Van Helsing

"A Good Movie Game? Maybe So!"

From seeing the movie I figured this game would be pretty cool. I mean the movie was based on many different cool monsters and the fights were good so if the game basically copied that it would be good too, right? Read on to see what I thought of Van Helsing.

Story 7/10

If you saw the movie you'll be pretty dissapointed. Only fractions of the movies story are actually in the game and what is there is pretty unimportant. This game is kind of like Enter the Matrix. By itself the story is horrible but if you saw the movie it makes sense. If you saw the movie you'll know why Valkan is the Werewolf, but if you didn't, you'll be clueless. So by itself the story is pretty average.

Graphics 8/10

The graphics in this game aren't anything special like other movie games such as Lord of the Rings, but they won't leave you complaining. Van Helsing and the boss characters are the most detailed but other enemies look fine and the environments are nice. The graphics are basically above average but nothing ground breaking.

Sound 7/10

I'm not really one to pay attention to sound but in this game, like the graphics, it is pretty average. Van Helsing and other characters have the right voices and other creatures make bizarre sounds that go with them. Gun sounds to are pretty average.

Gameplay 8/10

This could really go either way. This games gameplay is basically a rip off of Devil May Cry, but not exactly as good. You fight tons of enemies at a time which isn't bad as there are many types of enemies. The boss fights are usually the coolest part of each level and each level has at least one boss. You can have one melee and one gun equipped at a time and can buy extra skills, shoot dual pistols, get a shotgun, do DMC moves like hit monsters into the air etc. This game also copies the crummy DMC camera and enhances it, giving you a horrible camera. This gameplay basically is DMC, but not as polished.

Controls 8/10

Controls aren't bad. X jumps, Triangle uses your melee weapons, 0 is action, [] shoots, R1 aims, R2 instant kills, L2 changes weapons, and L1 switches ammo. These controls aren't bad and will never get you killed so they do their job fine.

Replay 5/10

This game is short and has little replay once your done. There are a lot of cheats to unlock but with cheats like 'Van Helsing changes color when attacked' who really cares.

Rent or Buy: Don't make the mistake I did and buy for $50. Buy for $40 or less though and you'll have a good time with this game.

Final Score (an average): 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/16/04