Van Helsing

Myth, legends, folklore's...call them what you will. Many of these stories have given birth to some of the most horrific creatures for centuries now. From the tall tales you've heard about, to the stories you've read about, and from inside the movies you've likely seen, one way or another you or someone you know is aware of the Werewolf, Frankenstein's monster, or the king of the underworld himself, Dracula. It just so happens there is one man who's not only heard of these inhuman demons, but vanquishes them for a living. His name: Van Helsing. Straight from the pages of the movie script, Van Helsing is a living, breathing man of action cloaked and garbed by darkness. Able to stop any misshapen being in their tracks utilizing a powerful array of weaponry, Van is on the trail of the one monster who is said cannot be killed, Dracula. But in order for Van to reach his ultimate destination, he must first brave the dangers that lurk in the night...every one of them.

For those of you who remember Capcom's Devil May Cry, raise your hands high. Now, all two of you reading this review can lower your hands, because we can't wait for the crickets who don't have any. It's time now to reintroduce you to that popular venture -- or a similar game like it. Based off the movie of the same name, Van Helsing is Vivendi's actioneer answer to a movie game that borrows the Devil May Cry format. Similar to Devil May Cry, Van Helsing is a man of multiple abilities. He'll flip around highly, bounce off walls, is able to balance respawning enemies in the air, and slice, dice, and bust up his enemies with bullets. The bigger differences from Devil May Cry's perspective are that Dante, that game's white-haired hero, wasn't out to defeat famous creatures. There were also tougher and better puzzles and battles, and a camera that wasn't inconsistent as the one in this game churns out.

Devil May Cry was cased in a 3D window that offered up a clear and presentable package. Where you went, the camera would dynamically light up the action in the right angles and move along with you, even if the camera were something you couldn't manually override. Van Helsing, in the same sense, is an action game that focuses on its star in a similar vein, only from a certain intangible distance a lot of the time. It's not that you can't see Van and his environments. It's that you can't always see them well. Pulling back farther, the camera heavily relies on spotting a wide selection of openness rather than the character and the distinctiveness of the objects and creatures he'll interact with. Much like in Devil May Cry, the camera will remain uncontrollable manually, but will be forced to incline in upward directions at given moments. If Van leaps to uppity heights along the walls he's supposed to climb, the camera will pan in this direction. Although, in others scenarios it gets harder to distinguish the locations of items, objects or enemies on a fixed parameter that isn't as cleverly exact as it was for Devil May Cry's case.

Differing a little bit from the Devil on the other hand, Van Helsing distributes a slightly larger collection of weaponry that can be used in combat and in puzzle fare. Of these, double handguns, a shotgun, a rifle, a crossbow, an electrode zapper, and a gatling gun act as the primary parts, with some arm equipped tojo blades and twin scimitars then acting as the melee tools -- and all of which play into the levels strategically. Sealed doors with markers on them can only be broken into with use of specific weapons, for starters. Behind most of these doors will yield cheat pickups you can apply to Van's or enemy character models to spawn various color effects, ghostly bodies, or even make their heads huge or shrink their bodies down to miniature sizes. These game altering modes aren't very useful, but are plentiful and can be fun for those interested in fooling with Van and the unfriendlies he defeats. Looking to more pressing issues, not all enemies can be beaten with every type of device. There exist various manners of magically endowed beings, from skeletons, to tiny axe throwing and staff wielding short things, to flying skull heads and gargoyles. While certain weapons are better staffed than others (the electric pulverizer is powerful but slow, where the handguns aren't), gargoyles in their rock form for instance can't be affected by say a crossbow. Use a shotgun, however, and they'll find their field of gravity.

Adding the "cool" into Van Helsing, the game also manages to borrow Devil May Cry's combo, weapon upgrades, and item retaining mechanics. He can perform the nifty enemy balancing act, where they'll go up into the air and he'll shoot them while up there, or he can jump to become slightly frozen and able to pump his victims full of hot lead. With Van's melee components too, he can mix up his style of fighting. Though, the combat experience itself isn't as entertaining in Devil May Cry, since multiple foes normally drag across the screen slowly toward Van's position. It's quite easy to just continue blasting everything in sight, granted you choose the right gadget to wield while walking circles around incoming dangers that can also be avoided by way of rolling tactics. Weapons in the game have the ability of enhancement with more powerful ammo, and so can their ammo and Van's life. For every level you come across, Van will kill for colored glyphs (or find them in breakable crates or barrels) that can be picked up for after the end-of-the-level boss is defeated (consisting of Frankenstein, the Wolfman, Igor, Dracula's brides, and even Dracula himself). Before the next mission is conceived, an Armory option is presented, letting you choose to use the glyphs for bulking your life or ammo meters, to buy statistical items that will refill health or ammo, or allow you to add new maneuvers to Van's arsenal. The more glyphs you bring in, the less you'll feel like a loser (aside from already being one for choosing to buy this game over Devil May Cry).

