John Constantine a man on a mission to serve for sins committed in a previous life of sorts. The story goes that demon busting Constantine took his own life, a major sin in itself and a sin which excludes man from the ecstasy that is heaven. However to rectify this Constantine swears to do good by protecting the realms of earth from the dark intrusive pit of hell. In this game it seems that demons are intent on invading the realms of earth to feed on the souls of mankind. However with John Constantine a true anti hero if there ever was one ready to smoke, maim and exorcise his way to righteousness, these demons are not going to have it easy.

gameplay:

Constantine is a 3rd or 1st person action game whereby players control the onscreen representation of Keanu Reeves as he goes about killing all demonic life in both the real world and in the depths of hell itself. Mostly you will be playing in 3rd person in a similar fashion to games such as Max Payne, where you will be shooting a number of enemy type’s intent on sucking your soul or putting an end to your crusade. Armed at first with some modified pistols which shoot special stones that have been gathered from the road to Damascus you will come across a wide number of other weapons including a demon busting nail gun, flame thrower and a shotgun; the latter having you find the parts for it first. John can also perform limited hand to hand moves when demons are close enough to smell. What is more, players are also able to cast spells which can help in the right situation. Spells also help John traverse the plains of Earth and Hell.

Like other heroes Constantine has special abilities and a coolness that regular humans don’t have. Did I mention that he smokes a lot, especially after surviving Lung cancer? Well yes, he smokes throughout the game and when left idle might just light one up. He also has a great thirst for tap/bottled water as this is used to fill his flask which in turn fills his health bar. Constantine has the ability to detect half demons; these demons aren’t bad per se and inhabit the earth as menial workers such as care takers or bar staff. This is where the 1st person element comes in to play as when switching to his “true sight” turns the screen into a mass of what looks like negatives from camera film. This not only allows John to see through the disguise of half demons (which to regular folk look like normal people) but also allows him to see in the dark and see other interesting things not normally visible.

Apart from a lot of exploration in both the Earth and Hell realms, John will be dispatching a wide number of demonic creatures, both ground and air based. This also includes some boss demons as well which often have a very easy strategy to beat them. In fact the game itself is extremely easy and in some respects rather unchallenging.

Graphics:

The graphics are actually not that bad although they do tend to sit on the lack of detail side of the fence. There are some great subtle camera effects when looking down a long corridor for example and the depiction of Hell is pretty good. However the general look could have used a little more detail just to spice things up especially as gamers expect this these days. The demons themselves look good enough as does the rendition of Keanu Reeves during the cut scenes. What I did find amusing was how John runs when he was unarmed, this was terrible and made him look extremely comical which is a shame because when armed his animations were reasonable.

Sound:

The in game sound effects are pretty standard fare and do a reasonable job of conveying the on screen carnage such as the demonic cries when they are sent back to Hell. I’m not sure if Keanu provided the voice over for the character but a typical monotone performance is had either way. I think for the character type this actually works albeit sounding a little wooden at times. The in game music is suitably movie like and with its classical inspired score helps to drive the action along in the right places and when it’s needed.

Longevity:

Constantine has a number of levels to explore and shoot your way through and as mentioned earlier is a little on the easy side. There are 3 levels of difficulty to choose from as well as a number of bonus cards to find, these cards are used to unlock bonus content such as artwork. Most players will finish the game fairly quickly and unless you see the movie after playing the game you might not wish to play it again.

Overall:

The problem with this game is truly in the mundane way in which it is executed, there genuinely is not enough excitement throughout the game to make any of it a memorable experience. There are long sections of inactivity which will probably bore the less determined players and the lack of challenge will annoy those who are a little more skilled. That said, the concept of the game is a good one; as John is a fairly decent character to play as, however if the developers were hoping that the movie would drive sales and enable them to release a lacklustre game that would be widely accepted then they couldn’t be further from the truth. Constantine is a very average game and one that is for fans of Keanu, the movie or those who are simply bored and looking for a title to rent.