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The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is
a top down action role playing games published and developed by indie
company NeocoreGames available on both PC and Xbox360. I played the game
on PC and thoroughly enjoyed it. You play as Van Helsing, monster hunter
and the son of Abraham Van Helsing. You are tasked with ridding the city
of Borgava, capital of the kingdom of Borgovia of the monsters that
infest it. The game plays similarly to Torchlight 2 and Diablo III. The
ultimate goal is to kill hordes and hordes of monsters trying to become
more powerful and obtaining more loot. As with most action rpgs the
story is interesting but ultimately serves as nothing more than an
excuse to slay hordes of blood thirsty monsters.
Van
Helsing plays in a top down view without an adjustable camera; attacks
are mapped to the left and right mouse buttons. An interesting power up
system using the 1, 2 and 3 keys consumes a rage resource to add bonus
effects and damage to attacks. On top of the primary and secondary
attacks there are various skills to be learnt that have a variety of
uses. There seems to be a lot of room for build variety with extensive
skill trees, various statistics to increase and a massive library of
tricks and auras to learn. The combat is fun but does become a little
grind-like after a while. Slaying hordes of monsters never stales but
certain areas of the game drag out too long. Also unlike most action
rpgs monsters do not respawn even when you exit the game, meaning you
exit the game and return to find it exactly how you left it, down to the
very location you saved. This may sound like a blessing to some but it
actually limits the ability to farm for gold and gear which is a must
for this genre. The gameplay is satisfying overall but still feels rough
no matter how you look at it.
The
game is definitely a pretty one. It features HD graphics with rather
stunning visuals; I particularly loved the way light flows and
illuminates the environment and characters. The environments are diverse
and gorgeous ranging from small woods, deep caves, mysterious planes and
gigantic castles. Monsters are detailed and some look truly awe
inspiring and Van Helsing himself looks as fearsome as you’d imagine.
The combat is well animated though most attacks lack weight as monsters
simply stand there taking every hit without flinching and vice versa.
Van
Helsing has a knack for setting the mood through some pretty impressive
music. The soundtrack for this game is dark, gritty and grimy and that
matches up perfectly with the game itself. The combat also sounds nice
and heavy sometimes becoming an assault on the senses as you fight off
hordes of monsters. The crashes of spells, the swing of swords and shots
of pistols are all realistic and have serious weight behind the sounds.
The voice acting is nothing special but serves to deliver some witty
dialogue in a clever way.
Van Helsings campaign is a solid 15-25 hours depending on how much time
you spend exploring the world. It also features the ability to play with
others online but I found the multiplayer to be a little laggy and
chaotic and didn’t dabble in it too much. The game has also recently
been blessed with a free dlc pack with more to come; spawning The
Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing into a game you will want to visit
again and again. The only issue I can find with the game as far as
content is concerned is the lack of an option to play the game again on
a harder difficulty.
Overall The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a solid action rpg
with a few issues that are too be expected on a first try such as a lack
of a replay option, quirky animations and sometimes rough combat. It’s
definitely worth the price tag however with its gorgeous graphics and
mostly interesting combat and character systems. And with expected
sequels on the horizon you may want to jump on this ship now before you
are left behind.
Jack Lawes
Impulse Gamer |
