Van Helsing (Game Boy Advance)

CNET editors' rating: 1.0 stars Terrible
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Overall score: 2.2 (1.0 stars)
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Product summary

Gamespot editors' review

• Reviewed by: Frank Provo
• Reviewed on: 05/20/2004
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 05/06/2004

There are too many bad things to say about Van Helsing for the Game Boy Advance, and very few good things. One good thing about it is that it follows the story from the film closely. You play as a monster hunter named Van Helsing who has been sent on a mission by the church to stop Dracula from unleashing an army of vampires--and you're using Frankenstein's electricity, no less. Throughout the game, you'll encounter numerous characters from the film, including Anna Valerious, Top Hat, Carl, and monsters like the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and Dracula.

Van Helsing can use his crossbow to attack from a distance.

Another nice thing about Van Helsing is that, unlike most movie tie-ins, it isn't a side-scroller put together in the traditional run-jump-punch formula. Instead, it's an isometric beat-'em-up with a dash of exploration thrown in for good measure. You've no doubt seen this same graphical style used in other big-name games, like Legend of Zelda, Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Sadly, however, the viewpoint is the only positive similarity that Van Helsing shares with these other games.

Graphically, it's completely devoid of artistic or technical competency. The backgrounds are dull and lifeless and nothing moves in them--ever. The characters don't show much in the way of animation either. Van Helsing and the monsters wave their arms around and jut out their weapons, but that's about it. The worst part is that the developers seem to have used about 16 colors in total to color the entire game, backgrounds and characters included. Van Helsing is a purple and black smudge, the monsters are brown, gray, or blue smudges, and the structures in the background resemble buildings from old NES or Game Boy Color games. GBA games could get away with looking this lame in 2001, but this is 2004 and we've seen better from just about everything else that has come out so far this year.

The audio is equally terrible, but thankfully there's less to say about it since there honestly isn't much of it. There are a few different screams for the different enemies, and Van Helsing's weapons elicit popping sounds or "whoosh whoosh" noises depending on whether you're using his guns or his swords. As for music, the same organ and drum riff play in the background during every level.

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