Van Helsing deserves credit for not begin another lame movie game.
- Good looking cutscenes
- Terrific, fast-paced action
- Great soundtrack
- Visually good
Negative
- Poor camera
- Most enemies appear out of nowhere
This is another rare movie game that can actually be said as good. For those unfamiliar with movie games, these normally are pretty bad, but Van Helsing is an exception, this exciting third person shooter is simply but the action is good enough to sustain the short story.
I didn't see the movie so I can't tell what it's about. At the beginning the game explains some basic things and items for health and other things. Sorry can't give more details, but last played was about a month now.
Graphics are actually pretty good. Environments are pretty detailed especially inner places such as the church, at the beginning. Character models are good as well and the enemies and bosses are excellent. The art design is nothing to argue about.
Sound is pretty much the same level as graphics. The voice acting is superb and the soundtrack fits the game. The sound effects and the firing of the guns is top-notch. Cutscenes look superb for a movie game. Even though the game is gothic like, dark visuals, environments don't lack color when not inside.
The gameplay is made of shooting and fighting. Mostly shooting. There is a good amount of fire arms + their sound is pretty well done. There are some powers and special attacks which can be big help against bosses. The action is fast-paced and there is a good enemy variety such as zombies, skeletons and other ugly creatures. The combat gets repetitive since enemies attack even when you don't expect it. Plus, enemies appear out of nowhere or from a mist. Don't be surprise if you find one right in front of you. Bosses are a bit tough since they are tough or fast. But they are frustrating.
Camera is terrible. Fixed and you will notice this at the very beginning. Since it's fixed you can't turn it so when jumping it can be a chore. Even when there are a big number of enemies. There are some puzzles which can slow your progress, there are not difficult but you won't notice them sometimes.
The game is not very hard, common enemies such as skeletons rarely attack but the bosses are aggressive and can prove to be quite a challenge. But overall the game is a bit easy. Though don't take it easy on bosses.
It won't take you long to beat Van Helsing. You might want to rent this, not permanent since it's short and there isn't much to come back for. Even fans of the movie should consider rental, but nothing should buy this short game. But it's one of those exception movie games that can actually be called, high quality games, with great cutscenes, visually and soundly good, but it's not without its problems. Just don't let other bad movie games fool you, this is a good game.