Ellington

"Van Helsing—The Game" looks and feels like a medieval "Enter the Matrix" and plays like "Devil May Cry 2"—both of which flopped. Fortunately, it also manages to combine the good parts of the two (well-planned shooting sprees and superhuman powers) without the bad parts (glitches and monotony). Oh, and the graphics make me happy. All main enemies are well thought out, the areas are spooky and original, and the expressions on the faces of the characters are groundbreaking. Still, while the graphics are excellent, the sound leaves something to be desired. There is little music, and most of it is a bit bland.

The game is a mixed genre, one I suppose should be called "Melee-Based Shooter." Van carries with him a pair of handguns and two "Tojos" (throwing stars that stay in his hands). Throughout the game, you gain many more weapons such as a crossbow, scimitars and a mini-gun. The system is surprisingly simple, with only a few flaws: You rely on health replenishers too often, especially during boss battles. There are guns that totally outclass each other, so once you get the mini-gun, you won't ever need or use anything else. Upgrades are far too expensive.

I beat the game twice without being able to afford any special moves, not that I needed them. The game is very short. The first time around it took me two hours. The second time, I beat it in 46 minutes. There are three difficulty levels, but I just stuck with the hardest one it would let me play.

"Van Helsing" follows the basic premise of the movie of the same name, but for some weird reason, several integral characters and scenes are left out, most importantly the monk that served as comic relief. Only the legendary monsters, Anna Valerious and Drac, plus his "lovely" brides are in the game. "Van Helsing" is not a great game, but it's fun and an interesting companion to the movie. I suggest you watch the movie and then rent the game ("rent" being the key word; this game is far too short for $50), as the game plot leaves some things a bit undecided.