Van Helsing is an action-adventure video game for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Game Boy Advance, which is based on the 2004 action horror film of the same name by Stephen Sommers. Hugh Jackman and Richard Roxburgh reprise their roles from the Film. The game is one of the few games on PlayStation 2 that can run in 480p.
Whilst the console ports of the game received generally mixed reviews, the Game Boy Advance version of the game was near-universally panned, becoming one of the lowest rated games for the platform on Metacritic.
Gameplay[]
The PS2 and Xbox versions of the game bears similarity to the Devil May Cry series by Capcom. Van Helsing begins the game wielding two handguns and his Tojo Blades. He later acquires various other weapons, some of which are seen in the movie, such as the shotgun and the bow gun. Van Helsing can make use of both his firearms and his blades to dispatch enemies. The player also has the ability to use enhanced ammunition with Helsing's weapons once the ammo is found. Hitting the L1/LT trigger gives Van Helsing a blue-ish glow as he unloads his enhanced ammo. Van Helsing also can perform evasive rolls in four directions to avoid incoming attacks. Van Helsing also has a grappling hook that allows him to latch onto high ledges that are otherwise inaccessible. Van Helsing can make use of this grappling hook to start combos or to perform grappling jumps.
The game also features a shop mechanic where players can purchase additional combat techniques and power-ups to increase health and other characteristics. Items in the shop can be purchased by using "orbs" that are collected from fallen enemies.
The players can even collect the hat after having it knocked off by sustaining a hit from enemies and get points for retrieving the hat prior to completing a mission.
Plot[]
Paris, France[]
The year is 1887, Van Helsing is in Paris pursuing Dr. Jekyll after he had murdered several men, women, children, goats, and poultry. Prior to confrontation, Dr. Jekyll, using the attic of Notre-Dame de Paris as a lab and a hideout, drank a concoction to transform to Mr. Hyde, becoming bigger, stronger, faster and retaining his memory. Just prior to the ensuing conflict, Mr. Hyde teases Helsing as to him chasing his memories, conveying history between the two and to Helsing not knowing his past. Helsing battles with and ultimately defeats Mr. Hyde by throwing him out of the window of the church. He is assigned to pursue Dracula by the Holy Order, to track down a woman named Anna Velarious, as she can help, but is warned of the outnumbering dead.
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican[]
Van Helsing is tasked with tracking down and eliminating evil by the aforementioned Holy Order, headquartered in the Vatican. He is doing this in hopes of correcting forgotten sins and to regain memory. The Order has been protecting humankind "since time immemorial", as said by Cardinal Jinette, the one giving orders to Van Helsing. His next focus is in a town called Vaseria in Transylvania.
Vaseria, Transylvania[]
After arriving at the train station outside of Transylvania a ghost appears, almost as if asking to be followed. Outside the town of Transylvania he is accosted by skeletons come back to life. After clearing the town of once again living skeletons, Helsing goes to the fountain, where he discovers a large pale man is interwoven cloth robes. This large powerful man attacks the protagonist, but later escapes.
Vaseria Villiage, Transylvania[]
Van Helsing is tasked to go to a place "most holy and divine", as called by Cardinal Jinette. Upon entering the church he discovers 4 women, three of which are of an unfriendly nature, one is revealed to be Anna Valerious. The three ladies are the Brides of Dracula, who address Van Helsing as if they know him well, leaving him confused as he has no recollection. After defeating one of the women, who turns out to be a vampire close to Dracula, a Bride of Dracula named Verona, Anna awakens. She was tracking down her missing brother, Velkan Valerious who was bitten by a Werewolf and since vanished. She guides Helsing to the library where Velkan was studying Dracula before his disappearance.
Woods, Transylvania[]
Cardinal Jinette tasks Van Helsing with eliminating Igor, who has been torturing members of the Valerious family. Outside of the library where Velkan Valerious, brother to Anna, was studying Dracula the ghost from the train station appears again. While travelling to the old castle that Igor calls home, the ghost from prior showing appears again, but this time addressing Van Helsing as Gabriel and himself as Velarious, but is quickly dispersed from his ghostly presence by Igor himself, attempting to capture Helsing so his master can have revenge for murdering his bride. Igor evades capture as a werewolf shows itself perched on a rock nearby.
Prince Velkan, Anna's brother was taken by lycanthropy months prior to the arrival of Van Helsing, Velkan now is at the will of Dracula and must be stopped. After defeating Velkan's wolf form he reverts to his human form to inform Van Helsing of the true monster in this area, Dracula and transforms back to werewolf and escapes, Helsing chasing him.
Castle Frankestein, Transylvania[]
Van Helsing is on his way to Castle Frankenstein in pursuit of Velkan. In the depths of the castle Van Helsing discovers Draculas plan for producing numerous vampire offspring, but pushes on into the castle. At the top of one of the towers Dracula greets Van Helsing as an ancient friend, addressing him as Gabriel, as well as addressing Van Helsing's forgotten past, murdering Dracula and setting him on this path over 4 centuries ago. Dracula continues to tell how Van Helsing had betrayed him for love so long ago, as they used to be best friends in the Holy Order. During the fight Van Helsing is carried away by the children he encountered earlier by order of Dracula and dropped in to the caverns.