Van Helsing (video game)
Encyclopedia
Van Helsing is a third-person shooter
for the Play Station 2 and Xbox
which is based on the 2004 action/horror film of the same name
by Stephen Sommers
. Starting off with the killing of Mr. Hyde in Paris
, one must use the character of Van Helsing to hunt down Dracula
in Transylvania
. The character of Carl is completely missing from the video game but to reasonable accuracy, the characters of Anna Valerious, Velkan Valerious, Igor
, Dracula and his three brides are portrayed as in the movie.
Van Helsing is able to pick up various weapons, some similar to the ones in the movie to complete the quest. Each weapon, except the elephant gun, has its own ammunition upgrades similar to Capcom
's Devil May Cry
series in gameplay. An ammo bar indicates how much of the upgraded ammo can be used. Regular ammo is unlimited and use of regular ammo increases the amount of upgraded ammo length. Van Helsing can collect up to three life replenishers, three ammo replenishers and three speed boosts. After every five kills, Van Helsing is able to perform a "finishing move" which will kill the sixth enemy with one hit. Special enemies such as any of the brides, Velkan the werewolf, Dracula or Igor have no response to a finishing move. The list of enemies that Van Helsing encounters during the length of the game include skeletons, flying skulls, small werewolves, skeletons armed with swords, bats, Dracula's children, stone statues, etc. along with the main enemies.
Also, one of the books in a library mentions "the Belmont Family", referencing to the Castlevania
game series. Another book mentions the murder of Pharaoh Seti I by High Priest Imhotep, a reference to the The Mummy
, a film directed by the same director as Van Helsing.
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
for the Play Station 2 and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
which is based on the 2004 action/horror film of the same name
Van Helsing (film)
Van Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale...
by Stephen Sommers
Stephen Sommers
Stephen Sommers is an American screenwriter and film director, best known for The Mummy and its sequel, The Mummy Returns. He also directed Disney's live action version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, the action/horror film Van Helsing, and the 2009 film G.I...
. Starting off with the killing of Mr. Hyde in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, one must use the character of Van Helsing to hunt down Dracula
Count Dracula
Count Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
in Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. The character of Carl is completely missing from the video game but to reasonable accuracy, the characters of Anna Valerious, Velkan Valerious, Igor
Igor (fictional character)
Igor is the traditional stock character or cliché hunch-backed assistant or butler to many types of villain, such as Count Dracula or a mad scientist, familiar from many horror movies and horror movie parodies, the Frankenstein series and Van Helsing films in particular.-Origins:Dwight Frye's...
, Dracula and his three brides are portrayed as in the movie.
Van Helsing is able to pick up various weapons, some similar to the ones in the movie to complete the quest. Each weapon, except the elephant gun, has its own ammunition upgrades similar to Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
's Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry
is an action game developed and published by Capcom, released in 2001 for the PlayStation 2. Although it is the first game in the series of the same name, the events in Devil May Cry are second in the series storyline's chronological order, taking place after Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening and...
series in gameplay. An ammo bar indicates how much of the upgraded ammo can be used. Regular ammo is unlimited and use of regular ammo increases the amount of upgraded ammo length. Van Helsing can collect up to three life replenishers, three ammo replenishers and three speed boosts. After every five kills, Van Helsing is able to perform a "finishing move" which will kill the sixth enemy with one hit. Special enemies such as any of the brides, Velkan the werewolf, Dracula or Igor have no response to a finishing move. The list of enemies that Van Helsing encounters during the length of the game include skeletons, flying skulls, small werewolves, skeletons armed with swords, bats, Dracula's children, stone statues, etc. along with the main enemies.
Also, one of the books in a library mentions "the Belmont Family", referencing to the Castlevania
Castlevania
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of for the Family Computer Disk System , followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30...
game series. Another book mentions the murder of Pharaoh Seti I by High Priest Imhotep, a reference to the The Mummy
The Mummy (1999 film)
The Mummy is a 1999 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Kevin J. O'Connor, with Arnold Vosloo in the title role as the reanimated mummy. The film features substantial dialogue in ancient Egyptian language, spoken...
, a film directed by the same director as Van Helsing.