From Dusk Till Dawn

"An average shooter cashing in on a movie long gone"

Introduction
I picked this game up in a bargain section of a video game store. I suppose I picked it up because I am a big fan of the movie. This game is based loosely on the first movie in the series “From Dusk Till Dawn.” This game is a very average shooter with nothing to really keep you in it.

Story
Ok, this was the main reason I picked this up. This takes place right after the first “From Dusk Till Dawn” movie. In it, you play one of the infamous Gecko brothers. For those of you who don’t know the movie, Seth Gecko and his brother were bank robbers with a very violent streak. The other brother was also a bit of a psycho when it came to dealings with the opposite sex. As a result, they left behind some rather brutal murders. They rob a bank and travel to Mexico to avoid capture. Seth and his brother are going to meet some organized crime members to help them hide out. They are told to meet at a rather seedy bar. There Seth and his brother first run into vampires. Seth’s own brother succumbs to them and Seth has to kill him. The movie involves lots of death and violence.

After the movie, enter the game’s plot. Seth somehow manages to get captured by the law. They can’t capture his brother (because he dissolved when he died as a vampire) so they pin all of the crimes on Seth. Seth loses the case and heads off to a jail on an oil rig in the ocean. For some reason, he must have just arrived (they even let him keep his clothing). While he is arguing with his lawyer, a new arrival of prisoners comes in via helicopter. After they set down, they turn out to be vampires and promptly slay or turn everyone into vampires. The head vampire in the helicopter is trying to rescue his brother who is stuck in the rig. As Seth argues with his lawyer, they hear the shots and screams. The lawyer flees leaving Seth with a stun gun and the cell door open. You take over at this point in the game and step out into the chaos.

Gameplay 5/10
This is a very standard 3d shooter. There have been plenty of games that came before this that were better (Half-Life, Quake 2, Doom 2) and there will be plenty more after this one. But the game play seems a bit primitive. There is NO duck or jump button. I haven’t seen this sort of thing since Doom 2 and Wolfenstein 3d. Every 3d shooter should have a jump and duck button. Do you really want to take the time to walk down the stairs or just jump down them? No choice in this game, you have to walk down them. The ducking thing also bothers me. When a large armored jail guard starts blasting away, it would be nice to duck behind some cover. I guess Seth Gecko is just too cool to duck, he would rather stand up and take it like a man (a very dumb man)

Graphics 5/10
The graphics of this game are a bit behind other games that have come out at the same time. The 3d models are rather primitive. Certain parts on the models just look wrong. The hands for example are 2d, almost like someone made them out of paper. Some of the vampire models fair a bit better, but again there is much better graphics out there in other 3d games. They did pay a decent amount of attention on the skinning of the 3d models. Seth even has the really cool tattoo he had in the movie.

The environments are also very average. Although they do a good job of conveying the environment, there is nothing to wow or amaze anyone.

Sound 7/10
The sound and music in this game are decent. All of the main characters have suitable voice actors. None of them are going to win any awards, but they won’t bug you to the point where you kill the sound. The sound effects are very standard. The guns sound like guns, walking on the metal floor sounds right, and the characters issue the usual grunts when hit. The same holds true for the music. Although it is not the best, it won’t bother and annoy you. None of the tunes stand out and I honestly couldn’t remember any of them after the game was over. Everything in the music and sound of the game is just very average.

Replay 2/10
This is where the game really drags. There is very little to keep your interest in this game. Move around the same environments, blast vampires/guards, and find new weapons. That is about it. It is very repetitive and has a tough time trying to keep anyone’s interest. Because of this, you really won’t want to replay it, ever. Just win it once and move on to something else.

Overall Rating 5/10 (not an average)
Everything about this game comes off as very average. But with the poor play control and lack of replay, this game loses some points.

Final Recommendation
Even for a game that started in the bargain bin, it could have been much better. If you are a real fan of the movie, you may want to pick it up for a few fond memories as well as the chance to take control of Seth Gecko. If you aren’t a fan of the movie, there isn’t enough going on here to make you want to purchase this game. If you do get this, there is enough to keep you busy for a few days, but after that this will just sit on your shelf and collect dust.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 10/19/03