The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing Review

[Halcyon.]

Bram Stoker Dracula and his is not too high in my list of favorite novels, but they even merit to generate revenue from tourism and make Romania known abroad for good. On the other hand, the novel has generated some movies, but irony that the first of them being the most famous. Van Helsing Adeventures of The Incredible is a tribute to the novel, the film not only incorporating environmental and dialogues in various allusions to other films and cliches.

 

Designers from Neocore Games (known for the series of strategies studios King Arthur) managed a "steampunk gothic-noir action-RPG" pretty good, although more of the description might reduce the "Diablo clone". It would be malice on my part to say that - hack'n'slash's right, and the price three times lower than a AAA title is also not neglected.

Under the title, Van Helsing is the main character, but the character that you already know but his son. Apparently he called his father, Van Helsing junior circuit to the kingdom Borgoviei to prevent a catastrophe devised by a mad genius. The story combines elements of the novel, the film, but in the nineteenth century steampunk flavor of Eastern Europe.

 

Throughout the adventure you are accompanied by Lady Katarina Van Helsing a ghost saved by senior before the events of the game, and its contribution is downright remarkable. Katarina has replicas of Van Helsing ironic, always put the destruction to increase their reputation, complains and caress exactly like a modern lady.

No other NPCs not to be outdone: at some point you come across beggars in various corners of levels and if you give them money, they could get stuck with something. Or just with lines like "stay in this neighborhood because there are disreputable most suckers like you."

True, the story is not very developed, but comes with a concept that would have deserved more attention: the world of Ink alternative, accessible through various portals where hordes of monsters waiting for you, but also its rewards.

Most of these alternative levels are part of the side missions, but hide and puzzles that the game has the merit of not you put them on the tray. You have to catch the mysterious stones found only in the first level have utility in the mid game or that some statues in a certain position triggers a particular script.

 

The side missions are more like "fetch" and will have to find plants, bones, bombs or rocks that NPC to study them and transform them into useful items in battle or continuation of the story.

This chapter notes, however, the few laps Tower Defense-style gameplay where you must defend your secret lair of successive waves of monsters out simultaneously on multiple gates. The sequences are supplemented and a screen where you can put all sorts of pitfalls in the path of enemies, traps you've bought previously studied by engineers dedicated.

World and intelligent dialogues are incorporated into a combination of mechanical action RPG genre classic. In the tradition of Diablo, we have the equipment and tons of loot, increased level skills and perks sites; and other useful additions for instance possibility to send the Lady Katarina shopping (sale and purchase potions useless objects), facilitates inventory management. After all, you and a perk that increases your inventory capacity, plus trunk in town where you can keep items they find particularly.

 

Weapons are divided into melee and ranged from huge swords and pistols to rifles steampunk inspiration. Both weapons are useful at one time or another, so it's not too acute specialization recommended any of the branches.

Points are enough anyway, level up is pretty fast (and Van Helsing, and Katarina), and the skills and perks sites offer mutual benefits of the two adventurers. Both also use magic, but are radically different specializations.

Katarina has fewer offensive options, focusing on Van Helsing's defense (shield, taking a portion of the damage, healing); in turn, the protagonist can be equipped with a wide range of offensive magic (my favorite being the circle of fire) and a number of other passive skills to improve or ferrite parrying the blows enemies.

Perks sites may get harder and you have to choose carefully what you want from a comprehensive list. Some are disposable, say (for instance, features three skill points), others provide permanent bonuses to defending the natural elements (fire, poison), the dexterity or strength.

 

Perhaps some of you too busy to consider interface and some pretty weird design choices, but you get used to very quickly and there are common keyboard shortcuts such a game. In general, you'll be too concerned about the hordes of monsters that attack you for pursuing interface, except monitoring the living.

The creatures are imaginative comic and often adapted to the level where you are. The caves are inhabited by spiders ruthless, the winds are harpies, gargoyles and a kind of helicopters; ground level of a kind of lizard bipedal electric ghosts of some countess bloody (clear reference to the famous Countess Bathory), a brain evil that "born" other creatures extremely fast monsters with spears and, towards the end, machine guns, soldiers armed with Ivan rifles or guns-ii poisonous and proximity mines.

 

In terms of AI, monsters excels behavior is largely indiscriminate attacks, taking advantage of the fact that most creatures are thought to be extremely fast. In these circumstances, most often you will use the sword, but do not want to let yourself surrounded. For a pitcher Ivan or a huge bomb, or very slow stanţionar's most useful weapon away, using the classic "run, shoot, run".

A white ball comes to AI Katarina, whose help even feels throughout the adventure. Not only friendly ghost carrier and merchant, but also has a fairly strong attack and defense skills; if he loses his "life", she will return to the battlefield after tens of seconds (time can be decreased by a specific perk).

So Van Helsing, if you purchase another perk, but otherwise you have to pay to be raised; be in the same place or on the nearest transporter or the city. On the other hand, you have the option Hardcore, which means that Van Helsing's death is final.

 

Another eye-catching (and rare on PC) is able to play in four cooperative. The more so since it means actually playing in eight (4 Van Helsing's four effective ghosts), making it much easier căsăpirea about monsters and making a strategy. Loot is plenty for everyone, more so the greater the difficulty and lack of money almost never go.

True, there are rather few online sessions, and the character is completely separate from that used in single-player, so basically take game from the beginning if you feel like cafteala with friends.

In the chapter I had no technical problems whatsoever, and the visual is very well done imaginative level. The maps are pretty much recycled yet, but apart from some final moments should not endlessly clean an area where you need to go back for some unfinished quest.

 

As in the case of Torchlight, perhaps no one expected the Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing The have any sign of success. But the announcement of a continuation shows that there are ways to innovate even based on classical mechanics combined with literary and cinematic inspiration.

Neocore have serious work to a cohesive story and the number of missions (to increase the duration of the game, eventually), but for 15 euros I got more than I expected. I could tell even close to the Diablo III.