The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III Preview

I can't say that The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing series has made a massive impact on me personally – I and II completely sailed under my radar. This is the first I've ever heard of the game, and I can't say I feel encouraged to play on. “The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing” sounds more like a Mitchell and Webb sketch rather than a serious contender for Game of the Year. However, after a bit of searching, I was stunned to learn that I and II got great reviews as an action-RPG experience, so, hesitantly, I went forward with III.

The opening cutscene tells us that we call the region of Borgovia home; a wretched hive of scum and villainy replete with crime and seven evil factions who look to destroy the place while plundering it for all it has. An interesting setting for sure – I found my interest more and more piqued by the second. Stepping in is our hero and (this is not a joke, but please prepare yourselves regardless) his Russian ghost sidekick, who can morph into different shapes and creatures in order to take part in combat. Initially, the pairing struck me as rather ridiculous, but I grew to accept and love it when I saw that our comrade provided some plucky comic relief, balancing out the serious, battle-hardened edge of the hero. The plot set-up is rather simplistic, feeling like an afterthought shaped to accommodate the game's action, but truthfully, this works fine considering this is an action-RPG – the story takes a slight back seat so as not to interfere with the gameplay.

After a short wait where the game checked if my PC could handle the game, I was then allowed to create a character. This isn't as in depth as, say, Skyrim – you can't modify your appearance, but your skills are upgradable via experience points later. After settling on a warrior from a set of usual suspects and naming him 'Dick Rocket', I started with the game. Not that the idea of creating your own character and experimenting with an ability tree is groundbreaking, but I did appreciate the choice.

Of all elements in this game, so far the gameplay is the most enthralling part. You and your ghost friend are tasked with exploring Borgovia and destroying every monster in your path, and what results here is a fast and frenetic battle experience where the screen quickly fills with hit point damage and blood, and the sounds of creatures screaming echoes around the room. You move with the arrow keys and attack with left click – simple but elegant. Don't get me wrong: Van Helsing is filled with a plethora of upgradable attacks, but I was quite content to just hack and slash through my enemies – the experience was gleeful. Mostly because the controls respond so well; there have been too many games of this ilk where control is delayed or doesn't do exactly what you want it to, but here, controlling your character is as easy as running a hot knife through butter thanks to the sterling control set-up.

The presentation of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III is rather pleasing. The action is framed through a far-range isometric camera giving a clear view of the game world that allows the player to keep a keen eye on all the enemies on screen – I found myself coming up with strategies like “after I take out this cluster of enemies, I'm going to pick off those guys at the edge of the screen”. Having a clear view on the field of play like this made the game so much simpler to navigate, making it much easier to just sit back and enjoy the mayhem.

Also, to my surprise, Van Helsing is remarkably well voiced. Normally, voice-over work in games like these is a dry and wooden affair, the actors being drafted in from the local amateur dramatics society. However, here, the voice work is polished and accomplished. It's true that the story does come second to the carnage, but the cast really worked hard to bring the world of Borgovia alive, and to make the characters themselves stronger – not many people could pull off the character of an undead Russian helper, but her voice actor nails it, as do all the other talents.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III already looks very accomplished thanks to the great combat experience it offers, and it also looks like it will be able to tell its story very well with an impressive array of voice acting talent. The game looks to have a lot of potential so far, so keep your eyes peeled for this one as the year continues.