Van Helsing

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.