Constantine

Posted by admin on February 3rd, 2009 filed in 3D, 3rd Person, Action

You play the role of John Constantine, a dying man who has a knack for exorcism, as well as the rare ability to see through the guises of half-angels and half-demons walking on Earth. These abilities, combined with a slew of holy objects and magic, help him keep these evil spirits from interfering with humans. As luck would have it, it’s always Constantine’s friends that are most prone to being attacked. Although the movie focused on the relationship between Constantine and the afflicted cop Angela, the game takes a slightly different spin. Angela is nowhere to be seen here; instead there’s a brief mention of Constantine’s “girlfriend” Ellie, an integral character in the comic book Hellblazer who was removed from the final version of the movie.

Starting off in Constantine’s apartment, you encounter Beeman, who is Constantine’s version of James Bond’s gadget man, Q. Beeman provides Constantine with different weapons and magic spells throughout the game. In total, you’ll receive three types of physical attacks, three magic spells, and one spell that reveals hidden enemies. The combination of these seven maneuvers will help you swiftly defeat any enemy. The standard melee attack, your knuckle-dusters, is useful, but only against one enemy at a time. If you want something that packs a greater punch, you can find pickups to supply you with holy water and shotgun shells throughout the levels. Of the physical weapons, the holy shotgun is the most useful, although enemies have to be directly in front of your shot for you to successfully hit them, which often requires careful adjustment.

Playing with precision is more difficult than it should be, because Constantine’s controls are its biggest problem. Constantine is supposed to be a sleek, quick character, but instead he moves slowly and robotically. Fortunately, the stiff controls don’t make the game that much more difficult, because, for the most part, the rest of the gameplay is extremely easy. There are a few moments where you’re swarmed by a number of demons, but a single use of your magic spell can eliminate all the enemies onscreen. Strangely, defeating the final boss, Balthazar, is more challenging than the rest of the game combined. Some of your magic attacks do nothing against Balthazar, and he will occasionally get stuck during a collision, making it impossible to damage him. Generally speaking, the combat isn’t interesting at all, so fighting is relegated to a chore you’re forced to complete between plot points.