Constantine Hands-On

Constantine, THQ's upcoming action game based on the film of the same name, was one of the playable games at THQ's press event this evening. The game casts you in the role of John Constantine, an occultist detective whose line of work has him running in some truly dark circles. The game's plot, which will mirror the film's, will find you attempting to discover exactly what's behind the seemingly random, mystical events that are bringing demons into our world (hint: it's nothing good). Over the course of the investigation, you'll discover the larger, more ominous implications of the events and have to deal with the mysterious and deadly Mammon.

The demo of the game on display at the event focused on one aspect of the adventure, John's scenic tours of hell. One of the unique game mechanics in Constantine is the ability to shift from the real world to hell by standing in puddles of water. Once you cross over, you'll encounter a number of obstacles in the form of demons and dangerously bad architecture.

While he comes packing an array of real-world firepower, such as a variety of guns, Constantine will also wield his own brand of magic. The magic system lets you perform any number of tasks, and it offers a speedy change of pace. In some cases, you don't have to do anything once you've set a spell, but in others, you may have to channel it. The spells will feature a variety of cool effects that are extremely useful. For instance, confusion lets you cast an illusion that has one of your enemies look like you. Hunger has you summon worms that eat up your foe from the inside. Lightning lets you hit a group of enemies with fatal electricity. Constantine will have plenty of magical tricks up his sleeve.

Control in the game is reasonably solid, although you may find yourself going through and adjusting some of the options, such as auto-targeting, aiming speed, and turning sensitivity, to name just a few. Constantine handles pretty well, but he has some definite quirks that need ironing out.

The graphics in the game are looking solid and have improved since our last look at it. John Constantine's model is well done and bears a great resemblance to Keanu Reeves. The enemies you face off against, which are mostly an evil assortment of demons, aren't quite as sharply done but still look good, thanks to their disturbing designs. The environments are stylish and complemented by a good mix of effects. Of the two versions, the Xbox edges out the PlayStation 2 by a respectable margin, thanks to the number of special effects on display.

Constantine's audio was hard to make out, given our surroundings at the event, but it will include a sound-alike for Reeves and the expected assortment of twisted sound effects to represent the hellish host. As far as the game's soundtrack goes, you can plan to hear a pastiche of different styles of music.

Judging from what we've played so far, Constantine is shaping up to be a solid companion to the upcoming film. The gameplay does a fair job of ensuring that you stay on track, the story is interesting enough, and the visuals pack some style. If you're a fan of the comic or just need as much Keanu in your life as possible, Constantine could be worth a look.