Van Helsing isn't a tough game either. To play, or to complete. Within a matter of hours (on average, about five), it's possible to skim through the game's twelve stages following, but not precisely adhering to the movie's plot. Once you get into Van's pants...I meant shoes, SHOES! That is, once you begin playing the game it's simple to educate yourself in its control scheme. Jumping (X) can be combined with rolling (R1 + X), which stems from aiming a weapon (R1). Then firing (square) with a standard conductor can also be associated with the close-up weapon (triangle). Checking for items or clues (circle) leads to instant grapple hooking of marked distant reaches (R1 + circle). Choosing an alternate fire vein (L1), for selective weapons (L2), can delve out finishing moves (R2) to the enemies at hand. Whilst waltzing around these deformations of the land (left and right analog) is of no trouble.

That line between mixing and matching movie visuals to the games attached to them are as of yet still blurred. Naturally, video game technology isn't as up to date as the computers that are used to imagine the fantasy fictions you see across the silver screen these days. Not yet anyway. With that said, Van Helsing's approach to the video game medium tones down its otherwise CG-heavy counterpart. For the game in mind is short of top-of-the-line craftsmanship, even for a next-generation video game. Scenic routes through a frost-covered town, woodland and rocky crevices to explore, and the innards of castle dwellings give Van Helsing an inspired gothic atmosphere. Albeit, it's the lack of quality that diminishes the game's finer points. Van Helsing is of a baser value. The backgrounds are fair, but not rich. Textures run through them, but don't overcome them. And interaction is limited. No footprints appear through snowy grounds. Step through the placid stream, and a mere puddle ring formulates in mild strides. The battlegrounds do not attribute much to Van's actions anyway, but instead the character does so in himself.

Compliant with the art style, Van's character is adequately received in transgression from the movie -- particularly due to his Dante-like maneuvers. With all the rolly-bally, air hopping movements, Van Helsing animates quite well for a Dante impostor. Boss monsters are interesting for their short time spent in the game, but not so much as the regular breeds. Most models in the game contain little detail, and are just passable for the mediocre arrangement that are what these things are. Magical effects spark a tiny amount of intrigue in these same gang-banging brawls, though. Gargoyles will zoom at you with wavy motions and fire destructive missiles. Long-haired witch things will send powerful waves of energy your way, and giant statues will come to life to knock energetic evil on your doorstep. In return, Van will light the life of battles with his hot rods of red scimitar steel, the dynamics of his fast-action crossbow, or pump some power with his electricity gun. Despite some of the game's better points, Van Helsing still isn't the greatest game you'll ever witness. Commonly, movie games are expected to achieve little in the way of the next wave of the tier, and that's just what was done here.

Hollywood actors provide voice-overs for video games: hot to trot or let's say we not? Whatever your decision is, it's been proven many times that this method works wonders. Van Helsing stares at a problem in this arena, however. Some of the movie's actors, such as Hugh Jackman as Van Helsing and Richard Roxburgh as Dracula, reprise their roles. There are others that do not -- namely Kate Beckinsale in her part as Anna. Some aspects of the story scenes are alright, but the replacements in roles like Anna's or whoever supplies the tacky heavy English accent before each mission begins make listening to these segments of the game a bit unpleasant. In other departments, the game's audio moments lend some decency into the mix with lots of zippy electric beams, true enough bullet fire, and movement sounds that add to the dramatics of monster busting-ups. Music, like speech, is another bowl of mixed nuts. An orchestrated rhythm sets the tone in steadily, darkly, and almost in a creepy state, and then kicks up whenever enemies are popping up on the screen. But then the quickened mood doesn't disperse when they go away. Not just yet. It sticks around for a while after everything's dead, and has you wondering if you might've missed an enemy, considering the camera's ability to cover unseen territories.