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| | Title:
Constantine
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System:
Xbox
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Genre:
Third-Person Action Adventure
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Publisher:
THQ
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Developer:
Bits Studio Ltd.
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Release:
February 15, 2005
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
Mature (M)
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In the video game Constantine you play as John Constantine. He is a unique character because he investigates demons and a dark world located under the landscape of Los Angeles. His purpose is to find and destroy evil before it mixes with the peace on earth.
The entire Constantine game is based on the recently released Constantine movie. John even resembles the lead actor of the film, Keanu Reeves. People have always said that video games based on a movie never work out well. Does Constantine fall under this category, or is it one of the few that stand out from the rest?
Gameplay
Constantine is classified as a third-person shooter, meaning that you view the character from a distance and your main weapon is a gun. Although it is just classified as a shooter game, there is a variety in the amount of attacks you can perform. You can either use one of the many primary weapons, any of the secondary weapons, or if you are really fed up, you can start throwing punches.
In Constantine you won't be given an M4 assault rifle, or even a grenade to aid you. Instead, you will be using weapons such as the Witch's Curse, Crucifier, or even a flamethrower conveniently named "Dragon's Breath". When you start the game, your starting weapon will be the Witch's Curse. Although it may sound like an old wooden stick or something, it is actually just a large and old looking pistol.
As you progress through the levels you will find and be able to use different weapons. Luckily, Constantine has an entire Uhaul truck in his jacket, as you are able to carry all the weapons in the game at once. (Ok maybe he doesn't, you are still able to carry and easily switch between all five of the primary weapons while running, jumping, and climbing around.)
There are a good amount of levels to play through in the story, and the story is interesting enough to keep you playing for at least an hour each time you start the Xbox up. Through the use of spells you will be jumping from the current world as we know it now, to Hell where the entire landscape is fiery red and flames and demons are around every corner. You will spend about the same amount of time in both worlds and cross between the two several times in just one level.
Although you may think you are safe being in the normal world, demons are also present and just as threatening in the current world as they are in Hell. Enemies in the game range from everything from small demonic rats to nine foot tall demons that go by the name of Impalers. The most unique enemies in the game are the Half-Breeds.
The Half-Breeds are actually demons that appear as a human and carry normal human weapons. They are usually disguised as a cop, and they are difficult to recognize. Besides the other few creepy walking demons, there is also the Bile-Riz that is actually the top part of a demon and has to crawl around, but can still do a good amount of damage. Seplavites are also a different type of demon and they are equipped with wings, and just as scary as a half bodied demon heading straight for you.
When you get down to it, the gameplay of Constantine is really nothing different from the average, boring, shooter. The entire game, although there is a story, is the same thing over and over again. Some demons pop up, you kill them, you go to a new part of the level, you kill some more demons, you fight a boss and then the pattern starts over. Although it may be worth it to play to find out the story, the actual gameplay gets boring after the first or second boss.
Graphics
Despite the somewhat boring gameplay, the graphics are excellent and hold true to this throughout the entire game. Everything from the detail in gameplay to the animations in the cutscenes are very well done. The dark and gloomy graphics help tremendously in creating the right mood for the game. While playing the game, it is hard not to jump when a book suddenly flies off the shelve, a chandelier falls right in front of your feet, or a demon happens to be running right behind you.
Constantine's player model is another great part of the graphics. He looks very realistic, and his movements are well animated. However, the models for the demons are not as detailed. They look pretty good, but really nothing when you are comparing some of the demons in this game to that of some of the demons in a game like Doom 3.
The graphics are by far the best aspect of the game, but the camera will take a while to get used to. Several times while playing, you will have to wrestle the controls to get Constantine to focus on a fast and upcoming demon. Although it is not as bad as some other games out there, the camera controls still have a lot of room for some improvement.
Audio
The audio is just about as boring as the gameplay. The voice acting of Constantine in game is quite horrible. While in the game, he may say a line or two relating to the game that attempt to add to the story, or an event that just happened, but is done very poorly and sound cheesy. The background music is alright, but becomes repetitive after awhile. However, the music does intensify and calm down based on the action in the game. This helps to create that scary effect that the game has, but definitely not as well as the graphics.
Overall
Constantine is nothing special or outstanding. If you enjoyed the movie, it will probably be worth it to play through the game. However, if you didn't really like the movie, or have never seen it, there are better action games available. The game has no multiplayer modes, so after playing through the game, the only other choice you have is to play it again to try and get your moneys worth.
| The Core Score |
Overall
7 |
| Fun |
|
6 |
| Gameplay |
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6.3 |
| Graphics |
|
8.5 |
| Audio |
|
6 |
| Replay |
|
5 |
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