Constantine

Written by Troy Matsumiya  on January 19, 2005

Final Glimpse: Dude, where's my cross?

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If you haven't had your fill of blasting butt-ugly demons to smithereens lately, then you'll be pleased to know that Constantine is only a few weeks away. Although it is based on the upcoming movie starring Keanu Reeves Ц which itself is based on the Hellblazer comic book Ц it won't stick rigidly to the film's storyline, giving developer Bits Studios some creative flexibility which will hopefully help them avoid the dreaded Уcrossover crappination diseaseФ that seems to plague most games based on movies.

In the original DC comic, John Constantine was blond and British, but for the movie and game, he has been changed into a dark-haired American living in Los Angeles. Constantine is a chain-smoking alcoholic detective and mage who hates demons and has supernatural powers, including the ability to transport between Hell and Earth Ц in other words, just a regular working-class guy. Like the movie, the story begins with Constantine investigating the suicide of Angela Dodson's twin sister (both played by Rachel Weisz in the film). Needless to say, her suicide has a lot to do with demons and other nasties who live in considerably hotter climates.

Playing in the third-person view, you will run around laying the smack on icky-looking demons. Since the title character is a perfectly rendered Keanu Reeves, you will also have to avoid the temptation to simply let the baddies kill him over and over while you laugh at him in giddy glee.

As to be expected, demons are a hardy bunch so killing them won't be easy; fortunately, you will be armed with powerful and interestingly named weapons like the Witch's Curse pistol (which can be double-fisted), the Dragon's Breath flamethrower, the SMG-like Crucifier (which shoots crucifixion nails) and my favorite, the Holy Shotgun, which fires deadly cross-shaped shells. Ouch. You will also find weapon upgrades to help you give that little extra bit of demon-gibbing love.

But no matter how fancy they are, guns may not be enough to dispatch Hell's illegal immigrants. That's why you will be able to cast several supernatural spells like the Storm Crow, a version of Emperor Palpatine's lightning attack; Demon Vision, which lets you see which humans are possessed; and Exorcism, which lets you pull demons out of humans and make it easier for you to send them back to Hell. Each time you want to cast a spell, you will have to play a Simon Says-like mini-game where you must repeat a pattern on the screen by pressing your controller face buttons. Successfully complete the pattern and you cast the spell; fail and you'll have demons laughing at your lousy Simon Says skills while they beat the tar out of you.

You can also travel between Hell and Earth by stepping into water and casting the appropriate spell. Unlike the common representation of Hell as a fiery lava pit, Constantine's Hell is an apocalyptic reflection of Earth. The same buildings and streets exist in Hell, but they are deteriorated into crumbling shells and demolished piles of rubble. Strong winds blow dust, ash and even smashed cars, trees and other debris across your path. Naturally, there is fire and smoke everywhere, along with frighteningly deformed demons who delight in torturing humans or chucking them off of buildings. Hell isn't all that bad, though; since Hell is a mirror-image of Earth, you can use that to your strategic advantage. For example, if you can't get into a specific room on Earth, go to Hell (no insult intended) where the wall might be demolished. Step through the wall, transport back to Earth, and you're in the room.

A very useful ability will be the quick turn, which allows you to rapidly turn around 180 degrees. You'll need to do this a lot since enemies will delight in attacking you from behind, just like in Doom 3 (apparently demons are not only ugly, but cowardly poor sports as well).

In addition to killing possessed humans, zombies, demons and bosses, you will be faced with many puzzles to solve, so it won't just be a tedious exercise in run-and-gun mayhem. There will be 14 levels in all, taking place in both the Earth and Hell versions of a police station, hospital, freeway and other locales. Constantine is single player only, which is a little disappointing since the cool weapons and magic spells could make for a fun-filled multiplayer experience.

Graphically, the game is looking great, especially the Hell levels. The sky is an angry turmoil of red and orange, ash and smoke fill the air, and the flame effects look very cool. The demons are pretty darn scary, and the whole look and feel of the game will give you the creeps.