.

Controls are simple and easy to use, and players should find the learning curve relatively short. If the game has any shortcomings, it has to do with load times on the Xbox and the fixed camera position. The camera does not allow you to zoom in, or rotate. And at times, this game almost feels like a side-scrolling adventure because of that.

But what this game lacks in those areas, in makes up for in the constant action and large game maps. There is a wealth of areas to explore within each level and you will find evil lurking around every corner, or beyond the top of every hill.

If you are looking for action and adventure, a nostalgic trip through the classic horror tales of past generations, then Van Helsing may be what you are looking for. While somewhat linear in design, this is still an excellent action-adventure vehicle that will certainly benefit from the movie, but will entreat fans of the genre with its challenges, eerie tone and solid animation.