Van Helsing

"Some say its short. some say its sweet. i say both."

Well, i can say that ususally VU games makes so-so games, or bad ones at that. but this time they delivered a good one. Van Helsing is very much like devil may cry, with a ton of new stuff. this game is outright fun. unfortunately it suffers from a few points.

The Good first:

Gameplay: The gameplay is very linear, and very simple, but also complicated. gameplay is the most underrated quality of a game, and VU saw that in this game, and made sure it was not. the gameplay takes my breath away as it scores a instant 9/10. however, there is one drawback. the levels you play on are a little to linear. what i mean is that there is only one way to go, no mulitple paths and the like. but there is hidden stuff to find.

Controls: also a very easy thing to get, the controls are very nice and simple. i had no problems controlling the game. hell, i did not even have to look at the back of the box to learn how to control the game. but i was dissappointed the find that i had to use the DS2 analog stich, which is like trying to play with a posessed controller. the controls get a 9/10.

Graphics: The graphics are truly amazing, lush, and well done. yeah, they may suffer in some places, but are still very detailed. too bad you will be too busy blasting monsters to really take notice of the graphics. however, the monsters are too far away usually to be seen in detail, and the cutscenes are also detailed. this gets the 8/10.

Sound: Sound is realistic, ambient, and much better on surround sound or stereo. i use surround sound and i can hear from what direction something is going to appear, or what not. sound is also rich, with deep bass, and nice quality. sound, with me, gets 10.

Now the so-so, and the bad, parts.

Length: Ah...this game is far too short for you to be buying it. it is way too short. it lasts only about 6 hours on easy mode. however, it lasts for 8 if you look for stuff. unfortunately...this has to get a 5.

Storyline: before you cuss me out, let me explain. there is little involvement with story. mainly you run and gun in this game, with little storyline. all you get is a small briefing at the beginning of a mission, and then a boss fight afterward. and to mention, the ending absolutely blew. it all happened way to fast, and at the end, i was like, "what the hell just happened!?". story gets a so-so 6.

Summary: This game is a perfect game while it lasts. the lasting part is very short unfortunately.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/24/04