Constantine Review

Publisher: THQ

Rating: Mature (M)

Constantine

Constantine is about a man named John who fights the forces of evil to keep the balance of Heaven and Hell. It is based on the film and the comic book Hellblazer.

This is a single player, action-adventure, mystery-solving game. You play John, who has supernatural powers as an exorcist, mage and occultist. The game begins with a brief video segment where John performs an exorcism on a poor unfortunate woman who is possessed by a demon. You must stop the demons from gaining control over our earthly plane by using magic and unusual weapons. Discover ancient artifacts, mysterious secrets, and find new incantations and weapons. Save John from an eternity in the dark realms of Hell.

Difficulty Level/Modes of Play

There are three levels of difficulty, Easy (Trickster), Medium (Demonslayer), and Hard (Hellblazer).

In this game, you mostly use firearms and magic spells. A few spells he will have access to are:

• Stormcrow - An incantation that creates bolts of lightning to take down enemies.
• Excorcise - spell that expels demons from those who are inhabited by them, and Gargoyle, a spell that can turn opponents into stone.

John has the ability to see demons and see in the dark with his “True Sight” ability. He can find charms and artifacts that have different abilities and bonuses. For instance, Relics can increase your magic reserve bar, Tarot Cards can give you access to bonus content, and the Dragon’s Breath is an artifact that contains shoots out flame continuously when activated.

John also has access to secondary weapons, Holy Water Bombs, Screech Beetles and Moses Shroud. These items will all help weaken demons in different ways, making it easier to defeat them.

Graphics

The graphics are okay, but could use some improvement. The faces of the characters look a little flat, and most of the places you will explore are mostly dark. Character movement is pretty smooth, and the game does save some button pushes on some basic actions like jumping and climbing.

Audio

Audio sounds pretty good. The dialogs are from actors who closely resemble those from the movie (sorry Keanu Reeves fans). Background music fits the story well.

Should You Bother?

In Constantine, you spend a lot of time in dark places where you have to use John’s “True Sight” ability to find your way around. I found this a little irritating at times. Unfortunately if you don’t use it, then you will not find many important items.

When you begin the game, there are a lot of video clips that give you some background on the story. With no training or help section, you’re pretty much thrown into the game. (If you rent or buy this game, be sure to have a copy of the instruction manual.) Fortunately, the game does help you with spell casting and shows you where to interact with certain items. Once you do pass the first couple of chapters, Constantine does get interesting since he will have access to more spells, weapons and abilities.

The game is also a little tricky when maneuvering your view especially in combat situations. When casting spells, you have to follow the pattern of buttons displayed on screen for them to work. It’s kind of cool to hear Constantine speak the incantations out loud, but you have to be quick to follow or the spells will not work.

Summary

Constantine is a single-player, action-adventure, puzzle-solving game where you play John, a man who has supernatural powers and seeks to keep the balance of Heaven and Hell. Cast powerful incantations, discover ancient artifacts, mysterious secrets and unusual weapons. Fight demons, perform exorcisms and find secrets using your “True Sight” ability. Save John Constantine from an eternity in the dark realms of Hell.

This a decent rental game, but be sure and have the instruction manual to fully enjoy it.